Psalm 29 (Mark 1:4-11) NIV
This psalm would surely have been a favorite of the great Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards. Edwards would ride most every day to a lone place and then walk and meditate. He has been portrayed riding out into a stormy night, into the “theater of God’s glory” (Calvin) to listen for the voice of the Lord. Perhaps even shouting into the wind, “Glory!” at the strike of lightning flashing brightly in the night. Edwards’ spirit was strengthened by the God of glory. So, when a massive earthquake shook New England, Edwards was prepared, preaching the God of glory whose voice was heard in power and majesty, for spiritual awakening.
In the 1999 film, Dogma, two fallen angels are banished, so they head to New Jersey – where else! – to find a loophole to get back into heaven. The catch: the loophole will destroy humanity, so they must be stopped. At the end, God appears to set things right and clean up the mess they have made.
The movie’s theology is not to be taken seriously, but when God appears, it is understood that the voice of the Lord is so powerful that it could cause the kinds of things described in Ps. 29.
David’s psalm lifts up the God of glory whose voice displays the Lord’s power over all creation, the Eternal King who is to be worshipped by all. No one is to evade the Lord’s requirement if they are to be blessed with peace.
And what is the fundamental requirement in response to God’s power, splendor, holiness and majesty? All who worship cry out, “Glory!” We join the angels who appeared as the glory of the Lord shone around, singing, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…. We join with the ancient congregations and the great preachers crying, “Glory!”
This psalm is paired with Mark 1:4-11 for Baptism of the Lord Sunday. We see a part of it in our Call to Worship. The popular preacher, Barbara Brown Taylor, said what we often think: Those were the good old days – with the powerful voice of John the Baptist proclaiming repentance and declaring one more powerful to come; the heavens torn open and the voice of the Lord over the waters declaring Jesus the beloved Son…
Those were the good old days we think to ourselves, when the temple was filled with the faithful, all ascribing to the Lord the glory due his name, never too busy with the little things to avoid the big things of God, ready to live out their baptisms, because giving glory to God was their most important response to what the Lord had done and would do to clean up their mess.
God’s people would go through times when they could not all gather in the temple due to things beyond their control. And here we are facing a time when we are not all able to come together in worship, not able to do this one thing, this one joy, that belongs to us all. And the sad thing is, even in the best of times, some evade it.
This is what concerned an early church teacher, Basil the Great, as he read this psalm. He thought of people who refuse to heed the voice of the Lord because they don’t want to hear the requirement. The refuse to cry, “Glory!” because they turn attention to themselves and drown out the teaching of the Spirit. But know this: God does not need our glory, but wishes us to know the Lord’s glory. That is why the voice of the Lord ripped through the heavens to be heard over the waters of the Jordan: to show us the God of glory in the Son; the enthroned Lord, adorned in splendor, choosing to walk with us through the storms of life. That is why we all cry, “Glory!”
Curiously, the word in the New Testament for “glory” originally meant “opinion”. But as the early church read scriptures like Psalm 29, they were so strengthened by their experience of God’s power and presence that they transformed the word. Ascribing to the Lord the glory due his name was not exercising an opinion, but reality – as real as thunder and lightning.
As we face a new year with new challenges – already we have seen unrest and violence, and the virus continues – we yearn for strength and peace. This psalm shows us that, for the faithful, worship that gives glory to God isn’t just ritual filled with lofty liturgy, it is our testimony to the reality of God’s power and majesty in the world.
So, when people say our faith is just our opinion, we cry, “Glory!” When people say we Christians are weak or naïve in the ways of the world, we cry, “Glory!” When they call us names and label us because of our convictions, we cry, “Glory!” When bad things happen, and while others are wringing their hands, we cry “Glory!” because we see the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. He gives strength to his people; He blesses us with a peace that transcends all understanding, but as real as thunder and lightning, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus through every challenge and trial. So, let us all cry, “Glory!”