Psalms 95

Chapter Overview

What happens in Psalms 95

A psalm calling the people to worship God joyfully as their Creator and Shepherd, but warning them not to harden their hearts as their ancestors did at Meribah in the wilderness. Quoted extensively in Hebrews.

Scripture

Come, Let Us Sing

Study note

The people are called to sing joyfully, shout to God, and come before him with thanksgiving. The Lord is the great God and great King. The depths of the earth and the mountain peaks are in his hands.

1 Come on, let's celebrate the Lord with shouts of joy! Let's cheer for the rock who saves us! O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

2 Let's step into his presence overflowing with thankfulness. Let's lift up joyful songs to him! Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

3 The Lord is a great God. He is a mighty King who is above every other so-called god. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

4 He holds the deepest places of the earth in his hand. The highest mountaintops belong to him. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

5 The ocean is his because he created it. His own hands shaped every piece of dry land. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, Let Us Worship

Study note

Come, let us bow down and kneel before the Lord who made us. He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care.

6 Come, let's bow low and worship. Let's get on our knees before the Lord who made us. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

7 He is our God, and we are the people he takes care of, the flock he watches over. If you hear his voice today, 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,

Do Not Harden Your Hearts

Study note

A warning: Today, if you hear God's voice, do not harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah and Massah. For forty years God was grieved by that generation and declared they would never enter his rest.

8 do not let your hearts turn hard like they did at Meribah, like that day at Massah out in the wilderness, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

9 where your ancestors pushed me to the limit. They tested me even though they had already seen what I could do. When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

10 For forty years that generation made me sick. I said, "Their hearts always wander off the path. They have never learned my ways." 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 So in my anger I made a solemn promise: "They will never get to enter my place of rest." Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Key Themes

Themes in Psalms 95

Joyful worship of God our CreatorGod as our shepherdA warning not to harden your heartThe danger of testing God as Israel did

Prophetic Connections

How this chapter points to Christ

Psalms Psalm 95:7-11 Hebrews 3:7-11,15; Hebrews 4:3,7

The author of Hebrews quotes this passage extensively as a warning to Christians: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts,' applying Israel's failure to enter rest as a warning for believers.

Apply This Today

Living Psalms 95

This psalm is both an invitation and a warning: come and worship joyfully, but do not harden your heart. Israel tested God in the wilderness and paid a heavy price. Today, if you hear God's voice, respond immediately. A soft heart today prevents a hard heart tomorrow.

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