Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name!
[Psalms 29]
In the Old Testament, there are seven important names of Jehovah: (1) “Jehovah-jireh” means “The Lord Will Provide” (Gen. 22:14), (2) “Jehovah Rapha” means “The Lord Who Heals You” (Exod. 15:26; Ps. 103:3), (3) “Jehovah-nissi” means "The Lord is my Banner” (Exod. 17:15), (4) “Jehovah Shalom” means “The Lord Is Peace” (Judg. 6:24), (5) “Jehovah Raah” means “The Lord Is My Shepherd” (Ps. 23:1; Jn. 10:19), (6) “Jehovah Tsidkenu” means “The Lord Our Righteousness (Jere. 23:6; 1 Cor. 1:30), (7) “Jehovan Shammah” means “The Lord Is There” (Ezek. 48:35; Rev. 21:3). The Bible says of God's holy name: “You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD” (Lev. 18:21). The people in this world see God through us, the Christians. Therefore, if we are flawed by unbelievers, they speak not only of human error but also they profaned God’s name. The Bible Leviticus 21:6 says that we should be holy to our God and we shouldn’t profane His name. If we are unholy in our thoughts and life before God, then we are dishonoring God's name.
The Bible Psalms 29:2a says, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name ….” I would like to receive two lessons how we to ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name. And I want to meditate on the blessings to those who give glory to God's name as we live according to His instructions, I pray that God's grace be with us all.
First, those who ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name worship God “in holy array.”
Look at Psalms 29:2 – “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array.” Here the phrase “in holy array” means to have holy character (Park). In order to ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name, we must have proper character. And that proper character is 'holy character'. What kind of life do the worshipers with holy character live? They live pure life as those who bear the holy name of God (Park).
We must pursue a holy life. We must live a pure life in the sight of God, receiving the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, and live a separate life, not in pairs with the world. But who will be able to purify and boast in the presence of the Lord, even if we throw away all our wrongdoing and all sinful thoughts are forsaken. After all, we can only rely on the blood of Jesus that He shed on the cross. We, who have been washed away by the precious blood of Jesus, must rely on His blood to go to the throne of God's grace and worship Him (Heb. 4:16). We, who want to ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name, should seek holy life in order to worship God.
In the Old Testament, there are people who distinguish themselves and have dedicated themselves to God. They are called “Nazirites.” Here, the meaning of the word “Nazirites” comes from the Hebrew word ‘nazir’ that means “consecrated,” “separated,” “distinguished” or “devoted.” In other words, the Nazirites are those who made a dedication of themselves to live a holy life before God. We must become the Nazirite worshipers. Like the Nazirites who devoted themselves to living the holy life, we are the distinguished and dedicated ones who live in this sinful world. Therefore, we need to become worshipers who live by resembling our holy God, aiming at the standard of faith that says, "Be holy, because I am holy" (Lev. 11:45; 1 Pet. 1:16). We must also ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name. I hope and pray that we will be able to worship God in obedience and dedication to living holy life like the Nazirites. Therefore, I hope and pray that we can ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name..
Second, those who ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name worship God hear the voice of God.
In Psalm 29:3-9, David uses the word “the voice of the Lord” seven times. This is not a meaningless repetition, but a response to the spiritual interpretation of thunders that appeared as a natural phenomenon and is regarded as the voice of God (Park). David, who expresses the voice of God as the thunder of the storm, tells us how dignified the Word of God is. Those who ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name wear holy clothes and worship God, listen to God's majestic words. The majestic word is powerful (v. 4), and it even breaks the cedars (v. 5). David, who heard this voice of God, said, “And in His tempe everything says, ‘Glory!’ (v. 9). This refers to the praises of all the saints (Calvin). All the saints who recognize the glory of God in nature must praise God (Park).
We must give God the glory He deserves. We, who want to do that, must listen to God's majestic words as we ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name. As we recognize that God's majestic word spoken in Psalms 29 was in the context of judgment, we must ask the question, ‘How should we respond to the Word of God we are hearing?’ We can think in four ways:
(1) We must be in awe of God’s word while hearing the God’s majestic word.
We should never take His word lightly. Therefore, we must try not to commit sins even in our hearts with unholy acts on the Word, such as adding and subtracting to the Word of God.
(2) As we listen to the powerful word of God, our harden heart like cedar must be broken.
Through God's majestic words, our harden hearts and our stubbornness must be broken. We must break up our unplowed ground with the powerful word of the Lord.
(3) Our dry hearts, like the wilderness, must be shaken by the word of God (v. 8).
As we hear the word of God that is alive and works, our dry hearts must be stirred up (Hag 1:14).
(4) We must be spiritually naked while hearing the holy word of God.
Look at Psalms 29:9 – “The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, ‘Glory!’” We shouldn’t come out in a packaged form and worship God. We shouldn’t worship God in pursuit of a form of godliness. We must go to God humbly just as we are, as we reveal all the things hidden deeply in us by God's holy word. In order to do that, we must come to Him with spiritual nakedness through the word of God. Those who ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name are worshipers. They are also listeners. They hear the majestic voice of God.
What blessings come to those who ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name in this way? The Bible says that when we bring glory to God's name, we are blessed with strength and peace from God. Look at Psalms 29:11 – “The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.” Those who ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name are true worshipers and listeners. God's blessing to such people is “strength” and “peace.” What kind of strength do the saints need? We can think in two ways: (1) The strength the Lord gives to us in worship. That strength is “the joy of the Lord” (Neh. 8:10), (2) The strength the Lord gives is the strength of the word of God that we receive from hearing His word and obey it. This strength eventually gives saints who are on the side of justice the courage and comfort even in the judgment of God (Park). “Peace” is the blessing that God makes us to enjoy in the life of worship and life of hearing His word and obeying it.
God says, “I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went” (Ezek. 36:21). God is God who concerns for His holy name. Although we, like the Israelites, have profaned God’s holy name in this world, God has promised to vindicate the holiness of His great name (v. 23). Although we have profaned the precious name of Jesus in this world, God has promised to prove Himself holy among us in the worldly people’s sight because He has concern for His holy name. If we get to know this grace of God, then we will worship God “in holy array” (Ps. 29:2) and will humbly hear God's majestic voice, hoping to ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name. Therefore, we will enjoy the blessings of God's strength and peace. May these blessings be upon us.
May the Name of Jesus receive honor and glory.
James Kim
(Partially enjoying His strength and peace)