A psalm of David.
Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings;
honor the Lord for his glory and strength.
Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf;
he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord strikes
with bolts of lightning.
The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks
and strips the forests bare.
In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
The Lord rules over the floodwaters.
The Lord reigns as king forever.
The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace.
A strange loveI love summer thunderstorms, especially if I’m sitting in an open air shelter all by myself! I love the kind produced by a cool front coming to rescue me from stifling heat. The sights and sounds, the wind and spritz of blowing rain against my skin, the smell of fresh air pushing away the muggy air – it’s a physical and spiritual experience. Apparently David agrees.
However, I don’t know that I’d shout, “Glory!,” should I be sitting near one of those cedars when lighting split it in half. Or if the winds became ferocious enough to twist oaks, ground tremors added their amen to the mounting music, and waters began crashing over their riverbed homes. By that point I think I’d have enough sense to run for cover. I think!
Of course, David’s world attributed all these meteorological phenomenon to angry, punishing gods. David knew better. God rules quaking mountains and flooding rivers.
We know more than David. For us, the physical world has been demythologized. Thunder is neither gods nor God. It’s simply cold and hot air masses colliding. Quakes are only earth’s tectonic plates shifting.
Sadly, we know more, but we don’t know better. We easily forget, or deny, that all these natural phenomenon owe their existence to their Creator. The physics that govern a marvelous thunderstorm originated in an intelligent Mind. John called that Mind the Logos.
Eternal Logos, Word become flesh, thank you for thunderstorms. Whenever I enjoy an especially good one I will join David and remind myself of you and so many of your amazing and overwhelming qualities! - Mike Leamon
All RiseWhen you go to court you have to respect the judge or you get thrown out of court and you lose your case. Whether you like the judge or not, you stand when the judge enters the courtroom. The judge commands respect. The judge holds the power in the courtroom.
Nature demonstrates the power of God. In poetic imagery God breathes tornadoes and hurricanes. He claps out thunder and rubs lightening off his hands. His voice sends seismic waves through the mountains causing them to jump up and down chaotically. God is powerful and nature is His courtroom. God is in control.
When such a powerful presence enters the room you stand. You honor such majesty, such power, such incredible strength. In our sins we stand in fear, hoping God will not brush away like siding on a house during a tornado. In the blood of Christ we stand in celebration of our forgiveness. This awesome and fearsome God is the same God who gently leads us by still waters, the same God who holds us in the palm of his hands and carries the weak.
I am glad God is big enough to be scary. God would not be much of a refuge if He was impotent, yet like Elijah on Mt. Carmel, we can know, Our God Reigns! There is nothing He cannot conquer; there is no one who can stand against Him. Praise be to God, He is the Almighty.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation. O my soul praise Him for He is thy rock and salvation. Thank you Lord for being God over all of creation. - Dan Jones
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