The voice of the Lord

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. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, "Glory!" – Psalm 29.3-9

The first time that we read about God we read that His Spirit is hovering over the unformed heavens and earth.

But the first time we encounter God in His word, appropriately enough, we hear His voice. The first thing that we meet God we hear His voice – and God said ‘let there be light’ and  for the next week we hear the voice of the Lord over and over again speaking all of creation into existence.

Then we come to this psalm that talks about all that the voice of the Lord does

The voice of the LORD is powerful;

The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.

The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare;

God speaks – and things happen. God speaks – and things change. It is His voice that reflects His nature. His voice reflects His power.

And yet God’s voice can be that still small voice that spoke to Elijah when he was hiding in the cave in despair.

And His voice is also a voice of comfort. It is God’s voice that Adam and Eve heard in the garden as they walked with Him. The songwriter captured this in the hymn ‘I Come To the Garden Alone.’

I come to the garden alone

While the dew is still on the roses

And the voice I hear falling on my ear

The Son of God discloses.

God’s voice was indeed heard to disclose Jesus when He said ‘this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’

God’s voice – what a concept. Let’s be sure we listen for His voice. Then let’s be sure we listen TO His voice.