Give unto the LORD the Glory Due to His Name!

(Psalm 29)

In the Old Testament, there are seven significant names of Jehovah:

1. Jehovah Jireh (Genesis 22:14) – meaning “The Lord will provide,” given when God provided a ram in place of Isaac.

2. Jehovah Rapha (Exodus 15:26) – meaning “The Lord who heals,” declared when God turned the bitter water at Marah into sweet water (cf. Psalm 103:3).

3. Jehovah Nissi (Exodus 17:15) – meaning “The Lord is my banner,” given after the victory over Amalek.

4. Jehovah Shalom (Judges 6:24) – meaning “The Lord is peace,” declared when Gideon built an altar after being called by God.

5. Jehovah Raah (Psalm 23:1) – meaning “The Lord is my shepherd” (cf. John 10:19).

6. Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 23:6) – meaning “The Lord our righteousness” (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30).

7. Jehovah Shammah (Ezekiel 48:35) – meaning “The Lord is there” (cf. Revelation 21:3).

Regarding the name of God, the Bible says:
“Do not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 18:21).

The world sees God through us, the Christians.
Therefore, when unbelievers find fault in us, they don’t merely criticize people—they also blaspheme God.
Leviticus 21:6 tells us to be holy to our God and not to profane His name.

If our thoughts and way of life are not holy before God, we are dishonoring the name of the Lord.

In the first part of Psalm 29:2, it says:
“Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name…”
How then can we give God the glory that is due to Him?
Let us consider two lessons. And as we seek to live according to them, may we also reflect on the blessings God gives to those who glorify His name, and may His grace be upon all of us.

First, those who give glory due to the name of the LORD worship Him “in the beauty of holiness.”

Look at Psalm 29:2:
“Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

Here, the phrase “in the beauty of holiness” refers to possessing a holy character (according to commentator Yoon Sun Park).
To offer worship that is fitting to God, we are required to have a fitting character—specifically, a holy character.

And how does someone with a holy character live?
As one who bears the holy name of God, he or she lives a pure life (Yoon Sun Park).

We must pursue a holy life.
We are not to conform to the world but live a separated life, receiving sanctification through the indwelling Holy Spirit, so that we may live in purity before God.

However, who can truly say,
“Though I correct every evil deed and forsake every sinful thought, I can boast that I am clean before the Lord”?
(Hymn #332, verse 4).
In the end, we have no hope apart from the blood Jesus Christ shed on the cross.

Through the precious blood of Jesus, you and I have been cleansed from sin.
It is by relying on the merit of His blood that we must approach the throne of grace and worship Him (Hebrews 4:16).

If we desire to give God the glory that is rightfully His, we must seek to live a holy life in order to offer worship that is pleasing and worthy to Him.

In the Old Testament, we see individuals who set themselves apart and dedicated themselves before God. These people were called Nazirites.
The word Nazirite comes from the Hebrew verb “nazar”, which means “to be consecrated” or “to be holy.”
The word nazar carries the meanings of being set apart, separated, dedicated, or distinguished.
In other words, Nazirites were those who made a personal decision to live a holy life and consecrated themselves before God.

We must become worshipers like the Nazirites.
Just like those who were set apart to live holy lives, we too are called to live consecrated and committed lives in this sinful world.
Therefore, we must become worshipers who take as our goal the standard of faith God gave us:
“Be holy, for I am holy.”
We must strive to resemble our holy God in the way we live.

Also, we must give the glory that is due to the name of God.
It is my hope and prayer that you and I, like the Nazirites, would make a firm decision to live holy lives—obeying and committing ourselves—so that we may truly worship God.
May we be those who give glory worthy of the name of the Lord.

Secondly, those who give glory worthy of the name of the Lord listen to His voice.

In Psalm 29:3–9, David uses the phrase “the voice of the Lord” seven times.
This is not meaningless repetition. Rather, it reflects a spiritual interpretation of the sound of thunder in nature, which David recognizes as the voice of God (according to Park Yoon Sun).

By describing the voice of God as the thunderstorm’s roar, David reveals to us the majesty and power of God’s Word.
Those who give glory due to God's name worship Him in holy attire and listen to His majestic Word.

That majestic Word is powerful (v. 4) and even breaks the cedars (v. 5).
After hearing the voice of God, David declares,
“And in His temple all cry, ‘Glory!’” (v. 9).
This refers to the praise of all the saints (according to Calvin).
All the believers who recognize God’s glory through nature cannot help but praise Him (Park Yoon Sun).

We must give God the glory that He rightfully deserves.
And if we truly desire to do so, we must offer worship that is fitting for Him and listen to His majestic voice.

When we recognize that the majestic voice described in today’s passage is spoken in the context of judgment, we must ask ourselves this critical question:
What kind of response should we have to the Word of God that we are hearing today?

There are four ways we can reflect on this:

(1) As we hear the majestic word of God, we must have reverence for God’s word.

We must never take that word lightly.
Therefore, we must strive not to sin even in our hearts by irreverently adding to or subtracting from God’s word as we please.

(2) As we hear God’s powerful word, even if our hearts are as strong as cedar wood, they must be broken and bent by that word.

Through God’s majestic word, our hardened hearts must be broken and our stubbornness must be crushed.
Our old, fallow ground must be cultivated by the powerful word of the Lord.

(3) Because of God’s word, hearts that are dry like a desert must be shaken (verse 8).

As we hear the living and active word of God, our dry hearts must be stirred (Haggai 1:14).

(4) As we hear God’s holy word, we must become spiritually naked.

Look at Psalm 29:9 today: “The voice of the Lord... strips the forests bare…”
We must not come before God and worship Him with a packaged or disguised appearance.
We must not seek only the appearance of godliness while worshiping God.
We must expose everything hidden deep within ourselves before God’s holy word, and humbly come before Him as we truly are.
To do this, we must come to Him in spiritual nakedness through God’s word.

Those who give glory worthy of the name of the Lord are worshipers.
And they are also hearers.
They are those who hear the majestic voice of God.

What blessings do those who give glory worthy of the name of the Lord receive?
The Bible says that when we give glory worthy of God’s name, we receive blessings of strength and peace from God.
Look at Psalm 29:11:
“The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.”

Those who give glory worthy of God’s name are true worshipers and hearers.
The blessings God gives to such people are the blessings of “strength” and “peace.”

What kind of strength do believers need?
We can consider two kinds:
(1) The strength given in worship, which is “rejoicing in the Lord” (Nehemiah 8:10).
(2) The strength given through hearing God’s word and living in obedience, which is the power of the word.

This strength ultimately gives courage and comfort to the saints who stand on the side of righteousness, even amid God’s judgment (Park Yoon Sun).

The blessing God grants us through a life of worship and a life of hearing and obeying His word is precisely “peace.”

God says, “I have cared for my holy name, which the people of Israel have profaned among the nations where they went” (Ezekiel 36:21).
God is the one who cherishes His great holy name.
Even though, like the people of Israel, God’s holy name may be defiled in the world because of us, God, who cherishes His holy name, has promised to manifest His holiness through us (verse 23).
Even though we Christians may defile the precious name of Jesus while living in this world, God, who cherishes His great holy name, will reveal His holiness through us.

Those who come to understand this grace of God desire to give glory worthy of His holy name, and so they will worship God “clothed in holy garments” and humbly listen to God’s majestic voice.
Therefore, they will enjoy the blessings of strength and peace given by God.
I pray that such blessings be with you and me.

May the name of Jesus be honored and glorified.

Shared by Pastor James Kim
(Partially enjoying the strength and peace given by God)