what voice is needed today (or any day)?

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
worship the LORD in holy splendor.

The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over mighty waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl
and strips the forest bare,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!

Psalm 29; NRSVue

The NRSV supplies headings at the beginning of each psalm, the one before this psalm: “The Voice of God in a Great Storm.” Verses 3-9 “is a description of a powerful storm moving over the Mediterranean Sea onto the coast, with thunder (29:3-4), wind (29:5-6, 8-9), and lightning (29:7)” (CEB Study Bible, 870 OT). As is clear in the psalm, the storm is metaphorical representing the threatening events of whatever nature on earth, or perhaps, God’s response to such.

The storms vary depending on which time and place we live, but there’s no escape from them. There’s not much argument that we live in a storm today. And that there’s a cacophony of loud voices in disharmony and discord is evident day after day to anyone who pays attention to the news. We live in a troubling, tumultuous time.

God is said to “sit enthroned as king forever.” God is the ruler above all, no one else is in that realm. Everyone and those who profess faith in God all the more, should be listening for God’s voice and be wary of any human who claims absolute, life giving, and if you listen closely, death dealing power.

It’s God’s voice that we need to listen for and seek to discern during the storm, not only over the storm, but somehow even in it, a part of it. And the promise: That God would give strength to God’s people and bless them with peace.

The responsibility of a king was to provide for his people….In Psalm 72, the earthly king is God’s agent for achieving “shalom” (see Ps 72:3, 7), which means complete well-being that results from establishing the justice and righteousness that God wills (see Pss 96:13; 98:9).

CEB Study Bible, 870, OT

Any person or entity who imagines that their voice is somehow in merged into God’s voice will be in for a rude awakening. And those who trust that God’s voice is the one that we should be listening for in the storm will find the strength and peace needed for the good of all.