Thursday, September 22, 2011

Psalm 95

1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6 O 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. To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Key Verse:
7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

Key Observation:
Our Creator God wants his people to keep a soft heart.

Memory Verse:
3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Devotion:
“This psalm must be sung with a holy reverence of God’s majesty and a dread of his justice, with a desire to please him and a fear to offend him.” (Matthew Henry) This is a deep psalm of praise to the Lord. God is called “our God” and we are the people of his pasture. David gets credit for writing this psalm when it is quoted in Hebrews 3 and 4. “7Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7)

I find seven commands in this short psalm.
1. Sing to the Lord, v. 1
2. Make a joyful noise, v. 1
3. Come before His presence, v. 2
4. Make a joyful noise with psalms, v. 2
5. Worship and bow down to Him, v. 6
6. Kneel before the Lord our Maker, v.6
7. Harden not your hearts, v. 8

Because it is so filled with commands to worship, we perhaps picture this psalm as being mostly read and applied to the millennium. Though its audience is Israel, the application is so obviously world wide. One day, we are told, the nations which know not God will appear trembling before Him. The application seems to fit Christians very strongly, as they give us direction and focus for our praise to God. Christians should be joyful, not because we live in joyful circumstances, but because Our God has told us the end from the beginning. Our joy should cause us to break out in frequent song, which I do, much to my wife’s lament! I do not care that I cannot sing a lick—the Lord has placed a song in my heart. I need to come before His presence, to worship, kneeling and bowing down, each day. Most importantly I need to constantly allow the Holy Spirit to prick my heart and my conscience that I may walk aright.

We Walk with Our Lord

We walk with our Lord through the day;
Just talk with our Lord through the day.
His Spirit guides along the way.
We walk with our Lord through the day.
We walk in His love through the day.
We talk in His love through the day.
A helping hand, a word of grace-
We walk in His love through the day.
We live in His joy through the day,
The joy of the Lord through the day.
His greatness fills our lives with praise.
We live in His joy through the day.
Words by Ken Bible
Music: Traditional Folk Tune and Ken Bible
© 2004 by LNWhymns.com. CCLI Song #853407, 4387972, 4388012.

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