Chapter 8: The Voice of the Lord

The voice of the Lord truly is a thing of wonder! The Lord spoke the heavens and the earth into existence, He spoke light into existence, the sun, moon and stars, every plant and tree, every animal, bird, fish and insect, and last but not least, man.

What power!

It can perhaps be too easy to read the account of creation without truly taking on board the enormity of what it means. The Lord spoke and the earth came into being, and within six days he finished his work.¹

By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the host of them by the breath of his [mouth]. (Psalm 33:6 BES) [Psalm 32:6 MT]

Psalm 29 by David is a beautiful psalm about the mighty voice of the Lord.

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory has thundered: the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is mighty; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. (Psalm 28:4 BES) [Psalm 29:3-4 MT]

Declaring the End from the Beginning

God declared the end from the beginning with the power of his voice extending to the point at which all things he has spoken are fulfilled.

telling beforehand the latter events before they come to pass, and they are accomplished together: and I said, All my counsel shall stand, and I will do all things that I have planned: (Isaiah 46:10 BES)

For as rain shall come down, or snow, from heaven, and shall not return until it have saturated the earth, and it bring forth, and bud, and give seed to the sower, and bread for food: so shall my word be, whatever shall proceed out of my mouth, it shall by no means turn back, until all the things which I willed shall have been accomplished; and I will make thy ways prosperous, and [will effect] my commands. (Isaiah 55:10-11 BES)

Jesus Spoke and Miracles Occurred

Jesus was the Word made flesh² and through the power of his voice people were healed and raised from the dead, and devils were cast out.

And Jesus put forth [his] hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matthew 8:3 KJV)

And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. (Luke 18:42 KJV)

I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. (Mark 2:11 KJV)

And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. (Mark 5:41 KJV)

And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare [him] stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. (Luke 7:14 KJV)

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. (Mark 1:25 KJV)

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, [Thou] dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. (Mark 9:25 KJV)

Jesus and the Sharp Sword

Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would have a mouth as a sharp sword. The sword is the word of God, the voice of the Lord, that not only speaks things into existence but also slays and smites false prophets and nations.

and he has made my mouth as a sharp sword, and he has hid me under the shadow of his hand; he has made me as a choice shaft, and he has hid me in his quiver; (Isaiah 49:2 BES)

Therefore have I mown down your prophets; I have slain them with the word of my mouth: and my judgment shall go forth as the light. (Hosea 6:5 BES)

For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 KJV)

And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength. (Revelation 1:16 KJV)

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; (Revelation 2:12 KJV)

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (Revelation 19:15 KJV)

The Disciples Did Miracles by Speaking

Ananias

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt [there], Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. (Acts 22:12-13 KJV) –

Peter

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted [him] up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. (Acts 3:6-8 KJV)

And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. (Acts 9:34 KJV)

Paul

And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. (Acts 16:18 KJV)

Made in the Image of God

And God said, Let us make man according to our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the flying creatures of heaven, and over the cattle and all the earth, and over all the reptiles that creep on the earth. (Genesis 1:26 BES)

As we are made in the image of God, our voice also contains power.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue; and they that rule it shall eat the fruits thereof. (Proverbs 18:21 BES)

And when we are saved our voice carries the same power as Jesus’ voice to heal the sick, cast out devils, and even move mountains. When Jesus sent out the twelve he told them to do the very miracles they had seen him do. And when his disciples marvelled after seeing the fig tree wither away, he told them that they could tell the mountain to move and it would do so — if they had faith and doubted not.

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8 KJV)

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this [which is done] to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. (Matthew 21:21 KJV)

Footnotes