PSALM 95

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 3 For the LORD [is] the great God, And the great King above all gods. 4 In His hand [are] the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills [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 will hear His voice: 8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As [in] the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. 10 For forty years I was grieved with [that] generation, And said, ‘It [is] a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ “

PSALM 95:1-11

UNBRIDLED PRAISE

A few years ago I broke out in a rash from head to toe. Every inch of my skin was on fire with an unsatisfiable itch. I was in agony. It was beyond my control. As much as I tried to put “mind over matter” I couldn’t. My body was apparently responding to something I ate. Finally the doctors subdued my symptoms with some medication but it boggled my mind how my body could have such a loud response to something in my diet. (We still don’t know exactly what caused it, but we suspect a pesticide on one of the plants I ate was to blame)

When we meditate upon the LORD, who He is, what He has done, and His enduring character it should provoke us to unmitigated praise. There is room for a loud response to God. When we see just a little bit of who He is, it should provoke a reaction in our heart that is all consuming! If a little bit of chemical in my food can cause a rash, then understanding that God made the world and everything in it should cause us to break out into loud joyful praise.

Today as we open up Psalm 95 we see the psalmist call us to a loud response of worship to the praiseworthiness of God! We may be used to mild mannered singing or responsive readings, but those won’t do in this moment. The Psalmist calls for us to shout joyfully! Sure there are worshipful moments of quiet reflection and meditation that fit the bill of worship… but there are also times and celebrations that call for unbridled praise! There are moments were we are to let our praise be loud and obnoxious!

The Psalmist shares truth after truth in rapid succession and our hearts should be leaping out of our chest to praise God and say amen! One of my habits when someone else is praying is to amen the words they use to express the sentiment of their heart. It’s as if I’m saying, “That’s my prayer too Lord!” So when we hear these words describe the goodness and faithfulness of God our hearts should be leaping with unbridled praise, “Yes! Amen! It’s True!”

There is room for joy in the Christian life, indeed we are commanded to joy! Indeed Paul wrote these words chained to a prison guard in Rome, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4)! And he tells the Thessalonians church to, “Rejoice always” (I Thessalonians 5:16). This doesn’t even take into consideration the numerous psalms that call us to praise God and shout for joy!

I hope you are able to see all that you have to be grateful to God for and it spills into loud, joyous praise of the LORD! I hope the Lord puts a melody in your heart and you are provoked to praise. I hope that even when you don’t “feel it” that you do your best to offer God your best praise and in doing so come away from moments of personal and corporate worship encouraged and blessed!

PRAYER

Father, you are worthy of worship! You are worthy of all of our loudest praise! I am grateful that you lead us like a shepherd! I am grateful for your kindness and mercy that has been poured out upon us today! I choose to rejoice in your goodness and kindness today! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I’m reading and blogging the Psalms Through The Summer. I’d love for you to join me. You can find out a little more here.