August 21st 2021 – Psalm 95
"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
Psalm 95
In the context of the Psalm, which is worship, the solemn words in 7b tells us three things: first of all, it tells us that where God's people gather in His house, He is there to meet with them and He will speak to them. What an unspeakable joy and privilege it is to realise that God comes among His worshipping people! Jesus said, 'Where two or three are gathered together in My Name there am I in the midst'. O for the realisation of His Presence, each time we come together to worship! Secondly, to hear God's holy Word is presented here as one of the prime acts of worship. To hear, and obey - this is the truest worship we can offer. Worship is not mystical but moral. In the mount of Transfiguration story, Peter's words, 'It is good for us to be here' stand alongside the Divine statement, 'This is My beloved Son: hear ye Him'. In the third place, worship is empty unless we hearken to, and obey, the voice of God. Mere external acts of worship, without sincerity of heart, become a mockery and a travesty, if we fail to hear and obey. The responsive heart is a sine qua non of true worship. We should also note the empha- sis on 'Today', which 'stands first with strong emphasis, to enforce the critical character of the present moment. It may be the last opportunity. At all events, it is an opportunity, and therefore to be grasped and used. A doleful history of unthankfulness lay behind; but still the Divine voice sounds, and still the fleeting moments offer space for softening of heart and docile hearkening. The madness of delay when time is hurrying on, and the longsuffering patience of God, are wonderfully proclaimed in that one word' (Maclaren).
The word 'provocation' and 'day of temptation' in 8 are given proper names in the modern versions, 'Meribah' and 'Massah', two place names from the sorry history of Israel's experience in the wilderness, linking, as Kidner points out, 'The early crisis at Rephidim (Exodus 17:1-7) with the climactic one at Kadesh which cost Moses the Promised Land (Numbers 20:1-13)' - a solemn warning indeed. Israel had so many 'Today's'!
August 20th 2021 – Psalm 95
“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!3 For the Lord is…
August 19th 2021 – Psalm 94
“O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers…
August 18th 2021 – Psalm 94
“O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers…
August 17th 2021 – Psalm 94
“O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers…
August 16th 2021 – Psalm 93
“The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.2 Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.3 The floods have lifted…
August 15th 2021 – Psalm 93
“The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.2 Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.3 The floods have lifted…
August 14th 2021 – Psalm 93
“The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.2 Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.3 The floods have lifted…
August 13th 2021 – Psalm 92
“A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,3 to the music of the lute…
August 12th 2021 – Psalm 92
“A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,3 to the music of the lute…