Psalms — Chapter 95
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1Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!
2Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.
3For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.
4In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
5The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
6O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice,
8do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9where your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen My work.
10For forty years I was angry with that generation, and I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known My ways.”
11So I swore on oath in My anger, “They shall never enter My rest.”
1O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
7For 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,
8Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
10Forty 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:
11Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
1Oh come, let us sing unto Jehovah; Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; Let us make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3For Jehovah is a great God, And a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the mountains are his also.
5The sea is his, and he made it; And his hands formed the dry land.
6Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before Jehovah our Maker:
7For he is our God, And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To-day, oh that ye would hear his voice!
8Harden not your heart, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness;
9When your fathers tempted me, Proved me, and saw my work.
10Forty years long was I grieved with [that] generation, And said, It is a people that do err in their heart, And they have not known my ways:
11Wherefore I sware in my wrath, That they should not enter into my rest. Psalm 96
1Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout out praises to our Protector who delivers us.
2Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout out to him in celebration.
3For the Lord is a great God, a great king who is superior to all gods.
4The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5The sea is his, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land.
6Come, let us bow down and worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.
7For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture, the sheep he owns. Today, if only you would obey him.
8He says, “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, like they were that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9where your ancestors challenged my authority and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.
10For 40 years I was continually disgusted with that generation, and I said, ‘These people desire to go astray; they do not obey my commands.’
11So I made a vow in my anger, ‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’”
1Oh come, let’s sing to Yahweh. Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation!
2Let’s come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let’s extol him with songs!
3For Yahweh is a great God, a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the deep places of the earth. The heights of the mountains are also his.
5The sea is his, and he made it. His hands formed the dry land.
6Oh come, let’s worship and bow down. Let’s kneel before Yahweh, our Maker,
7for he is our God. We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep in his care. Today, oh that you would hear his voice!
8Don’t harden your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
9when your fathers tempted me, tested me, and saw my work.
10Forty long years I was grieved with that generation, and said, “It is a people that errs in their heart. They have not known my ways.”
11Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They won’t enter into my rest.”
Summary
A call to worship followed by a warning. The psalmist invites the assembly to sing joyfully to the LORD, the great God and King above all gods who holds the depths of the earth and made the sea and dry land, and to come before him with thanksgiving, kneeling before their Maker (vv. 1-7a). The tone shifts sharply as God warns against hardening one's heart as Israel did at Meribah and Massah, where the generation that tested him in the wilderness, despite seeing his works, was barred from entering his rest because their hearts went astray (vv. 7b-11); this warning is quoted extensively in Hebrews 3-4.
Authorship & Background
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of Psalms -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Worship That Is Loud and Joyful (vv.1-2) — The psalm opens by calling God's people to sing and shout for joy, not sit quietly. Does your worship carry genuine joy, or has it become routine?
- Worship That Also Kneels (v.6) — The same psalm that calls for shouting also calls for kneeling before the Maker, holding exuberance and humility together. Is your worship missing either the joy or the reverence?
- Today, Not Someday (v.7) — The invitation to listen to God's voice is framed as an urgent, present-tense call, not a someday decision. What response to God have you been putting off until a more convenient time?
- Hearing Without Hardening (v.8) — Israel's ancestors are held up as a warning of people who heard God's voice repeatedly yet still let their hearts grow hard. Where might familiarity with God's truth be dulling your response to it instead of deepening it?
- Unbelief Cost a Generation Its Rest (v.11) — Because of their hardened hearts, that wilderness generation was kept from entering the rest God had prepared for them. What unbelief might be keeping you from the rest God wants to give you now?