Initial Impressions: Psalm 95

This article will attempt to communicate some of the meaning of the psalm by using a hypothetical situation.

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

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,

do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

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.”

Therefore I swore in my wrath,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

The Psalmist bursts at the seems with declarations of praise. Calling on his audience to join him, the writer attempts to remind them, the people of Ancient Israel, of the covenant God made with them long ago, and, giddy and excited, desires to glorify God alongside his people. He repeats his statements to add effect, displaying the deep love that he has for God, all while luring those around him to hold the same attitude (v. 1-2).

Then, he starts to list God's characteristics in order to prove to those who either may not know who God is or what he's like, or who need to be reminded of his character, that God is worthy of honor. "For the LORD is a great God," he starts, perhaps looking into the face of an innocent child, gleaming with brightness, "and a great King above all gods." This is important for him to say, as his primary audience would've been the ancient Israelites who were constantly being bombarded, as we are today in different ways, by stories of surrounding nations being supported by an array of gods. "God is great? In what way?" one might ask from the crowd that inevitably groups around this clearly elated man (v. 3). He looks in the direction of the voice and, almost on the verge of tears, utters, "In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land" (v. 4-5).

Continuing, he gives even more charge to the people to join him in fulfilling their purpose as humans by worshipping the Lord in full. "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before our LORD, our Maker!"(v. 6). Turning it on the people, he gives them a glimpse into their own identity in relation to this God: "For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand" (v. 7).

Perhaps he, sensing an underlying attitudinal pushback from the onlookers, lowers his voice, and says somberly, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness," and with the very voice of the Lord, "when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work" (v. 8-9). He leaves them with a warning straight from the Divine that is equally applicable for both the Church and the world today. "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.' Therefore I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest'" (v. 10-11).

May God bless you as you meditate on his Holy Word.

-AJR