Psalms 95:8

For 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, -Warning against hardening the heart, and so forfeiting the Lord's promised rest, like the unbelieving Israelities in the wilderness. Verse 7 FOR HE IS OUR GOD. The "For" introduces the agreement justifying the preceding assertion that "the shall enter into my rest;' a formula of swearing an emphatic negative. The very formula used in , margin; Ps. 95:30; , "my rest" is "the rest and the inheritance (in Canaan) which the Lord their God gave" ()....

8._Harden not your heart, as in Meribah _The Psalmist, having extolled and commended the kindness of God their Shepherd, takes occasion, as they were stiffnecked and disobedient, to remind them of their duty, as his flock, which was to yield a pliable and meek submission; and the more to impress their minds, he upbraids them with the obstinacy of their fathers. The term מריבה _, Meribah, _may be used appellatively to mean _strife _or _contention; _but as the Psalmist evidently refers to the history contained in Exodus 17:2, (58) I have preferred understanding it of the place — and so of מסה _, Massah. _(59) In the second clause, however, the place where the temptation happened may be thought sufficiently described under the ter

7-11 Christ calls upon his people to hear his voice. You call him Master, or Lord; then be his willing, obedient people. Hear the voice of his doctrine, of his law, and in both, of his Spirit: hear and heed; hear and yield. Christ's voice must be heard to-day. This day of opportunity will not last always; improve it while it is called to-day. Hearing the voice of Christ is the same with believing. Hardness of heart is at the bottom of all distrust of the Lord. The sins of others ought to be warnings to us not to tread in their steps. The murmurings of Israel were written for our admonition. God is not subject to such passions as we are; but he is very angry at sin and sinners. That certainly is evil, which deserves such a recompence; and his threatenings are as sure as his promises. Let us be aware of the evils of our hearts, which lead us to wander from the Lord. There is a rest ordain...

HARDEN NOT YOUR HEART - See this verse explained in the notes at Hebrews 3:8. AS IN THE PROVOCATION ... - Margin, “contention.” The original is “Meribah.” See Exodus 17:7, where the original words Meribah, rendered here “provocation,” and “Massah,” rendered here “temptation,” are retained in the translation....

EXPOSITION THIS is a liturgical psalm, probably composed for the temple service, and still used in the synagogue as one of the Friday evening Psalms which introduce the sabbath. The Western Church has adopted it into its daily "Order for Prayer"—a position which it continues to occupy in our own Matins. It consists of two parts (verses 1-7 and verses 7-11), so strongly contrasted, that separatist critics suggest an accidental combination of two quite unconnected fragments (Professor Cheyne). But a deeper and more penetrating exegesis sees in the composition two trains of thought, purposely set over against each other—one joyous, the other plaintive; one setting forth the "goodness" of God, the other his "severity" (Romans 11:22); one inviting to joy and thankfulness, the other to self-examination and repentance; one calling to mind God's greatness and loving

HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS,.... Against Christ, against his Gospel, against all the light and evidence of it. There is a natural hardness of the heart, owing to the corruption of nature; and an habitual hardness, acquired by a constant continuance and long custom in sinning; and there is a judicial hardness, which God gives men up unto. There is a hardness of heart, which sometimes attends God's own people, through the deceitfulness of sin gaining upon them; of which, when sensible, they complain, and do well to guard against. Respect seems to be had here to the hardness of heart in the Jews in the times of Christ and his apostles, which the Holy Ghost foresaw, and here dehorts from; who, notwithstanding the clear evidence of Jesus being the Messiah, from prophecy, from miracles, from doctrines, from the gifts of the Spirit, c. yet hardened their hearts against him, rebelled against light, a...

Psalms 95:1. _O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation._ The worship of God should always be joyful, hence there is to be much singing in it. God is not like Baal, who can be worshipped with crying and lamentation, and the cutting of the flesh with knives. We who believe in him regard him not as the destroyer or the avenger, but as «the rock of our salvation.» You who have hidden in that rock can truly praise him. Psalms 95:2. _Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving,_ Let us not be afraid to stand in the immediate presence of God; on the other hand, let us not worship him with lightness and frivolity, but let us come before his presence with due reverence and solemnity; and when we come, let it be «with thanksg

Psalms 95 In Anticipation of His Coming _ 1. Singing unto Him? (Psalms 95:1)_ 2. Let us worship and bow down (Psalms 95:6) It is a call to Israel in anticipation of the soon appearing of the expected Saviour-King. The next Psalm will show that He has come. How are they, His people, to welcome Him? With singing, with confession (this is the literal translation of thanksgiving in Psalms 95:2), with worship and prostration. And there is the warning now not to harden their hearts, not be like their fathers who could not enter into His rest. His people must welcome Him as a willing, as an obedient people and such will be the

XCV. A HYMN OF PRAISE. The greatness of God in nature. A warning from the history of Israel in the wilderness. There is no cogent reason for dividing the Ps. into two. For Massah and Meribah. see Exodus 17:1 ff. and Numbers 20:1 ff. PSALMS 95:4. HEIGHTS: (not strength, _mg.)._ The poet contrasts the deep places of the earth with the mountain peaks....

IN THE PROVOCATION. at Meribah (Numbers 20:13). TEMPTATION. Massah (Exodus 17:7)....