John Gill Commentary Psalms 29:8

"The voice of Jehovah shaketh the wilderness; Jehovah shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh." — Psalms 29:8 (ASV)

The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness
The ground of it, the trees in it, and the beasts that harbour there; and causes them pain and makes them bring forth their young, as the ^F7 word signifies, and as it is rendered in (Psalms 29:9) ; all which effects thunder produces, and may mystically signify the preaching of the Gospel among the Gentiles, and the consequence of it.

The Gentile world may be compared to a wilderness, and is called the wilderness of the people, (Ezekiel 20:35) ; the inhabitants of it being ignorant, barren, and unfruitful; and the conversion of them is expressed by turning a wilderness into a fruitful land, (Isaiah 35:1Isaiah 35:2Isaiah 35:6Isaiah 35:7) (Isaiah 41:18Isaiah 41:19) ; and the Gospel being sent thither has been the means of shaking the minds of many with strong and saving convictions; which made them tremble and cry out, what shall we do to be saved?

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the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh ; which was the terrible wilderness that the children of Israel passed through to Canaan's land; the same as the wilderness of Zin, (Numbers 33:36) ; and was called Kadesh from the city of that name, on the borders of Edom, (Numbers 20:1Numbers 20:16) ; the Targum paraphrases it, ``The word of the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Rekam;'' in the Targum in the King's Bible it is, ``makes the serpents in the wilderness of Rekam to tremble;'' but that thunder frightens them, I have not met with in any writer.

FOOTNOTES:

• F7: (lyxy) "parturire faciet", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Michaelis; "dolore parturientis afflicit", Piscator.