July 20, 2019
Worship in
WORD
| 
  Psalm 29                          A psalm of David. 
29 Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty
  ones, 
ascribe to the Lord glory and
  strength.  
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory
  due his name; 
worship the Lord in the splendor
  of his holiness.  
3 The voice of the Lord is over
  the waters; 
the God of glory thunders, 
the Lord thunders over the
  mighty waters.  
4 The voice of the Lord is
  powerful; 
the voice of the Lord is
  majestic.  
5 The voice of the Lord breaks
  the cedars; 
the Lord breaks in pieces the
  cedars of Lebanon.  
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a
  calf, 
Sirion like a young wild ox.  
7 The voice of the Lord strikes 
with flashes of lightning.  
8 The voice of the Lord shakes
  the desert; 
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
   
9 The voice of the Lord twists
  the oaks  
and strips the forests bare. 
And in his temple all cry,
  "Glory!"  
10 The Lord sits enthroned over
  the flood; 
the Lord is enthroned as King
  forever.  
11 The Lord gives strength to
  his people; 
the Lord blesses his people with
  peace.  
NIV (’84) | 
  Psalm 29                              A psalm of David. 
29 1 Honor the Lord, you
  heavenly beings; 
honor the Lord for his glory and
  strength. 
2 Honor the Lord for the glory
  of his name. 
Worship the Lord in the splendor
  of his holiness. 
3 The voice of the Lord echoes
  above the sea. 
The God of glory thunders. 
The Lord thunders over the
  mighty sea. 
4 The voice of the Lord is
  powerful; 
the voice of the Lord is
  majestic. 
5 The voice of the Lord splits
  the mighty cedars; 
the Lord shatters the cedars of
  Lebanon. 
6 He makes Lebanon's mountains
  skip like a calf; 
he makes Mount Hermon leap like
  a young wild ox. 
7 The voice of the Lord strikes 
with bolts of lightning. 
8 The voice of the Lord makes
  the barren wilderness quake; 
the Lord shakes the wilderness
  of Kadesh. 
9 The voice of the Lord twists
  mighty oaks 
and strips the forests bare. 
In his Temple everyone shouts,
  "Glory!" 
10 The Lord rules over the
  floodwaters. 
The Lord reigns as king forever. 
11 The Lord gives his people
  strength. 
The Lord blesses them with
  peace. 
, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale
  Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights
  reserved_. | 
| 
Psalm 29                              A Psalm of David. 
29 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. 
KJV | 
 Psalm 29                   Ascribe to the Lord  Glory 
                           
                   A Psalm of
  David. 
29 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!  
ESV | 
I. Splendor – vv. 1-2
II. Storm – vv. 3-9
III. Sovereignty – v. 10
IV. Stillness – v. 11
Storm
We
move on to the second portion of the Psalm, the one I entitled “Storm.” I do
not feel that I covered everything I could have under the heading of
“Splendor.” Yet, I move on and realize that the splendor has not ceased, nor
the thought of holiness. Only the scenery has changed. We have moved from the
supernatural to the natural realm, and yet God is still on the throne. The
immediate audiences are the nations and nature. However, as I have said before,
the application of the truths of this psalm is for us, His people, and beyond
us to all of creation. We are the penultimate*
object of this psalm, as well as our wellbeing. More on what I mean by this
last statement in a minute.
Let
me pause and defend my argument that, while the audience addressed literally in
most of the psalm does not on the surface seem to be us, at a deeper level it
has everything to do with us – God’s people, and ultimately with God Himself. I
say this based on how Paul approaches a passage in the OT that on the surface
does not seem to have anything to do with us. Yet he finds just such an application.
9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more?1 Cor 9:9-12 NIV
Paul
takes this passage in which the object is an ox and tells us that the point of
this Scripture really applies to us. 
Therefore, I propose that, while the audience addressed are mainly
heavenly, and within the sphere of nature, penultimately it is directed towards
us. 
That
leads me to explain what I mean when I said, “We are the penultimate* object of this psalm, as well as our wellbeing.”
Many today wish to be the ultimate object of God’s focus. They will tend to see
and emphasize themselves in this psalm, and thus, they will give a superfluous reading
of the first 10 verses and skip right to the last verse. They may give lip
service to the glory of God but linger over the promises in verse 11. Yet who is the main object of this psalm? God is! He is the ultimate object; we are the
penultimate. His glory is the ultimate goal, our wellbeing His penultimate,
which displays His glory. We shall see these truths unfold before us as we
travel through this psalm.
* Penultimate is a derived term of ultimate. Ultimate is a related term of penultimate.
As adjectives the difference between ultimate and penultimate is that ultimate is final; last in a series while penultimate is (formal|literary|or|scholarly) coming next-to-last in a sequence.
As nouns the difference between ultimate and penultimate is that ultimate is the most basic or fundamental of a set of things while penultimate is a next-to-last thing.https://wikidiff.com/ultimate/penultimate
Worship in Witness:
I confess that I too wrestle
with this. That is, my struggle with the common malady that has infected many
in the church today. I say “today,” but if we pause and ponder, we will realize
that from the fall to the final days of this age it is a sin that has affected us
all to some extent. Our propensity to make us the consuming focus of our existence,
and God’s as well. I fight with this every day whether I am aware of it or not.
It is probably the driving force behind what I confessed in a previous blog
about my inability to enter into the awe which David felt when writing this
psalm.  There, I had spoken of “fatigue,
stress, worry, and the pull of worldly pleasures” as being the prime suspects,
but at a deeper level, the sin of self-centeredness and self-absorption are
ultimately at the bottom of all this. Humanity in its fallen status is
basically anthropocentric, even when it worships any deity of its own making.
The people of God are not exempt from this temptation. Our study of God’s word,
as well as our worship, can be more egocentric than theocentric.
Me, Myself, and I?
Is life all about me,
Not the glorious Trinity?
To live only for myself,
My wealth, my health,
The ego, the self, and I?
No! But for God Most High!
So let me live for Thee,
And not my own vanity
 – Amen
Worship
in Song:  Less of Me, More of You by Brandon Holt
My heart's desire is to be
close to You
Nothing more to say, nothing
more left to do
So quench this thirsty soul
And take complete control
Until there's less of me and
more of You
More of Your power, more of Your
glory
More of Your righteousness
And holiness in my life
More of Your kindness
More of Your Spirit Lord
My heart's desire is less of me
more of You
My heart's desire is to be
close to You
Nothing more to say, noting
more left to do
So quench this thirsty soul
And take complete control
Until there's less of me and
more of You
More of Your power, more of Your
glory
More of Your righteousness
And holiness in my life
More of Your kindness
More of Your Spirit Lord
My heart's desire is less of me
more of You
I give my life
I give my soul
I am Yours
Take control
Fully i surrender
Everything that i am
I place my life in Your hands
Fully i surrender to more of Your
power
More of Your glory
More of Your righteousness
And holiness in my life
More of Your kindness
More of Your Spirit Lord
My heart's desire is less of me
and more of Your power
More of Your glory, more of Your
righteousness and holiness in my life
More of Your kindness more of Your
Spirit Lord
My heart's desire is less of me
and more of You
My heart's desire is less of me
and more of You

 

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