The psalmist David says, “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty” (Psalm 29:3, 4). The prophet Jeremiah expresses it this way, “When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures” (10:13). Faithful Job pens it in these lines, “Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. After it a voice roareth; he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when His voice is heard. God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength” (37:2–6).

What a grand thing it would be if every child, man, or woman were taught this truth—this fact of science: the voice of God! If they were taught to recognize the resonance of every thunderstorm as the voice of “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6, 7) who speaks peace to His people, they would never cower in terror at the sound of it. There are many men and women who cannot hear the crashing thunder without fear, because they have not learned that it is an element of the voice of God; and there are doubtless many more who would be still more terrified at its sound if they did know that it is part of God’s own voice, because they do not know the Lord and have not learned that He is love.

One day when Jesus was talking to a crowd of people He broke out into the prayer, “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again” (John 12:28). Jesus understood these words perfectly, because He was thoroughly well acquainted with the voice and words of God; but the people who stood by said that it was thunder. There were indeed some who said that an angel spoke to Him, but even they could not distinguish any articulate sounds. To most it was only ordinary thunder, and that is really what it was; for ordinary thunder is the voice of God speaking words which our dull ears and minds have not learned to comprehend. “How little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?” (Job 26:14).

God does not want us to be afraid of His voice. The “everlasting gospel” of salvation is to be proclaimed “with a loud voice” that speaks only comfort. We are simply to take up the call of the Spirit and the bride, and say, “Come”; and the loud cry which we are to utter can be nothing but the resounding of the mighty voice with which God first speaks it, for He says, “I have put my words in thy mouth” (Isaiah 51:16). See also 2 Corinthians 5:18–20.

The apostle Paul exhorts us to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). By the blood of Jesus we have boldness to enter into the most holy place where God Himself dwells. Hebrews 10:19; Isaiah 57:15. We may come there as boldly as a little child to its mother, and we shall hear gracious words of life spoken to us, if we can but learn to recognize the loving voice of God in the thunder.

For “the God of glory thundereth,” and the throne of grace is the throne of glory (Jeremiah 14:21) where God gives grace “according to the riches of His glory.” John, who was permitted to see into the holy place of God, says: “Out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (Revelation 4:5).

“In the midst of the throne” whence the thunders proceeded, “stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” (Revelation 5:6). So we see that the thunders come from the very place where the crucified and ascended Saviour sends forth the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

Remember, when Jesus hung on the cross “the earth did quake, and the rocks rent” (Matthew 27:51). There was God’s throne. The body of Jesus was the temple of God, and His heart was God’s throne. When He was slain, there came forth from his body blood and water—symbolic of the Holy Spirit, “there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one” (1 John 5:7, 8). Calvary was the place where God vividly displayed justice and mercy. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10). The pen of inspiration reveals that “Christ consented to become man’s sacrifice on Calvary’s cross, and in Him divine justice and mercy met together, so that God could pardon the transgressor, and vindicate His justice, and uphold His throne in righteousness.”1 Thus, the throne of the living God seems as if it were made visible to men and women. There we see the sanctuary service, as the cross of Calvary contains the slain Lamb flowing from the sides of Christ on the cross, from whence pours the pure water of life—the Holy Spirit. While on earth, Christ had declared, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit)” (John 7:38, 39). What is that but an indication of the fact that God proclaims His grace in tones of thunder, so that none may fail to hear it, and that all may know the greatness of His salvation?

While our Saviour was suspended from the cross, it is written that “the darkness lasted three full hours. No eye could pierce the gloom that enshrouded the cross, and none could penetrate the deeper gloom that flooded the suffering soul of Christ. A nameless terror took possession of all who were collected about the cross. The silence of the grave seemed to have fallen upon Calvary. The cursing and reviling ceased in the midst of half-uttered sentences. Men, women, and children prostrated themselves upon the earth in abject terror. Vivid lightnings, unaccompanied by thunder, occasionally flashed forth from the cloud, and revealed the cross and the crucified Redeemer.”2

That was the cruel death our Lord and Saviour suffered so that you and I may have the opportunity to hear His voice from the heavens. Again David expressed these words, “I will hear what God the Lord will speak; for he will speak peace unto his people” (Psalm 85:8). But not all have been as willing to hear as was the psalmist. The Lord says to His people, “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea” (Isaiah 48:18). So we learn that God speaks peace when He speaks His law, and that those who will hearken will find peace. That peace comes from Christ, by the power of His cross; for in the heart of Christ was the law of God (Psalm 40:8), and it flows out to us in His life.

Even so, the law is in the throne of God in heaven; for “righteousness and judgment are the foundation of thy throne” (Psalm 89:14, RV). The ark of God in the most holy place of the tabernacle built by Moses was a type of the throne of God, because upon it, from between the cherubim, God appeared in glory and spoke mercy to His people. But within the ark, underneath the mercy seat, were the tables of the law, showing that righteousness, even the righteousness of the law, is the foundation of the throne. The law was there on dead stone, it is true, because it was only a picture, and not the reality—but it indicated the fact that in the real throne in heaven is the Lamb slain, the Living Stone—in whose heart is the living law.

The psalmist David exclaims, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands. The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the sanctuary” (Psalm 68:17, RV). Mount Sinai was the sanctuary, the throne, of God, when “the Lord descended upon it in fire” and proclaimed His law. “And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice” (Exodus 19:18, 19). “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking” (Exodus 20:18). Now when we remember that from this same mountain there was at that very hour living water flowing forth, flowing directly from Christ, the smitten Rock, we see that we have in Sinai the perfect picture of the throne of God in heaven. But that throne is “the throne of grace;” yes, and so was Sinai, because “the law entered, that the offence might abound; But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). So Sinai, Calvary, and Mount Zion all agree in one; all are the throne of God’s glorious grace, where God speaks righteousness and peace.

When the people heard the voice of God as thunder, speaking His law, they said to Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:19–21. What was the matter with the people? Ah, they didn’t know the joyful sound. They didn’t know that all the commandments of God are promises. They did not know that as great as are the requirements of God’s law, so great is His grace to put the righteousness of the law into and upon us. They did not know that God’s mercy is as great as His judgments, and that though truth—the law of God (Psalm 119:142)—goes before His face, mercy accompanies it. Psalm 89:14. He had sworn to Abraham that He would make him and his seed righteous, and this proclamation of the law was but the exhibition of the greatness of His sure promise.

“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted” (Psalm 89:15, 16). Let us learn the joyful sound. Let us know that the thunders that come from Sinai, that are heard on Calvary, and that proceed from the throne of God in heaven, are but the assurances of His grace and mercy, and of the righteousness with which He will till and refresh every soul that believes. As the apostle Paul counsels us, Let us then come boldly to the throne of grace, not be frightened by the thunders, but rejoice in them as in the voice of a loving Father.

There will come a time when God’s voice will shake not only the earth but also heaven (see Hebrews 12:26). That will be when God will arise “to shake terribly the earth.” At that time many will “go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty” (Isaiah 2:19). Yet, at the same time others will not fear even though the shaking earth be removed (Psalm 46:1, 2) but will say: “Lo, . . . this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:9). And why? Because they have learned to know the joyful sound of the thunder of God’s power. That thunder which will shake the earth, and strike terror to the hearts of the wicked, will be but the voice of God repeating the covenant of peace to His people. Oh blessed sound! How fearful to think that any should flee from the God who speaks peace!

Would you be able to rejoice at the coming of the Lord when His thunders shake the earth? Then learn the joyful sound now. Say from the heart, “I will hear what God the Lord will speak.” Yes; hear Him! Hear, and your soul shall live. Listen to the voice of His law and learn from it the joy of the Lord, the joy of His salvation.

Then this salvation is finally come, as we read the account from the pen of inspiration, a narration of the most eventful scene we all long for—a hope from these blessed words: “It was at midnight that God chose to deliver His people. As the wicked were mocking around them, suddenly the sun appeared, shining in His strength, and the moon stood still. The wicked beheld the scene with amazement. Signs and wonders followed in quick succession. Every thing seemed turned out of its natural course. The saints beheld the tokens of their deliverance with solemn joy.

“The streams ceased to flow. Dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other. But there was one clear place of settled glory, from whence came the voice of God, like many waters, which shook the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. The graves were shaken open, and those who had died in faith under the third angel’s message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was to make with those who had kept His law.

“The sky opened and shut and was in commotion. The mountains shook like a reed in the wind and cast out ragged rocks all around. The sea boiled like a pot and cast out stones upon the land. And as God spake the day and hour of Jesus’ coming and delivered the everlasting covenant to His people, He spake one sentence, and then paused, while the words were rolling through the earth. The Israel of God stood with their eyes fixed upwards, listening to the words as they came from the mouth of Jehovah and rolled through the earth like peals of loudest thunder. It was awfully solemn. At the end of every sentence the saints shouted, Glory! Hallelujah! Their countenances were lighted up with the glory of God; and they shone with the glory as did Moses’ face when he came down from Sinai. The wicked could not look on them for the glory. And when the never-ending blessing was pronounced on those who had honored God in keeping His Sabbath holy, there was a mighty shout of victory over the beast, and over his image.”3

“Oh, wonderful redemption! long talked of, long hoped for, contemplated with eager anticipation, but never fully understood.

“The living righteous are changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye’ (1 Corinthians 15:52). At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air.”4

Yes, brethren and friends, there will be singing which echoes in unspeakable joy; this song is called the song of Moses and the Lamb. Moses, the servant of God, who gazed into the land of promise from the height of Pisgah, and then lay down to sleep on the very borders of the inheritance, is the type of those who in the closing message look into eternity, but rest in the grave until the appearing of their Lord. Christ Himself came to earth and claimed the body of Moses. He did not wait until all came from their graves. So those who have fallen asleep, having the seal of God, will have a special resurrection, and will be called forth to hear the covenant of peace, and to behold their Lord as He comes in the clouds of heaven. These join their voices with those who tell their life story of Christ the Lamb—a story of sacrifice and love. “Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty,” and the response comes, “Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints” (Revelation 15:3). This is a song of “victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name” (Verse 2). Standing on the crystal sea, resplendent with the glory of God, they sing the songs of soul union with Jehovah. This is the consummation of the history as related in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation.

What a blessed day it will be for us! Then let us be steadfast in our walk, ever learning and becoming closer acquainted with the voice of God through obedience to His words. The saints will know His voice. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).