I’m going to quote most of this Psalm in order to get the full context and then we will seek to answer your question. Before I do, some have titled this Psalm “The Voice of the LORD in the Storm.” As we read this I think we will agree that title fits quite nicely. I can well imagine David watching a thunderstorm sweep across the land of Israel and being inspired to pen this wonderful Psalm in praise to the Lord for His “glory and strength.” My wife and I now live on a hill where we are able to view an approaching storm and as we do we often feel the same as David did, for our God is an awesome God to whom we should “Ascribe…glory and strength” (Psalm 29:1…NASB).

“Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array. The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory THUNDERS, the LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is POWERFUL, the voice of the LORD is MAJESTIC. The voice of the LORD BREAKS THE CEDARS; yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD HEWS OUT FLAMES OF FIRE. The voice of the LORD SHAKES THE WILDERNESS; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD MAKES THE DEER TO CALVE and STRIPS THE FOREST BARE; and in His temple everything says, ‘Glory!” (Psalm 29:1-9).

Again, this is a Psalm of PRAISE, in spite of a very graphic description of a powerful storm moving from the sea (“upon the waters”…vs. 3) and into the wilderness (“shakes the wilderness”…verse. 8). David attributes the storm to “the VOICE of the LORD,” which is mentioned SEVEN TIMES in this short passage. Just as God “spoke” the Word in His creation of the heavens and the earth (see Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 14, 20, and 24), so He also controls the weather by simply speaking a word. As David heard the mighty THUNDER (verse 3), the BREAKING OF CEDAR TREES (verse 5), and the flashes of LIGHTNING (verse 7), he couldn’t help but “ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.”

In verse 9 he discovers another marvelous result of God’s voice in the storm, “The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve.” It has been proven through the centuries (by scientists and others) that during a strong storm female deer will often give birth to their young prematurely out of fear. There are many “mighty men” who have been frightened by the noise of thunder, so it is no wonder that a “timid deer with young” would also react to the glory of God’s THUNDER. There is really no thought of a miscarriage in this passage. Every translation I read speaks of the deer “giving birth,” which implies it is alive and well. And the theme of this Psalm demands this view, for even though the hind is giving birth prematurely, it is to “God’s glory” that the storm results in the life of another wonderful creation!  (342.5)  (DO)