1 Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks[c]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.
(Psalm 29:1-11)
The psalmist proclaimed to us that the Lord was full of glory. His voice is powerful and majestic. It shatters trees, shakes the desert, strikes with flashes of lightning, and scares all that is living to the extreme. All these are to describe how majestic our Lord is. But what is worth thinking about is, have we heard His voice?
Today, our ears are attracted by other sounds. We frequently tune our ears to listen to the news (especially during the pandemic); to the melodies that we enjoy; to the noises of the city; to the debates and complaints of people around us; or to the crying of family fights around us and so on. Even when the psalmist told us how audible the Lord’s voice is, He is rarely within our hearing range. Why is it that? Why do we turn a deaf ear to God?
The Lord Jesus said, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes…” (Matthew 13:14-15) So it is because people’s heart has become calloused, so that their hearing is blocked and God’s voice is inaudible. So, what does this mean? The Scripture tells us that it is not so much the callus in our ears, but what is in our heart that matters. The hearts of the people are not ready to hear God's voice and receive God's teachings.
Take this pandemic as an example, will we take it as God’s warning to us? Or will we be like some world leaders and claim it as a hoax? Do we feel that God is using this pandemic to give us a chance to reflect on how we have been destroying the beautiful world He has created for us? We have really caused a lot of damage whether it is the ecological environment of earth or the area of morality in our society. Our world as it is now, is incomparable to the one God has created for us in Genesis 1. Humans are arrogant, and arrogance blocks us from receiving God’s words. We are offended when we hear any heartfelt advice or teaching, then we automatically distort these truths to make them unreasonable or outdated messages. We rationalize any misconduct to justify ourselves. We even we shut our ears and try not to listen, but continue to do as we wish regardless of whether God is pleased with what we are doing.
Having a calloused heart is detrimental to our following God. If our hearts are clear of callus, our hearing range will be widened. We will not only hear the voice of God, but also hear the earth sing praises of Him. At that time, we can personally experience "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1)