Journal for Christ: The Splendor of Holiness

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July 5, 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.

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

SPLENDOR

In my last journal entry, I spoke of the privileged exaltedness that the follower of Christ has to be able to enter into the presence of God. A privilege born of grace, I say, and not an entitlement.

Today I begin to unpack what is meant by the phrase “beauty of holiness” (KJV) or “splendor of holiness” (ESV – NIV & NLT have “of his holiness), from which I get the title for the first portion of my simple outline of the Psalm. If you consult commentaries and grammars, it will yield three basic views. It either refers to God, garments, or a gathering place.

I will start from the back of the list and move to the front.

1. A Gathering Place – Some commentators believe this phrase, “beauty of holiness,” refers to the heavenly (or earthly, depending on who you think the “sons of god” are) sanctuary.

This is the view of the JFB commentary which says:

Beauty of holiness, [bhadrat qodesh]; or as margin, after the Septuagint [en aulee agia autou], Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, 'in (His) glorious sanctuary.' So Ps 96:9; 1 Chron 16:29; 2 Chron 20:21. In Ps 110:3 the plural is used, "in the beauties of holiness." Hengstenberg, etc., less probably, translate, 'in holy attire;' for in Ps 29:9, "in His temple doth everyone speak of His glory," is the response to the exhortation here, "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" - i.e., in His glorious sanctuary.
(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

2. A Garment – Many believe that this refers to the garments the heavenly beings were to wear when they worshiped the LORD. Like the attire the priests were to wear when ministering before the LORD in the earthly sanctuary (see Exodus 28), so the heavenly assemblage was to wear in the presence of God.

The BDB Hebrew Lexicon says:

OT:1927 † [hr*d*h&‎] noun feminine adornment, glory — only construct tr^d=h^‎; — 1. vd#q)Á‎þ‎h ‎holy adornment (ChePsalm), always in connection with public worship of þ‎y ‎1 Chron 16:29; 2 Chron 20:21; Ps 29:2; 96:9.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

Note that the same verses are referred to by the BDB as the JFB commentary quoted above!

The ESV margin note has “in holy attire.” NASB and its various versions have “holy array.”

Another take on this is that the “holy attire” is not to be taken literally but symbolically.

Barnes expresses this view:

The Hebrew phrase would properly mean "holy beauty." Some have supposed that it means "in holy adorning," or in such consecrated vestments as were worn by priests in the sacred services of the sanctuary, or when they came into the presence of Yahweh. So DeWette understands it. But the more probable interpretation is that which refers it to the state of the heart—the "internal" ornament-with which we should approach God—to a holy and pure state of mind-that beauty or appropriateness of the soul which consists in holiness or purity. Of this the external clothing of the priesthood was itself but an emblem, and this is that which God desires in those who approach Him in an act of worship.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

3. God – This seems to be the view of the NIV and the NLT, though the NIV margin allows that it might be translated “with the splendor of” holiness.

Joseph Benson (A contemporary of John Wesley and leader in the Methodist/Wesleyan movement) delineates three possible views on this passage, the first being that it refers to God (the others are some version of the previously mentioned views above).

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness — In worshipping the Lord we ought to have an eye to his beauty; to adore him, not only as infinitely awful, and therefore to be feared above all beings, but as infinitely amiable, and therefore to be loved and delighted in above all; especially we must have an eye to the beauty of his holiness, which the angels particularly celebrate in their praises, Revelation 4:8.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/psalms/29.htm

Worship in Witness (This was originally a part of the section above, but as I reread what I had written, and as I pondered what I might say in this portion of my journal, it seemed appropriate that I should separate this portion as a fitting meditation on what I had said above.)

Having said all this, I think the crucial point – whether we take it to mean God, garment, or gathering place – is to emphasize the thought of holiness.

If it refers to God’s holy presence, then our worship should, by inference, be clothed in holiness (it definitely does not refer to merely “wearing our Sunday best”). Our life is a sacrifice of worship (Rom. 12:1-2), and lived coram Deo^* (Psalm 139), and should not be confined to the formal act of corporate worship or private worship times, but to every breath we breathe, every thought we think, and every step we take.

If it refers to garments, they are only holy by God’s design, who is infinitely holy. He is the one who designed the priests clothing and He is the One who has clothed us in righteousness (Isaiah 61:10; Rev. 19:8. As regenerated people of God, we are...

to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on^** the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Eph 4:22b-24 NIV

The new self, which is designed to be like God who is righteous and holy.

If it refers to the sanctuary, then it is only holy because of the One who dwells there is infinitely holy. The Old Testament saints worshipped at a central place called the Tent of Meeting or Tabernacle, and later at the Temple where the LORD chose to reveal His special presence. However, following Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, we no longer worship in Him that way (John 4:23), for the church is now the Temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16) and we are its priest (1 Peter 2:9). We no longer worship in the outward splendorous garment of the priest but the inward “splendor of holiness.” For we are called “to be holy as He is holy” (Lev 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7 - 1 Peter 1:16; see also 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:4; 1 Peter 1:15). This too is ultimately a work of God (Heb. 10:14; see also Romans 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18).

However, make no mistake here. While holiness may begin on the inside, it doesn’t stay there. It works its way out into our lives. First, it is to be seen more in acts than attire (deeds not duds 😊), though what we wear may reflect our attitude towards living a holy life. Are our clothes worn to attract lustful attention or self-aggrandizement? Secondly, it is also to be seen more in works than in words (for the former “speaks louder than” the latter). If our words don’t match our actions, and if we say all the right things and talk of loving others through words and deeds, but do not exemplify them in our lives, then we are nothing more than a hypocrite and a fraud. Finally, as the Lord works out His holiness through us, it must not terminate on ourselves – that is, to receive the glory ourselves, but on God – to whom all the glory belongs. Our Lord made this abundantly clear when He said,

¹⁴ "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matt 5:14-16 NIV

I will conclude with a quote from the venerable commentator John Gill:

[worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness] the Lord is only to be worshipped, and not any creature, angels or men; not Jehovah the Father only, who is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth; but the Son of God, and the Holy Ghost also, being of the same nature, and possessed of the same perfections; and that with both internal and external worship; and in true holiness, in which there is a real beauty: holiness is the beauty of God himself, he is glorious in it; it is the beauty of angels, it makes them so glorious as they are; and it is the beauty of saints, it is what makes them like unto Christ, and by which they are partakers of the divine nature; and in the exercise of holy graces, and in the discharge of holy duties, should they worship the Lord; unless this is to be understood of the place of worship, the sanctuary, or holy place in the tabernacle; or rather the church of God, which holiness becomes; but the former sense seems best.

(from John Gill's Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

^* “This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God. To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.”

Read the entire article on the meaning and implications of this phrase @ https://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-does-coram-deo-mean/

^**The Greek word here is often used of putting on clothes

Worship in Song: Revive Us, O Lord by Steve Camp

We have turned from Your ways

Lord, Your fruit we've ceased to bear

We lack the power

We once knew in our prayers

The gentle voice of heaven

We ceased to fear and know

The fact that He has risen

No longer stirs our soul

Revive us, O Lord

And cleanse us from our impurities

And make us holy

Hear our cry and revive us, O Lord!

Though we've been unfaithful

We have never been disowned

The spirit that raised Christ from the dead

Compels us to His throne!

Revive us, O Lord

And cleanse us from our impurities

And make us holy

Hear our cry and revive us, O Lord!

Revive us, O Lord

Oh, revive us, O Lord

And cleanse us from our impurities

And make us holy

Hear our cry and revive us, O Lord!

Revive us, O Lord

Oh, revive us, O Lord

And cleanse us from our impurities

And make us holy

Hear our cry and revive us, O Lord!

Lyrics: https://lyrics.fandom.com/wiki/Steve_Camp:Revive_Us,_O_Lord

Video: (actually this is just an audio recording) https://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/revive-us-o-lord-steve-camp

Journal for Christ

Friday, July 5, 2019

The Splendor of Holiness

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