I recorded this in my office with my daughter, Elaine. Her husband, Asher Pope took the video. We will be using this as our Psalm of the month at Christ Covenant Church through November. Below you can find a lead sheet, the video, and my introduction to the psalm.
Introduction to Psalm 29
Psalm 29 is a call, a command, and a convincing argument. It’s a call to worship that intends to set God apart from all others. It’s a command to the heavenly beings to ‘give’ or ascribe glory to the LORD. It’s also a convincing description or argument as to why glory is due him.
One of the first things you may notice when reading through the psalm is all the repeated phrases. ‘Ascribe’ (or give) is repeated three times and ‘voice’ is repeated seven times. All of this repetition is intended to do one thing — to overwhelm the singer with the power and majesty of God. Even heavenly beings cannot compare to him. His strength, holiness, power and majesty is on display in thunder, floods, fire, forests, and mighty beasts. And, if we begin to think there is a place to get away from this God, we learn that he can break apart the wilderness with an earthquake that will shake even the loneliest of places. John Calvin makes the point that even those who do not fear God fear his storms.
One sidenote about Hebrew poetry: The footnotes in our Bibles mention that if the phrase in vs. 9 translated “makes the deer give birth” is said with different vocalization, it can mean “makes the oaks to shake.” That seems to fit with the rest of the psalm, but either way the point is not missed: the Lord is God over all creation.
The point is clear. The argument is convincing. We are compelled to give the Lord what he is due: fear, praise, honor, glory, etc. It is fitting, then, to close with a request for strength and peace from this God of strength and power, for he alone and give it.
The music attempts to do several things. First, it mirrors the repeated phrasing in the psalm. Second, the rolling nature of the music hints at the thunder of the air and the waves of water. Third, as each refrain closes it basks in the splendor of holiness and settles in peace.
29:1-2 serve as the refrain after each verse.
29:3-4 is found in vs. 1
29:5-6 is found in vs. 2
29:7-9 is found in vs. 3
The song does not overtly use 29:10 as that theme is found in the refrain several times. My approach was to simply add an optional ending from vs. 11. The phrase, “the Lord give his people peace” can be sung in place of “in beauty of holiness” at the end of the song.
Finally, I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with great song leaders and our Sunday School staff to prepare our children to introduce this song. May the Lord set his word in our hearts, that we might respond to the call and command to ascribe glory to our Lord.