RR Psalm 29:1 Part 1

Shalom,

Psalms
Psalm 29:1 – Part 1

Psalm 29:1 A psalm of David. Ascribe to Adonai, O sons of God, ascribe to Adonai glory and strength.

Psalm 29 has an important place in Hebrew liturgy.  Here are some specifics.  The entire Psalm is prayed on Friday night after the poem L’cha Dodi (meaning “to you, My beloved”).  It is the only non-90s Psalm in that sequence.  The last verse of Psalm 29 is part of the Torah service we chant whenever the Torah is removed from the Ark.  It is also used at the end of the Musaf (additional service) on Shabbat morning.  Finally, the last line is used again in the last line of the Birkat HaMazon (grace after meals).  But it will be a while before we get to the last line.

The Psalm starts with “Mizmor L’David,” which has a number of possible meanings.  It could indicate authorship, as in “a Psalm of David.”  It could also indicate a Psalm dedicated to David, as in “a Psalm for David.”  There are several more possibilities as well.  For now, let’s settle on the idea that this is a Psalm that belongs to a group of about half the Psalms that are labeled with David’s name, a man after God’s own heart, best known for His example of repentance and his heart for worship.

The poetic form is on display here in the phrase “Havu L’Adonai” which is repeated in the first verse, and again once more at the beginning of the second verse.  This is recognized as part of a “stair-step” poetic convention that is used throughout the Psalm.  At the heart of it here is the phrase “kavod va’oz,” meaning “glory and strength.”  How are we, His people, going to give God, Who already has everything, glory and strength?

Wait a minute… there is one thing that God has refused to give Himself, a willing human heart.  From the beginning, God has insisted that we have free will.  Each of us must choose, and life is full of choices.  And along with those choices are the consequences of blessings and curses.

Deuteronomy 30:15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil. 16 What I am commanding you today is to love Adonai your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His mitzvot, statutes and ordinances. Then you will live and multiply, and Adonai your God will bless you in the land you are going in to possess…. 19 I call the heavens and the earth to witness about you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live.”   

Strength is measurable and easily seen and grasped.  Not so with glory.  God’s “glory” is God’s “oneness.”  Isaiah 42:8 “I am Adonai(YHVH)—that is My Name! My glory I will not give to another, Or My praise to graven images.”  We give God glory when we choose to walk His straight and narrow path.  A life given over to His ways reflects His glory.  

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father… 21 to Him be the glory in the community of believers and in Messiah Yeshua throughout all generations forever and ever! Amen.  Shalom shalom.

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