Psalm 95
1Come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation!
2Let us come before him with thanksgiving. Let us sing him psalms of praise.
3For the LORD is a great God, the great King above all gods.
4He owns the depths of the earth, and even the mightiest mountains are his.
5The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.
6Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker,
7for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the sheep under his care. Oh, that you would listen to his voice today!
8The LORD says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
9For there your ancestors tried my patience; they courted my wrath though they had seen my many miracles.
10For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11So in my anger I made a vow: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”
(Psalm 95:1-11, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
If you read through the Psalms regularly, you no doubt have certain psalms that become your favorites. Psalm 95 is one of my favorites because it praises God for who He is and what He’s done.
Here is a simple list of items to recognize about God from this psalm:
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- He is the ROCK of our salvation
- He is a GREAT God
- He is the KING above all gods
- He owns the depths of the earth
- He owns the mightiest mountains
- The sea belongs to Him because He created it
- He also created the land
- The Lord made US as well
- The Lord is OUR God
- He watches over us, His sheep
Though there are plenty of reasons to praise God, this psalm also comes with a command and a caution.
The command is to “listen to His voice today!”
The caution is that we not harden our hearts as the Israelites did at Meribah.
The reference here is to a situation that occurred in Exodus 17. The Israelites had been miraculously delivered from the Egyptians but found themselves wandering in the desert and doubting God’s motives and ability to provide. In the previous chapter they had complained about having a lack of food so God miraculously provided quail and manna for them to eat.
In Exodus 17, they found themselves thirsty with no visible source of water. Again, they complained to Moses and to God despite all of the miracles God had already performed to demonstrate His ability and desire to provide for His people.
In this psalm, the Lord gives the caution that we should heed as well. Despite the Lord’s miracles that we’ve seen in our own lives, we are all susceptible to a hardening of our hearts. This hardening will often come in times of distress or struggle, when things are not going the way we want. In those times, it’s easy to question whether God is there or whether He cares!
These words are especially timely, given all that’s happened this last year. It’s a reminder that God is still great. He’s still the king of all gods. He’s still the rock of our salvation. And He’s still the creator of all that we see, including US!
Therefore, God deserves our praise, even if our own personal circumstances aren’t what we would hope or desire.
Reflection
What are some times in your life where you’ve been tempted to harden your heart and question God or even doubt His existence? What were the circumstances?
What are some practical things you can do to avoid a hardening of your heart?
Besides the list from this psalm, what are some of God’s other attributes and actions that make Him worthy of our praise?
God’s command in this passage is to “listen to His voice today!” What are some ways you are able to listen to God’s voice? How do you typically hear the Lord’s voice?
Photo by Jeremy Perkins on Unsplash
The Lowedown 