Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; 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!’ ” (v1-5a,7-9)
David was probably witness to a terrible storm that swept down from the mountains and blew over Judah. In this storm, David finds a number of metaphors to describe the power and glory of God.
David is really trying to emphasize which God he is talking about – the name Yahweh (“the Lord”) is used 18 times in 11 verses. My thought it that throughout history, Israel had a habit of worshiping other gods in addition to (or instead of) Yahweh, so David was being extremely clear in this passage.
Baal, a commonly worshiped middle-eastern god, was known for communicating through storms – he was even depicted holding lightning bolts in his hands (similar to the Greek god Zeus). David is instead attributing the thunder and lightning to Yahweh (specifically His voice), giving glory to God rather than Baal.
The voice of Yahweh is mentioned 7 times, and each time it has an action tied to it which attributes something about who God is – sovereign, powerful, majestic, beyond compare, brilliant and quick, authoritative, precise and methodical.
One final observation – David tells the “heavenly beings” to worship God, ascribing glory, splendor, strength and honor to Him alone. Who are these heavenly beings? We’re not quite sure, David doesn’t elaborate. Possibly the angels, or maybe the four living creatures and 24 elders mentioned in Rev 4:8-11. Regardless, David is indicating that God alone is sovereign, above everyone and everything, and there is no other worthy being more worthy of glory and praise.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Rev 4:8b,11, 5:12b,13b)
~ Conqueror in Training