Acknowledge the Lord – Psalm 29

A text – Psalm 29

¹ Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor.

³ The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty 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 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 causes the oaks to whirland strips the forest bare, and in his temple all say, 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!

A reflection:

Here is a psalm that pairs well with Monday’s gospel lesson. It’s the kind of praise and acknowledgement of God as the greatest god there ever was or could be that John the baptizer was calling all of Israel to sing out about their God. To acknowledge that the Lord is glorious and great and deserves worship in holy splendor, not to be ignored. To acknowledge that the Lord has the power in voice alone to break the cedars of Lebanon, to flash forth flames, and to shake the wilderness.

Because once we humans acknowledge the Lord in this way, and then get to know his son Jesus, we will be overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude that this same God loves us beyond measure and accompanies us through our lives and wants us to be in daily relationship, in prayer that is not intended to get God’s attention, as Luther said, but in prayer that puts our attention on the Lord. So let us pray in this way every day.

Let all “in his temple say, ‘Glory!’ and also “May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace.” Amen.

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for the psalms of praise and worship that describe you and your power and love. Help us remember to focus on you whenever we can, every day, so that we grow close to you and are less distracted by the things that will pass away. Amen.