“Gloria in excelsis in the beginning, and in terra pax in the end” (Franz Delitzsch, Luke 2:14)
The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The Lord gives power to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace —Psalms 29:7-9
Years ago, my father and I were fishing a set of beaver ponds when it began to rain. We took cover under a nearby grove of quaking aspen, but the rain continued to fall, so we decided to call it a day and we ran for the truck.
I had just opened the door when lightning struck the aspen grove that had sheltered us with a thunderous fireball that stripped leaves and bark off the trees, leaving a few smoldering limbs…
And then there was peace.
Power! Voltage! Percussion! Shock and awe! “The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare.”
David saw thunder and lightning as “the voice of the Lord.” As did Job: ”Listen, O listen, to the blast of his voice and the sound that issues from his mouth. His lightning is hurled across the heaven, it strikes to the extremities of earth. After it comes a roaring sound, God thunders with majestic voice. He does not check his thunderbolts until his voice resounds no more” (Job 37:2-4).
God’s voice speaks to us today in his word with thunderous, irresistible power —to bless us with “strength” for the day (29:9). Strength to endure, to be patient, to stand and wait, to get up and go, to do little or nothing at all.
And then there is peace. Peace in the face of this tiresome pandemic and the political chaos of our day. Peace for the asking: “Lord, give us your peace for today” (John 14:27).
David Roper
2.12.21
