The Sound of His Voice

A line of an old hymn goes this way: "He speaks and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush there singing." That is a cool line. To hear the beautiful voice of song birds is a treat we all enjoy. But a voice far sweeter is that of our lovely Lord. Even the birds hush in silence at His sweet tones.

One's voice is so very important. A fussy baby is hushed by the voice of his mother. A basketball team is controlled by the voice of it's coach in a noice filled gymnasium. Good men respond to the voice of reason.

As a kid I remember the sound of my mother's voice. All the guys in the neighborhood would gather to play football in a neighbor's extended yard. We had some great games with some great injuries. Sometimes the injuries made for better bragging rights than who won the games, but that is another story. Anyway, as it was getting closer to night time I would hear my mother's voice calling from the front porch, "Tim, time for supper!" In all the noise of the neighborhood game, her voice would reach my ears. Sounds like we ought to break into a Southern Quartet's Gospel song, "Come home come home it's supper time, the shadows lengthen fast. . . " Oh well.

I got to thinking of the Lord's voice, this morning. The Bible speaks in many places about His voice.

Exodus 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, [which] when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee.

When Israel went after the other gods of the land, and did not seek the Lord wholeheartedly, God promised this: Deut. 4:28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him], if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, [even] in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice ; 31 (For the LORD thy God [is] a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

Job 36: 26-37:6 26 Behold, God [is] great, and we know [him] not, neither can the number of his years be searched out. 27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: 28 Which the clouds do drop [and] distil upon man abundantly. 29 Also can [any] understand the spreadings of the clouds, [or] the noise of his tabernacle? 30 Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea. {bottom: Heb. roots} 31 For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance. 32 With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it [not to shine] by [the cloud] that cometh betwixt. 33 The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour. 37:1 At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place. 2 Hear attentively the noise of his voice , and the sound [that] goeth out of his mouth. 3 He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. 4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. 5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice ; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. 6 For he saith to the snow, Be thou [on] the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.

Think of that last verse, He tells the snow when to fall, and the rain when to shower or flood! WOW! Remember that this winter, my northern neighbors. I know, I know, practice what you preach, you got me!

His voice is the still small voice of His convicting, convincing Spirit. 1 Kings 19:9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD [came] to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, [even] I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; [but] the LORD [was] not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; [but] the LORD [was] not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; [but] the LORD [was] not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice . 13 And it was [so], when Elijah heard [it], that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave.

But the first mention of God's voice, speaking directly to man, is in Genesis 3:8 right after the Fall. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself. Just when Adam needed the Lord the most, he hid from His voice.

Here is our lesson. His voice can convict, it can control creation itself, it can comfort. When you sin the temptation is to run and hide, just like Adam. But when we sin we should run straight to our Lord and our God! He will convict and convince and forgive. Listen to His voice as He speaks to you through the Word of God. He will direct your steps aright!

Have a wonderful day serving our Wonderful Lord, by Grace Alone.