January 12, 2020
Scripture: Psalm 29
I. You worship God because He is King.
A. Psalm 29:1 reads, “Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.” Who are these heavenly beings? We find an answer in Exodus 15:11 where the same Hebrew word that is translated with the words heavenly beings in Psalm 29 is translated differently: “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” The heavenly beings of Psalm 29 are gods. They are idols.
B. What does it mean that God has glory? The Hebrew word for glory literally means weight. The glory of God is the weight of all that God is: the fullness of His wisdom, His goodness and His happiness. God is truly heavy. By contrast, the false gods of the nations around Israel were empty. They were weightless. They were a nothing. It is as if David is saying, “You gods are nothing in comparison with the LORD. He is the glorious one. He alone is worthy of our worship. We should only give glory to Him.”
II. You worship God because He is Judge.
A. In Psalm 28:1 David prayed to God, “To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me.” King David was in trouble. We read David pray in Ps. 28:3, “Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil.” David was surrounded by wicked people when he wrote Psalm 28. Perhaps Psalm 29:3-9 is a description of how God answered David’s prayer in Psalm 28. These verses describe a powerful thunderstorm with great, ear-splitting cracks of lightning and a powerful wind.
B. This storm came in response to David’s prayer for help in dealing with some wicked people. God came in all of His power as righteous judge to defeat the wicked and to protect David. David calls this incredibly awesome thunderstorm the voice of the LORD. In fact, six times in verses 3 through 9 David writes about this voice of the LORD. The voice of the LORD does not speak when God comes to judge the wicked. It thunders! Our God is not a nothing. He is not to be trifled with by the wicked. He is heavy, and He will thunder against all that is evil.
III. You worship God because He is Savior.
A. When we are in danger from wicked people, we worship God as Judge. But in the last verse of Psalm 29 David speaks to our need for a judge who will also be our Savior. He writes, “May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!” We also need peace with God when we sin. We need God’s mercy and grace. What is available to us as people with faith in Christ – even though we have sinned? Peace. We can have peace with God if we trust that Christ died on the cross for our sins. Jesus’ disciple Peter once had an awe-inspiring experience with Jesus that knocked him to his knees in worship. Luke 5:8: “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’” When we see God as He is – when we see His power and His holiness – the proper response is to get on our knees and worship. We worship Him for saving us.
Application:
The meaning of life is to worship God. Let’s worship Him with everything we’ve got.
Sources:
The Psalms
Commentaries on Psalms by Derek Kidner, Willem VanGemeren, and Gerald Wilson