5. Lightning: Fire From Heaven! Psalm 29:6-7


 Text:  “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.”

                                                                                                                 Exodus 19:16.

Good morning, God-fearing Christian!  You and I fear God with a godly fear; a humble reverence; a full and total respect for His Person and the power of His Holy Presence.  Thus, fearing the Lord God in this reverent manner, we have nothing else to fear upon this old earth.  Our Father God is in full control of every aspect of our lives and being.  Praise and all worship to His glorious and wonderful Name!  Amen.

“The Lord is my light and my Salvation: whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”  (Psalm 27:1)

Thunder and lightning storms are, truly, something to bring us down to our knees; a phenomenon that humbles the mightiest hearts and reminds us of just how puny we are in comparison to such Heavenly powers unleashed.  Flash!  The lightning lights up the sky.  Then, boom!  The peal of thunder blasts its cry throughout the skies. 

However, as Spiritually regenerate Christian believers, we have nothing to fear when the lightning flashes and the thunder peals its explosive noise throughout the world - for this is the voice of our Heavenly Father, and our Heavenly Father loves us very dearly.

“He/she that dwelleth (dwells, and continues to dwell) in the secret place (in Christ Jesus) of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust.”   (Psalm 91:1-2)

Yet, the ungodly, the unredeemed, cannot claim this Divine promise, for the Lord has spoken in His Word revealing that the power of His Holy Presence is a terror to them.

“The Lord also thundered in the Heavens, and the Highest gave His voice; hail stones and coals of fire.  Yea, He sent out His arrows (lightning) and scattered them; and He shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.  Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at Thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils.”  (Psalm 18:13-15)

Verse 6.  “He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.  The voice of our dying Lord rent the rocks and opened the graves; His living voice still works the like wonders.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 142)

I cannot help but read Psalm 29: in the context of a violent thunder and lightning storm - each verse builds in crescendo to the next, the lightning flashes across our minds, and the thunder of God’s Almighty voice proclaims His Divine and Sovereign truths.

Verse 7.  “The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.  The same power of God goeth forth by His Word, ‘quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,’ penetrating, melting, enlightening, and inflaming the hearts of men.”  (George Horne 1730-1792)

When the lightning flashes, can we not hear the voice of the Lord, as spoken by John the Baptist, declaring what is to come? 

“I indeed baptise you with water (total immersion) unto repentance; but He (Christ Jesus) that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire; Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”  (Matthew 3:11-12)

Verse 7.  “The voice of the Lord.  The voice of Jehovah sendeth out divided flames of fire.  This is very descriptive of the Divine action at Pentecost, sending forth ‘divided flames’, in the tongues of fire which were divided off from one Heavenly source or fountain of flame, and sat upon the heads of the apostles, and which filled them with the fire of Holy zeal and love.”  (Christopher Wordsworth 1807-1887 )

Boom! The Word of God is heard in our hearts like the peal of thunder.  Flash! the extreme light of His truth suddenly enlightens our darkened hearts of sin! Then, ‘…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God…’, and we are quickened by the Holy Ghost and saved. 

Spiritual regeneration is often performed by Almighty God during a great inner turmoil of the human soul, akin to the unleashing of a powerful thunder and lightning storm.  And after the storm, we find Divinely granted peace.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  (John 14:27)

Verse 7.  “The voice of the Lord divideth (or controls) the flames of fire.”  The Living Lord, the Creator of all things, is in full Sovereign control of all things He has Created.  Thus, His Word divides the ‘sheep’ from the ‘goats’ - He grants faith only to ‘…all those that the Father hath given unto Him…’; and His elect souls are Eternally saved.  (John 6:37)  ‘Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth…’  Amen.

Thought:  In the storms of life - let us listen carefully for ‘…the voice of the Lord…’!  He will encourage us and direct our paths towards His peace.




No comments:

Post a Comment

I invite comments that are Christian in nature. All comments are moderated, and any negative submissions are deleted and never published.