By: Gen. Jim
Voice: qôwl or qôl (Hebrew) means: to call aloud, cry out, proclaim, sing, thundering voice, yell.
Another Heb. word, qôwlâyâl, refers to the voice of JAH. JAH, as seen in Ps. 68:4, (the NKJV has YAH (Yehovah/LORD); the KJV uses JAH), means (the sacred name), “the Lord, most vehement.” Yehôvâh means “the self-existent or eternal; Jehovah, the Jewish national name of God” [Strong’s Concordance #3050, #3068]
There are other names such as yehôvâh yira (Jehovah will see); yehôvâh niccîy (Jehovah is my banner); yehôvâh tsidqênûw (Jehovah is our right); yehôvâh shâlôwm (Jehovah is peace); yehôvâh shâmmâh (Jehovah is thither); yehôwyâkîyn (Jehovah will establish); yehôwyâqîym (Jehovah will raise); yehôwyârîyb (Jehovah will contend); et al.
Psalm 29 uses the words “voice of the LORD” 7 times: YAH or JAH thunders, “The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders…” (29:3); “The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.” (29:4); “The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.” (v.5); “The voice of the LORD divides (lit., stirs up) the flames of fire.” (v.7); “The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness…” (v.8); “The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, & strips the forests bare…” (v.9).
So, the voice of the LORD thunders, is powerful, full of majesty, breaks trees, divides the flames of fire, gives birth & strips forests.
The voice of the LORD is thundering LOUD & CLEAR in this generation of wickedness, whereby the masses are deluded, demonized, deranged, demented & determined to overthrow all that is sane & sound. God’s voice, spoken by His (true) Prophets is warning the masses to REPENT & get under His protection.
In Ex. 9:23,28, & 29 we read where “the LORD sent thunder & hail, & fire” see also Job 37:4: “… a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice,” same as Ps. 29:3,4; Ps. 18:13 mentions “The LORD thundered from heaven, & the Most High uttered His voice, hailstones & coals of fire” (see 29:7); Isa. 30:30 says “The LORD will cause His glorious voice to be heard, & show… indignation of His anger & the flame of a devouring fire… & hailstones.” Vs.31 mentions “the voice of the LORD…”
What other “god” can have a voice that thunders, accompanied with hailstones & fire?
His voice – WORDS – is Powerful (Ps. 29:4), i.e. electric fluid as it were; it destroys its targets. God has always used His nature as a “weapon of mass destruction.” He controls & directs nature. Job 37:4, as mentioned above, (a.), goes on to tell us “He does not restrain them (ref. to thunders & majestic) when His voice is heard.”
Is anyone LISTENING? All these “natural disasters” befalling humankind come from the LORD. Yes, I know, some are caused by man themselves but don’t overlook the FACT God uses such to PUNISH humankind when He sees fit. Job 37:5 says “God thunders marvelously with His voice.” What do we think He says? Thunder is terrifying. Lightening also. Haven’t we all seen the destruction when a tornado has torn through a town or city? What of floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, not to mention a terrible hailstorm etc. Lightening starts fires that can burn for weeks & weeks – one strike!
Although Psalm 29:10 does not have the word “voice,” it however does continue to show forth the majesty of the LORD: “The LORD sitteth upon the flood; Yea, the LORD sitteth king forever.” We know the LORD is Spirit (He can’t sit literally upon “the flood”), but language pictures (i.e. word pictures) convey to us that He GOVERNS universal nature; whatsoever He will He does, in the heavens, in the earth, & under the earth.[note: there is something like this in Virgil’s description of Neptune appeasing the storm raised by Juno for the destruction of the fleet of AEneas].
Ps.29 ends with, “The LORD will give strength unto His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace.” There are always conditions, however, to be met in order to receive His strength & peace: we must live uprightly. We must give honor due to His name. We must repent when we sin.
The voice of the LORD is not vain & empty noises, but powerful & miraculous. One can write thousands of pages on this subject. Every time I read the Scriptures, I feel so small, so humbled. I see His powerful, yet wonderful manifestations of Jehovah, YAH/JAH; His beautiful sunrises & sunsets. I have seen His frightening storms etc.
Who are the “mighty” Ps. 29:1 refers to? Another version calls them “heavenly beings,” or “sons of gods,” which may be the storm forces themselves (?) [see Kautzsch, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, sec.124q] for expression, “sons of gods;” see Ps. 89:6 in various trans. for “sons of gods,” “sons of the mighty,” “heavenly beings,” “holy ones” – the allusion is to the celestial world peopled by angels (the holy ones, vv.5,7) & demigods – the heavenly beings, vs.6 (see also Ps. 82:1-8 where we find the word “gods” used.) Vs.6 reads, “I have said, ye are gods; & all of you are children of the Most High.” There is much debate in church la-la land over the uses of “gods” or “sons of gods.” These non-human beings had a relationship to God, but were to die like men (Ps. 82:6,7). I’ll leave it up to the “experts” to interpret all this).
Whatever or whoever Ps. 29:1 refers to, they were to “ascribe to the LORD glory & strength… give glory due to His name & to worship Him in beauty & holiness.”
What other God or god has sat enthroned over the flood (vs.10)?
It is interesting, the Hebrew word flood/mabbûwl = “deluge,” which refers elsewhere to the flood of Noah’s day (see Gen. 6:17; 9:11), but here, as scholars say, means the heavenly ocean or flood whose waters are released in the storm (see Ps. 104:3 & Gen. 7:11).
So, it makes all the difference to read nature & its violence from the fixed point that all belongs to the LORD & is obedient to His ordering. Sadly, most humans REBEL like HELL against God & His Word. Expect more terrorizing storms/acts of nature in the future… as the LORD of Hosts settles things. He will not tolerate men’s sins forever!
Just as Ps. 136:1-26 speaks of God’s “mercy” (Heb. “checed” = kindness, reproof, beauty, good deed, loving kindness, merciful, & pity” -mentioned 26 times in Ps. 136), Ps. 29:1-9 speaks of His voice. Lest we grow sluggish in our walk, Psalm 9:17 tells us that “The wicked shall be turned into HELL, & all the nations that forget God.”