Psalm 29, let's read verse 11. It says, the Lord will give strength unto his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace. I love verses like that. I love verses like that. The Lord will give strength unto his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Now, it has always struck me that the last word in this psalm is peace. It has always struck me. that the last word in this psalm is peace. It really blesses me. I adore the fact that the last word in this psalm is peace because all the other words leading up to that are the opposite of peace.

Look with me at verse one. Oh, give unto the Lord. Oh, ye mighty. Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Oh ye mighty, all mighty. The scripture talks about mighty nations, mighty armies, mighty men, mighty angels. Anything that has been given might, he said, ascribe it to the Lord. Ascribe it to the Lord, the source of all might. Give to him. That means ascribe to him what's due to him. Give it to him. And that is glory and strength. Glory and strength. That's what belongs to the Lord. Glory and strength.

Verse two says, give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. What is his name? Holiness is his name. Glory is his name. Majesty is his name. Savior is his name. The Lord our righteousness is his name. His name shall be called. God with us is His name. The Word of God, the Word of God Almighty, in His name is called the Word of God. Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, that's His name. And verse two says, give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Worship him, bow down before him. You know, when God opens a sinner's eyes to Christ, they bow, they bow. bow down before Him, worship Him. Why? Because of who He is. Because of the authority, because of the greatness and wonder of who He is.

Verse 3 says, the voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the God of glory thundereth, The Lord is upon many waters, great waters. Psalm 107 says, the Lord is the one that commands, he gives the command, and raises the stormy wind that lifts up the waves thereof and causes the souls of men in ships to melt because of trouble. Our Lord is the one who brings them to their wits end. That's what Psalm 107 says. Our Lord is the one who does that. Brings them to their wits end.

After Hurricane Katrina, a woman, came into my store that I had and was asking for donations for relief for the victims. Well, I was very happy to contribute to that. And we had a very nice exchange. And then on the way out, she said to me, you know, God didn't want this to happen. And I said, ma'am, the Lord, our God caused this to happen. I'm pretty sure that woman never came into the store again. She didn't like hearing that, but it's so. It's so. Give the Lord the glory that's due unto his name. He is the one who does these things. The Lord does all these things. I kill, I make alive, I wound, I heal. I, the Lord, do this. I do all these things. Why does he do that? that men might fear him and cry out to him. Then they cry in their trouble. That's when they start crying. That's when they praise him in worship.

Verse four says, the voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. It literally is. It literally is. Turn over to John 7. John 7. I've always loved this account. I really love this. John chapter 7 verse 32, the Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him. And the Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to take him. You go get him and bring him to me. They sent officers to take him. And those officers came to where the Lord was preaching, to where he was speaking, and they stood there listening to him. And then they turned around and walked back to the Pharisees.

And if you look at verse 45, Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, why have you not brought him? I thought you were gonna go get him. Why didn't you bring him back with you? Verse 46, the officers answered, never man spake like this man. No man's ever spoken like this man. Why didn't we bring him back? Because the voice of that man is full of power. We've never heard a man speak like that, ever.

Here's another account that I've always loved so much. Turn over to John 18. John 18 verse 1, when Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples, and Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place, for Jesus oft times resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then having received a band of men, and it's estimated that that band was 600 men, and officers, Judas then having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am. He is in italics. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am, they went backward and fell to the ground.

" 600 men. They brought lanterns and torches and weapons. 600, whom seek ye? Jesus of Nazareth. I am. fell back like trees. Oh, the power. Oh, the power.

Go back to Psalm 29. Verse four says, the voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars. Yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. At the voice of the Lord, everything falls backward to the ground. Everything falls prostrate at his feet. That means face down, flat on the ground, spread out on the ground.

Verse six, he maketh them also to skip like a calf, Lebanon and Syrian, like a young unicorn. When he speaks, men run to hide themselves, like a deer running into the woods.

Verse seven, the voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. In times when the Lord spoke out loud in the New Testament, it says that many who stood by and heard said it sounded like thunder. Many, you know, he would be speaking to one, maybe Saul, or whoever, and others would say it sounded like thunder. Thunder is what divides the flashes of lightning. Thunder can be absolutely terrifying. Have you ever Been a little too close to a bolt of lightning? That's the voice of the Lord.

The Lord asked Job in Job 38, canst thou send lightnings that they may go and say unto thee, here we are. Can you do that? The Lord can and he does. by the command of his all-powerful voice.

Verse 8, the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness. The Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. By the voice of the Lord, the earth quakes.

Verse 9, the voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve. It makes the doe deliver her fawn. Verse 9 says, and discovereth the forest. That means the trees drop their leaves and you can see through the forest. Verse 9 says, and in his temple doth everyone speak of his glory, his dominion, his authority, his ownership, his kingship. Verse 10, the Lord sitteth upon the flood, yea, the Lord sitteth king forever. Sits king forever.

Okay. Everything we just read is a physical picture describing what takes place in salvation. Everything we just read describes salvation. It describes the event of salvation. When the Lord in his glory and strength in the beauty of his holiness, when he is pleased to call a sinner to himself. And this is, I've been just really rejoicing over this all day long, asking the Lord, call me, call me. I would encourage you to ask him, call me, okay?

When the Lord is pleased to call a sinner to himself, the voice of his call is so powerful. It's full of majesty. It is full of terror and fear. It brings men into trouble. It brings men into trouble, trouble to their wits end. When God calls a sinner, It brings men into such trouble they're at their wits end. It breaks men.

Let me tell you what the call of the Lord Jesus Christ does. If God ever calls a person, he will break them. He will break them. Men who see themselves as being the cedars of Lebanon, men like Saul of Tarsus,

A long time ago, a very long time ago, I was flipping channels on TV and I came across a religious cartoon. It was immediately obvious to me it was a religious cartoon and stopped on it for just a second. It was a cartoon man, you know, he had a robe on. He looked like he was from biblical times and he was riding a horse and he was supposed to be Saul of Tarsus. And a cartoon light shined on this man, and a voice spoke in the program that sounded like this. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me, Saul? Do you think that's the voice that knocked Saul off of his horse and made him call the one who was his enemy, Lord? Do you think that's the voice? I'd love to scare everybody right now. Can you imagine? I mean, I would. Lord, do that to me. Would you wake me up? Would you quicken me? Would you knock me off this horse I'm riding? Anybody want to get knocked off their horse? I do.

That's what happens to every child of God's heart in this irresistible call. This call, this voice of the Lord is irresistible. It's irresistible. Can you imagine, like a flash of lightning, when you're like, that lightning almost hit me, and there's no time. You don't see, you know, flash, and then you wait 10 seconds. It's just like, It's arresting, it stops, it breaks. Whatever you think you are, you're humbled. It strikes fear by bringing an immediate realization. I need a hiding place. Buddy, you skip like your heart, your soul skips like a calf. The lightning flash of God's fiery judgment is revealed. Here I am, that's what he says, I am. And a shaking of the soul is the response. A shaking of the soul.

Ezekiel 37 talks about the valley of dead dry bones. And at the voice of the preaching of the word of the Lord. Oh ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. As the bone came back together with his bone, bone to his bone, when the renewing took place, when the regeneration took place, when the redemption took place, when that happened, Ezekiel 37 says, there was a shaking. There was a shaking, and that's what happened for all of us dead, dry bones on the cross of Calvary. There was a shaking. The moment Christ cried, it is finished and bowed his head and gave up the ghost, the earth quaked and the rocks rent and the veil of the temple was torn into. And that shaking carries over to the heart of every child of God. The moment that child sees the redemption of the cross of Calvary. There's a shaking unto life. The life of God's mercy and grace, not the dead works of men. All of a sudden, it's a quickening to life.

Look at verse 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve. That's the birth of life. Life happens. And it says, discovereth the forest, the trees drop their leaves. You know the fig tree, fig leaves in the scripture represents man's works, the works of man's flesh. That's what Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves with when they saw the lightning of God's judgment. When the saving life of Christ comes to a sinner, that sinner will drop all of his or her fig leaves, just drop them. And that quickened child of God will immediately, verse nine says, speak of his glory. What happens when life comes? We drop the fig leaves and speak of his glory. Not my glory, not our glory, not unto us, oh Lord, not unto us. The end of verse 9 says, in His temple doth everyone speak of His glory.

If it's His temple, you'll know it in this way. If it is His temple, you'll know it in this way. Everyone there speaks of His glory. His glory. Verse 10 says, the Lord sitteth upon the flood, yea, the Lord sitteth king forever. And therefore, because of that, verse 11 says, the Lord will give strength unto his people. Strength is Christ. The Lord is my strength. The Lord is my strength. and my song. Verse 11 says, the Lord will give strength unto his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace. Peace is Christ. He is our peace. He's our peace. Why? Because in his glory and in his strength, he broke down the middle wall of partition between us. In his own body, on the tree, slaying the enmity, thereby so making peace. Of him, by him, through him, to him, Verse 11 says, the Lord will give strength unto his people. The Lord will bless his people with Christ. Because of all that, because of who he is and what he's done, the Lord will bless his people with peace. Peace with God in Jesus Christ. Amen.