Ascribe

I have written a couple of times about Psalm 29, here and here.  The Lord captured me there again this morning.  I was struck by the imperatives in verses 1 and 2:

• Ascribe 3 times
• Worship once

The thing that struck me here is that these commands to ascribe and worship do not in any way change the nature of God or elevate Him in any way.  He is who He is.  My recognition of reality does not validate reality.  But there is more to the word.

Looking at the definition of “ascribe” we find: “give, i.e., speak words which will communicate a response” (James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997)).  Think about that definition as you consider Psalm 29:1 – 2.  David’s choice of words here is more than just us crediting the Lord with who he is, acknowledging reality.  Ascribe has in it the expectation that our acknowledging reality is more than an intellectual exercise but is a committed response; a response that changes us.

We ascribe and then the actions of our lives are to follow; not to do so is base hypocrisy.  Jesus echoed this in Luke 6:46.  One cannot “ascribe” or call Christ Lord and not obey, that is not an available option.