John Calvin Commentary Psalms 29:3

"The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters: The God of glory thundereth, Even Jehovah upon many waters." — Psalms 29:3 (ASV)

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters. David now recounts the wonders of nature to which I have previously referred; and indeed, he celebrates well the power of God, as well as His goodness, in His works.

Since there is nothing in the ordinary course of nature—throughout the whole frame of heaven and earth—that does not invite us to the contemplation of God, he might have presented, as in Psalm 19:1, the sun, the stars, the whole host of heaven, and the earth with its riches.

But he selects only those works of God that not only prove the world was at first created by Him and is governed by His power, but also awaken the lethargic and, as it were, drag them in spite of themselves to humbly adore Him.

Thus, even Horace was compelled—though he was not only a pagan poet but also an Epicurean and a vile scorner of Deity—to say of himself in one of his Odes (Book I, Ode 34):

“A fugitive from heaven and prayer,
I mocked at all religious fear,
Deeply learned in the bewildering lore
Of mad philosophy; but now
I hoist sail, and steer my voyage back
To that blessed harbor I had left before.

“For behold! that awe-inspiring heavenly Sire,
Who often splits the clouds with fire,
Parent of day, immortal Jove;
Lately, through the floating fields of air,
And over heaven's serene and fair face,
He drove His thundering steeds and winged chariot,” etc.

Experience also tells us that those who are most daring in their contempt of God are most afraid of thunder, storms, and similar violent disturbances. Therefore, the prophet very appropriately invites our attention to these events, which strike the ignorant and insensitive with some sense of God’s existence and rouse them to action, however lethargic and indifferent they are.

He does not say that the sun rises from day to day, spreading its life-giving beams, nor that the rain gently descends to fertilize the earth with its moisture. Instead, he presents thunder, violent tempests, and such things as strike human hearts with dread by their violence.

God, it is true, speaks in all His creatures, but here the prophet mentions those sounds that rouse us from our drowsiness, or rather our lethargy, by the loudness of their noise. We have said that this language is chiefly directed to those who, with stubborn recklessness, cast away from themselves, as far as they can, all thought of God.

The very figures of speech he uses sufficiently show that David’s design was to subdue by fear the obstinacy that does not otherwise yield willingly. Three times he repeats that God’s voice is heard in great and violent tempests, and in the subsequent verse, he adds that it is full of power and majesty.