Daily Devotional Monday 20th November 2023
by William MoodyPsalms 95–96
Let Us Sing Songs of Praise
95:1 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.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
Worship in the Splendor of Holiness
96:1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;1
tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.Footnotes
[1] 96:9
Or in holy attire (ESV)
Psalm 95 teaches a lot about our needed approach to worship. We must come joyfully when we remember the Lord’s salvation (v1-2). When you come to worship are you joyful and thankful at the great privilege of coming to the Lord your Saviour?
The Psalmist speaks of the greatness of the Lord (v3) who created and holds in His hands all of Creation (v4-5). When you think of the vastness of the universe, how amazing is the God who spoke this into existence and who sustains it all? An acknowledgment of God as Creator should make us humbly bow down (v6).
The picture moves from the majesty of the Creator to the intimacy of His care for His people as a shepherd (v7). This is the great God who comes near to provide for His sheep.
Yet, sadly the sheep are inclined to wander and the Psalms remind sus not to be like the Israelites in the wilderness who grumbled and complained (v8-11).
God offers so much in His love, but we can lose out on so much through having a hardened heart. Is your heart hard or attentive to God’s voice?
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