Psalms 29:8

8 The voice of the LORD that shall shake the wilderness; the LORD shall shake the wilderness of Kadesh.

Psalms 29:8 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 29:8

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 to be in pain, and to 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 35:1 Isaiah 35:2 Isaiah 35:6 Isaiah 35:7 ) ( Isaiah 41:18 Isaiah 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?

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 with the wilderness of Zin, ( Numbers 33:36 ) ; and was called Kadesh from the city of that name, on the borders of Edom, ( Numbers 20:1 Numbers 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.

Psalms 29:8 In-Context

6 And He made them skip like a calves; Lebanon and Sirion like the sons of the unicorns.
7 The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD that shall shake the wilderness; the LORD shall shake the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD shall make the hinds to calve and shall uncover the forests: and in his temple every one speaks to his glory.
10 The LORD sits upon the flood; yea, the LORD sat down as King for ever.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010