The Voice of Authority
Today’s Verse:
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. ~Psalm 29:3
The president of the United States is the most powerful man on earth. He oversees the strongest economy, military, technology, and industrial corporations and entities in the world. The president will give frequent addresses to the press and the nation. His voice is one that becomes very familiar and well-known. I still think back of the various presidents that have served during my lifetime: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and now, Biden. Their voices are etched in mind as being authoritative, distinct, and defining. One voice towers over all of these voices: the voice of the Lord. Psalm 29 tells us that the voice of the Lord is powerful and full of majesty.
We see the Lord’s voice to the world.
“The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.” Water is symbolic of the people of the world. “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15). The Lord’s voice is speaking to every sinner of his need for salvation. God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. “The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” His voice thunders through the preaching of the everlasting gospel.
We see the Lord’s voice to the worthy.
“The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.” Cedars are stately, reaching into the heights of the heavens. Cedars are strong, bending, but not breaking, during storms and winds. Cedars are symbolic of God’s people, who are strong and growing in His grace. The Lord “breaketh the cedars.” He breaks us through trials and situations that make us dependent upon Him. The Lord sometimes brings us down to the level of dependent children and makes us “skip like a calf.” He brings us through flames that He divides. The Lord strengthens us in making us dependent upon Him and acknowledging His control in our life. All of God’s trials and challenges are His gifts that He uses to conform us to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We see the Lord’s voice to the wanderer.
“The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.” The wilderness pictures believers who are straying in their life. They are saved people who, instead of trusting in the Lord, go independent of the Lord and wander in the barren, desolate wilderness of the world. They spend their money for that which is not bread. The Lord makes the little deer go through difficulties, and He finds them, even in the thickest of forests. There is no place His children can hide from Him. He catches up with them to shake them and make them tremble. His goal is to bring them back to the temple for worship and His glory.
The Lord’s voice is inescapable. The Lord’s voice unmatched. The Lord’s voice reaches out to all. You can’t ignore and hide from the Lord’s voice. "Give unto the Lord glory and strength."
Have an attentive God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Numbers 23-25