Psalms 95 & 97 - Worship and Trust

by Becky

LINK: Psalm 95 & Psalm 97

REFLECTION

We are told what to do and what not to do in these two psalms.

It seems to me that there is a link made in these psalms between having a thankful heart that praises God and obedience.

Look at the first half of Psalm 95 and Psalm 97. Nothing staid about that praise! Look at the exuberance and joy expressed in worship of the Lord!

Sing to the Lord

Give a joyous shout!

Come before Him with thanksgiving.

Come let us worship and bow down.

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Let the earth rejoice!

Let the farthest islands be glad!

The heavens declare his righteousness!

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD.

Every god must bow down to Him.

All the cities of Judah are glad!

For you, oh Lord, are most high over all the earth!

I ran across these words of C.S. Lewis recently:

“I want to stress what I think that we (or at least I) need more; the joy and delight in God which meet us in the Psalms, … These poets know far less reason than we for loving God. They did not know that He offered them eternal joy; still less that He would die to win it for them. Yet they express a longing for Him…. I have rather… called this the ‘appetite for God’ than ‘the love of God.’ The ‘love of God’ too easily suggests the word ‘spiritual’ in all those negative or restrictive senses which it has unhappily acquired. These old poets do not sem to think that they are meritorious or pious for having such feelings; nor, on the other hand, that they are privileged in being given the grace to have them… It has all the cheerful spontaneity of a natural, even a physical, desire. … They are glad and rejoice. Their fingers itch for the harp, for the lute and the harp… Let’s have a song! … We’re going to sing merrily and make a cheerful noise! … Let even the remote islands share the exultation! …
… There [in the Psalms]… I find an experience fully God-centred, asking of God no gift more urgently than His presence, the gift of Himself, joyous to the highest degree, and unmistakably real. What I see (so to speak) in the faces of these old poets tells me more about the God whom they and we adore.” (from Reflections on the Psalms, Ch. V)

But there is a warning in these psalms, too. See the last half of Psalm 95 and Psalm 97:10-12. We, his people, are warned against having hard hearts of unbelief – of not seeing God’s working in our lives. Psalm 95 cites the examples of the Israelites, who complained and tested God, and counsels us NOT to be like them.

I will add, too, a reminder of what we are reading right now in II Chronicles about the kings of Judah. We see those who trusted and those who doubted. Trust is linked to giving God His rightful place. Sin and evil are linked with lack of true worship of Jehovah.

Somehow this walk with our Lord is a kind of circular thing - obedience and trust lead to joy and praise which in turn lead back to obedience and trust.

Look at end of Psalm 97!

"Light shines on the godly,
and joy on those who do right.
May all who are godly be happy in the LORD
and praise His Holy Name!

APPLICATION

The passage in Psalm 95: 7b – 11 is quoted in Hebrews 3:7 – 4:7, where we Christians are warned not to have a heart of unbelief. If you get a chance, I hope you’ll read it.

What has stood out to me today is that true praise – exultant and exuberant worship of God from the heart – is an antidote to unbelief and its consequent sin. If we are truly lifting up our hearts and voices and eyes to the Lord, if we are thanking Him for His rule over all the earth and its inhabitants, if we truly are bowing down to Him as sovereign King – then we cannot have hard hearts that refuse to obey.

Who are you worshiping today? Write down a list from these psalms of the reasons why the Lord God is the only One truly worthy of worship. Add to that list all that God has done for us through Jesus. We know far more reasons for praise than did the poets who wrote the psalms.

Then read your list out loud to God. You could even try shouting it!

PRAYER

Father, You are more powerful than anything. You have made us and all that we see and know. You sustain all that is. You are righteous and just and holy. You love us! If we just look around, we see everywhere evidence of who You are. You came in the flesh and lived and died and rose again so that so that we can have freedom and life. Thank you for being our Shepherd - for caring for us, guiding us, watching over us.