Psalm 29

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 29
• Sermon
• Pastoral Prayer

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Sermon Title: The Majesty of God

Scripture: Psalm 29

I. The Praise of His Majesty (Psalm 29:1-2)

A. The psalm opens with a summons to heavenly beings (angels) to worship God in his Heavenly Sanctuary

B. The themes of glory and holiness echo the seraphim's praise in Isaiah 6:3 — holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts

C. The Heavenly Sanctuary worship is mirrored in the earthly temple (Psalm 29:9), where all cry "Glory"

D. When we gather for corporate worship, we join the angels and perfected saints in a heavenly worship service

1. Hebrews 12:22-24 — you have come to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels in festal gathering
2. This truth is an incentive to prepare our hearts diligently for worship

II. The Power of His Majesty (Psalm 29:3-9)

A. The voice of the Lord is portrayed through the imagery of a thunderstorm sweeping over creation

1. Over the mighty waters (chaos in ancient Near Eastern thought)
2. Breaking the cedars of Lebanon
3. Flashing flames of fire
4. Shaking the wilderness of Kadesh
5. Stripping the forests bare

B. Ancient Near Eastern religions deified the elements of nature (thunder gods, sea gods); the psalmist redirects this impulse — the powerful displays of nature point to the one true God whose voice commands them

C. Kidner: the dominant mood is not terror but exhilaration — all cry "Glory"

D. Application: a mighty storm is a summons from God to worship the one who stands behind it

III. The Place of His Majesty (Psalm 29:6-10)

A. The geographic sweep — Lebanon and Sirion (far north) to Kadesh (remote south) — is a Hebrew merism meaning the Lord's majesty extends to the ends of the earth

B. His majesty extends vertically as well: from the heights of heaven (where angels cry Glory) down to the pit of hell (judgment on those who reject him)

C. The psalm holds together General Revelation and Special Revelation

1. General Revelation: the book of nature — the heavens declaring God's glory through mighty storms
2. Special Revelation: the temple — corporate worship, the preached word, the ordinary means of grace
3. Both together cause the people of God to cry "Glory"

IV. The People of His Majesty (Psalm 29:10-11)

A. The Lord enthroned over the flood (Genesis 6–9) — the only other use of this Hebrew word for "flood" in the Old Testament

1. The flood was judgment on the wicked and at the same time salvation and new beginnings for Noah and his family
2. It pictures a reversal of creation — destroying a sin-corrupted world and bringing a new creation with Noah as a new representative man

B. The flood points forward to Christ

1. Luke 12:50 — Jesus calls his death a baptism he must undergo
2. 1 Peter 3 — Peter explicitly connects the flood waters to baptism
3. Those who receive the Son enter the ark of salvation; the flood waters of judgment become the waters of new life

C. The psalm comes full circle: the same strength displayed in the thunderstorm is the strength God gives to his people (Psalm 29:11)

1. May the Lord give strength to his people
2. May the Lord bless his people with peace
3. Application: when mighty storms come, see them as both a summons to worship and a reminder of the strength that is ours in Christ by the Spirit