Psalm 95 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 95 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Verse 2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
Verse 3For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Verse 4In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
Verse 5The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
Verse 6O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Verse 7For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!
Verse 8Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
Verse 9when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
Verse 10For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways."
Verse 11Therefore in my anger I swore, "They shall not enter my rest."
Devotion
This fine example of a hymn of praise invites us to worship God in various ways (v. 1-2, 6) and offers a double reason to do so: "For the Lord is a great God..." (v. 3-5), and, more importantly, because God is "our God" (v. 7). Like all the hymns of praise, however, this psalm serves best as a vehicle for mission! Inviting others to join you in praise of God by sharing what God has done for you sounds like witnessing—and of course it is! In their liturgy of worship Lutherans used to sing "Thank the Lord (how do we do that?) sing his praise (and how might we do that?) tell ev'ryone what he has done" (Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 72)!
Prayer
God of grace and God of glory, we praise you not only for what you have done for us, but for who you are. Encourage us to tell others about your gracious love. Amen.