Psalm 95
Come! Come!
Worship is not an optional extra to the Christian life. As Christians of old maintained, this is our “chief end”. There is no higher purpose for all of humanity than to praise and glorify the one who is high over all.
And in this Psalm we are reminded of its fundamental importance in the life of the Christian and Church.
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.3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.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.Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 ‘Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
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 Call to Come
Twice in this Psalm we are called to “Come” (1 & 6) to our God in worship.
The first summons is to bring loud, joyful and unabashed songs of gratitude. At the centre of this thanksgiving is that God is the “rock of our salvation.” He alone is the firm foundation on which our hopes and future is built. He is the everlasting rock. The waves of time will not erode him. Therefore, the salvation he has won for us is eternally secure. And the saved are singers. Loud singers. Joyful singers. Unabashed singers.
The second summons is to an act of reverence. Notice this time it is about our posture. It is about bowing before God and bending our knees as we come into his presence (see Philippians 2.9-11). In doing this, we acknowledge God to be our King, and we his servants. He is the Almighty Sovereign who deserves our full throated devotion.
We must come before him in humility. But as James reminds us, those who lower themselves before God will be lifted up. God will draw near in grace and steadfast love to those who draw near to him in whole-hearted worship (James 4.7-10).
The Warrant for Worship
The two summons to worship are then rooted in the truth of who God is.
First, he is described as the King over all (3-5). He is the Sovereign who rules and reigns with all authority over all the cosmos. He is peerless. No other ‘gods’ can compare let alone compete with him. He stands over all with no equal or match. The whole earth belongs to him for he is the Creator of all. From the highest peaks to the deepest caverns of the oceans, all is under his dominion. We might fashion from pre-existing materials but he formed the whole universe from nothing.
Second, he is described as our Maker and Shepherd (6-7). He is not just God but our God. We are the sheep under his care. He protects, guides and provides for his flock. He feeds, leads and guards us.
God is our ultimate Pastor who will lead us on our journey. Jesus is the Shepherd who knows his sheep, lays down his life for his flock and leads us into abundant life (John 10.10-18). Are there any greater grounds for worship? Don’t dither, come!
The Caution for the Contumacious
Contumacious is a particularly strong word for being disobedient or rebellious. It refers to a stubborn and obstinate refusal to submit to legitimate authority. The close to this Psalm is a warning to the wayward, those who are turning away from their Creator.
God as Shepherd led his people out of slavery in Egypt and yet Israel still grumbled against him. At Meribah and Massah, the people questioned and tested God (see Exodus 17.1-7). Remembering that rebellious generation, we are cautioned not to be hard-hearted like them. That phrase for the hardening of hearts is the same used of how Pharaoh hardened his heart before God’s word. And so we are commanded to avoid that same path because it leads to a closed door away from rest and joy (11).
This is a call to be on guard for the seed of any sin in our hearts that silences the voice of God in our lives. The author of Hebrews quotes this very Psalm reminding the church to stay close to God (see Hebrews 3.7-19). How do we stay close to God? Through the true Priest Jesus Christ, through who we draw near to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4.15-16).
Glory be to God the Father, our Maker and King.
Glory be to God the Son, the Rock of our salvation.
Glory be to God the Spirit, who leads us to eternal rest.
Ever three and ever One.
Home Group: Luke 12.1-12
In what way are the Pharisees hypocritical? How is this hypocrisy a danger to the disciples? How might we be on guard against it?
What is the fear of man? What does it look like in everyday life? Why should we fear God instead (5-7)?
Why is our response to Jesus so important (8-9)? Is there any hope for those who fail on this front (10)? What promise does Jesus make to us when we face persecution?