Psalm 95 is today's psalm; we'll focus on the first nine verses. Many of you will recognize the first seven verses as the beautiful Venite, sung in our Matins and Morning Prayer worship liturgies. Give it a listen: the video/audio file is at the end.
PSALM 95:1-9
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh 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.
Today, if you hear His voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put Me to the test
and put Me to the proof, though they had seen My work.
In verses 1-2 we read an invitation to praise the Lord and verses 3-5 give us excellent reasons why, the third verse especially. Verses six and seven repeat this pairing; verse six has an invitation to worship in humility and verse seven introduces God's beautiful imagery of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. You are His sheep and He provides, cares and protects you every day of your life! Why wouldn't you and I always want to praise and worship the Lord in humility & love? Of course we want to, but our sinful natures often get in the way.
In verses 8-9, the Lord gives us a gentle but firm reminder. Today, hear the Lord's voice as He tells us: "Don't doubt My work, which you have seen." This is especially helpful for us to remember as we wait impatiently for answers to our prayers, or when we don't like the answers the Lord provides. Doesn't it always seem like we want something else, something better, bigger or shinier? O Lord, forgive us, we pray!
God is calling you today to see and remember HIs work, His past blessings. This will help us to wait patiently for present and future blessings and answers to our prayers. And remember, while we're waiting, do so with singing! While you're waiting, go ahead and make some joyful & thankful noise, praising the Lord for all He has done for you!
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord... a great God, and a great King above all gods!
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