When it comes to getting the right pitch, you have to know what you are doing. Even if someone has perfect pitch, they can’t get the perfect pitch right all the time. If they have a cold or some other ailment that might affect their voice or lung capacity, they might not be able to hit that perfect pitch. That’s why we might need, from time to time, a pitch pipe or a tuning fork.
But we still have to have the standard to go back to, to know where we begin.
The voice of the Lord is so very important for us to hear and to listen to. In fact, you might say that the fundamental command of the Bible is to listen: “O land, land, land, Hear the word of the Lord,” Jeremiah tells his people in Jeremiah 22:29.
David calls on his people, in Psalm 29, to hear the voice of the Lord. Let’s study…
JEHOVAH DESERVES WORSHIP – 29:1-2:
Even if we assemble together as Christ’s church three times a week, that’s not enough time to give worship to God. He deserves more than that! Even if we worshiped God every waking hour, it’s not enough. He deserves more. In fact, the only response that would be “enough” is to worship God for eternity…
Notice this emphasis in verses 1-2: “Give to the Lord; give to the Lord; give to the Lord; worship the Lord.”
HIS VOICE DESERVES HEARING AND OBEDIENCE – 29:3-9:
“Voice” is used seven times in this paragraph, and of course, you recognize “seven” as being a symbol of completeness in biblical teaching. In this psalm the expression “voice of the Lord” begins verses 4, 5, 7-9.
In the two storms on the Sea of Galilee in which Jesus had a role (Mark 4:35-41; 6:45-52), His voice was heard above the thunder of the wind and the waves and it was His voice that calmed the storms.
All God has to do is say something and it is done! God created the world with His voice (Psa. 33:6). The voice of the Lord is also “majestic,” David writes. Can you imagine a voice that is dignified? A voice that, by its very sound, compels you to fall to your knees out of respect? That’s the voice of God. His very voice demands respect.
God’s voice is powerful, and God’s voice can be destructive when it needs to be (ver. 7). The “voice of the Lord” hews out (or “flashes”) flames – or lightning, perhaps – of fire (ver. 7). The weather, we might say, is under God’s control. The weather can be “voice activated.”
415 times the phrase “thus says the Lord” is used in the OT. One hundred six times,“the Lord spoke.” Three hundred forty-nine times – “declares the Lord” is found. What does the “voice of the Lord” have to say? Because the voice of the Lord demands to be heard and to be obeyed.
Nature itself obeys the voice of the Lord. Isn’t that the essence of God’s questions He hurls at Job in Job 38-41? We see the voice of the Lord was instrumental in designing both the tabernacle and the temple for man to worship Him. Everything has to be done under the “voice of the Lord.” We should not be surprised that Jesus requires us to obey His voice in the NT as He has designed both His church and His worship to glorify Him and we must listen to the voice of the Lord if we wish to honor Him as He deserves.
When we say, “where is the book, chapter, and verse to support a certain belief or practice,” what we are really asking is: “Where is the voice of the Lord?”
THE FLOOD AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE “VOICE OF THE LORD” – 29:10-11:
Now, please note this… The word “flood” here – mabbul – is used 13 times in the OT – twelve times in the book of Genesis to refer to the flood of Noah’s day. This is the only use of this word after the flood. David is talking about the flood in this passage. In the account of the flood, there are three references to “God said” and four references to the “Lord said.” God was in control of the flood as a King is in control of His subjects – total authority.
Jehovah God reigns forever as King. The first reference to Jehovah God as a king is in Moses’ song from Exodus 15:18. Among the texts which teach us that Jehovah God reigns are: 1 Chronicles 16:31; Psalm 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; 146:10; Isaiah 24:23; Jeremiah 23:5 (Messianic); Micah 4:7.
Jehovah God gives strength to His people. And, through the “voice of the Lord,” the Lord will “bless” His people with peace. Peace comes to the people of God through the voice of the Lord because He blesses with His voice, when God’s people respond to His voice.
THE NT IS THE “VOICE OF THE LORD”:
Why is the gospel the “power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16)? Because the gospel is the voice of the Lord! An interesting turn of phrase is used in Galatians 3:8 where Paul writes that the “Scripture preached the gospel to Abraham” and then Paul quotes Genesis 12:3. In other words, “Scripture = the voice of the Lord = the testimony by the Holy Spirit.”
Worship God for revealing through His voice what we need to know, feel, and do in order to glorify Him.
Paul Holland
