What are you ascribing to God?

 Psalm 29:1–11 (ESV):  

1  Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, 

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 

2  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; 

worship the Lord in the splendour of holiness. 

3  The voice of the Lord is over the waters; 

the God of glory thunders, 

the Lord, over many waters. 

4  The voice of the Lord is powerful; 

the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 

5  The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; 

the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 

6  He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, 

and Sirion like a young wild ox. 

7  The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 

8  The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; 

the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 

9  The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth 

and strips the forests bare, 

and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” 

10  The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; 

the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 

11  May the Lord give strength to his people! 

May the Lord bless his people with peace! 

This psalm is full of repetition, so there are several things that are emphasised. Firstly, of utmost importance is the fact that this poem is about ‘the Lord’. David repeats this 18 times throughout this psalm, so there is no excuse to not know whom it is about! David is calling all heaven and Earth to acknowledge the goodness, beauty, Lordship and strength of God and praise Him because of who He is. He calls us to ‘Ascribe to the Lord’ glory and strength. Ascribe is not a word we commonly use, but it means to assign or credit. So David is urging that God should be acknowledged with honour and given credit for His power. David calls upon not only humans to recognise this, but also the heavenly beings. So great is God’s majesty and strength, that all of creation should be called to marvel at it. From the Heavens to the Earth and everything in-between, God deserves credit and respect. 

God displays this glory and strength that he should be ascribed  simply through His voice! ‘The voice of the Lord’ is enough for God to show His might and majesty - isn’t that incredible?! This psalm shows that through His voice God commands; water, thunder, flames, shaking, cities, the environment and birth. God’s voice can break, strip and build things. Just by His word, God can do all this - is that not terrifying and awesome at the same time? What God speaks happens. He has authority, power and control over every situation and He can and does speak through them. What do you hear Him saying in the stillness, and in the storm? Are you listening out for ‘The voice of the Lord’ in your circumstances and through the nature and environment around you? The voice of the Lord can be heard in heaven and on Earth in the day to day - are you listening out for it? 

Not only should God be worshipped for His glory, strength and the beauty and power of His voice, but also because, ‘The Lord sits enthroned’. God remains seated in authority and power and never takes His eye off the ball. He is the one who speaks things into being and reigns over all heaven and all Earth, no matter the circumstances. If you are experiencing a storm or the still, God is still in authority and is speaking. He is still in command, He is still King. 

So today;

What are attributes can you ascribe to God?

How can you credit God with the glory and honour He deserves today?

Listen out for God’s voice - what is He saying to you?

Recognise God is still king - how does that give you peace and strength?