One of my favorite ways to begin exploring a passage of scripture is to look for the action. What’s going on here? And who is doing it?

In Psalm 29, there’s plenty going on, and the main actor is the Lord—or, to be specific, “the voice of the Lord.” That shouldn’t surprise us, because the “voice of the Lord” is always a force to be reckoned with.

At the very beginning, God speaks creation into existence (Genesis 1-2). Later, God sends His Son (“the Word made flesh,” John 1) to redeem us; and, at the end, “the Word of God” defeats the beast and his armies with the “sword” that comes from his mouth (Revelation 19).

In Psalm 29, the voice of the Lord flashes and thunders, changes the landscape, agitates the nations, and breaks things we thought were unbreakable.

Today (Memorial Day) we remember those who died in war. It’s hard to do that without also reflecting on the military power that cut those lives short. Whether we respect, fear, or loathe that power, we should never mistake it as the ultimate power.

There is nothing in heaven or on earth as powerful as the voice of the Lord.