Psalm 29:4
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.
The voice of the LORD
The phrase "the voice of the LORD" in Hebrew is "קוֹל יְהוָה" (qol Yahweh). This phrase emphasizes the power and authority inherent in God's spoken word. In the ancient Near Eastern context, a king's voice was a symbol of his power and command. Similarly, the voice of the LORD signifies divine authority and the creative power of God, as seen in Genesis where God speaks creation into existence. Theologically, it reminds believers of the omnipotence of God, whose voice can command nature and history.

is powerful
The Hebrew word for "powerful" is "בַּכֹּחַ" (bakoach), which conveys strength, might, and force. This word is often used in the context of military power or the strength of a warrior. In the context of Psalm 29, it underscores the idea that God's voice is not just authoritative but also dynamic and active, capable of enacting His will in the world. This serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty and the assurance that His purposes will prevail.

the voice of the LORD
Reiterating "the voice of the LORD" emphasizes its significance and the need for attentive listening. In biblical literature, repetition is a literary device used to stress importance. Here, it calls believers to recognize and respond to God's voice in their lives, acknowledging its role in guiding, correcting, and comforting them.

is full of majesty
The word "majesty" in Hebrew is "הָדָר" (hadar), which denotes splendor, beauty, and grandeur. This term is often associated with royalty and the awe-inspiring presence of a king. In this context, it highlights the glory and magnificence of God's voice, which reflects His divine nature. The majesty of God's voice inspires worship and reverence, reminding believers of the beauty and holiness of God, who is worthy of all praise and adoration.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The central figure in this verse, representing the God of Israel, whose voice is described as powerful and majestic.

2. David
Traditionally attributed as the author of this Psalm, King David often wrote about the majesty and power of God.

3. The Voice of the LORD
A metaphorical expression representing God's authority, power, and presence in creation and revelation.
Teaching Points
The Power of God's Word
God's voice is not just sound; it is an expression of His will and power. When God speaks, things happen. This should remind us of the authority and effectiveness of Scripture in our lives.

The Majesty of God's Presence
The majesty of God's voice reflects His glory and sovereignty. In our worship and daily lives, we should approach God with reverence and awe, recognizing His supreme majesty.

Listening to God's Voice
In a world filled with noise, discerning God's voice is crucial. We should cultivate a habit of listening to God through prayer, Scripture, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Responding to God's Authority
Acknowledging the power and majesty of God's voice should lead us to obedience and submission. Our response to God's commands should be one of trust and action.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the description of God's voice in Psalm 29:4 enhance your understanding of His power and majesty?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a deeper reverence for God's voice in your daily life?

3. How does the power of God's voice in creation (Genesis 1) relate to His ability to transform your life today?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to better discern God's voice amidst the distractions of the world?

5. How can recognizing the authority of God's voice influence your decisions and actions in challenging situations?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 1
The creation account where God's voice brings the universe into existence, demonstrating His power and majesty.

Exodus 19
The giving of the Law at Mount Sinai, where God's voice is described as thunderous and awe-inspiring.

Revelation 1
The description of Jesus' voice as "like the sound of many waters," emphasizing divine authority and majesty.

Hebrews 4
The Word of God is described as living and active, powerful in its ability to discern and transform.
The Majestic VoiceCharles Haddon Spurgeon Psalm 29:4
The Glorious Sceptre of Universal PowerC. Clemance Psalm 29:1-11
The Glory of God's Government in the Natural WorldJohn Mitchell, D. D.Psalm 29:1-11
The ThunderstormC. Short Psalm 29:1-11
The Works and the Word of GodW. Forsyth Psalm 29:1-11
The Majestic VoicePsalm 29:3-4
The Voice of Jehovah Upon the WatersJoseph Irons.Psalm 29:3-4
The Voice of the LordJames Parsons.Psalm 29:3-4
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Full, Majestic, Majesty, Noble, Power, Powerful, Voice
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 29:4

     1090   God, majesty of

Psalm 29:3-9

     1193   glory, revelation of
     5196   voice

Library
March 25. "The Beauty of Holiness" (Ps. xxix. 2).
"The beauty of holiness" (Ps. xxix. 2). Some one remarked once that he did not know more disagreeable people than sanctified Christians. He probably meant people that only profess sanctification. There is an angular, hard, unlovely type of Christian character that is not true holiness; at least, not the highest type of it. It is the skeleton without the flesh covering; it is the naked rock without the vines and foliage that cushion its rugged sides. Jesus was not only virtuous and pure, but He was
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Note C. The Holiness of God.
There is not a word so exclusively scriptural, so distinctly Divine, as the word holy in its revelation and its meaning. As a consequence of this its Divine origin, it is a word of inexhaustible significance. There is not one of the attributes of God which theologians have found it so difficult to define, or concerning which they differ so much. A short survey of the various views that have been taken may teach us how little the idea of the Divine Holiness can be comprehended or exhausted by human
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

The Majestic Voice
"The God that rules on high, And thunders when he please, That rides upon the stormy sky And manages the seas; This awful God is ours, Our Father and our love, He shall send down his heavenly powers To carry us above." He is our God, and I like to sing that, and think of it: but there is something so terrible in the tone of that voice when God is speaking, something so terrific to other men, and humbling to the Christian, that he is obliged to sink very low in his own estimation; then he looks up
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

A Song of the Temple
"In His Temple doth every one speak of His glory."--Ps. xxix. 9. R. Rolle, 1349. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 In Thy tabernacle, Lord, I offer Sacrifice of psalmody and song-- Thine uncounted mercies there recalling, Praising Thee with music sweet and strong. With a marvellous, a mighty gladness, For the love of Christ is shed abroad In the soul that is His holy temple, And she singeth therefore unto God. She ascends aloft to join the singing, Heard afar from God's Jerusalem-- [2] Blessed music
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Of Meditation Upon the Hidden Judgments of God, that we May not be Lifted up Because of Our Well-Doing
Thou sendest forth Thy judgments against me, O Lord, and shakest all my bones with fear and trembling, and my soul trembleth exceedingly. I stand astonished, and remember that the heavens are not clean in thy sight.(1) If Thou chargest Thine angels with folly, and didst spare them not, how shall it be unto me? Stars have fallen from heaven, and what shall I dare who am but dust? They whose works seemed to be praiseworthy, fell into the lowest depths, and they who did eat Angels' food, them have
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Appendix xvi. On the Jewish views About Demons' and the Demonised,' Together with Some Notes on the Intercourse Between Jews and Jewish Christians in the First Centuries.
IT is not, of course, our purpose here to attempt an exhaustive account of the Jewish views on demons' and the demonised.' A few preliminary strictures were, however, necessary on a work upon which writers on this subject have too implictly relied. I refer to Gfrörer's Jahrhundert des Heils (especially vol. i. pp. 378-424). Gfrörer sets out by quoting a passage in the Book of Enoch on which he lays great stress, but which critical inquiries of Dillmann and other scholars have shown to be
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

How the Preacher, when He Has Accomplished all Aright, Should Return to Himself, Lest Either his Life or his Preaching Lift Him Up.
But since often, when preaching is abundantly poured forth in fitting ways, the mind of the speaker is elevated in itself by a hidden delight in self-display, great care is needed that he may gnaw himself with the laceration of fear, lest he who recalls the diseases of others to health by remedies should himself swell through neglect of his own health; lest in helping others he desert himself, lest in lifting up others he fall. For to some the greatness of their virtue has often been the occasion
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Period ii. The Church from the Permanent Division of the Empire Until the Collapse of the Western Empire and the First Schism Between the East and the West, or Until About A. D. 500
In the second period of the history of the Church under the Christian Empire, the Church, although existing in two divisions of the Empire and experiencing very different political fortunes, may still be regarded as forming a whole. The theological controversies distracting the Church, although different in the two halves of the Graeco-Roman world, were felt to some extent in both divisions of the Empire and not merely in the one in which they were principally fought out; and in the condemnation
Joseph Cullen Ayer Jr., Ph.D.—A Source Book for Ancient Church History

The History Books
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Assyrian idol-god] Thus little by little the Book of God grew, and the people He had chosen to be its guardians took their place among the nations. A small place it was from one point of view! A narrow strip of land, but unique in its position as one of the highways of the world, on which a few tribes were banded together. All around great empires watched them with eager eyes; the powerful kings of Assyria, Egypt, and Babylonia, the learned Greeks, and, in later times,
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Exegetic.
(i) As of the De Spiritu Sancto, so of the Hexæmeron, no further account need be given here. It may, however, be noted that the Ninth Homily ends abruptly, and the latter, and apparently more important, portion of the subject is treated of at less length than the former. Jerome [472] and Cassiodorus [473] speak of nine homilies only on the creation. Socrates [474] says the Hexæmeron was completed by Gregory of Nyssa. Three orations are published among Basil's works, two on the creation
Basil—Basil: Letters and Select Works

Man's Chief End
Q-I: WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified. 1: The glorifying of God. 2: The enjoying of God. I. The glorifying of God, I Pet 4:4: That God in all things may be glorified.' The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. I Cor 10:01. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial;
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Acceptable Sacrifice;
OR, THE EXCELLENCY OF A BROKEN HEART: SHOWING THE NATURE, SIGNS, AND PROPER EFFECTS OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT. BEING THE LAST WORKS OF THAT EMINENT PREACHER AND FAITHFUL MINISTER OF JESUS CHRIST, MR. JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. WITH A PREFACE PREFIXED THEREUNTO BY AN EMINENT MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN LONDON. London: Sold by George Larkin, at the Two Swans without Bishopgates, 1692. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The very excellent preface to this treatise, written by George Cokayn, will inform the reader of
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Peace
Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. I Pet 1:1. Having spoken of the first fruit of sanctification, assurance, I proceed to the second, viz., Peace, Peace be multiplied:' What are the several species or kinds of Peace? Peace, in Scripture, is compared to a river which parts itself into two silver streams. Isa 66:12. I. There is an external peace, and that is, (1.) (Economical, or peace in a family. (2.) Political, or peace in the state. Peace is the nurse of plenty. He maketh peace in thy borders,
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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