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Songs of Greatness is a sermon series on the greatness of God from the Psalms. Ascribe to the Lord — There are many things in this world that are big and scary, things that are threatening and out of our control. But God is far bigger and more powerful than any threat we could imagine. This is the root of all strength and peace. Recorded on July 25, 2021, on Psalm 29, by Pastor David Parks. Sermon Transcript For the next year, in our preaching ministry, we’re focusing on The Greatness of God. And I’ve said, after all the turmoil of the last year+, it was obvious to me that way too many Christians have way too small of a view of who God is. So we’ve started this annual theme with a sermon series from the Psalms in the Bible called, Songs of Greatness. The Psalms are a collection of songs/poems that the people of God have used in the worship of God for 1000’s of years. And the psalms cover the whole range of human experience, but some of the psalms are all about the greatness of God. Today, we’ll consider Psalm 29, which speaks very directly to this situation of ours today. This need to gain/recover a better theology, a better/truer understanding of who God is. Why? Because of the storm, because of the times of turmoil/chaos/destruction. Because of the times that bring widespread anger/anxiety, stress/depression. We lived through a mighty storm this past year or so. But storms aren’t new, nothing is new under the sun. Can the greatness of God help us in the midst of the story?? If you have a Bible/app, please open it to Ps 29. We’re going to unpack this psalm in three parts: 1. The Glory, 2. The Voice, 3. The King. But first, let’s read through this together. Psalm 29, “Ascribe to the Lord, you 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 his[a] 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 leap like a calf, Sirion[b] 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[c] 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.”  Psalm 29, traditionally, is one of the psalms of David, that is King David, the most powerful/influential king of the ancient people of Israel. David lived about 3,000 years ago or about 1,000 years before the time of Jesus. And David was a mighty warrior and a prolific poet, having written about half of the psalms in the Bible. Psalm 29 is divided/ordered in a particular way, did you notice? Psalm 29 has three main sections marked by repetition. The first section (vv. 1-2) has the phrase “ascribe to the Lord” over and over. And then, the second section (vv. 3-9) has the phrase “The voice of the Lord.” Finally, the third section/stanza (vv. 10-11) simply has “The Lord, the Lord, the Lord” over and over. So with that, let’s jump back to v. 1. Psalm 29:1-2, “Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.” So first, The Glory: David starts with this call, really it’s an invitation to worship: to ascribe to the Lord, the glory due his name. What does that mean? Does that mean that God is really insecure and needs our words of affirmation? Does that mean that God is waiting around for us to worship him, in order to get glory? No! God is not lacking in glory. God is supremely glorious!