The Treasury of David

The Treasury of David is one of several C.H. Spurgeon books that are in the public domain. If you propose to study the Psalms, I suggest you download this as a companion for your other references.

Psalm 29

Title. A Psalm of David. The title affords us no information beyond the fact that David is the author of this sublime song.

Subject. It seems to be the general opinion of modern annotators, that this Psalm is meant to express the glory of God as heard in the pealing thunder, and seen in the equinoctial tornado. Just as the eighth Psalm is to be read by moonlight, when the stars are bright, as the nineteenth needs the rays of the rising sun to bring out its beauty, so this can be best rehearsed beneath the black wing of tempest, by the glare of the lightning, or amid that dubious dusk which heralds the war of elements. The verses march to the tune of thunderbolts. God is everywhere conspicuous, and all the earth is hushed by the majesty of his presence. The word of God in the law and gospel is here also depicted in its majesty of power. True ministers are sons of thunder, and the voice of God in Christ Jesus is full of majesty. Thus we have God’s works and God’s word joined together: let no man put them asunder by a false idea that theology and science can by any possibility oppose each other. We may, perhaps, by a prophetic glance, behold in this Psalm the dread tempests of the latter days, and the security of the elect people.

Division. The first two verses are a call to adoration. From Psalms 29:3-10 the path of the tempest is traced, the attributes of God’s word are rehearsed, and God magnified in all the terrible grandeur of his power; and the last verse sweetly closes the scene with the assurance that the omnipotent Jehovah will give both strength and peace to his people. Let heaven and earth pass away, the Lord will surely bless his people.
The Treasury of David.

Psalm 29:1-11 (KJV)
¹  Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
²  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
³  The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon 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 breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶  He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
⁷  The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
⁸  The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
⁹  The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
¹⁰  The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
¹¹  The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

Psalm 29:7

Exposition

The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. As when sparks fly from the anvil by blows of a ponderous hammer, so the lightning attends the thundering strokes of Jehovah.

“At first heard solemn over the verge of heaven,

The tempest growls; but as it nearer comes,

And rolls its awful burden on the wind,

The lightnings flash a larger curve, and more

The noise astounds: till overhead a sheet

Of livid flame discloses wide; then shuts

And opens wider; shuts and opens still

Expansive, wrapping ether in a blaze.”

The thunder seems to divide one flash from another, interposing its deepening roar between the flash which precedes it and the next. That the flashes are truly flames of fire is witnessed by their frequently falling upon houses, churches, etc., and wrapping them in a blaze. How easily could the Lord destroy his rebellious creatures with his hot thunderbolts! how gracious is the hand which spares such great offenders, when to crush them would be so easy!

Flames of fire attend the voice of God in the gospel, illuminating and melting the hearts of men: by those he consumes our lusts and kindles in us a holy flame of ever aspiring love and holiness. Pentecost is a suggestive commentary upon this verse.

Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings

Ver. 3-10. The Lord, etc. See Psalms on “Psalms 29:3“ for further information.

Ver. 3-10. See Psalms on “Psalms 29:3“ for further information.

See Psalms on “Psalms 29:3“ for further information.

The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. By the power of God, the “flames of fire” are “divided” and sent abroad from the clouds upon the earth, in the terrible form of lightning, that sharp and glittering sword of the Almighty, which no substance can withstand. The same power of God goeth forth by his word, “quick and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword.” penetrating, melting, enlightening, and inflaming the hearts of men, Acts 2:3 Hebrews 4:12. George Horne.

The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord is here said to divide the flames; literally, to hew out flames, (λατομεῖν φλόγας). The Septuagint has (διακόπτει φλόγα πυρός). In the words of Gensenius, “The voice of Jehovah cutteth out flames of fire,” i.e., “sendeth out divided flames of fire.” This is (as Theodoret has observed) very descriptive of the divine action at Pentecost, sending forth divided flames, like “tela trisulca,” in the tongues of fire which were divided off from one heavenly source or fountain of flame, and sat upon the heads of the apostles, and which filled them with the fire of holy zeal and love. Christopher Wordsworth.

Divideth the flames of fire. Margin, cutteth out. The Hebrew word (‏חָצַב‎) khatzab means properly to cut, to hew, to hew out; as for example, stones. The allusion here is undoubtedly to lightning; and the image is either that it seems to be cut out, or cut into tongues and streaks—or, more probably, that the clouds seem to be cut or hewed, so as to make openings or paths for the lightning. The eye is evidently fixed on the clouds, and on the sudden flash of lightning, as if the clouds has been cleaved or opened for the passage of it. The idea of the psalmist is, that the “voice of the Lord,” or the thunder, seems to cleave or open the clouds for the flames of fire to play amidst the tempest.—Albert Barnes.

Hints to the Village Preacher

The fire which goes with the word. This is a wide subject.
The Treasury of David.

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