Yahweh’s voice makes the deer calve, and strips the forests bare. In his temple everything says, “Glory!”
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh’s voice makes the deer calve, and strips the forests bare. In his temple everything says, “Glory!”
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The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
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The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and strippeth the forests bare; and in His temple all say: 'Glory.'
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Psalms 29:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 46:2-5 Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas; though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling. There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High. God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn.
- Job 39:1-3 “Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns? Can you count the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth? They bow themselves. They bear their young. They end their labor pains.
- Psalms 26:8 Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells.
- Psalms 48:9 We have thought about your loving kindness, God, in the middle of your temple.
- Ezekiel 20:46-48 “Son of man, set your face toward the south, and preach toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South. Tell the forest of the South, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word: The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree. The burning flame will not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned by it. All flesh will see that I, Yahweh, have kindled it. It will not be quenched.” ’ ”
- Psalms 134:1-2 Look! Praise Yahweh, all you servants of Yahweh, who stand by night in Yahweh’s house! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary. Praise Yahweh!
- Psalms 135:1-2 Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh’s name! Praise him, you servants of Yahweh, you who stand in Yahweh’s house, in the courts of our God’s house.
- Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
- Isaiah 10:18-19 He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints. The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child could write their number.
- Psalms 63:2 So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 9. The voice of Jehovah maketh the hinds to…
9. The voice of Jehovah maketh the hinds to bring forth Bishop Lowth reads, “Maketh the oaks to tremble,” (Lectures on Hebrew Poetry, vol. 2, p.253,) in which he is followed by Dimock, Green, Seeker, Horsley, Fry, and others. But Dathe, Berlin, De Rossi, Dr Adam Clarke, Rogers, etc., adhere to the common interpretation, in which they are supported by all the ancient versions, except the Syriac, which seems to favor the view of Lowth. A main argument of Lowth and those who follow him in support of his rendering is, that the common translation, which supposes the passage to relate to the hinds bring forth their young, agrees very little with the rest of the imagery either in nature or dignity; whereas the oak struck with lightning, is a far nobler image, and one which falls in more naturally with the scattering of a forest’s foliage under the action of a storm. But Rogers justly observes, that “we are not warranted in altering the Hebrew text, because the oriental imagery which we meet with does not correspond with our ideas of poetical beauty and grandeur,” (Book of Psalms in Hebrew, metrically arranged, vol. it. p. 186.) With respect to the sense conveyed by the common reading, it may be observed, that birds bring forth their young with great difficulty and pain, bowing themselves, bruising their young ones, and casting out their sorrows, (Job 39:4, 6;) and it therefore heightens the description given of the terrific character of the thunder-storm, when the thunder, which is here called the voice of God, is represented as causing, through the terror which it inspires, the hinds in their pregnant state prematurely to drop their young; although, according to our ideas of poetical imagery, this may not accord so well with the other images in the passage nor appear so beautiful and sublime as the image of the oaks trembling at the voice of Jehovah.
In his temple. God’s voice fills the whole world, and spreads itself to its farthest limits; but the prophet declares that his glory is celebrated only in his church, because God not only speaks intelligibly and distinctly there, but also there gently allures the faithful to himself. His terrible voice, which thunders in various ways in the air, strikes upon the ears, and causes the hearts of men to beat in such a manner, as to make them shrink from rather than approach him not to mention that a considerable portion turn a deaf ear to its sound in storms, rains, thunder, and lightnings. As men, therefore, profit not so much in this common school as to submit themselves to God, David wisely says especially that the faithful sing the praises of God in his temple, because, being familiarly instructed there by his fatherly voice, they devote and consecrate themselves wholly to his service. No man proclaims the glory of God aright but he who worships him willingly. This may be understood likewise as a complaint, in which David reproves the whole world of being silent in so far as the glory of God is concerned, “Etant que touche la gloire de Dieu.” — Fr.
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“Pour le craindre et servir comme il appartient.” — Fr.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Though the wicked are nothing moved with these lights,…
Though the wicked are nothing moved with these lights, yet the faithful praise God.
Maketh the trees bare, or pierceth the most secret places.
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For fear maketh them to cast their calves.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 29:9 The voice of the LORD maketh the…
Psa 29:9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of [his] glory.
Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve] Which they naturally do not without a great deal of difficulty, Job 39:4-6. {See Trapp on "Job "39:4"} {See Trapp on "Job "39:5"} {See Trapp on "Job "39:6"}
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And discovereth the forests] By driving the beasts into their dens, baring the forests of their leaves and fruits, turning up trees by the roots, and so making a clear prospect through woods and groves, as one phraseth it.
And in his temple doth every one speak of his glory] Heb. every one, or, every whit of it, saith Glory; every godly man observing his dreadful thunder, and other his stupendous works, saith Glory be to God on high. Some conceive this psalm was appointed by David to be sung in the temple in time of thunder; which is not unlikely (Moiler.). There are that make God to be the nominative case to the verb speaketh, and render it thus; and in his temple, or palace, doth he utter all his glory (Tremel.). As if the psalmist should say, Much of his glory God uttereth in his thunder; but all in his temple. For whatsoever there he speaketh with his mouth he fulfilleth it with his hand, Psa 115:3; Psa 119:91; Psa 33:9 Isa 44:26. See a like collation of God’s works and word, with a praelation of this above those, Psa 19:1-7; Psa 111:7.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Maketh the hinds to calve, through the terror which…
Maketh the hinds to calve, through the terror which it causeth, which hastens the birth in these and other places: see 1Sa 4:19. He nameth the
hinds, because they bring forth their young with difficulty, Job 39:1,2.
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Discovereth, Heb. maketh bare; either of its trees, which it either breaks or strips off their leaves; or of the beasts, which it forceth to run into their dens.
And in his temple; or, but. Having showed the terrible effects of God’s power in other places, he now shows the blessed privilege of God’s people, that are praising and glorifying God, and receiving the comfortable influences of his grace in his temple, when the rest of the world are trembling under the tokens of his displeasure; by which he secretly invites and persuades the Gentiles, for their own safety and comfort, to own the true God and to worship him in his sanctuary, as he did exhort them, Psa 29:2. Or, therefore, i.e. because of these and such-like discoveries of God’s excellent majesty and power, his people fear, and praise, and adore him in his temple.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to…
The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve,.... Which being timorous creatures, the bringing forth of their young, which is naturally very painful and difficult, is lessened and facilitated by thunder; they being either so frightened with it that they feel not their pains; or their pains, being hastened by it, become more easy; and naturalists observe, that the time of bringing forth their young is at that season of the year when thunder is most frequent; see Job 39:1. Thunder has a like effect on sheep, and makes them abortive (g): this may be applied to the Gospel, which is the means of bringing forth souls to Christ by his churches and ministers; who may very fitly be compared to hinds for their love and loveliness, their swiftness and readiness to do the will of Christ, and their eager desires after communion with him, Pro 5:19;
and discovereth the forests; or "maketh bare" (h): by beating off the leaves and branches of trees, and them to the ground; or by causing the wild beasts that frequent them to retire to their holes and dens; which effects are produced by thunder; and this aptly agrees with the Gospel, which is a revelation of secrets, of the thickets and deep things of God; of his council, covenant, mind, and will; and of the mysteries of his grace to the sons of men, and generally to babes, or men of their capacities; and of its stripping them of all their own righteousness, and dependence on it;
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and in his temple doth everyone speak of his glory; either in heaven, where angels and glorified saints are continually employed in speaking of his glorious name, nature, and works; or in the temple, or tabernacle at Jerusalem, where the Levites stood to praise the Lord morning and evening, and where the tribes went up to worship, and to give thanks unto the Lord, Ch1 23:30; or the church of God, which is the temple of the living God, whither saints resort, and where they dwell, and speak of the glory of God, of his divine perfections, and of his works of creation and providence; and of the glory of the person of Christ, and salvation by him; and of the glorious work of grace begun in their souls by the blessed Spirit; for hither such as have heard the voice of Christ, and have felt the power of it, and have found it to be a soul-shaking, an heart-breaking, and an illuminating voice, come, and declare it to the glory of the grace of God.
(g) Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 3. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 47. (h) "et denudat", Musculus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus; so Cocceius, Michaelis, Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain To calve - Through the terror it causes, which…
To calve - Through the terror it causes, which hastens the birth. He names the hinds, because they bring forth their young with difficulty, Job xxxix, 1, 2. Discovereth - Hebrew. maketh bare, of its trees, which it breaks or strips of their leaves. Glory - Having shewed the terrible effects of God's power in other places, he now shews the blessed privilege of God's people, that are praising God in his temple, when the rest of the world are trembling under the tokens of his displeasure.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 9. Maketh the hinds to calve] Strikes terror…
Verse 9. Maketh the hinds to calve] Strikes terror through all the tribes of animals; which sometimes occasions those which are pregnant to cast their young. This, I believe, to be the whole that is meant by the text. I meddle not with the fables which have been published on this subject both by ancients and moderns.
Discovereth the forests] Makes them sometimes evident in the darkest night, by the sudden flash; and often by setting them on fire.
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And in his temple] Does this refer to the effect which a dreadful thunder-storm often produces? Multitudes run to places of worship as asylums in order to find safety, and pray to God. See on Ps 29:2.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 29:9. Maketh the hinds to calve — Through…
Psa 29:9. Maketh the hinds to calve — Through the terror which it causeth, which hastens parturition in these and some other creatures. But he names hinds, because they usually bring forth their young with difficulty. See note on Job 39:1. And discovereth the forests — Hebrew יחשׂŠ, jechesoph, maketh bare, &c., either of their trees, which it breaks and strips of their leaves; or of the beasts, which it forces to run into their dens. And, or but, in his temple doth every one speak, &c. — Having shown the terrible effects of God’s power in other places, he now shows the blessed privilege of God’s people, that are praising and glorifying God, and receiving the comfortable influences of his grace in his temple, when the world are trembling under the tokens of his displeasure. By this he secretly invites and persuades the Gentiles, for their own safety and comfort, to own the true God, and to worship him in his sanctuary, as he exhorted, Psa 29:2. Or, therefore in his temple, that is, because of these, and such like discoveries of God’s excellent majesty and power, his people fear, praise, and adore him in his temple.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to…
The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve - The deer. The object of the psalmist here is to show the effects of the storm in producing consternation, especially on the weak and timid animals of the forest. The effect here adverted to is that of fear or consternation in bringing on the throes of parturition. Compare Job 39:1, Job 39:3. No one can doubt that the effect here described may occur in the violence of a tempest; and perhaps no image could more vividly describe the terrors of the storm than the consternation thus produced. The margin here is, “to be in pain.” The Hebrew means “to bring forth,” referring to the pains of parturition.
And discovereth the forests - The word used here means “to strip off, to uncover;” and, as used here, it means to strip off the leaves of the forest; to make the trees bare - referring to an effect which is often produced by a violent storm.
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And in his temple doth every one speak of his glory - Margin, “every whit of it uttereth,” etc. The word here rendered “temple” does not refer in this place to the tabernacle, or to the temple at Jerusalem, but rather “to the world itself,” considered as the residence or dwelling-place of God. Perhaps the true translation would be, “And in his temple everything says, Glory!” That is, in the dwelling-place of God - the world of nature - the sky, the earth, the forests, the waters, everything in the storm, echoes “glory, glory!” All these things declare the glory of God; all these wonders - the voice of God upon the waters; the thunder; the crash of the trees upon the hills; the shaking of the wilderness; the universal consternation; the leaves stripped from the trees and flying in every direction - all proclaim the majesty and glory of Yahweh.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Terror-stricken animals and denuded forests close the illustration. In…
Terror-stricken animals and denuded forests close the illustration. In view of this scene of awful sublimity, God's worshippers respond to the call of Psa 29:2, and speak or cry, "Glory!" By "temple," or "palace" (God's residence, Psa 5:7), may here be meant heaven, or the whole frame of nature, as the angels are called on for praise.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 9. Hinds to calve—That is, prematurely. This effect of…
9. Hinds to calve—That is, prematurely. This effect of heavy thunder was well known. Pliny, (book viii, chap. 47,) affirms the same of sheep when alone from the flock, but being with the flock the evil was obviated.
Discovereth the forests—To discover the forest is to uncover, to make it bare, to strip it of foliage. Devastation marks the storm track.
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In his temple doth every one speak of his glory—Literally, in his temple all of it speaks (is speaking) glory, namely, to God. The destructive force of the elements, no less than the fertilizing rain, glorifies God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 9. maketh the hinds to calve] Prematurely, in fear;…
9. maketh the hinds to calve] Prematurely, in fear; an observed fact. There is no need to emend (though the change required would be very slight), shaketh (or, pierceth) the oaks.
discovereth] i.e. as R.V., strippeth the forests bare, of branches, leaves, bark. Discover is an archaism for uncover (Psa_18:15, note).
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and in his temple &c.] R.V., And in his temple everything saith, Glory. It is tempting to understand his temple of heaven and earth, and to regard the line as a summary of the message of the storm; but temple (or, palace) must mean heaven; and the meaning is better given by rendering
While in his temple all are saying, Glory.
This is the chant of the angelic worshippers (Psa_29:1-2) as they watch the manifestation of Jehovah’s majesty.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (9) Maketh the hinds to calve.—Literally, maketh the hinds…
(9) Maketh the hinds to calve.—Literally, maketh the hinds writhe (with pain). (See margin. Comp. Job_39:1, where the hind’s habit of hiding its young for safety is alluded to, a habit which the violence of the storm makes it forget.) Both Plutarch and Pliny notice the custom of shepherds to collect their flocks during a thunderstorm, for such as are left alone and are separated, are apt, through terror, to cast their young.
Discovereth the forests.—The word “discovereth” comes from the LXX. and Vulgate. Literally, peels or strips—the effects both of wind and lightning. Passing over the sands of the Arabah, the storm has reached the “acacias and palms and vegetation which clothe the rocks of granite and porphyry in the neighbourhood of Petra.” Forests may seem rather a large word for such vegetation, but Stanley remarks of the Arabah that “the shrubs at times give it almost the appearance of a jungle.” Similar effects of a storm upon a forest are described by Tennyson in Vivien:
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“Scarce had she ceased when out of heaven a bolt
(For now the storm was close above them) struck,
Furrowing a giant oak, and javelining
With darted spikes and splinters of the wood
The dark earth round. He raised his eyes and saw
The tree that shone white-listed thro’ the gloom.”
In his temple.—Better, in his palace—i.e., the heavenly palace, as in Psa_11:4; Psa_18:6. (See Psa_29:1.) The angelic spectators of the magnificent drama enacted below them cry (not merely speak of, as Authorised Version, but utter the word) each one, “Glory,” obeying the poet’s invocation in the prelude.
Notice that the effect of the storm on men is supposed to be all summed up in the poet’s own attitude of listening awe. There is no actual mention of this part of creation; but one feels from the poem that while inanimate nature trembles and suffers, and the godlike intelligences of heaven are engaged in praise, man listens and is mute.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to…
The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve. Plutarch says, "Shepherds accustom their flocks in a thunderstorm to keep together, and put their heads in the same direction; for such as are left alone and separated from the rest through terror cast their young" ("Sympos.," Quest. 2). And Pliny, "Solitary sheep cast their lambs in thunderstorms; the remedy is to keep the flock together, since it helps them to have company." A traveller in South Africa observes, "In Bechuanaland, when there are heavy thunderstorms, the antelopes flee in consternation; and the poor Bechuanas start off on the morning following such a storm in quest of the young which have been cast through horror" (see Moffat"s "South Africa," quoted by Dr. Kay, in his "Commentary on the Psalms," p. 93). And discovereth the forests; or, strippeth the forests. Denudes them of their leaves and branches. And in his temple doth every one speak of his glory; i.e. his grand temple, or palace (heykal), of heaven and earth. In this temple "every one," or rather everything, all that is in it. is continually speaking of his glory (literally, "says, Glory!").
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the…
Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, those timid creatures, in deadly fear of the tempest, drop their burdens in an untimely manner. Perhaps a better reading is, "the oaks to tremble, "especially as this agrees with the next sentence, and discovereth the forests. The dense shades of the forest are lit up with the lurid glare of the lightning, and even the darkest recesses are for a moment laid bare.
"The gloomy woods
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Start at the flash, and from their deep recesses
Wide flaming out, their trembling inmates shake."
Our first parents sought a refuge among the trees, but the voice of the Lord soon found them out, and made their hearts to tremble. There is no concealment from the fire glance of the Almightyone flash of his angry eye turns midnight into noon. The gospel has a like revealing power in dark hearts, in a moment it lights up every dark recess of the heart's ungodliness, and bids the soul tremble before the Lord.
In his temple doth everyone speak of his glory. Those who were worshipping in the temple, were led to speak of the greatness of Jehovah as they heard the repeated thunder claps. The whole world is also a temple for God, and when he rides abroad upon the wings of the wind, all things are vocal in his praise. We too, the redeemed of the Lord, who are living temples for his Spirit, as we see the wonders of his power in creation, and feel them in grace, unite to magnify his name. No tongue may be dumb in God's temple when his glory is the theme. The original appears to have the force of "every one crieth Glory, "as though all things were moved by a sense of God's majesty to shout in ecstasy, "Glory, glory." Here is a good precedent for our Methodist friends and for the Gogoniants of the zealous Welsh.
Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve. With respect to the sense conveyed by the common reading, it may be observed, that hinds bring forth their young with great difficulty and pain, "bowing themselves, bruising their young ones, and casting out their sorrows" Job 39:4, 6; and it therefore heightens the description given of the terrific character of the thunderstorm, when the thunder which is here called "the voice of God, "is represented as causing, through the terror which it inspires, the hinds in their pregnant state prematurely to drop their young; although, according to our ideas of poetical imagery, this may not accord so well with the other images in the passage, nor appear so beautiful and sublime as the image of the oaks trembling at the voice of Jehovah. John Calvin.
Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve. The care and tenderness of God toward beasts turns to his praise, as well as the care which he hath of, and the tenderness which he shows to believers. As it doth exceedingly advance the glory of God, that he takes care of wild beasts, so it may exceedingly strengthen the faith of man that he will take care of him. Doth the Lord take care of hinds? then certainly he takes care of those who particularly belong to him. There is a special providence of God towards these and such like creatures for the production of their young. Heif I may so speak with reverenceshows his midwifery in helping these savage beasts when their pains come upon them. As the Lord takes man, in an eminent manner, "out of the womb" Ps 22:9, so in a manner he takes beasts out of the womb too. "The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh; "so we translate it; but the word which we render "shaketh" is the same with that in Job 39:2, which signifieth to bring forth; and hence, some very learned in the Hebrew tongue do not render as we, "The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness, "but "The voice of the Lord maketh the wilderness to bring forth; the Lord maketh the wilderness of Kadesh to bring forth; "which is not to be understood of the vegetative creatures (that's a truth, the Lord makes the trees of the forest to bring forth both leaves and fruit), but it is meant of animals or living creatures there. And then when he saith, "The voice of the Lord maketh the wilderness to bring forth, " the meaning is, the Lord makes the wild beast of the wilderness to bring forth; which seems to be the clear sense of the place by that which followeth: for the psalmist having said this in general at the eighth verse, "The voice of the Lord maketh the wilderness to bring forth, "he in the ninth verse gives the special instance of the hind: "The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve." Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve. It is with great propriety, says one of the ancients that Jehovah demands, "The birth of the hinds dost thou guard"? Job 39:1, for since this animal is always in flight, and with fear and terror always leaping and skipping about, she could never bring her young to maturity without such a special protection. The providence of God, therefore, is equally conspicuous in the preservation of the mother and the fawn; both are the objects of his compassion and tender care; and, consequently, that afflicted man has no reason to charge his Maker with unkindness, who condescended to watch over the goats and the hinds. It seems to be generally admitted, that the hind brings forth her young with great difficulty; and so much appears to be suggested in the verse, "They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows." But if Pliny and other naturalists are worthy of credit, divine providence has been graciously pleased to provide certain herbs, which greatly facilitate the birth; and by instinct, he directs the hind to feed upon them, when the time of gestation draws towards a close. Whatever truth there may be in this assertion, we know from higher authority, that providence promotes the parturition of the hind, by awakening her fears, and agitating her frame by the rolling thunder: "The voice of Jehovah (a common Hebrew phrase, denoting thunder) maketh the hinds to calve." Nor ought we to wonder, that so timorous a creature as the hind, should be so much affected by that awful atmospheric convulsion, when some of the proudest men that ever existed, have been known to tremble. Augustus, the Roman emperor, according to Suetonius, was so terrified when it thundered, that he wrapped a seal skin round his body, with the view of defending it from the lightning, and concealed himself in some secret corner till the tempest ceased. The tyrant Caligula, who sometimes affected to threaten Jupiter himself, covered his head, or hid himself under a bed; and Horace confesses he was reclaimed from atheism by the terror of thunder and lightning, the effects of which he describes with his usual felicity. (Odes, b. 1 34.) George Paxton's "Illustrations of Scripture."
Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve. "Cervi sunt predicatores, "says S. Jerome, who bring forth souls to Christ by the gospel which is God's voice; and the stripping of the leaves of the forest by the voice of the Lord, represents their work in humbling the strong oaks and lofty cedars of the world by the power of the gospel, and in stripping the souls of the worldly minded of their manifold disguises (S. Basil). Others apply it to act of the preachers of God's word, disclosing the dark thickets of divine mysteries in the holy Scriptures by evangelical light set forth by the Holy Ghost (S. Jerome). Christopher Wordsworth.
Ver. 9 (first clause). "The voice of Jehovah makes havoc of the oaks, and strips bare the forests." Samuel Horsley.
Ver. 9. In his temple. Some conceive that this Psalm was appointed by David to be sung in the temple in time of thunder, which is not unlikely. There are writers who make God to be the nominative case to the verb speaketh; and render it thus, in his temple doth he utter all his glory. As much as to say, much of his glory God uttereth in his thunder, but all in his temple, for whatsoever there he speaketh with his mouth he fulfils it with his hand. John Trapp.
Ver. 9. (last clause). David speaking in the former part of the Psalm of the effects of natural thunder only, towards the close of the Psalm applies it to the Word of God, while he saith, And in his temple doth every one speak of his glory; that is, the word and ordinances of God, ministered in his church or temple, will put every one to acknowledge and speak of the glorious power of God, even much more than the mighty thunder which sounds in our ears, or the subtle lightning which flashes in our eyes. There is far more royal power in the thunder of the Word, than in the word of thunder. This terrifies only to conviction, but that terrifies to salvation; for after God speaks terror there in his threatenings, he speaks comfort in the promises; and when he hath affrighted us with a sense of our sins and of his wrath due to us for our sins, as with an horrible tempest, he presently refresheth us with the gentle gales of revealed grace, and with the pleasant amiable sunshine of his favour by Jesus Christ. Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 9. The revealing power of the word of God in the secrets of man's heart, and its regenerating force.
Ver. 9 (last clause).
1. Matchless temple.
2. Unanimous worship.
3. Forcible motive.
4. General enthusiasm, "glory", See Comment.
Psalms 29:10*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain In His temple doth every one speak of His…
Psa_29:9
In His temple doth every one speak of His glory.
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Natures should of praise
In His temple everything saith Glory! The temple of which the psalmist here speaks is the temple of Nature. He believed that every object in the visible universe was engaged in singing paeans of praise to its Creator--fire and hail. Too many of us lack almost entirely this sixth sense, the vision and the faculty divine; we hear scarce a whisper of this great shout of praise that goes up from all creation. But in what sense does everything in Nature cry, Glory! In what sense does the material universe sing the praises of God? It does so, I doubt not, directly. For Gods pleasure all things are and were created, and doubtless the incense which arises from Natures altars, the songs which are chanted in her leafy aisles, the perfume of her flowers, the beauty of her landscapes, are as grateful to the Creator as mans acts of worship. The trees clap their hands, and She little hills rejoice together before the Lord. But there is another sense in which natural objects praise God, and it is this we shall meditate upon; they awaken gratitude in the heart of man and thus transmute themselves into conscious praise. Mans soul is the great organ upon which Nature plays her anthems of praise; the five senses are the keys; and through the medium of this instrument every created thing in Gods Temple crieth, Glory!
I. nature incites man to praise by her beauty, Think of one or two of those myriad appeals to our admiration which Nature makes, and which, for the most part, go unregarded.
1. Reflect how Gods glory reacheth unto the clouds. The clouds, perhaps more than all other objects in Nature, teach us the immanence of God, teach us how His presence may penetrate and transfigure even what is most commonplace and familiar. For what are clouds? When they rest on the surface of the earth they are just choking fogs and clinging mists disfiguring everything they touch. But raise them away into the purer strata of the air to which they rightly belong; let the wind churn them into flakes of snow, and the moon pierce them with its silver arrows; and the sun suffuse them with its golden ardours; let them become the womb of the lightning and the chariot of the storm--and they present such visions of glory as can be seen nowhere else. Thus God would teach us that evil is but good in its wrong place, and that the fogs and mists of earths sins and sorrows are the substance out of which God will weave hereafter golden visions of ethereal beauty.
2. Think what praise we owe God for the loveliness of all watery forms with which He has robed and adorned the earth, and of which clouds are but a part. The brooklet seeks the river, and the river empties itself into the sea, and the sea sends aloft its multitude of clouds, and the clouds form themselves anew on the face of the earth. That which is part of a stagnant ditch to-day may be a radiant dewdrop tomorrow, and what is now a peaceful pool may anon be a part of the stormy ocean which writhes its white fingers in the shrouds of sinking ships. But whether in forms of sublimity or of tenderness, how varied is its loveliness, and how varied are the notes of praise it should educe from man. Think of it as the iceberg and the glacier; as the snow that robes the mountain, and the hoar-frost that bejewels the branches; as the foam ball upon the torrent and the dewdrop on the rose; as the cataract spanned by the rainbow, and the crystal pool, the mirror of the woods 1 And then, perceiving how beautiful these things are in themselves, and what a throb of gratitude they awaken in the heart of him who feels their beauty, you will be impelled to link the gratitude of conscious and unconscious nature together, and to cry with the psalmist, All Thy works praise Thee, O God, and Thy saints give thanks unto Thee.
3. Whether we gaze downward at our feet, where God has covered the earth with a carpet of emerald, and embroidered it with flowers, and, lest we should weary of their colours, has decreed that they shall bloom and fade, and be succeeded by others, month by month, and season by season; or visit those mountain regions which are, as an eminent writer has said, the great cathedrals of the earth, with their gates of rock, pavements of cloud, choirs of stream and stone, altars of snow, and vaults of purple traversed by the continual stars; whether it be the lichen which softens the scarred ruin or the forest which clothes a mountain side which engages our attention; the insect which flutters its hour of sunshine and is gone, or the star whose light takes a thousand years to bridge the space between it and us--alike, if we have indeed ears to hear, shall we be impelled to confess that everything in Gods temple crieth, Glory!--alike we shall declare with the psalmist, Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy works, and I will rejoice in giving praise for the operation of Thy hands.
II. nature incites us to praise by her bounty. The beauty of those natural objects of which I have spoken appeals to our higher nature, but our lower nature also needs ministering to. Man shall not live by bread alone, but without bread he cannot live at all. And, therefore, Nature awakens our gratitude by her material as well as her spiritual gifts. The clouds not only delight the eye; they are, as a psalmist calls them, the river of God, and rain plenteousness on the earth. The flowers of the field do not merely charm us by their loveliness, they yield up to us their colours and their perfumes; they serve us with their seeds and their fibres; they give us medicine to heal our sickness. The oak, the pine, the cedar, and the ash are not only types of strength and gracefulness; they yield timber for the ships and rafters for the homestead. The mountains serve not only to sanctify and delight the human heart by their sublimity, they help to make the earth habitable by purifying the air and giving birth to the rivers; without them the ground would become stagnant morass and the atmosphere would breathe pestilence. The mighty ocean, which is, in calm, as a waving veil of iridescent colours, and in storm--
The mirror where th Almightys form
Glasses itself in tempests,
is also the helper of man, bearing on its bosom the argosies of many nations, and in its depths the harvest of the sea, without which the harvest of the land would be insufficient for our needs. All nature thus ministers to us--
The whole is either our cupboard of food,
Or cabinet of pleasure,
And, moreover, nothing is too insignificant to be serviceable. Says Dr. Macmillan: Even the hoary lichen on the dusky rock, that has drunk ill all the hues of the spectrum and made no sign, yields, when artificially treated, its hidden store of colour, and produces a violet and golden hue not unworthy of the fairest garden flower.
III. nature incites to praise by the moral qualities she educes in man. This is Natures chief glory, her highest honour, that she is the instrument by which God educates human souls and fits them for their immortal destiny, For we are placed here under the discipline of Nature, and she is a severe task-mistress, from whom nothing is to be had for the mere asking. Nature exacts laborious toil in exchange for all her gifts. She hides her pearls in the depths of the sea, her gold in the sands of the river or the crevices of the rocks; she buries the metals, mans most useful allies, and the coal to smelt those metals, deep down in the heart of the earth; she secretes her balms and her subtle essences where even the cunning chemist can scarce track them. Her most powerful forces, such as electricity, are ever the most elusive and the hardest to be subdued. Everything man extorts from Nature he must win, not only by the sweat of his brow, but by the sweat of his brain. He wrestles with her for her blessing as Jacob wrestled with the angel at Penuel, till almost he seems crippled with the strain. But the conflict proves at last that as a prince he has power with God and has prevailed; he wins the blessing, and, lo! it is not only corn and oil and wine, but rich endowments of mind and heart as well. Think about it, and you will see that almost all the highest moral qualities of our race--patience, endurance, forethought, courage, mutual helpfulness--are the outcome of the necessity to work which Nature lays upon us. (A. M. Mackay, B. A.)
Glory! glory! glory! -
I. The statement of this verse holds good when we consider the temple of the universe. In it everything says, Glory! The whole universe is, to the devout mind, as one huge sanctuary in which all things show forth the praise of their Creator. Incline your ears to listen, open your hearts to catch the sweet sounds, as flowers, and clouds, and beasts, and birds, rocks, hills and trees, declare that God is worthy to be praised! We must not let them sing alone. Well take our key from them, and say, Glory, too.
II. in the temple at Jerusalem everything saith, Glory. I know that when this psalm was written the wondrous pile on Zions hill had not been commenced. But it was already in Davids heart to build it, and, for aught I know, some of the plans of the sacred premises were by this time in his hands. With a prophets eye he foresaw the building of that holy Temple--its grace, and its grandeur. As Abraham saw Christs day and was glad, so David, with a seers vision, perceived the temple crowning Mount Moriah, and said of it, In His temple everything saith, Glory.
III. We may refer this also to our blessed saviour, for Jesus called His body the Temple of God. I sometimes think that David, who already foresaw his greater Son, may have thought of Jesus when he said, Everything in His Temple saith, Glory. A greater than the temple is here. Study Christs life, and you will find that He lived to Gods glory from first to last. At His birth the angels sang, Glory to God in the highest. In His boyhood He must be about His Fathers business, and all through life He did always the things that pleased Him. Everything about Christ, Gods Temple, said, Glory: every word was to the praise of the Father, every work glorified Him upon the earth, every grace and characteristic reflected the glory of God the Father, for Christ was the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His Person. Twas when He came to die that His body, broken for our sakes, said, Glory! loudest and most emphatically.
IV. Is Christs church everything says, glory. Oh, to get out of the set-Hess of our proprieties. Everything in His temple saith, Glory.
V. This brings me to a still more personal matter, viz. the temples of our persons. Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? Does everything in the temple say, Glory? Are all your powers devoted to the service of God? Are all the wondrous influences that you exercise employed to the praise of Jesus? Is the royal standard flying over every gate of Mansoul? Does it float above the citadel? Do our highest faculties of thought, and memory, and affection, and imagination, pay to God the homage that is due unto His Name? The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever. Oh, for this full consecration, this entire surrender.
VI. Let me remind you of the heavenly temple to which, as the years fly past, we are hastening on. Oh, for a peep into the land of light. John helps us, for it was his privilege to gaze right into the Glory. There His servants serve Him day and night in His Temple. There the hearts of the redeemed sing out His praise, like the voice of many waters. (T. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 The voice of Yahweh causes
The voice of Yahweh causes
Here "voice" represents Yahweh speaking. AT: "When Yahweh speaks, the sound causes" (See: Metonymy)
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the oaks to twist
"the large trees to shake"
strips the forests bare
Removing the leaves of the trees is spoken of as if it was removing their clothing. AT: "strips off the leaves from the trees" (See: Metaphor)
Yahweh sits as king
This means that Yahweh rules. AT: "Yahweh rules" or "Yahweh is king" (See: Metonymy)
over the flood
Here "flood" refers to waters that cover the earth.
translationWords
voice
oak
labor
temple
glory
king
eternity
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.