Psalm 29:1-4 - The Beauty of Holiness

Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength.  Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty. This Psalm was written by David and seems to be a sequel to the preceding one where David expressed his fear that he might perish with the ungodly in some sweeping national disaster. Now he expresses his faith that God will abundantly save His own. This is a very significant Psalm for it mentions the Lord eighteen times. If we add to that the use of pronouns and the mention of God and King we have God mentioned no less than twenty-five times in eleven short verses. David was an outdoorsman who appreciated nature and celebrated the power of Jehovah the Creator. Jewish worshipers today use this Psalm in the synagogue as a part of their celebration of Pentecost. In Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost when the church was born, we saw the manifestation and promise of the Holy Spirit being given. There was the sound of a rushing mighty wind, tongues of fire, and the "thunder" of God's voice through His Word. Like the Jews on Pentecost the church today can also use Psalm 29 to celebrate Pentecost. Israel's neighbors believed that Baal, the storm god, controlled rain and fertility, but this psalm says otherwise. It magnifies the sovereignty of God and the power of God in His creation, both of which bring glory to God. The word "glory" is used four times in the psalm (vv. 1-3, 9), for David saw in the storm God's glory revealed in three different places. First David saw God's Glory in the Heavenly Temple (vv. 1-2). Heaven is a place of worship (see Rev. 4-5), and here the command is given for the angels ("mighty ones, sons of the Mighty") to ascribe, to attribute to God glory and strength, because these divine attributes magnify His name. Psalm 96:7-9 speaks of how all the earth should do this: “Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.” The Psalm begins and ends mentioning God's "strength" (vv. 1&11). And verses 4-9 demonstrate that strength in the description of the storm. The “mighty ones” are angels are also called "sons of God" in Job 1:6, 2:1 and 38:7; and see Psalm 89:6. The Jewish priests and Levites had to dress properly as they served at the sanctuary (Ex. 28:lff), and even God's angels must come before Him in proper "attire," what is called "holy array" and "the splendor of his holiness". True holiness is a beautiful thing to behold. I can’t even image the “beauty of God’s holiness” that is displayed in heaven right now! But certainly, the greatest demonstration of holiness was in the life of Jesus Christ when He ministered on earth as He lived a pure and sinless life, without spot or blemish. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, caused the lame to walk and raised the dead to life again! Sin is ugly, no matter what we may call it, but true holiness is beautiful and brings glory to God. We are told to worship the LORD in the beauty of Holiness. This means we are to be a holy people, cleansed by the blood of Jesus and daily washed in His Word! I’m convinced when we worship the LORD in this beautiful holiness that we will clearly hear “the voice of the Lord” in all the storms of life that we will experience in this world! Are you hearing His Voice today? God bless!