Psalms 29:5

_THE VOICE OF THE LORD BREAKETH THE CEDARS; YEA, THE LORD BREAKETH THE CEDARS OF LEBANON._ The voice ... the cedars. "The cedars" are specified, being the stateliest of trees; among them those of Lebanon were pre- eminent. As the voice of Yahweh can instantly break these, so can it break the mightiest of the Church's foes (Psalms 29:10), who are often symbolized by cedars (Ezekiel 17:3; Ezekiel 17:22)....

5._The voice of Jehovah breaketh the cedars. _We see how the prophet, in order to subdue the stubbornness of men, shows, by every word, that God is terrible. He also seems to rebuke, in passing, the madness of the proud, and of those who swell with vain presumption, because they hearken not to the voice of God in his thunders, rending the air with his lightnings, shaking the lofty mountains, prostrating and overthrowing the loftiest trees. What a monstrous thing is it, that while all the irrational portion of the creation tremble before God, men alone, who are endued with sense and reason, are not moved! Moreover, though they possess genius and learning, they employ enchantments to shut their ears against God’s voice, however powerful, lest it should reach their hearts. Philosophers think not that they have reasoned skilfully enough about inferior causes, unless they separate God very fa...

Verse Psalms 29:5. _BREAKETH THE CEDARS_] Very tall trees attract the lightning from the clouds, by which they are often torn to pieces. _Woods_ and _forests_ give dreadful proof of this after a thunderstorm....

BREAKETH THE CEDARS - The thunder prostrates the lofty trees of the forest. The psalmist speaks as things appeared, attributing, as was natural, and as was commonly done, that to the thunder which was really produced by the lightning. It, is now fully known that the effect here referred to is not produced by thunder, but by the rapid passage of the electric fluid as it passes from the cloud to the earth. that power is so great as to rive the oak or the cedar; to twist off their limbs; to prostrate their lofty trunks to the ground. The psalmist speaks of thunder as accomplishing this, in the same way that the sacred writers and all men, even scientific men, commonly speak, as when we say, the sun rises and sets - the stars rise and set, etc. People who would undertake in all cases to speak with scientific accuracy, or in the strict language of science, would be unintelligible to the mass...

EXPOSITION THIS is a psalm of praise to God, and at the same time one intended to comfort and cheer his people. It consists of three parts: (1) An introduction (Psalms 29:1, Psalms 29:2), in which "the sons of the mighty" are called upon to praise and worship God; (2) a main body, in which the might of God is set forth by the description of a thunderstorm (Psalms 29:3); and (3) an application (Psalms 29:10, Psalms 29:11), in which the people are called upon to

THE VOICE OF THE LORD BREAKETH THE CEDARS,.... Such an effect thunder has upon the tallest, strongest, and largest trees, as to break them into shivers; YEA, THE LORD BREAKETH THE CEDARS OF LEBANON; a mountain in the north part of the land of Judea, so called from its whiteness, both by reason of the snow with which some part of it is covered in summer, as Tacitus observes b; and partly from the colour of the earth that has no snow on it, which looks as white as if it was covered with white tiles, as Maundrell c says; and where the goodliest cedars grow; and to which may be compared proud, haughty, lofty, and stouthearted sinners, who are broken, brought down, and laid low, by the voice of Christ in his Gospel, his power attending it. The Targum renders it, "the Word of the Lord". b Hist. l. 5. c. 6. c Travels, p. 176....

Psalms 29 The judgment Storm _ 1. Give unto the Lord the glory of His Name (Psalms 29:1)_ 2. The day of the Lord described as a thunderstorm (Psalms 29:3) 3. The calm after the storm--the Lord is King (Psalms 29:10) Psalms 29:1. The voice of His trusting people is hushed; His voice is now heard. From Psalms 25:1; Psalms 26:1;...

XXIX. Yahweh's glory in the storm (Psalms 29:1): He is enthroned for the protection of His people (Psalms 29:10 f.). PSALMS 29:1. THE SONS OF GOD (_mg._) are superhuman beings (_cf._ Genesis 6:1 *, Job 1:6 *) who minister in the heavenly Temple. Psalms 29:2_ b_. Follow _mg._ The LXX read, in his holy court. Psalms 29:6. Sirion is another name for Hermon

The exhibition of Jehovah's power which is the ground of the opening call to praise. His voice is heard in the pealing of the thunder above the storm-clouds (Psalms 29:3); the storm bursts, it shatters the cedars and shakes the mountains in the far north (Psalms 29:5); the lightnings flash (Psalms 29:7); the deserts to the far south with their affrighted denizens tremble (Psalms 29:8); and over all resounds the chorus, Glory (Psalms 29:9 _b_). The seven times repeated _voice of the Lord_is like successive peals of thunder....

CEDARS OF LEBANON— This may be an allegorical description of the conquest over the Syrians, who lived near Lebanon. See Psalms 92:12. 2 Samuel 8 Samuel 8 and Grotius....