Psalm 29:5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 29:1-11

In this psalm we have, I. A demand of the homage of the great men of the earth to be paid to the great God. Every clap of thunder David interpreted as a call to himself and other princes to give glory to the great God. Observe, 1. Who they are that are called to this duty: ?O you mighty (Ps. 29:1), you sons of the mighty, who have power, and on whom that power is devolved by succession and inheritance, who have royal blood running in your veins!? It is much for the honour of the great God that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 29:5

The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars ,.... Such an effect thunder has upon the tallest, strongest, and largest trees, as to break them into shivers; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon ; a mountain in the north part of the land of Judea, so called from its whiteness, both by reason of the snow with which some part of it is covered in summer, as Tacitus observes F2 Hist. l. 5. c. 6. ; and partly from the colour of the earth that has no snow on it, which looks as white... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 29:5

Breaketh the cedars - Very tall trees attract the lightning from the clouds, by which they are often torn to pieces. Woods and forests give dreadful proof of this after a thunderstorm. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 29:5

Verse 5 5.The voice of Jehovah breaketh the cedars. We see how the prophet, in order to subdue the stubbornness of men, shows, by every word, that God is terrible. He also seems to rebuke, in passing, the madness of the proud, and of those who swell with vain presumption, because they hearken not to the voice of God in his thunders, rending the air with his lightnings, shaking the lofty mountains, prostrating and overthrowing the loftiest trees. What a monstrous thing is it, that while all the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 29:1-11

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 29:1-11

The glorious sceptre of universal power. There are many productions of poets and poetesses, celebrating the grandeur of nature, and the glory of God as manifested in the works of his hands; but there are none which, even in a poetical point of view, surpass those in Job 26:1-14 ; Job 28:1-28 ; Job 38:1-41 .; Isaiah 40:1-31 .; Psalms 104:1-35 ; Psalms 19:1-14 ; Psalms 147:1-20 ; and that in the psalm before us now, which rises to the very noblest heights of Hebrew poetry, in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 29:1-11

The works and the Word of God should not be separated. They are both revelations, and the one is necessary to the right interpretation of the other. If we study God's works by themselves, we are apt to forget God's Word, and so forget God himself. If, on the other hand, we confine ourselves to God's Word, we are in danger of falling into a similar error—that of forgetting God's presence in his works, and so turning the world without us into a world without God. The psalmist shows us a more... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 29:1-11

The thunderstorm. Compare this with the nineteenth and eighth psalms—all nature psalms. This is a wonderful description of a thunderstorm. I. THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD IN NATURE INSPIRES THE DEVOUT MIND WITH THE SPIRIT OF WORSHIP . Inspires the common mind with fear. The scientific mind with inquiry. Inflames the imagination of the poetic mind. But fills the devout mind with the spirit of worship of the great invisible Creator. "Give unto the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 29:5

The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars . At length down swoops the hurricane—wind and rain and forked flashes of lightning all blended together, and violently tearing through the forest. The tall cedars—the pride and glory of Syria and Palestine—are snapped like reeds, and fall in a tangled mass. The Lord , who erstwhile "planted them" (Psalm cir. 16), now breaketh the cedars of Lebanon— breaketh and destroyeth them in his fury. Such storms, though rare in Palestine and Syria, are... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 29:5

Breaketh the cedars - The thunder prostrates the lofty trees of the forest. The psalmist speaks as things appeared, attributing, as was natural, and as was commonly done, that to the thunder which was really produced by the lightning. It, is now fully known that the effect here referred to is not produced by thunder, but by the rapid passage of the electric fluid as it passes from the cloud to the earth. that power is so great as to rive the oak or the cedar; to twist off their limbs; to... read more

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