Welcome to this look at the Psalms for each Sunday from the Episcopal Church lectionary. Today is the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. The Psalm is number 29 which is full of images of God in nature and acting through nature. We’re looking at the New Revised Standard (NRSV) and Message (MSG) versions of the Psalm because sometimes different wording can show us something we never noticed. For instance, the first two stanzas of the psalm are very different. The NRSV translation calls on all to ‘ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.’ The MSG says gods and angels shout encore and we are called to ‘stand at attention’ and ‘dress your best to honor him.’
The psalm calls us to join in the heavens and the earth in
glorifying and honoring God. As the psalm proceeds, we see God upon the waters,
in the thunder. God is smashing the trees and making mountains skip. These are
powerful images of storms and earthquakes. One of my favorite lines is that ‘the
voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire’ or in the MSG ‘God’s thunder spits
fire.’ Isn’t it a lovely image that God’s voice is the cause of lightening?
God also ‘sets the oak trees dancing, A wild dance, whirling;
the pelting rain strips their branches.’ In the NRSV the ‘trees writhe.’ In
this case I like the MSG better because, to me, writhing implies pain while
dance is more joyful. In either case, we are invited to join nature in praising
with “Glory!” We can do this because God is in charge, ‘enthroned above the
flood, giving blessing and peace to all.
This image from a trip to OK last year, is a reminder of God acting in and through nature, both in tempest and in peace.
Think about this psalm in relation to Jesus’ baptism by John
the Baptist. We hear that the heavens parted and the Holy Spirit descended
saying ‘you are my Beloved.’ The same God who makes the heavens, mountains, and
trees dance stood in the Jordan River and heard the Spirit say, ‘you are
Beloved.’ God is in and above the flood. The Creator and creation were one in
that moment.
God stands with us in the traumas and turmoil of our lives, too. The psalm extolls God working powerfully in nature. God works just as powerfully in our lives. That’s a good thing to remember as we continue our journey in 2023. The One who makes the mountains skip also calms the storm. The psalm ends with a great promise: ‘The Lord shall give strength to his people; the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.’
Psalm 29
|
1 Ascribe
to the Lord, you gods, * 2 Ascribe
to the Lord the glory due his Name; * 3 The voice
of the Lord is upon the waters; 4 The voice
of the Lord is a powerful voice; * 5 The voice
of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; * 7 The voice
of the Lord splits the flames of fire; 8 The voice
of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe * 9 And in
the temple of the Lord * 10 The Lord
sits enthroned above the flood; * 11 The Lord
shall give strength to his people; * |
1-2 Bravo, God, bravo! Gods and all angels shout, “Encore!”
In awe before the glory, 3 God thunders across the waters, 4 God’s thunder tympanic, 5 God’s thunder smashes cedars, 6 The mountain ranges skip like spring colts, 7-8 God’s thunder spits fire. God thunders, the wilderness
quakes; 9 God’s thunder sets the oak trees dancing 10 Above the floodwaters is God’s throne 11 God makes his people strong. |
