The final say and psalm 29
1 Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirionlike a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.
The pomp and circumstance in ancient Rome have been depicted in such movies as the Gladiator.
In the era, Rome's glory emanates throughout all the nearby and well know regions of the world and they exerted power, influence and wealth on yonder including into places like Africa which was a vacation spot for many of the Romans.
As historians cite, there was a little bit of revelry, a little bit of lack of centering on any one thing within ancient Rome and to a degree a lack of a moral compass among other things.
But the big decisions, and in many cases the final decisions rested in the lap of the emperor of Rome for better and sometimes worse.
But the concept of the Empower brings home that idea that still resonates that the buck stops here.
In today's world, no matter how well we have it, there is always going to at least be the matter of confusion and uncertainty including things such as what does my personal future hold, will I get to live my goals and dreams and how can I get to be happy and try and stay in that happy place.
A lot is up in the air and a matter of conjecture. Recently there was another Hollywood movie called Up in the Air which dealt with the modern travails of dedicated workers losing jobs where they locked in hour wise and this becomes a bit hit in that their march is stopped cold and the stepping stones to somewhere and something else are quite uncertain.
Verse 2 in this psalm brings about the word splendor, something we think of in the leading say countries or cities of the world, such as which Rome was in its heyday in antiquity.
In this verse there is the mention of heavenly beings, beings that must include angels and the like, at the service of the great Lord. They themselves are endowed with great power and might, even as say the heads of factions of Rome might have been endowed with power that could resonate widely.
But in the end, everything points to the Lord and his voice, even as in most cases, it was the buck stops here in ancient Rome with the emperor having final say.
In this psalm is says the voice of the Lord thunders over the mighty waters and shakes the desert, two quite different scenes.
In the gospels, Jesus calmed the storm, giving final say on the conditions while he and the disciples were in the boat.
The open seas are obviously uncontrollable from man's point of view in what they might do even today.
Yet any direction the seas take, the Lord's voice will have final say.
The final verses of this psalm personalize its meaning.
Verse 11 says, "11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.
The meaning of this psalm with verse 11 brings it to individuals who are considered "his people".
The key then is to qualify as being amongst his people, which includes a citizenry of a heavenly realm included in this psalm in the opening verses.
The Bible and its writings throughout gives word as to what is involved in this qualification process.
While this psalm is talking about the vast power of the Lord, in the heavens and on the earth and in controlling nature by his voice, or say, he also has the gifts and blessings of strength and peace that he gives to his people.
Throughout the verses of this psalm the voice of the Lord motions towards finality.
There is evidence of the authorship of the Lord throughout the events as they unfold continually.
Verse 9 says,
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
In someone's personal sphere, there may be twists and turns, and some things may be stripped away, but the motions involved move towards a finality that is of the Lord, and even though it might appear that the Lord's ways are not of a straight line to and fro, the say of the Lord is still operational despite the appearance of twists and turns including in the realms of the prayer relationship.
Verse 8 says,
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
The desert metaphor is scene elsewhere in the psalm and in the Bible and it is verse scene as a being bereft spiritually and from that desert there is the call back to the presence of the Lord.
But people can really be experiencing desert like conditions in some many ways, such as experiencing loneliness, isolation, loss of fond dreams and hopes, unable to connect with talents and gifts, and material lack as well is scene across the landscape.
Many situations can be seen as "desert like" in the context of this psalm.
But the Lord is there, to "shake" the deserts in your life, no matter how formidable they might be, the say of the Lord overrules them and shakes things up for you as you follow the lead of the voice of the spirit in prayer, even from your own desert like conditions.
Things might shake around in the desert place of your troubles, but the leading of the Lord will move into realms that are along the lines of his final say.
You think of how many people plays the lottery, hoping to win millions and finding the means to a possible lifestyle that this money sometimes represents.
In a sense they are looking for a flash and hoping that lightening will strike in a positive way.
Verse 7 says,
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
In the limitless ways that the Lord may work for someone, this can happen, an answer, or gift that is like a flash, that comes about with a suddenness that is like lightening striking for good.
In the gospel of Mark, the word immediate is used about 40 times, this relates to this verse in that the answer or gift is immediately there and an example would be an immediate healing to a long standing disease.
Verse 6 says,
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirionlike a young wild ox.
Personalizing this verse, this refers to the give of enabling.
That you can do this or that is an enabling gift of the Lord. In that context prayer and its possible power, and the ability to go to prayer for yourself and others, is an enabling gift of the Lord, and the leaping means that he gives you the ability and some free reign with this ability as symbolized with the young and also free ranging ox.
You can pray, and contemplate and form your own prayers as with other gifts such as painting or speaking where you can control and paint your picture in freedom.
But ultimately it is the enable presence of the Lord that gets you on this table of affairs in the first place.
Verse 5 says,
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon
The Lord if he so chooses can break up any situation, whether it is a party or anything else.
And this voice reiterates into the idea of the final say, if the Lord says otherwise that will be the case.
Part of the watch of prayer and meditation is the watch for the Lord's final say.
Even though the cedars were majestic and long standing and championed the forests, and symbolic of a stronghold in nature, the Lord may choose to change that around as well.
What this might be relating to in today's era might be your own personal buildup, which for you can be like the cedar, something you are totally hanging your hat on, or are totally and mindfully pursuing but indeed the Lord may have other ideas and it is good and useful to check at the outset and intermittently as you go along as to whether the Lord wants you to continue on this path as it ultimately all come to naught if the Lord is not behind you with this, and supporting you as he may of his choosing break it up and let it go to the wayside.
Examples might be carefully constructed career paths than suddenly implode, and all that time and effort goes into the seas.
It all amounts to someone following their theory as to how to get from point A to B, a theory that should also be double checked with the Lord all the way through, in case something like this is actually going to happen, where it will be broken up just as the cedars of Lebanon which were seemingly unimpeachable, were.
The personal applications to this psalm is that there will be twists and turns and the seas will show many faces, but the ultimate say is the voice of the Lord finally thundering over the waters.
You would prefer in your case that the voice of the Lord would always be for the better and it should be according to the final verse if you can get and stay within the outline of "his people".
And it can be heartening for those who are in the desert like conditions in any way, whether it be with relationships, finances, national affairs, personal interests and so on, that you can still pray and beseech the Lord right from this desert and the Lord may have a say contrary to this desert you are experiencing as he shakes even the mighty desert of Kadesh, and can shake any thing that is going adeptly wrong in your life and bring about a renewal according to his blessings and peace for you.
Questions and Answers
A lot of people out there are facing real lack in some degree, and need a miracle. Even the sudden appearance of needed rain can qualify as the miracle. As with the miracle of the loaves, there will be left over effects to insure abundance. It is also important to see your need in the context of everyone else who has a similar need for a miracle and to think of the crowd out there as the miracle extends to everyone.
While this verse from the Isaiah speaks of real time miracles in the desert, in some form or another all of us will face desert like experiences, whether spiritually, relationally, physically or otherwise and miracles can be found right there and then, from the might hand of the Lord which reaches into any situation even those that can begin to obtain elements of despair and lost hope.
The parable of the Pharisee and tax collector shows both as just having entered the temple to prayer and being both physically and spiritually at the entrance way to prayer. The parable illustrates what to do and what not to do when metaphorically standing at the doors of prayer as an individual attempting to heed the call of the voice of the Lord coming from the other side of the door to be opened by the individual praying soul.
Everybody is subject to the possibility of troubles In the book of James it says that he or she who is in trouble should themselves pray. In the case of Joseph of Genesis, it appears due to to the placement of his troubles, he did not have spiritual support of others and was left to fend for himself in prayer within his troubles. His story shows that he kept an outer focus towards fellow prisoners and symbolically we should also try to keep an outer focus even while facing surmounting troubles.
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