1 <A Psalm. Of David.> Give to the Lord, you sons of the gods, give to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Give to the Lord the full glory of his name; give him worship in holy robes.
3 The voice of the Lord is on the waters: the God of glory is thundering, the Lord is on the great waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is full of power; the voice of the Lord has a noble sound.
5 By the voice of the Lord are the cedar-trees broken, even the cedars of Lebanon are broken by the Lord.
6 He makes them go jumping about like a young ox; Lebanon and Sirion like a young mountain ox.
7 At the voice of the Lord flames of fire are seen.
8 At the voice of the Lord there is a shaking in the waste land, even a shaking in the waste land of Kadesh.
9 At the voice of the Lord the roes give birth, the leaves are taken from the trees: in his Temple everything says, Glory.
10 The Lord had his seat as king when the waters came on the earth; the Lord is seated as king for ever.
11 The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will give his people the blessing of peace.
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Commentary on Psalms 29 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 29
Ps 29:1-11. Trust in God is encouraged by the celebration of His mighty power as illustrated in His dominion over the natural world, in some of its most terrible and wonderful exhibitions.
1. Give—or, "ascribe" (De 32:3).
mighty—or, "sons of the mighty" (Ps 89:6). Heavenly beings, as angels.
2. name—as (Ps 5:11; 8:1).
beauty of holiness—the loveliness of a spiritual worship, of which the perceptible beauty of the sanctuary worship was but a type.
3. The voice of the Lord—audible exhibition of His power in the tempest, of which thunder is a specimen, but not the uniform or sole example.
the waters—the clouds or vapors (Ps 18:11; Jer 10:13).
4. powerful … majesty—literally, "in power, in majesty."
5, 6. The tall and large cedars, especially of Lebanon, are shivered, utterly broken. The waving of the mountain forests before the wind is expressed by the figure of skipping or leaping.
7. divideth—literally, "hews off." The lightning, like flakes and splinters hewed from stone or wood, flies through the air.
8. the wilderness—especially Kadesh, south of Judea, is selected as another scene of this display of divine power, as a vast and desolate region impresses the mind, like mountains, with images of grandeur.
9. Terror-stricken animals and denuded forests close the illustration. In view of this scene of awful sublimity, God's worshippers respond to the call of Ps 29:2, and speak or cry, "Glory!" By "temple," or "palace" (God's residence, Ps 5:7), may here be meant heaven, or the whole frame of nature, as the angels are called on for praise.
10, 11. Over this terrible raging of the elements God is enthroned, directing and restraining by sovereign power; and hence the comfort of His people. "This awful God is ours, our Father and our Love."