Psalms for Turbulent Times - Psalm 29: The Lord reigns over paupers and princes

Psalm 29[1]

¹ 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 splendour 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 leap 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.

In July 1969, the exploits of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins captured the imagination and wonder of the world as Apollo 11 took them to the moon and their lunar module daringly landed on the surface. The photo above, called 'Earthrise', was taken on that great adventure. The moon landing was a feat of a great technical brilliance, engineering ingenuity and human bravery. And it captivated Prince Phillip. A recent episode of the third series of The Crown tells the story of how he sought a personal audience with the three astronauts when they visited London on worldwide whistle-stop victory tour. The three giants of space travel, however, disappointed him on one level. As an airman he greatly appreciated their skill and courage, but he found them lacking in ‘imagination’. He had hoped to meet ‘gods’, but he discovered ‘little men’. While they were able to describe the tick lists of the mission, they were not able to articulate the wonder and  philosophical perspectives he was deeply interested in. They could describe the mission in terms of science or military discipline, but there they reached the boundaries of their thought and language. They could not, as the poet psalmist could in this the 29^th Psalm, begin to put into words anything of the wonder, the majesty, the splendour or the glory of what they had seen.

For the prince, this was a crushing disappointment. But, as this particular episode of The Crown ( Series 3, Episode 7: Moondust) describes it, Prince Phillip found companionship and answers in what was to become a lifelong friendship over 50 years with the Dean of Windsor, Robin Woods. Flowing from that friendship came the setting up of the St George’s Centre at Windsor. This enabled clergy who had hit disappointments and a sense of malaise in the mid-life of service to come together to find perspective and renewed purpose and faith. For the Duke of Edinburgh it has been one of his proudest achievements, to create a centre where a search for philosophical perspectives and a questioning faith, can find articulation and spur on action.

Psalm 29 is one of the great shouts of faith of the psalmic tradition. Its overwhelming message is – The Lord Reigns! ‘While Psalm 29 is not necessarily anti-science or anti-technology, it does suggest limits to both,’ says J Clinton McCann Jr. ‘The universe is the sphere of God’s reign. It derives from and belongs to God and thus is not simply an object for our study, much less for our manipulation and control. Similarly our strength (vs11) – including our scientific knowledge and technological capabilities – are gifts from God and not simply results of human inquiry and ingenuity.’[2]

This evening, under clear cold skies, the earth passed through a meteor belt and perhaps, for those who could see, a passing shower of rock bursting through the atmosphere over the West Midlands, would have lit up the sky – over the QE Hospital, City Hospital, Sandwell Hospital and the myriad care homes. The strength and power of God is celebrated in the psalm. And as always the psalmist encourages us to be open to the power, creativity, energy and unbridled joy of God. It is God who has the voice through creation. It is God who has the voice through the wonders of nature. It is God who has the voice in the power of natural world. And still God has a voice to recalibrate us – paupers and princes – to his tune of endless glory. The Lord reigns. Give God glory. For we are only human.

---

[1] New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

[2] p793 The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol 1V (Abingdon, Nashville) ©1998