29:1 mighty. “Mighty” is the Hebrew bene elim, “sons of the mighty,” practically equivalent to bene elohim, “sons of God” (Genesis 6:4; Job 38:7). David’s vision is where the angelic host is assembled in the heavenly sanctuary (i.e., “the beauty of holiness”—Psalm 29:2), just before God unleashes on the earth the judgment of the great Flood. This interpretation is certified by use of the Hebrew mabbul for “flood” in Psalm 29:10, a word otherwise used only in Genesis 6–9 and only for the great Flood. The exhortation to the heavenly host is occasioned by God’s victory over the rebellious men and angels by the great Flood itself.

29:3 voice of the LORD. This phrase, “the voice of the LORD” occurs seven times in Psalm 29:3-9. It is interesting that there were also just seven times when God spoke to Noah Genesis 6:13; 7:1; 8:15; 9:1,8, 12,17).

29:3 thundereth. This was the first thunder in earth history, as there was no rain on the earth until the Flood (Genesis 2:5). It is noteworthy that there also are “seven thunders” in the future judgment on the earth (Revelation 10:3,4).

29:3 many waters. “Many waters”—surely an apt description of the onset of the great Flood.

29:5 cedars of Lebanon. As David apparently is viewing the actions of a great storm blowing inland from the Mediterranean, he seems to be translated in the Spirit back in time to that greatest of all storms, the Genesis flood itself. The luxuriant forests of the antediluvian world are seen being broken and uprooted by the rushing waters, and the only way he can describe it is to visualize the mighty cedar forests of Lebanon being torn up and carried down in great floating mats of vegetation (these would eventually become the fossil forests and coal beds in the great depths of sediment also being translated and deposited by the torrential waters).