Sunday, May 12, 2013 pm
COME, LET US SING TO THE
LORD
Psalm 95
Throughout our studies of the psalms, we have emphasized
praise to the Lord. This
psalm is a clear example of such. In
fact, it is a psalm of worship describing a proper attitude, both in
conduct and purpose. It is
also a psalm that is quoted in the New Testament.
Let us notice this psalm
a.
“Oh come” –
this is an invitation to ASSEMBLE to worship God.
Because of that we know this is one of the psalms of worship!
Assembling is something we ought to look forward to – Psa. 122:1,
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’”;
Psalm 84:1 begins, “How lovely is
Your tabernacle…” a place the psalmist longed to be at.
b.
“Let us sing to the
Lord” One
of the wonderful ways to render praise to God is in song.
With it we can TOGETHER glorify God using our talents and our
hearts – Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19, 1 Cor. 14:15 – note that this text is
addressing how in our worship we will edify one another.
That is done with songs that are “with the understanding”, that
is designed to teach and admonish.
Throughout the NT, when we read of our worship, this mode is
often emphasized. And while
it is not the ONLY act of worship (there are 5), it is the one where we
can together lift up our hearts in praise to Him.
May we NEVER lose the significance of congregational singing!
c.
Joyful praise, in vs. 1 & 2, we read, “Let us
shout joyfully” to “the rock
of our salvation”. In
this I am reminded of the JOY that ought to be in our hearts as we sing
and worship God.
Col. 3:16, “singing with grace in
your hearts to the Lord”; Eph. 5:19, “singing
and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.”
James 5:13, “Is anyone cheerful? Let him
sing psalms.”
Much of the religious world seeks to prop up their singing with
entertainment – the drums, organs, choirs, hand clapping, etc.
That is not what God has asked for!
What He wants is A HEART that will worship Him with joy.
YOU and I singing praises to Him together!
And there is so much to be joyful for – our salvation, our loving
brethren, numerous blessings bestowed upon us, and a multitude of other
things.
d.
In his presence with
thanksgiving
- as with joyful praise, we need
thanksgiving in our hearts as we worship Him.
Our gratitude for all that He has done – sending His Son,
revealing His desires through His word, the eternal wisdom of His
church, our hope of reward after this life, and many other things ought
to provoke a humble attitude of gratitude.
And that ought to be reflected in our worship – both as often as
we assemble AND our disposition in worship.
Heb. 13:15, “Therefore by Him let
us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit
of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
Eph. 5:20, “giving thanks always
for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
a.
Why do we “sing to the
Lord”? Because He is “the
great God, the great King above all gods.”
b.
A great God
– we humbly bow before our heavenly Father because He IS great!
He is all powerful, all seeing and all knowing.
He created this world with His word and thereby He sustains it.
(2 Pet. 3:5-7)
Ephesians 4:5 describes Him as “one
God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you
all.”
c.
Above all gods – this is NOT an acknowledgment that there are many gods, but rather a
declaration that only in YHWH can we find ANY hope.
Why? Because other
gods are NOT! They are a
sham and powerless! They are
rocks and carved images that have no feelings or power (cf. Isa.
44:8-20).
Paul in 1 Cor. 8:4-6 described how “so-called” gods are meaningless to
us and to be disregarded.
d.
In His hand are the deep
places of the earth;
… (4-5)
He is everywhere and
creator of all the earth.
Even the minutest of details are known to Him.
There is NO place one can go to hide from Him.
He created it all (cf. Gen. 1).
Job 38-39 (for starters) finds the Lord challenging Job to answer
questions he could not – questions of God’s power and creation.
He asked, “Where were you
when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (Job 38:4).
Vs. 8-11 describe His
power over the seas – just ONE example of many to demonstrate His power
and WHY He is a great God to be praised!
a.
Worship and bow down –
in our worship, we must remember WHO we are here to render homage to.
The idea of bowing down is to demonstrate humility in one’s own
self and reverence for Jehovah God!
Humility - WE often
read of positions that one takes in prayer and other acts of worship –
bowing one’s head (Luke 18:13), prostrating oneself to the ground (Deut.
9:25), kneeling before Him (Dan. 6:10), etc.
All of these demonstrate humility (cf. Jas. 4:10, 1 Pet. 5:5-6).
NOTE: As we worship it is not so much about a specific posture,
as it is the heart that realizes whose presence we are in.
Reverence – rendering
to God the respect He is worthy of – Heb. 12:28-29 – we serve God
reverence and godly fear.
b.
For He is OUR God
– He is worthy!
While is the one and only God, we must make him OUR God!
The psalmist is speaking of Israel, but the principle is just as
applicable to us. God must
be MY God!
We are called upon to let God dwell within us – 1 Cor. 6:19-20, 1 John
4:15-16, John 14:23, etc.
a.
We are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand
–
i.
One of the frequent
analogies of the relationship of Israel to Jehovah God was that of a
shepherd and His sheep. The
23rd psalm is about the Lord as our shepherd.
The history of Israel was that of sheep herders.
It was this distinction that yielded them an isolated land in
Egypt (cf. Gen. 46:34-47:12).
When the prophets warned Israel and Judah to repent, they often
spoke of the leaders as shepherds.
ii.
The analogy was carried
over into the New Testament as well.
1.
John 10:1-15 Jesus
described Himself as the good shepherd and we as His sheep.
See also 1 Pet. 5:4 where Jesus is called the “Chief Shepherd”.
Also Heb. 13:20
2.
Acts 20:28-29 – the church of God
is described as a flock and the elders as shepherds (hence the meaning
of the name “pastor”).
Cf. 1 Pet. 5:2-3
b.
Today if you will hear
His voice
(7c) –
i.
Today – a challenge for
the audience to whom the psalmist was writing.
He was concerned about them going to the house of worship.
ii.
Hear His voice - to
LISTEN to the message of God. The summon to NOT reject God’s message.
Among the thoughts they were NOT to reject – worshipping God as
He prescribed.
c.
LEARN from the example
of Israel of old
i.
Do NOT harden your hearts – they were in danger of backsliding.
Developing hearts where they would not hear the voice of the
Lord. It was a constant
concern.
ii.
As Israel had done in
the wilderness
1.
Days of rebellion
– throughout the wilderness wanderings, Israel rebelled against God.
Paul in 1 Cor. 10:5-10 described some of the things they did.
This is just a partial list of their sinful conduct as recorded
in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.
NOTE: The word for rebellion
here is provocation in the KJV
and Meribah in the ASV,
NASU, ESV. The actual word
is the word Meribah which brings to mind the specific occasion in
Numbers 20:1-13 when Moses
in frustration struck the rock at Kadesh instead of speaking to it as
the Lord had commanded. The result of this sin meant that Moses could
not enter the Promised Land even though for 40 years he had faithfully
led the people. FRIENDS, God
takes obedience seriously!
The term was also used in Exodus 17:7 before they reached Mt. Sinai and
complained about no water.
On that occasion Moses smote the rock as commanded and water flowed
forth. He called the place
Massah and Meribah.
NOTE: The word Massah is the word for “trial” in Psa. 95:8 (NKJV),
“temptation in the KJV and the word “Massah”
is found in the ASV, NASU & ESV.
With both words the NKJV & KJV DEFINE the word, while the others
use the original which was the name of the place of rebellion.
2.
Tested God in the
wilderness
– it was so much God testing them, but they tested God.
In other words they challenged His warnings!
Much like a child will test a parent to see how much they can get
away with, or a student test a teacher, or a coach an umpire.
3.
Even though they saw His
work –
Israel in the wilderness saw marvelous things – from the plagues against
Egypt, to the Red Sea crossing, to His thunderous voice at Mt. Sinai,
daily sustenance with manna and water, and occasional meat, the defeat
of enemies, preservation of their garments, etc.
The point is that God had MORE THAN proven His faithfulness to
them.
4.
For forty years they
grieved him
– for 40 years, they continually murmured and acted with ingratitude and
self-serving conduct.
5.
They go astray in their
hearts and do not know “My” ways – the point of their rebellion is that they REFUSED to obey God and that
is what brought about His wrath.
6.
“So
I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest.”
And they did not.
From the time of the Exodus out of Egypt until they finally entered the
Promised Land, an entire generation fell (Num. 14:28-30), everyone from
20 years of age and above would die in the wilderness.
There were only 2 exceptions – Joshua and Caleb and it was
BECAUSE of their reverence and obedience to God.
iii.
Lesson:
This psalm is quoted in Heb. 3-4.
1.
The book of Hebrews is written to
Christians who were considering returning to the Old Law.
The writer sets forth a case for how much
better the covenant of
Christ is in every way.
Nevertheless, he continually WARNS them against the consequences of
turning back from God.
Hebrews 3 & 4 is one such warning!
2.
He begins by describing
the faithfulness of Moses (Heb. 3:1-6)
3.
He relates the
faithfulness of Moses to the faithfulness of Christ.
Notice vs. 6 which speaking of Christ says that He was faithful,
“as a Son over His own house, whose house we are
if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to
the end.”
4.
This is followed by
quoting Psalm 95:7-11.
5.
After quoting the text
the writer says, “Beware,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in
departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily while it is
called ‘Today’, (see Psa. 95:7 – TT)
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
The warning to the Hebrew brethren was the SAME as the warning to
the Israelites in our present Psalm.
6.
Hebrews continues to
warn that we must remain faithful to God “steadfast to the end.” (Heb.
3:14). AGAIN, Psalm 95
is quoted, perhaps for emphasis (vs. 7-8)
7.
He then describes the
generation that fell in the wilderness because of their rebellion.
Who was it? THOSE WHO
SINNED!
8.
Hebrews 4 then turns the
discussion to OUR promised rest.
He says, “Let us fear lest
any of you seem to have come short of it.”
(Heb. 4:1)
Verses 1-10 then describe our hope of entering the rest of heaven
hinges on our faithfulness to the end
9.
WHAT A LESSON FOR US!
iv.
Application:
As we began, we conclude by noting this is a psalm about worship. LET US
APPLY THIS IN OUR WORSHIP!
Recall the first 2 words, “O come” – we are reminded that we must
worship God, and we must do so according to HIS instructions.
Could it be that the psalmist was comparing the one who REFUSED to
assemble and worship with rebellious Israel of the wilderness? If so,
that is certainly something to seriously consider.
WHAT about us?
Considering Hebrews 10:24-25 where we are warned to not forsake the
assembling of ourselves together and the consequences of such rejection
of God in vs. 26-31, let us tie that in with the rest of Hebrews and our
present psalm. It is
sobering!