1 Come, let us SING FOR JOY to the Lord;
let us SHOUT ALOUD to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with THANKSGIVING
and EXTOL him with music and song. Psalm 95
Psalm 95 is a well known modern day chorus and begins with an exhortation to worship God joyfully and exuberantly. Praise and Thanksgiving are a Gateway into God’s presence and He should be the focus of all true worship.
God’s Power and Majesty are then highlighted in the psalm.
6 Come, let us BOW DOWN in worship,
let us KNEEL before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
THE FLOCK UNDER HIS CARE. Psalm 95
Speaking personally, I don’t spend a lot of time BOWING or KNEELING DOWN BEFORE THE LORD, this is something challenging me as I write this blog. Perhaps fewer believers in our day really really appreciate the awe and respect due to our Creator God. Anyway, this is something that I want and need to address, in my own walk with God.
I’m touched by the little phrase, ‘the Flock under His Care’. We have sheep around us where we live and even though sheep are left out in the open, they need attention. David was a shepherd and he was aware of the care that the sheep required and he attributed this to a Caring Father. Please take some time today to Thank God for His Care for yourself and your loved ones. Don’t take God’s love and care for granted, He’s a very gracious God but we need to be thankful for His Loving Kindness (Hebrew hesed) towards us.
The final verses of the psalm are a prophetic warning to the people of God.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 ‘Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah (means quarrelling)
as you did that day at Massah (means testing) in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
The people grumbled and complained that God had brought them into the wilderness and they didn’t have any water to drink. They were talking about stoning Moses, but the Lord told him to walk ahead with the elders of Israel and take his rod and strike the rock; water flowed out for the people. Israel had asked, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ Exodus 17:7 They grumbled and complained and God was displeased with a whole generation. Cultivate Thankfulness for all the necessities and the blessings in your life, God Cares for the sheep of His pasture.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
“They shall never enter my rest.”
The WORDS OF GOD HIMSELF, speaking through the psalmist are also quoted directly in Hebrews 3:7-11, 15 and 4:3, a warning for His people today, not to grumble and complain but to give thanks. May we become a Thankful and Praising people towards our loving Heavenly Father.
God bless and keep you today.