Psalm 95 is the first of a series of liturgical psalms which were used as part of a choral work to celebrate the Lord’s kingship and power as Creator. Initially, it is full of sound: singing, shouting and music (vs 1,2). God is worshipped as the mighty Creator of a majestic creation (vs 4,5). When was the last time you were part of joyful, exuberant worship? How did it feel? Are there elements of God’s creation in the natural world that evoke wonder and compel you to worship him? 

Next, triumphant praise turns to supplication and submission (v 6). The imagery of a shepherd (v 7) reminds us of Jesus in John 10, and the comfort of his voice, protection and guidance. In what ways has God shepherded you and your community in the last year?

However, the psalm ends on a note of warning (v 8). Why and how do we harden our hearts against God? What can we learn from this psalm to stop our hearts from going astray (v 10) and rejecting the care, guidance and discipline of the Good Shepherd?  

Meditate on John Stott’s words: ‘Not until we grasp who the Lord is, are we inwardly moved to worship him.’¹ Pray, ‘Open my eyes, Lord, to see your glory.’

The priest or Levite author of this psalm longs for God’s people Israel to heed his commands and enter the rest that he has promised them. In their case, that rest meant safe residence within secure geographical boundaries, free from external adversaries and internal disasters,² but in ours, so much more. The writer of Hebrews³ uses this psalm to describe the rest that is ours in Christ. In this, we can cease from striving to establish our own righteousness and really lean on his work on our behalf. In both cases, the key to rest is in the construction of the psalm – adoration, surrender, hearing God’s voice and obedience.

Worship is not always quiet and decorous, though it can be: as Timothy and Kath Keller put it in My Rock, My Refuge,⁴ ‘When the love of the immeasurably great and transcendent God of the universe becomes real to us, the joy should be uncontainable.’ When the psalmist moves from adoration to surrender, he points to an irreplaceable element of worship. Bowing down and kneeling may not be common in some churches today, but they reflect an attitude that is vitally important. Submission to God and confession of his lordship over us is the essence of worship and the precursor to hearing his voice.

Hebrews makes this psalm an urgent message to contemporary Christians: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’⁵ Hearing God speak must be accompanied by response and obedience if his Word is to be effective in our lives. Only then will we really be able to rest in the peace, assurance and joy of knowing all that Christ has achieved for us at the cross and knowing that we are forgiven, accepted and loved. 

‘I am weary with … my fears, my drives, my need for approval and control. I need the deep peace … when I … rest in your Son’s finished work of salvation.’⁶

¹ Favourite Psalms, Angus Hudson, 1988, p83  ² 1 Kings 5:4  ³ Heb 3:18 – 4:11  ⁴ Hodder & Stoughton, 2015, p235  ⁵ Heb 4:7  ⁶ Keller, ibid, p237