PSALM 29 - THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST

 

PSALM 29
10^th January 2021
THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST

This is a psalm of new orientation, appropriate to the season of new year, and to the beginnings of a liturgical new year. It is very obviously an enthronement song set at the time when a new king would be enthroned. Some scholars believe this one the oldest psalms in the Book of Psalms because it reflects aspects of Canaanite songs that were present when the Hebrews came into Palestine.

1       Ascribe to the Lord you sons of heaven:
ascribe to the Lord glory and might.

2       Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to his name:
O worship the Lord in the beauty of his holiness.

The summons to worship is addressed to ‘sons of heaven’ though the Christians appropriated this phrase to mean themselves. So the psalm came to be a prophecy about the Lord Jesus. Historically, it was about the call to worship of the supreme God by all other gods who did not have the same power as the Lord.

The chaotic images of breaking, blowing, washing and noise reflect the constructive aspects of creation because the constructs of the gods are being broken down by this powerful God. Genesis 1 shows creation as being spoken into existence. In this poem we are brought into the wonderful immediacy of creation and can see our God at work.

3       The voice of Lord is upon the waters:
the God of glory thunders, the Lord upon the great waters.

4       The voice of the Lord is mighty in operation:
the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.

5       the voice of the Lord breaks the cedar-trees:
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon-

6       He makes them skip like a calf:
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7       The voice of the Lord divides the lightning flash:
the voice of the Lord whirls the sands of the desert
the Lord whirls the desert of Kadesh

8       The voice of the Lord rends the terebinth trees
and strips bare the forests:
in his temple all say 'Glory'.

In verses 3 to 8 one is struck by the repetition of the word ‘voice’ in an active form. The voice of the Lord gets things done; it sorts out the very mountains and seas so that the creation senses and responds to the commands of the Lord. This in opposition to the words of other gods, the whole world responds to the Lord. It echoes the vision of God as experienced by Moses and Elijah in their meeting with the Lord.

The other gods watch this decisive action, and they render their verdict. The other gods watch the display of power. They assign sovereign authority to this one and none other, as they cry out ‘Glory!’.

9       The Lord sits enthroned above the water flood:
the Lord sits enthroned as a king for ever.

10    The Lord will give strength to his people:
the Lord will give to his people the blessing of peace.

When the chaos is overwhelmed and driven from the field, a blessing is appropriately given from the newly established throne by the newly recognised king. The movement from ‘glory’ to ‘peace’ is not unlike the Angel Song at Bethlehem (Luke 2:14).

This poem is one that give us hope as we see about us the chaos of uncreation that threatens our lives – out of it the hand of God is at work; ours it is to figuratively put our hands into His hand and walk with him.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly commentary on the appointed psalms.