Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 29:9

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 29:9. 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.

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 Psalms 29:2.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 29:0 God in the storm

On the occasion referred to here a furious storm displays to people something of the might and glory of God. The writer sees the storm approaching from the sea, bursting in its fury on the forest regions, then passing on into the barren areas to the south. He begins the psalm by urging heavenly beings to join with people on earth to worship God for his majesty and power (1-2).
The psalmist sees the storm gathering over the sea and approaching with the sound of loud thunder (3-4). It bursts in fury on the cedar forests of Lebanon, breaking trees like matchwood. It tosses them about with such wild power that the forest appears to be jumping around like a lively young animal (5-6). Flashes of lightning add their weird light as the wild wind moves south, shaking the forests as it goes (7-8). As the psalmist views the stripped forests and scattered wreckage left behind by the storm, he is humbled before a God of such awesome power. The whole scene speaks of the glory of the almighty God (9).
But God is more than the Lord of nature. He is the Lord of his people. He is the heavenly king, and just as he has the power to send storms and bring calm, so he is ready to bless his people with strength and peace (10-11).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“The voice of Jehovah maketh the hinds to calve, And strippeth the forests bare: And in his temple, everything saith, Glory.”

“Maketh the hinds to calve” (Psalms 29:9). This is usually interpreted to mean that wild animals, mammals, living in the forests were caused to bring forth their young prematurely because of their terror of the violent thunderstorm. The hinds here are the female deer. Dahood affirmed that, “There is no evidence that either wild or domestic animals are so affected by a thunderstorm.”Mitchell Dahood in The Anchor Bible, Vol. 1, p. 179. However, as Rawlinson pointed out, “Plutarch stated that the shepherds reported that, `Sheep left alone in a thunderstorm do indeed cast their young.’ Also Pliny, the Roman historian wrote that, `Solitary sheep cast their lambs in thunderstorms; and the remedy is to keep the flock together, which helps prevent that.’“The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 213. Dummelow also recognized this phenomenon as, “An actual effect of terrifying thunderstorms.”J. R. Dummelow’s Commentary, p. 341.

Until competent authorities are willing to qualify Dahood as an expert in Animal Husbandry, we shall be content with the competent witnesses we have here cited on this subject. And, of course, there is another sense in which God indeed enables both man and beast to reproduce themselves, being, in fact the First Cause of all things.

“In his temple everything saith, Glory” (Psalms 29:9). “This vision of `The Glorious One’ semantically and structurally balances Psalms 29:2, a full fourteen beats from the beginning of the psalm.”Mitchell Dahood in The Anchor Bible, Vol. 1, p.180.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

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.

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.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

9.The voice of Jehovah maketh the hinds to bring forth ⁽⁶¹⁵⁾ A tacit comparison, as I have said, is here made. It is worse than irrational, it is monstrous, that men are not moved at God’s voice, when it has such power and influence on wild beasts. It is base ingratitude, indeed, in men not to perceive his providence and government in the whole course of nature; but it is a detestable insensibility that at least his unusual and extraordinary works, which compel even wild beasts to obey him, will not teach them wisdom. Some interpreters think that hinds are mentioned, rather than other beasts, on account of their difficulty in bringing forth their young; which I disapprove not. The voice of the Lord is also said to discover or make bare the forests, either because there is no covering which can prevent it from penetrating into the most secret recesses and caverns; or, because lightnings, rains, and stormy winds, beat off the leaves and make the trees bare. Either sense is appropriate.

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, ⁽⁶¹⁶⁾ and laments that although his voice resounds through all regions, yet his praises are no where sung but in his temple alone. He appears, however, after the example of all the godly, to exhort the whole of mankind to praise God’s name, and designedly to erect a temple as a receptacle for his glory, for the purpose of teaching us, that in order truly to know God, and praise him as is his due, we need another voice than that which is heard in thunders, showers, and storms in the air, in the mountains, and in the forests; for if he teach us not in plain words, and also kindly allure us to himself, by giving us a taste of his fatherly love, we will continue dumb. It is the doctrine of salvation alone, therefore, which cheers our hearts and opens our mouths in his praises, by clearly revealing to us his grace, and the whole of his will. It is from thence that we must learn how we ought to praise him. We may also unquestionably see that at that time there was nothing of the light of godliness in the whole world, except in Judea. Even philosophers, who appeared to approach nearest to the knowledge of God, contributed nothing whatever that might truly glorify him. All that they say concerning religion is not only frigid, but for the most part insipid. It is therefore in his word alone that there shines forth the truth which may lead us to true piety, and to fear and serve God aright. ⁽⁶¹⁷⁾

(615) 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;) 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.

(616) “Etant que touche la gloire de Dieu.” — Fr.

(617) “Pour le craindre et servir comme il appartient.” — Fr.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 29:1-11

Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory that is due unto his name ( Psalms 29:1-2 );

We have told you how that they reverence the name of God. Now we are commanded, "Give the Lord that is glory, due His name; the name that is above all names,"

worship Jehovah in the beauty of holiness ( Psalms 29:2 ).

Now he speaks of the greatness of the Lord.

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters ( Psalms 29:3 ):

"The voice of the Lord, the voice of the Lord," this is Hebrew poetry in its finest form, the repetition. "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters."

the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yes, the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the hinds to calve, and discovers the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yes, the LORD sitteth King for ever. The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace ( Psalms 29:3-11 ).

What glorious promises, "God will give you strength. God will bless you with peace." "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 29

David praised God for His awesome power as a consequence of contemplating a severe thunderstorm, either a real storm or one in his mind’s eye.

"David was an outdoorsman who appreciated nature and celebrated the power of Jehovah the Creator. Jewish worshipers today use this psalm in the synagogue as a part of their celebration of Pentecost." [Note: Wiersbe, The . . . Wisdom . . ., p. 147.]

Israel’s pagan neighbors gave the credit for storms and other natural phenomena to their gods. Consequently, this creation psalm was a polemic against belief in these idols, as well as a tribute to the uniqueness of Yahweh.

"Whether David was building the psalm out of an ancient fragment, or turning to a style that would recall the old battle-hymns of God’s salvation, the primitive vigour of the verse, with its eighteen reiterations of the name Yahweh (the Lord), wonderfully matches the theme, while the structure of the poem averts the danger of monotony by its movement from heaven to earth, by the path of the storm and by the final transition from nature in uproar to the people of God in peace." [Note: Kidner, pp. 124-25.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Reasons to praise Yahweh 29:3-9

This section pictures a thunderstorm.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

As the storm moved eastward into the wilderness area near Kadesh north of Damascus, it shook the earth. It made the deer give birth to their calves prematurely and blew the leaves off the trees. Consequently, all God’s angelic host glorified Him for His great power.

It is probably significant that the phrase "voice of the Lord" occurs seven times in Psalms 29:3-9. The Israelites often regarded things done seven times as perfect acts of God, such as the creation that God accomplished in seven days.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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, Proverbs 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;

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, 1 Chronicles 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 ויחשף "et denudat", Musculus, Vatablus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus so Cocceius, Michaelis, Ainsworth.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

A psalm of David.

      1 Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.   2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.   3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.   4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.   5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.   6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.   7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.   8 The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.   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.   10 The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.   11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

      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 (Psalms 29:1; Psalms 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 the men of this world should pay their homage to him; and they are bound to do it, not only because, high as they are, he is infinitely above them, and therefore they must bow to him, but because they have their power from him, and are to use it for him, and this tribute of acknowledgment they owe to him for it. 2. How often this call is repeated; Give unto the Lord, and again, and a third time, Give unto the Lord. This intimates that the mighty men are backward to this duty and are with difficulty persuaded to it, but that it is of great consequence to the interests of God's kingdom among men that princes should heartily espouse them. Jerusalem flourishes when the kings of the earth bring their glory and honour into it,Revelation 21:24. 3. What they are called to do--to give unto the Lord, not as if he needed any thing, or could be benefited by any gifts of ours, nor as if we had any thing to give him that is not his own already (Who hath first given to him?), but the recognition of his glory, and of his dominion over us, he is pleased to interpret as a gift to him: "Give unto the Lord your own selves, in the first place, and then your services. Give unto the Lord glory and strength; acknowledge his glory and strength, and give praise to him as a God of infinite majesty and irresistible power; and whatever glory or strength he has by his providence entrusted you with offer it to him, to be used for his honour, in his service. Give him your crowns; let them be laid at his feet; give him your sceptres, your swords, your keys, put all into his hand, that you, in the use of them, may be to him for a name and a praise." Princes value themselves by their glory and strength; these they must ascribe to God, owning him to be infinitely more glorious and powerful than they. This demand of homage from the mighty must be looked upon as directed either to the grandees of David's own kingdom, the peers of the realm, the princes of the tribes (and it is to excite them to a more diligent and constant attendance at God's altars, in which he had observed them very remiss), or to the neighbouring kings whom he by his sword had made tributaries to Israel and now would persuade to become tributaries to the God of Israel. Crowned heads must bow before the King of kings. What is here said to the mighty is said to all: Worship God; it is the sum and substance of the everlasting gospel, Revelation 14:6; Revelation 14:7. Now we have here, (1.) The nature of religious worship; it is giving to the Lord the glory due to his name,Psalms 29:2; Psalms 29:2. God's name is that whereby he has made himself known. There is a glory due to his name. It is impossible that we should give him all the glory due to his name; when we have said and done out best for the honour of God's name, still we come infinitely short of the merit of the subject; but when we answer that revelation which he has made of himself, with suitable affections and adorations, then we give him some of that glory which is due to his name. If we would, in hearing and praying, and other acts of devotion, receive grace from God, we must make it our business to give glory to God. (2.) The rule of the performance of religious exercises; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, which denotes, [1.] The object of our worship; the glorious majesty of God is called the beauty of holiness,2 Chronicles 20:21. In the worship of God we must have an eye to his beauty, and adore him, not only as infinitely awful and therefore to be feared above all, but as infinitely amiable and therefore to be loved and delighted in above all; especially we must have an eye to the beauty of his holiness; this the angels fasten upon in their praises, Revelation 4:8. Or, [2.] The place of worship. The sanctuary then was the beauty of holiness,Psalms 48:1; Psalms 48:2; Jeremiah 17:12. The beauty of the sanctuary was the exact agreement of the worship there performed with the divine appointment--the pattern in the mount. Now, under the gospel, solemn assemblies of Christians (which purity is the beauty of) are the places where God is to be worshipped. Or, [3.] The manner of worship. We must be holy in all our religious performances, devoted to God, and to his will and glory. There is a beauty in holiness, and it is that which puts an acceptable beauty upon all the acts of worship.

      II. Good reason given for this demand. We shall see ourselves bound to give glory to God if we consider,

      1. His sufficiency in himself, intimated in his name Jehovah--I am that I am, which is repeated here no fewer than eighteen times in this short psalm, twice in every verse but three, and once in two of those three; I do not recollect that there is the like in all the book of psalms. Let the mighty ones of the earth know him by this name and give him the glory due to it.

      2. His sovereignty over all things. Let those that rule over men know there is a God that rules over them, that rules over all. The psalmist here sets forth God's dominion,

      (1.) In the kingdom of nature. In the wonderful effects of natural causes, and the operations of the powers of nature, we ought to take notice of God's glory and strength, which we are called upon to ascribe to him; in the thunder, and lightning, and rain, we may see, [1.] His glory. It is the God of glory that thunders (thunders is the noise of his voice,Job 37:2), and it declares him a God of glory, so awful is the sound of the thunder, and so bright the flash of its companion, the lightning; to the hearing and to the sight nothing is more affecting than these, as if by those two learning senses God would have such proofs of his glory to the minds of men as should leave the most stupid inexcusable. Some observe that there were then some particular reasons why thunder should be called the voice of the Lord, not only because it comes from above, is not under the direction or foresight of any man, speaks aloud, and reaches far, but because God often spoke in thunder, particularly at Mount Sinai, and by thunder discomfited the enemies of Israel. To speak it the voice of the God of glory, it is here said to be upon the water, upon many waters (Psalms 29:3; Psalms 29:3); it reaches over the vast ocean, the waters under the firmament; it rattles among the thick clouds, the waters above the firmament. Every one that hears the thunder (his ear being made to tingle with it) will own that the voice of the Lord is full of majesty (Psalms 29:4), enough to make the highest humble (for none can thunder with a voice like him) and the proudest tremble--for, if his voice be so terrible, what is his arm? Every time we hear it thunder, let our hearts be thereby filled with great, and high, and honourable thoughts of God, in the holy adorings and admirings of whom the power of godliness does so much consist. O Lord our God! thou art very great. [2.] His power (Psalms 29:4; Psalms 29:4): The voice of the Lord is powerful, as appears by the effects of it; for it works wonders. Those that write natural histories relate the prodigious effects of thunder and lightning, even out of the ordinary course of natural causes, which must be resolved into the omnipotence of the God of nature. First, Trees have been rent and split by thunderbolts, Psalms 29:5; Psalms 29:6. The voice of the Lord, in the thunder, often broke the cedars, even those of Lebanon, the strongest, the stateliest. Some understand it of the violent winds which shook the cedars, and sometimes tore off their aspiring tops. Earthquakes also shook the ground itself on which the trees grew, and made Lebanon and Sirion to dance; the wilderness of Kadesh also was in like manner shaken (Psalms 29:8; Psalms 29:8), the trees by winds, the ground by earthquakes, and both by thunders, of which I incline rather to understand it. The learned Dr. Hammond understands it of the consternations and conquest of neighbouring kingdoms that warred with Israel and opposed David, as the Syrians, whose country lay near the forest of Lebanon, the Amorites that bordered on Mount Hermon, and the Moabites and Ammonites that lay about the wilderness of Kadesh. Secondly. Fires have been kindled by lightnings and houses and churches thereby consumed; hence we read of hot thunderbolts (Psalms 78:48); accordingly the voice of the Lord, in the thunder, is here said to divide the flames of fire (Psalms 29:7; Psalms 29:7), that is, to scatter them upon the earth, as God sees fit to direct them and do execution by them. Thirdly, The terror of thunder makes the hinds to calve sooner, and some think more easily, than otherwise they would. The hind is a timourous creature, and much affected with the noise of thunder; and no marvel, when sometimes proud and stout men have been made to tremble at it. The emperor Caligula would hide himself under his bed when it thundered. Horace, the poet, owns that he was reclaimed from atheism by the terror of thunder and lightning, which he describes somewhat like this of David, lib. 1, ode 34. The thunder is said here to discover the forest, that is, it so terrifies the wild beasts of the forest that they quit the dens and thickets in which they hid themselves are so are discovered. Or it throws down the trees, and so discovers the ground that was shaded by them. Whenever it thunders let us think of this psalm; and, whenever we sing this psalm, let us think of the dreadful thunder-claps we have sometimes heard, and thus bring God's words and his works together, that by both we may be directed and quickened to give unto him the glory due unto his name; and let us bless him that there is another voice of his besides this dreadful one, by which God now speaks to us, even the still small voice of his gospel, the terror of which shall not make us afraid.

      (2.) In the kingdom of providence, Psalms 29:10; Psalms 29:10. God is to be praised as the governor of the world of mankind. He sits upon the flood; he sits King for ever. He not only sits at rest in the enjoyment of himself, but he sits as King in the throne which he has prepared in the heavens (Psalms 103:19), where he takes cognizance of, and gives orders about, all the affairs of the children of men, and does all according to his will, according to the counsel of his will. Observe, [1.] The power of his kingdom: He sits upon the flood. As he has founded the earth, so he has founded his own throne, upon the floods, Psalms 24:2. The ebbings and flowings of this lower world, and the agitations and revolutions of the affairs in it, give not the least shake to the repose nor to the counsels of the Eternal Mind. The opposition of his enemies is compared to the flood (Psalms 93:3; Psalms 93:4); but the Lord sits upon it; he crushes it, conquers it, and completes his own purposes in despite of all the devices that are in men's hearts. The word here translated the flood is never used but concerning Noah's flood; and therefore some think it is that which is here spoken of. God did sit upon that flood as a Judge executing the sentence of his justice upon the world of the ungodly that was swept away by it. And he still sits upon the flood, restraining the waters of Noah, that they turn not again to cover the earth, according to his promise never to destroy the earth any more by a flood,Genesis 9:11; Isaiah 54:9. [2.] The perpetuity of his kingdom; He sits King for ever; no period can, or shall, be put to his government. The administration of his kingdom is consonant to his counsels from eternity and pursuant to his designs for eternity.

      (3.) In the kingdom of grace. Here his glory shines most brightly, [1.] In the adorations he receives from the subjects of that kingdom (Psalms 29:9; Psalms 29:9). In his temple, where people attend his discoveries of himself and his mind and attend him with their praises, every one speaks of his glory. In the world every man sees it, or at least may behold it afar off (Job 36:25); but it is only in the temple, in the church, that it is spoken of to his honour. All his works do praise him (that is, they minister matter for praise), but his saints only do bless him, and speak of his glory of his works, Psalms 145:10. [2.] In the favours he bestows upon the subjects of that kingdom, Psalms 29:11; Psalms 29:11. First, He will qualify them for his service: He will give strength to his people, to fortify them against every evil work and to furnish them for every good work; out of weakness they shall be made strong; nay, he will perfect strength in weakness. Secondly, He will encourage them in his service: He will bless his people with peace. Peace is a blessing of inestimable value, which God designs for all his people. The work of righteousness is peace (great peace have those that love thy law); but much more the crown of righteousness: the end of righteousness is peace; it is endless peace. When the thunder of God's wrath shall make sinners tremble the saints shall lift up their heads with joy.