Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 29:11
The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
11. Comp. Psa 28:8-9; Psa 46:1-3; and the blessing in Numbers 6.
24 26. For His own people He is not the God of terror; for them all ends in peace. “This closing word with peace is like a rainbow arch over the Psalm. The beginning of the Psalm shews us heaven open, and the throne of God in the midst of the angelic songs of praise; while its close shews us His victorious people upon earth, blessed with peace in the midst of the terrible utterance of His wrath. Gloria in excelsis is the beginning, and pax in terris the end.” Delitzsch.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The Lord will give strength unto his people – This is a practical application of the sentiments of the psalm, or a conclusion which is fairly to be derived from the main thought in the psalm. The idea is, that the God who presides over the tempest and the storm, the God who has such power, and can produce such effects, is abundantly able to uphold His people, and to defend them. In other words, the application of such amazing power will be to protect His people, and to save them from danger. When we look on the rolling clouds in the tempest, when we hear the roaring of the thunder, and see the flashing of the lightning, when we hear the oak crash on the hills, and see the waves piled mountains high, if we feel that God presides over all, and that He controls all this with infinite ease, assuredly we have no occasion to doubt that He can protect us; no reason to fear that His strength cannot support us.
The Lord will bless his people with peace – They have nothing to fear in the tempest and storm; nothing to fear from anything. He will bless them with peace in the tempest; He will bless them with peace through that power by which He controls the tempest. Let them, therefore, not fear in the storm, however fiercely it may rage; let them not be afraid in any of the troubles and trials of life. in the storm, and in those troubles and trials, he can make the mind calm; beyond those storms and those troubles he can give them eternal peace in a world where no angry tempest blows.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 29:11
The Lord will give strength unto His people: the Lord will bless His people with peace.
Gods gifts to His own
I. the blessings promised,
1. Strength. How needed this is, for sin has made man weak. He tries to hide his weakness, but in vain. Nor can he heal himself. And after he is converted he still needs Gods strength, who giveth power to the faint. He would certainly fall and perish without it. And from this gift of strength comes–
2. Peace. The mariner in the storm is at peace because he knows that his ship is sound and strong and his pilot skilful.
II. the recipients of these promises. His people. These are they who have been chosen from the beginning, brought to Christ, and received His adoption as Sons of God. Two chief marks of His people are–1 Humility.
2. Faith. And these shall be blessed with peace. Some men are cursed with it–the peace of indifference, hypocrisy, and the hardened heart. For unbelief produces a counterfeit peace when God lets a sinner alone in his sin. (Stephen Bridge, M. A.)
Promise of strength and peace
I. what is the value of the blessings here promised?
1. Strength–to contend with–
(1) The powers of darkness (Eph 6:12; 1Pe 5:8; 2Ti 2:26)
(2) The world–a continual snare to the people of God. Its smiles and frowns, its promises and threatenings, are equally dangerous to their peace and safety. It draws them from the path of duty by flattering prospects of pleasure, of wealth, of honour, of ease, or power. It strives to shake their firmness by the dread of poverty, shame, or persecution.
(3) Their own natural depravity, and the sin remaining in their hearts (Gal 5:17; Rom 7:23).
2. Peace–the great blessing of the Gospel (Joh 14:27).
(1) Peace with God–through Christ (Eph 1:6).
(2) Peace of mind (2Co 4:8; 2Ti 1:12).
II. who are the Lords people, to whom these blessings belong? Those who value them; feel their need of them; and are earnestly seeking of Him an interest in them. (E. Cooper, M. A.)
The peace of God, the strength of His people
Our text in its first clause points out the process by which we are prepared, and the second is a declaration of the privileges which are to be enjoyed by Christians.
I. what is that peace which God promises to his people? My peace I give unto you. The peace of Christ–enjoyed by Him, and bequeathed to His followers–was not a peace resulting from a sense that sin was forgiven, for He had done no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. It must have been the thorough harmony which there was between His will and the Divine, His perfect acquiescence in every appointment of the Father, His undeviating confidence in His protection, and His imperturbable assurance of His love. These we may believe to have been the elements in the peace of a being, who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; but who, notwithstanding His freedom from all guilt, had to make His way through much tribulation to a throne prepared for Him at His Fathers right hand. And, though there must be respects in which the peace attainable by ourselves will differ from that enjoyed by our Saviour, still, forasmuch as He left His own peace to His Church, we may expect that the points of resemblance will be more numerous than those of distinction. We have every right to contend that there will enter into the constituent elements of a Christians peace, that harmony with the Divine will, that acquiescence in the Divine dealings, that confidence in the Divine protection, and that assurance of the Divine love, which must have composed thee peace of Christ; for these belonged not to the Saviour as He differed from ourselves, but rather as He was a man, living the life of faith in the midst of trials and temptations. If the peace of God reigns in your heart, you will have a consciousness that sin is forgiven; an ever-growing earnestness in striving after holiness; a tranquillity undisturbed by the calamities of life; a hope superior to the terrors of death.
II. the connection between this peace and that strength with which it is identified in the text, In spiritual things, the Christian has need of being strengthened both in the head and heart; and now let us see whether in giving him peace, God does not give him strength both in the one and in the other.
1. First as to the head. You are always to distinguish very carefully between what we may call the offensive and the defensive weapons of a Christian; between the arguments with which he may attempt to beat down the infidelity of another, and those which may suffice to the keeping off infidelity from himself. If the believer know little or nothing of the external testimony on the side of revelation, he will be no match for his opponent, and must not expect to undermine his scepticism. But will he, on this account, be himself an easy prey to the infidel? is there nothing to be expected but that, because unequipped with weapons for an offensive war, he will be found unprepared to maintain a defensive? We reply, that, on the contrary, his mind is too well strengthened to be carried by the assaults of an enemy. We are speaking of a man who, although he may not have studied what are called the evidences of Christianity, has been long acting on the supposition that the Bible is divine, obeying its precepts as the precepts of God, and relying on its promises as the promises of God. And we can be sure of such a man, that he has not proceeded in this course without becoming his own witness to the truth of the Scriptures; acting on the precepts, he has found himself partaker of the promises, and thus has obtained simple, irresistible evidence that the book is true, and therefore divine.
2. See next how this peace will strengthen the heart, or the affections. It is through our not setting the standard of Christian privilege sufficiently high, that even believers are so often overcome, whether by the world or the flesh. If they aimed at what we are sure they might acquire–an abiding, elevating sense of Gods love and favour; an actual delight in Him; and such an anticipation of heavenly joys as would make them already dwellers in His presence; they would have comparatively no relish for base and transient pleasures, and would therefore be little moved by the solicitations which now too frequently prevail. If the heart were thoroughly and deeply engaged in religion, they might oppose, as it were, pleasures to pleasures, riches to riches, honours to honours–the pleasures, riches, honours, which God alone can bestow, to those which are proffered by the world; and thus would they be attached to the service of piety, by the very same ties which attach others to the service of sin, even the ties of inclination and preference. It ought to be thus; and it would be thus, if greater heed were given to religion, as an internal, vital, happy-making thing. But so long as Christians remain in a languid, half-hearted condition, slaving through duties in place of finding them privileges, talking about heaven in place of obtaining its foretastes, obeying God as a master, in place of delighting in Him as a Father,–what wonder if the world often gain an easy victory, so that what is ignoble attracts them, what is transient detains, what is worthless fascinates? And it is in thorough agreement with these statements that the psalmist in our text identifies strength with peace. We have shown you, that in this peace are included an abiding sense of Divine favour, a firm hope of future happiness, and such earnests of heaven as shall stimulate, whilst they gratify, the Christian. And what power will the world, with its vanities, its gauds, its riches, its pleasures, have over an individual in whom this peace abides?
III. How This peace of God may be obtained. If you would enjoy this peace, you must cultivate a devotional habit–a habit of communion with your Father which is in heaven. We can hardly doubt that one great reason why Christians make so little progress, and have so little enjoyment is, that they are so scant in their private devotions. God is ready to bestow great blessings; but then they must be asked for, and importuned for. Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. We have but to enlarge our desires; and God will increase His supplies. Let none of us then wonder if he have not much of that Divine peace which passeth all understanding, and if, in consequence, he be often overcome by temptations and disturbed by fears, if he be little in the habit of secret prayer and meditation. It is a good thing to be diligent in public worship; but nothing can make up for negligence in private. You may learn and obtain much in church, and so forsake not the assembling of yourselves; but it is, after all, in the closet that you may expect the best lessons, and the finest glimpses of immortality. See to it, then, ye who name the name of Christ, that ye be frequent and fervent in private prayer to God. Thus shall our text be fulfilled in your experience, and the Lord Himself shall bless you with peace. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The Christians peace
Our text closes this wondrously beautiful psalm. There seems to be an allusion to the priestly benediction with which the sacred services of Israel were concluded–The Lord bless thee and keep thee . . . and give thee peace. And it points us to that which, through Christ, we now obtain. Consider, therefore–
I. the nature of the blessing promised,–peace.
1. The peace, or sweet and delightful composure of mind, which arises from the sense of reconciliation with God.
2. The peace which arises from the practical influence and operation of religion upon the human passions. Let the unconverted confess the truth that these are the sources of most painful and distressing agitation. Do they not carry the elements of wild disturbance within them? Now the influence of religion is to subdue all these and thus exempt the people of God from the chief miseries which have yet been felt upon earth. Christians–is it not so?
II. what are the considerations by which this blessing may be most fully exhibited in its surprising value? It is evidently intended, by the manner in which it is here spoken of, that we should consider it as of high and incomparable worth. It is the climax of the psalm. And this estimate of it is just, for–
1. This peace greatly exalts and dignifies the nature of those who possess it.
2. It is a sure antidote and support amidst all possible visitations of sorrow. See Isa 32:1-20, at end; Heb 11:1-40., and see the history of the apostles, the martyrs and Christs Church in all ages. And the sweetness of this peace is the beginning of the quiet of the skies, the Sabbath of our God.
III. what are the impressions this subject should produce?
1. Gratitude and devotedness.
2. Those who have it not should be filled with desire for it. You cannot know real peace until this is yours. (James Parsons.)
The blessings of peace–they are the gift of God
I. the blessings of peace. Man appears from the harmless make of his body, the tenderness of his affections, the sovereignty of his mind, and his dependence upon others help, as well as by the rules of life prescribed to him by express revelation, to be formed for a social inoffensive creature. Now the natural state of each being is the happy one. And the happiness of peace is like that of health, it spreads through the whole of the civil, as that doth of the animal, constitution. We do not perceive the value of either until we have lost them. Therefore, to discern the advantages of peace, we must recollect the miseries of war.
1. The expense, which falls mainly on the poor.
2. The toil, hardship and suffering, and the loss by death.
3. The disaster done to commerce.
4. Its wickedness in its origin, in its progress, and in its effect. Nevertheless it is sometimes unavoidable. It was so in our own case. But we have made terms of agreement, and we rejoice that war is at an end.
II. the blessing of peace is Gods gift. He puts mens minds upon the seeking after it. He is the giver of all good. And such events as peace and war cannot but occupy a distinguished place in the scheme of Providence.
III. To entitle us to the blessings of peace we must be his people. What is our case? Are we Gods people? Do we live as set forth in Tit 2:11-14? Do we know ourselves by this picture? Is it not rather as told in Jer 4:22? How can we hope for the favour of Providence if we continue ungodly and regardless of religion and virtue as our nation too much is? What must follow? Read Jer 23:14; Jer 23:17; Jer 23:19; Jer 23:22. Remember, too, what Azariah said to Asa (2Ch 15:1-2). A tottering state cannot be supported or a sinking one raised without national reformation (Jer 6:9; Jer 6:14; Isa 57:21). And in this each individual must bear his own share. The fewer that will amend, the more need we add to their number. Therefore we speak as bidden (2Ti 4:1-2; 2Co 5:20). (T. Seeker.)
Peace
Peace is interior repose of spirit: and this repose of spirit, as we know, is the result of the satisfaction of spiritual needs. In the degree in which we are possessed by any conscious need, and know that that need is not met, in that condition, of necessity, we are in a position of restlessness. But when this need is met, then immediately our inner being passes into a state of peace, and then we say that, the Christian life is a life of peace. This, then, is the life to which God calls us–a life of interior spiritual satisfaction in which we rest in the satisfaction of possession, and in the satisfaction of well-based hope. What we are craving for as the condition of peace is this–that we should be living in right union with our God, for in that union is the satisfaction of our every need. When, then, we are told that the Lord shall give His people the blessing of peace, what we are taught is this–that God, and especially now in the days of the Christian economy, is bringing His people into that right relation with Himself in which they find their peace in Him, What is the first essential condition of our being in right union with God? It is, is it not?–the fruit of that great primal religious need, the need of the conscience. We are perfectly aware that we have passed into wrong relations with God, that the cause of that wrong relation is sin, and that of necessity sin involves this separation from God, this passing into wrong relations with Him. Forgiveness means always, the restitution of relations of peace between him who forgives and he who is forgiven. It carries with it much more, but it does mean this–if there is variance between one who is wronged and the wrong-doer, that variance can only be changed into right relations and ensuing peace by the forgiveness of him who is wronged. This is the first thing God does. He reveals Himself to us in Christ Jesus our Lord, who is the great High Priest of humanity, in the power of His passion, who has passed into right-hand relationship with Himself, to reinstate them in right relationship by His forgiveness. And this is not all. You see forgiveness is never really effected unless the one to whom that forgiveness is extended is in a position in which he will receive that forgiveness. And God by His Holy Spirit works upon the hearts of sinners, makes them penitents, speaks to them as penitents, speaks to them His forgiveness, and that forgiveness is effectual in reinstating in union with Himself the one who has been alienated from Him by sin. This is the first condition, but there is peace even greater than the peace of reconciliation; peace deeper than that of the conscience rejoicing in the Divine forgiveness–I mean the peace of fruition. I am in union with God, and the effect of that is this–His light illuminates my mind; He reveals Himself to me; I know Him not simply with the external knowledge in which a student attains to the knowledge of Him, but I know by a direct interior revelation of Himself unto my mind. He speaks to me and I know; I see with the eyes of my understanding the fair beauty of my God. And when 1 know God, and in the measure in which I know God, I know mental rest. What is the only rational position of the creature in the presence of the Creator? What is the only true exercise of that moral freedom wherewith I am endowed, and consciously through the mysterious possession of my will? It is a mystery. Our wills are ours we know not how, but the meaning of this mysterious gift is clear. Our wills are ours to make them Thine. Thy service is perfect freedom, and my will yields to the attraction of that vision in which my heart delights, only it is drawn into conformity with the will of God; and the end of that conformity of will breathed out here in active obedience and in patient endurance is the very ascension of my spirit unto God. It is the realizing of the law of sacrifice. By it I return unto God, lie upon the altar of Gods heart, and am consumed with the fire of Gods communicated grace. And if rest of heart is in Gods knowledge, if rest of heart is in Gods love, rest of will is in conformity with Gods will. But, yet again, He calls me to another rest, and that is the rest of activity. Filled with the knowledge and love of God, the will raised up into active conformity with the will of God, activity becomes necessary; and thus lifted up into union with God, I pass into His Sabbath. But what is the Sabbath of God? Is it a life of inactivity? Is the attitude even consistent with inactivity? My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Within the limits of His Divine Being the work ceaseth not. As the God of nature His work ceaseth not. Within the Church as the God of grace His work ceaseth not. And what is His work in Himself? What is His work in the universe? What is His work in the Church? What is His work in the individual soul but the work of peacemaker I Behold, maintaining the harmony of His own eternal life within Himself, maintaining the harmony of all these forces combined in such marvellous unity in creation, restoring broken harmony in mans interior being, restoring the true harmony of man with man because He has restored the true harmony between God and man; the Lord shall give His people the blessing of peace, and in this great work He associates Himself with us. And yet once more, still it is true our rest is partial as far as present experience. The peace of conscience is often troubled by our fight with renewed failures and sins. Our knowledge is partial, our love fluctuates, our wills tremble, our service here is maimed; but all this is transitory. Here in a measure our position is a position of a hunger and thirst; and yet in that hunger and thirst there is rest. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. In restlessness there is rest to-day. And the rest of hop”fountain of all that courage and boldness”e! Quickly the years are flying by, shorter and shorter is the way that lies before us in our earthly pilgrimage; clearer and clearer before our gaze as the years go by comes the vision of Jerusalem the Golden, the vision of peace. I dare not say that that is mine, for I may fail even yet; but as year by year goes by, and I know the constancy of His love and the mighty power of His grace, each flying year that finds me at its close, not by my fidelity but through His mercy, with Gods hope in my heart and His peace in my conscience, strengthens within me the blessed hope of perseverance to the end of life–the blessed hope of perfected peace. (G. Body, D. D.)
Peace considered as Gods blessing
I. How valuable a good peace is in itself, as it stands opposed to bloody and destructive wars.
1. Consider war in its causes–the wickedness of men, and the just vengeance of God.
2. Consider war in itself–the destruction of creatures made after the image of God.
3. Consider war in its consequences and effects.
II. what things are requisite to make this a real and complete blessing, capable of being appropriated unto gods own peculiar people.
1. Conjunction with copious effusion of the Spirit of God (Ezekiel 29:23-29).
2. When the gospel of peace has its free course, and a large spread in the world (Mic 4:2-3).
3. When, according to Divine dictates, kings do reign and princes decree justice (Pro 7:15; Isa 1:26).
4. When God gives pastors after his own heart.
5. When hereupon the Divine government obtains, and takes place in the minds and consciences of men (Psa 67:1-7).
6. When there is a manifest prevalency of Divine love among men that bear the same name of Christians.
7. When God appears to be reconciled to such a people. For in His favour is life. There is a spiritual sort of blessing that may be enclosed in the external blessing, and particularly in this of peace. Such an external blessing as that of peace is not a complete blessing. Because it is no argument of Golds special favour. Men are not made by it the better men. They may by it become so much the worse men. The prosperity of fools destroys them. The first Scipio opened the way to the Roman power, the second to their luxury. Their virtue languished, and they were conquered by their own vices, who before could conquer the world. Man, notwithstanding an external peace, may be as miserable in this, and in another world, as if they had never known it.
III. see what cause of thanksgiving we have, with reference to peace as a general good; and also what cause of supplication, that we may have peace as the special blessing of Gods people. Let us pray–
1. That there may be a larger diffusion of vital religion, wherein stands, indeed, mans being at peace with God.
2. That there may be that spirit as a spirit of mutual love among Christians, to reconcile them to one another. (John Howe, M. A.)
The peace of the devil, and the peace of God
Peace and rest are two names for a flower which buds on earth, but is only found full-blown in heaven; yet even the faint perfume of the unopened blossom excites our strong desire. Every precious thing in this world is sure to be counterfeited. If the government mint issues gold and silver money, rogues will be found to make spurious coin. Satan is the cunning ape of God; and whatever God does, he tries to do the like with his enchantments. Hence, while there is a peace more precious than the gold of Ophir, there is another peace which is worse than worthless. When a soul is borne up upon the waters of false peace, its ease is hopeless till that peace is dried up, and the soul is stranded in self-despair.
I. the devils peace (Luk 11:21).
1. This peace is often merely outward. The plough-boy, when he goes through the churchyard, is afraid of ghosts, and therefore whistles to keep his courage up; and so, many who are loaded with apprehension try to conceal it by those flippant songs in which they boast of driving dull care away. In the secret of their soul that same dull care sits on the throne of their hearts, and is not to be driven away by the ballad, and the fiddle and the dance.
2. This peace is false. A sinner may say, I am at peace as to God; but if this comes of forgetting or ignoring Him, it is a sorry sham. If a man has to forget God before he has peace, that fact betrays a fatal secret. If the man, on remembering God, is troubled, then his peace is a mere writing on the sand. Better know that we are at war, if it be so, than dote upon a peace which is a fools, paradise, and only exists in fancy.
3. To many this peace comes through ignorance. They know not that sin is a deadly viper, and therefore they toy with it as with a bird.
4. With many, however, it is not so much ignorance as thoughtlessness. This is one of the devils great nets, in which he entangles many. If he can keep you from thinking; he will keep you from believing.
5. This peace, in many cases, is the result of carnal security. Will things always be as they have been? Can you be sure of it? Are you not warned that it will not be so? Your eye is not so clear as once it was; your limbs are not so vigorous as once they were. If there be no change in the world, there is a great change in you during the last few years. Before to-morrows sun has risen you may lie upon the bed of death.
6. Some have a peace that comes of superstition. No outward performance can enable you to dispense with inward repentance and faith.
7. Unbelief brings false peace to thousands. Sin must be punished, and if your peace is built upon the supposition that it will not be so, your foundation is even less to be depended upon than the sand. Hazard not your soul upon a lie,
8. Many are kept in peace through companionship. Choose rather as friends those who roughly tell you solemn truths, than those who with excess of sweetness would flatter you to your everlasting undoing.
9. Peace caused by the devil is often the awful prelude of the last tremendous storm. Beware of insensibility! Your unfeeling state should warn you that you are given over to destruction. In the higher and colder latitudes, when men feel a sleepiness stealing over them, their companions stir them up, and rub them, and will not leg them slumber; for to sleep is to wake no more.
II. the Lords peace. A man of God lay dying, but he was very calm; yea, more–supremely happy. One said to him: Friend, how is it that you have such peace? He answered, I can see no ground or cause for it save this: it is written, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.. Was not that, a satisfactory reply? There is a weight of argument in it. If your mind is stayed on God, He will keep you in perfect peace.
1. The peace that we should desire to possess is a peace which is a blessing. False peace is a curse; but to be soundly at peace with God is an unalloyed blessing, and it bringeth no sorrow with it. To fail back upon the Fathers bosom, and say, I know that He Himself loves me, and I know that I love Him; to look up to Jesus, and to say, He loved me, and gave Himself for me; to feel the movings of the Holy Spirit, and to yield ourselves up to His influences–this is peace unspeakable. Do you know it? It is not only a blessing in itself, but it is a blessing in its consequences. There is no man so humble as the man that is at perfect peace with God: he wonders at the blessing lie enjoys. There is no man so grateful; there is no man so courageous; there is no man so little affected by the world; there is no man who bears suffering so patiently; there is no man who is so ready for heaven as the man who is at perfect peace with God, and knows it.
2. This peace only comes from God. Here we have peace from lips that cannot lie, from a heart which cannot change, through the blood which has made a full atonement.
3. This peace comes only to His own people. If you have done with self, the world, and sin, as the main desire of your heart, you are among His people.
4. This is peace in the time of tempest, and peace after storm. Some of us enjoy our greatest peace when the Lord is abroad, and the thunders roll like drums in the march of the God of armies. We feel a rapture as we perceive that our Father is very near, and is speaking so that we hear His voice. In spiritual storms that voice is our comfort; and after the tempests are over, the Lord speaks a sweet hush to the hearts of His children. He allays our fears, while He whispers, It is I; be not afraid. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A boundless promise of peace
I should like an everlasting cheque from some millionaire, running thus: So often as this cheque is presented at the bank, pay the bearer what he asks. Few persons possessed of such a document would fail to put in an appearance at the bank. We should be regular visitors. O ye children of God, you have such a promissory note in the text before you! The Lord hath endless, boundless peace within Himself, and when you have long enjoyed peace with Him you may go to Him again and say, Lord, renew my peace. I am troubled, but Thou art unmoved: bless me with Thy peace. When you are rich, and find that riches bring cares, bring these to your God, who will bless His people with peace. When you are poor, do the same. When children are born to you, and with them come family cares, take the new burden to the Lord, for He giveth peace. And if the children die, and you weep as your young shoots are cut off, still turn to the Lord, and believe that He will bless you with peace. If you grow sick yourself, and the tokens of a deadly disease appear upon you, still be calm, for lie will bless you with peace. When you must go upstairs and lie down upon your last bed to rise no more, then, even then, the Lord will bless you with His ever-living peace; and when you wake up at the sound of the last trump the Lord will still keep you in perfect peace. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Peace
You knew what peace is, do you? Few common terms are less understood. Silence is not peace; nor is indifference; nor is insensibility; nor is the quiescence which comes of selfish fear of consequences. There cannot be peace where there cannot be passion. It is only in a modified sense that we speak of a barn, or a pool sheltered on every side, being at peace; but when we speak of a peaceful sea we speak accurately, for the sea is exposed to forces which rouse it into terrible tempests. Peace must, then, be understood as a composite term,–as an affirmative, not as a negative condition. Some men have no sensibilities towards God; they see Him, hear Him, feel Him, nowhere; not in the light, not in the wind, not in the days story of gift and love and mercy; they are in a state of moral torpor. Are they at peace with God? Most truly not, for peace is other than death. Where there is true peace there is of necessity a right relation of forces; nothing preponderant, nothing conflicting; everything has its due. In the case of the heart there must be life; that life must balance the entire nature, judgment, conscience, will, affection; towards God there must be intelligence, devotion, constancy; towards man there must be justice, modesty, honour. Finding all this, and we find peace; finding a tendency towards this, and we find a tendency towards peace; finding this in perfection, and we find a peace which passeth understanding. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Peace, not indolence
In calling us to peace, God has not called us to indolence; a deep sleep must not be mistaken for a deep peace. We must resemble in some degree the worlds which are at rest by reason of their velocity. The earth is at rest, yet no wing of flying bird can travel so fast; the light gives no sign of motion, yet no runner can give us the faintest idea of its speed. Rest is the ultimate expression of motion. God is at rest, yet energy is streaming out of Him constantly to vivify all the creations of His power. We refer to these things to save the text from abuse, lest the alien should claim the childs heritage, and lest the child himself should forget his duty to the alien. Such is peace, and such are they to whom the blessing is given. (J. Parker, D. D.)
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Psa 30:1-12
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. The Lord will give strength] Prosperity in our secular affairs; success in our enterprises; and his blessing upon our fields and cattle.
The Lord will bless his people with peace.] Give them victory over their enemies, and cause the nations to be at peace with them; so that they shall enjoy uninterrupted prosperity. The plentiful rain which God has now sent is a foretaste of his future blessings and abundant mercies.
In the note on Ps 29:10 I have referred to the following description taken from Virgil. Did he borrow some of the chief ideas in it from the 29th Psalm? The reader will observe several coincidences.
Interea magno misceri murmure pontum,
Emissamque hyemem sensit Neptunus, et imis
Stagna refusa vadis: graviter commotus, et alto
Prospiciens, summa placidum caput extulit unda.
Disjectam AEneae toto videt aequore classem,
Fluctibus oppressos Troas, coelique ruina.
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Eurum ad se zephyrumque vocat: dehinc talia fatur
* * * * *
Sic ait: et dicto citius tumida aequora placat,
Collectasque fugat nubes, solemque reducit.
Cymothoe simul, et Triton adnixus acuto
Detrudunt naves scopulo; levat ipse tridenti;
Et vastas aperit syrtes, et temperat aequor,
Atque rotis summas levibus perlabitur undas.
* * * * *
Sic cunctus pelagi cecidit fragor, aequora postquam
Prospiciens genitor, caeloque invectus aperto,
Flectit equos, curruque volans dat lora secundo.
AEn. lib. i., ver. 124.
“Mean time, imperial Neptune heard the sound
Of raging billows breaking on the ground.
Displeased, and fearing for his watery reign,
He rears his awful head above the main,
Serene in majesty; then rolled his eyes
Around the space of earth, of seas, and skies.
He saw the Trojan fleet dispersed, distressed,
By stormy winds and wintry heaven oppressed.
* * * * *
He summoned Eurus and the Western Blast,
And first an angry glance on both he cast;
Then thus rebuked.
* * * * *
He spoke; and while he spoke, he soothed the sea,
Dispelled the darkness, and restored the day.
Cymothoe, Triton, and the sea-green train
Of beauteous nymphs, and daughters of the main,
Clear from the rocks the vessels with their hands;
The god himself with ready trident stands,
And opes the deep, and spreads the moving sands;
Then heaves them off the shoals: where’er he guides
His finny coursers, and in triumph rides,
The waves unruffle, and the sea subsides.
* * * * *
So when the father of the flood appears,
And o’er the seas his sovereign trident rears,
Their fury fails: he skims the liquid plains
High on his chariot; and with loosened reins,
Majestic moves along, and awful peace maintains.
DRYDEN.
Our God, Jehovah, sitteth upon the flood: yea, Jehovah sitteth King for ever.
The heathen god is drawn by his sea-horse, and assisted in his work by subaltern deities: Jehovah sits on the flood an everlasting Governor, ruling all things by his will, maintaining order, and dispensing strength and peace to his people. The description of the Roman poet is fine; that of the Hebrew poet, majestic and sublime.
ANALYSIS OF THE TWENTY-NINTH PSALM
There are two parts in this Psalm: –
I. The exhortation itself, Ps 29:1-2.
II. The reasons on which it is founded. These are drawn,
1. From his power, Ps 29:3-11.
2. From the protection he affords to his people, Ps 29:11.
I. The exhortation, which is singular. It proceeds from a king, and not from a common man; a prince, a great prince; and reminds princes and great men that there is One greater than they; and that, therefore, they should yield unto him his due honour and worship.
1. That they freely yield and give it up: for which he is very earnest, as appears from the urged repetition, give, give, give.
2. That in giving this, they must understand they are giving him no more than his due: “Give him the honour due to his name.”
3. What they are to give: glory and strength. 1. They must make his name to be glorious. 2. They must attribute their strength to him.
4. That they bow before and adore him.
5. That they exhibit this honour in the proper PLACE: “In his temple; and in the beauty of holiness.”
II. And that they may be more easily persuaded to give the Lord the honour due to his name, he proposes two reasons to be considered: –
First. His power; for although they be mighty ones, his power is infinitely beyond theirs; which is seen in his works of nature; but, omitting many others, he makes choice of the thunder, and the effects it produces.
1. From its nature: for howsoever philosophers may assign it to natural causes, yet religious men will look higher; and, when they hear those fearful noises in the air, will confess, with the psalmist, that it is the voice of the Lord, which he repeats here seven times; and this voice has affrighted the stoutest-hearted sinners, and the mightiest of tyrants.
2. From the place where this voice is given: “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; upon many waters.”
3. From its force and power. They are not vain and empty noises, but strike a terror: “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.”
4. From its effects; which he explains by an induction: –
1. Upon the strong TREES, the cedars of Lebanon: “The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars,” c.
2. Upon the firmest MOUNTAINS, even Lebanon and Sirion for sometimes the thunder is accompanied with an earthquake, and the mountains skip like a calf.
3. Upon the air; which is, to common minds, no small wonder; for, as nothing is more contrary to fire than water, it is next to miraculous how, out of a watery cloud, such flames of fire should be darted. “The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.”
4. In the brute creation; for it makes them fear and leave their caves, dens, and woods; yea, makes some of them cast their young: “The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness,” c. “it maketh the hinds to calve.”
5. In the mighty rains which follow upon it; when the cataracts of heaven are opened, and such floods of water follow that a man might fear that the earth was about to be overwhelmed by a second inundation. Out of all which he draws this conclusion: “The Lord sitteth upon the flood; the Lord sitteth a King for ever;” therefore, the earth is not destroyed.
Secondly. His second reason is drawn from the works of grace. 1. When He moves men to acknowledge his voice, and to give him glory in his temple: “In his temple doth every man speak of his honour.” 2. By the security He gives to his people, even in the time when he utters his voice, and speaks in thunder; whereas the wicked then tremble and quake: “The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace,” i.e., bodily security, and peace of conscience.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Lord will give strength, to support and preserve them in the most dreadful tempests, and consequently in all other dangers, and against all their enemies.
The Lord will bless his people with peace, though now he sees fit to exercise them with some troubles.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
The Lord will give strength unto his people,…. His special people, his covenant people, whom he has chosen for himself; these are encompassed with infirmities, and are weak in themselves; but there is strength for them in Christ: the Lord promises it unto them, and bestows it on them, and which is a pure gift of his grace unto them; this may more especially regard that strength, power, and dominion, which will be given to the people of the most High in the latter day; since it follows, upon the account of the everlasting kingdom of Christ;
the Lord will bless his people with peace: with internal peace, which is peculiar to them, and to which wicked men are strangers; and which arises from a comfortable apprehension of justification by the righteousness of Christ, of pardon by his blood, and atonement by his sacrifice; and is enjoyed in a way of believing; and with external peace in the latter day, when there shall be no more war with them, nor persecution of them; but there shall be abundance of peace, and that without end; and at last with eternal peace, which is the end of the perfect and upright man; and the whole is a great blessing.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11. Jehovah will give strength to his people. He returns to his former doctrine, namely, that although God exhibits his visible power to the view of the whole world indiscriminately, yet he exerts it in a peculiar manner in behalf of his elect people. Moreover, he here describes him in a very different manner from what he did formerly; that is to say, not as one who overwhelms with fear and dread those to whom he speaks, but as one who upholds, cherishes, and strengthens them. By the word strength is to be understood the whole condition of man. And thus he intimates that every thing necessary to the preservation of the life of the godly depends entirely upon the grace of God. He amplifies this by the word bless; for God is said to bless with peace those whom he treats liberally and kindly, so that nothing is awanting to the prosperous course of their life, and to their complete happiness. From this we may learn, that we ought to stand in awe of the majesty of God, in such a manner as, notwithstanding, to hope from him all that is necessary to our prosperity; and let us be assuredly persuaded, that since his power is infinite, we are defended by an invincible fortress.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) The Lord will give.This verse appears to have been a liturgic addition, to give the poem a religious tone. (See Introduction.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
How delightfully the Psalm closes! The Lord will give peace. Yes, Jesus is the peace, and the salvation of his people; and therefore he is the peace of God, to all his church, which passeth all understanding. Phi 4:7 .
REFLECTIONS
HEARKEN, my soul, to the voice of God! Hear it on the waters of the sanctuary, in the thunders of his law, in the soft whispers of his gospel. Surely there is enough in it when Jesus speaks to awaken sinners, though dead in trespasses and sins. And hast thou, my soul, so heard that solemn, awful, gracious, pleasing voice, as to give God the glory due unto his name, and to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness? Blessed voice of Jehovah! thou dost indeed divide the flames of fire, for thou hast been in my soul as a Spirit of judgment, and a Spirit of burning. Oh! how powerfully have I at times felt thy word! how it hath enlightened my mind, softened my heart, and subdued my will. Yes, truly, Lord, thou hast said, and I have found it true, Thou art the Lord, who teachest me to profit.
And now, blessed Jesus, let me hear more and more thy voice, in all the gracious manifestations of thy love. Thou hast given, and thou wilt give strength, unto thy people. And as thou art thyself our peace, and hast made our peace in thy blood of the cross, so, Lord, be thou my all in all, that though in the world I shall have tribulation, in thee I shall have peace. Truly, Lord, thou shalt be our peace, when the Assyrian shall pass through the land.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 29:11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
Ver. 11. The Lord will give strength unto his people ] To bear up their hearts in time of thunder or other terrible occurrences, In tempore tonitru (Aben Ezra).
The Lord will bless his people with peace
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
strength. See note on Psa 28:8. He who has it (Psa 29:1) will give it (Psa 29:11).
peace = the (i.e. His) peace. Compare Php 1:4, Php 1:7.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
give: Psa 28:8, Psa 28:9, Psa 68:35, Psa 84:7, Psa 85:8, Psa 85:10, Psa 138:3, Isa 40:29, Isa 40:31, Isa 41:10, Zec 10:6, Zec 10:12, Eph 3:16, 2Ti 4:17
bless: Psa 72:3, Psa 72:7, Num 6:24-27, Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7, Joh 14:27, Joh 16:33, Rom 14:17, 1Co 1:3, Eph 2:17, 2Th 3:16, Rev 1:4
Reciprocal: Lev 26:6 – I will Num 6:26 – give thee 1Sa 15:29 – Strength 1Ch 29:12 – give strength Psa 3:8 – thy blessing Psa 5:12 – bless Psa 31:24 – shall Psa 67:7 – God Psa 71:16 – I will go Psa 115:13 – He will bless Psa 119:28 – strengthen Psa 147:14 – He maketh peace Isa 26:12 – ordain Isa 45:7 – I make Peace Joe 3:16 – and the strength Rom 2:10 – and peace Phi 4:7 – the peace Col 3:15 – the peace
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 29:11. The Lord will give strength unto his people To support and preserve them in the most dreadful storms and commotions, whether of the earth or its inhabitants; and, consequently, in all other dangers, and against all their enemies. He will strengthen and fortify them against every evil work, and furnish them for every good work: out of weakness they shall be made strong; nay, he will perfect strength in their weakness. He will bless his people with peace Though now he sees fit to exercise them with some troubles. He will encourage them in his service, and give them to find by experience that the work of righteousness is peace, and that great peace have they that love his law, and walk according to it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The same power Yahweh employs in storms is available to His people. As He can cause a storm to subside, so He can bring peace into our lives (cf. Mar 4:37-39). Thus the Lord is not just transcendent over all and able to control the forces of nature. He is also a resource for those to whom He has committed Himself with covenant promises.
"The subject of the psalm is the demonstration of God’s glory in nature, but its impact is the opposite. It gives a sense of tranquility and awe. Yahweh, our God, is powerful in his glory. He can and does protect his people. He opens heaven up to unleash his blessings of protection, victory, and peace (cf. Psa 28:8-9; Psa 46:1-3; Num 6:24-26). There is quietness within the storm for those who belong to the people of God." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 257.]
Believers should see in nature the attributes of God and glorify Him for His mighty power (cf. Psa 19:1-6). We should also remember that His power is a resource for us. The God of creation is also the God who saves His people.