THE VOICE OF THE LORD

Before looking at our metaphor, perhaps we should recognize that we feel more comfortable when God comes to us in a still, small voice, 1 Kgs. 19. 12. However, God may raise His voice when necessary. To read that ‘the God of glory thunders’ may unnerve us. After all, a solid clap of thunder can scare the life out of us. The truth is that God does not try to frighten us. Note how the Psalm begins and ends with clear reference to God’s strength. In the body of the poem there is a significant phrase, ‘The voice of the Lord is powerful’. Pagan deities boasted of their sham strength. David reminds us that true strength belongs to God alone. And He uses it wisely.

Pharaoh’s determination to keep the Israelites in perpetual slavery was frustrated when God intervened in the natural order. He opened the Red Sea so His people could move forward and by closing that body of water He destroyed their enemies. Daniel’s friends walked through the fire in the furnace that had been heated seven times higher than usual and were not even singed. In the lions’ den, the lions surrounded Daniel in silence. When God raises His voice, the noise shatters the cedars of Leba­non and the mountains of Lebanon and Hermon are greatly startled like a confused young calf or a disoriented young ox, v. 6; other translations may be helpful here.

The most astounding example of God’s strength in the natu­ral order is displayed in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Paul employs four outstanding nouns in the Greek language for energy and then modifies them with an exceptionally powerful adjective, Eph. 1. 19, 20. He reminds us that we are the intended destination of this overwhelming display of divine energy that has already been seen in the resurrection of our Lord.

No wonder David begins this Psalm, writing, ‘Give unto the Lord. glory and strength’ and he ends the poem stating, ‘The Lord will give strength unto His people’. And He does! How else can we explain, for example, Paul’s survival through thirty years of almost continuous, brutal, fierce persecution? We remember that God is both the God of history and the God of the created order. And, when necessary, He can raise His voice!