Psalm 29:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

NIV: The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

NASB: The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.

CSB: The Lord gives his people strength; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

NLT: The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.

KJV: The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

NKJV: The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.

David concludes Psalm 29 with a benediction. He asks the Lord, the eternal King, to give His people strength. David has already alluded to the Lord's strength in His display of control of nature (Psalm 29:3–10). Now David asks the Lord to impart strength to His people. In this context, that "strength" is mostly about perseverance: the ability to maintain faith in God, trusting His power rather than our own (Hebrews 10:23).

Isaiah 40 promises strength to the Lord's weary people. Isaiah 40:30–31 promises: "Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." However, the Lord is not just the source of power for His people, but also the source of peace. David asks the Lord to "bless his people with peace." The world cannot capture peace. Political peace treaties rarely last long and new threats are constantly emerging, health deteriorates, accidents happen, relationships are broken, economies crumble; there seem to be no end of reasons a person could be anxious. But those who love the Word of God and the God of the Word have great peace (Psalm 119:65; Isaiah 26:3; John 14:27). Our hope is not in this world or the things of this world, but in the very God who created the world and who adopts all who put their faith in Jesus Christ as His own (Galatians 4:4–7; John 1:12). We will still experience hardship, but we have God's promise of peace in the midst (John 16:33; James 1:2–4; 1 Peter 1:3–9; 5:7), and we know we will one day be with Him forever.

Psalm 29:10–11 is the closing section of David's proclamation. He lifts up the Lord as King forever and prays the King will strengthen and bless His people with peace. This is a fitting conclusion to a psalm that extols the Lord's omnipotent power over nature. The eternal King, who is strong enough to control nature, is strong enough to empower and calm His people.

David depicts the power of God's will—referred to as His "voice"—using imagery from thunderstorms and earthquakes. He calls on heaven to praise God. The Lord's voice has the power to shatter great trees, uproot mountains, shake deserts, strip forests, and strike terror into all living things. None of these events are mere change, but God is control of them all. David asks God to provide confidence and strength to Israel as they remember His omnipotent power.

This psalm of David magnifies the Lord's attribute of omnipotence. David draws pictures from nature to illustrate God's power. The psalm parallels Psalm 8 in its revelation of God through nature. Based on the imagery, David may have witnessed a potent thunderstorm moving from the Mediterranean Sea across the region. The theme of trust in God, thanks to His demonstrated power, is common in Scripture (Hebrews 11).

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.