I have been meditating on Psalm 29 lately, and I invite you to do so as well:
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
(Ps. 29:1–11 ESV)
The voice of God is powerful and peace-giving. He is enthroned over all things, and He rules the heavens and the earth with His voice. Nothing can escape the power of His voice. Nothing can rival the power of His Word.
Through the power of His Word, God blesses His people. Through the power of His Word, God makes people from all nations to be His own.
This Lent, as you receive His Word, God is giving you strength and blessing you with peace. As you proclaim His Word to others, God Himself is working powerfully, which causes even the heavenly beings to praise Him: “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength” (Ps. 29:1). And we on earth join them, crying, “Glory!”
What a comfort it is to know our mighty Lord and Savior, His wilderness-shaking voice, and His tender mercies. What a comfort to know that He who set aside His glory and strength to endure the cross for us has now been enthroned as king forever!
In Christ’s love,
Thomas J. Egger
President