Psalms · Chapter 95

Verse 1. O come, let us sing] Let us praise God, not only with the most joyful accents which can be uttered by the voice; but let us also praise him with hearts tuned to gratitude, from a full sense of the manifold benefits we have already received.

The rock of our salvation.] The strong Fortress in which we have always found safety, and the Source whence we have always derived help for our souls. In both these senses the word rock, as applied to God, is used in the Scriptures.

Verses 1-3. O come, let us sing, unto the Lord, &c. — Thus the pious Jews, in ancient times, exhorted and excited each other to employ their voices in honour of Jehovah, and to celebrate the rock of their salvation — And Christians are now called upon to stir up each other to the same blessed work, in the same or similar language. For the Lord is a great God — And therefore is greatly to be praised; and a great King — A great sovereign, even the universal Lord of all nations and worlds; above all gods — Above all that are accounted or called gods, whether angels, earthly potentates, or the false gods of the heathen.

1, 2. Let us sing unto the Lord—In verses 1, 2, the language describes the most jubilant and noisy demonstrations known in the Hebrew worship. Yet it is carefully chastened with reverence by the designation “to Jehovah,” “to the rock of our salvation;” also by the quality of the loud shouting, namely, with thanksgiving and with psalms, which belonged to the regular order of worship. The occasion was not one of mourning, confession of sin, and penitence, but of triumph, praise, gladness, which accords naturally with the associations of the feast of tabernacles. The rock—Christ, to whom the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 3:6) applies the psalm. The Septuagint reads, “God our Saviour.”

Verse 2. Let us come before his presence] wynp panaiv, his faces, with thanksgiving, hdwtb bethodah, with confession, or with the confession-offering. Praise him for what he has already done, and confess your unworthiness of any of his blessings. The confession-offering, the great atoning sacrifice, can alone render your acknowledgment of sin and thanksgiving acceptable to a holy and just God.

Verses 1-3. O come, let us sing, unto the Lord, &c. — Thus the pious Jews, in ancient times, exhorted and excited each other to employ their voices in honour of Jehovah, and to celebrate the rock of their salvation — And Christians are now called upon to stir up each other to the same blessed work, in the same or similar language. For the Lord is a great God — And therefore is greatly to be praised; and a great King — A great sovereign, even the universal Lord of all nations and worlds; above all gods — Above all that are accounted or called gods, whether angels, earthly potentates, or the false gods of the heathen.

1, 2. Let us sing unto the Lord—In verses 1, 2, the language describes the most jubilant and noisy demonstrations known in the Hebrew worship. Yet it is carefully chastened with reverence by the designation “to Jehovah,” “to the rock of our salvation;” also by the quality of the loud shouting, namely, with thanksgiving and with psalms, which belonged to the regular order of worship. The occasion was not one of mourning, confession of sin, and penitence, but of triumph, praise, gladness, which accords naturally with the associations of the feast of tabernacles. The rock—Christ, to whom the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 3:6) applies the psalm. The Septuagint reads, “God our Saviour.”

V. 3. God’s-Above all that are called God’s angels, earthly potentates, and especially the false gods of the Heathen.

Verse 3. For the Lord is a great God] Or, “A great God is Jehovah, and a great King above all gods;” or, “God is a great King over all.” The Supreme Being has three names here: la EL, hwhy JEHOVAH, אלהים ELOHIM, and we should apply none of them to false gods. The first implies his strength; the second his being and essence; the third, his covenant relation to mankind. In public worship these are the views we should entertain of the Divine Being.

Verses 1-3. O come, let us sing, unto the Lord, &c. — Thus the pious Jews, in ancient times, exhorted and excited each other to employ their voices in honour of Jehovah, and to celebrate the rock of their salvation — And Christians are now called upon to stir up each other to the same blessed work, in the same or similar language. For the Lord is a great God — And therefore is greatly to be praised; and a great King — A great sovereign, even the universal Lord of all nations and worlds; above all gods — Above all that are accounted or called gods, whether angels, earthly potentates, or the false gods of the heathen.

3. For the Lord is a great God—This is the theme of verses 3-5, and the reason for this call for abundant and loud praise. Above all gods—Above all the “gods” of the nations. But the title “gods” is also sometimes given to princes, judges, and rulers, (Psalm 8:6; 82:6; 96:4, 5,) to whom it better applies here.

V. 4. Hand-Under his government. Strength-The strongest or highest mountains.

Verse 4. In his hand are the deep places of the earth] The greatest deeps are fathomed by him.

The strength of the hills is his also.] And to him the greatest heights are accessible.

Verses 4, 5. In his hand — Under his government, and in his possession; are the deep places of the earth — With all the treasures they contain; even those parts which are far out of men’s sight and reach. The strength of the hills — Which, with majestic pride, tower above, and lift up their heads to heaven; is his also — Even the highest and strongest mountains are under his feet, and at his disposal. The sea is his — With its unnumbered waves, which roll in perpetual motion round the world; and all the millions of living creatures, of all forms and sizes, that inhabit its fathomless depths and immeasurable waters. And his hands formed the dry land — With all its rich and variegated produce, when, by his word, he commanded it to appear, and it was so; and he crowned it with verdure and beauty. And though he hath given it to the children of men, it is, nevertheless, still his, for he reserved the property to himself. His being the Creator of all, makes him, without dispute, the Owner and Lord of all.

4. Deep places—The Hebrew word signifies that which is known only by searching; but these inmost recesses of the earth were unsearchable. See Jeremiah 31:37. To the ancients the interior of the earth was a fathomless mystery, which modern science has only hypothetically dispelled. Here the ancients located sheol, or hades—the region of departed spirits. They had no conception either of the absolute or relative dimensions of the earth. Strength of the hills—The heights of the mountains. The opposite of “deep places of the earth.” To the former, as the word indicates, we attain by wearisome labour; the latter are unsearchable, but God knows, governs, and possesses them all. What language of modern science can more beautifully and impressively exalt our conceptions of God?

Verse 5. The sea is his] The sea and the dry land are equally his, for he has formed them both, and they are his property. He governs and disposes of them as he sees good. He is the absolute Master of universal nature. Therefore there is no other object of worship nor of confidence.

Verses 4, 5. In his hand — Under his government, and in his possession; are the deep places of the earth — With all the treasures they contain; even those parts which are far out of men’s sight and reach. The strength of the hills — Which, with majestic pride, tower above, and lift up their heads to heaven; is his also — Even the highest and strongest mountains are under his feet, and at his disposal. The sea is his — With its unnumbered waves, which roll in perpetual motion round the world; and all the millions of living creatures, of all forms and sizes, that inhabit its fathomless depths and immeasurable waters. And his hands formed the dry land — With all its rich and variegated produce, when, by his word, he commanded it to appear, and it was so; and he crowned it with verdure and beauty. And though he hath given it to the children of men, it is, nevertheless, still his, for he reserved the property to himself. His being the Creator of all, makes him, without dispute, the Owner and Lord of all.

5. The sea… the dry land—Another description comprehending the entire globe. The argument lies against the heathen notion of tutelary or local gods. God is supreme over all. Verse 3. He rules in the mountain heights and in the lowest depths. Verse 4. Comp. 1 Kings 20:23, 28. He rules over the sea and the dry land.

Verse 6. O come, let us worship] Three distinct words are used here to express three different acts of adoration: 1. Let us worship, hwjtvn nishtachaveh, let us prostrate ourselves; the highest act of adoration by which the supremacy of God is acknowledged. 2. Let us bow down, נכרעה nichraah, let us crouch or cower down, bending the legs under, as a dog in the presence of his master, which solicitously waits to receive his commands. 3. Let us kneel, hkrbn nibrachah, let us put our knees to the ground, and thus put ourselves in the posture of those who supplicate. And let us consider that all this should be done in the presence of HIM who is Jehovah our Creator.

Verse 6. O come, let us worship and bow down — Let us not be backward, then, to comply with this invitation; but let us all, with the lowest prostrations, devoutly adore this great and glorious Being. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker — With humble reverence, and a holy awe of him; as becomes those who know what an infinite distance there is between us and him, how much we are in danger of his wrath, and in how great need we stand of his mercy. The posture of our bodies, indeed, by itself, profits little; yet certainly it is meet and right they should bear a part in God’s service, and that internal worship should be accompanied and signified by that which is external, or that the reverence, seriousness and humility of our minds, should be manifested by our falling down on our knees before that great Jehovah, who gave us our being, and on whom we are continually dependant for the continuance of it, and for all our blessings.

6. Worship… bow down… kneel—Three different words, expressive of the humblest form of bodily prostration before a superior, and repeated for intensity. Kneel before the Lord—Literally, Kneel to the face of Jehovah; in his immediate presence—a spiritual anticipation of Hebrews 10:22. The outward homage must arise from, and sincerely express, the inward feeling and desire. “In the shell of the kneeling there must be contained the kernel of unreserved surrender, which manifests itself in willing obedience.”—Hengstenberg.

V. 7. Pasture-Whom he feeds and keeps in his own pasture, or in the land which he hath appropriated to himself. The sheep-Which are under his special care. Today-Forthwith or presently.

Verse 7. For he is our God] Here is the reason for this service. He has condescended to enter into a covenant with us, and he has taken us for his own; therefore—

We are the people of his pasture] Or, rather, as the Chaldee, Syriac, Vulgate, and Æthiopic read, “We are his people, and the sheep of the pasture of his hand.” We are his own; he feeds and governs us, and his powerful hand protects us.

To-day if ye will hear his voice] To-day—you have no time to lose; to-morrow may be too late. God calls to-day; to-morrow he may be silent. This should commence the eighth verse, as it begins what is supposed to be the part of the priest or prophet who now exhorts the people; as if he had said: Seeing you are in so good a spirit, do not forget your own resolutions, and harden not your hearts, “as your fathers did in Meribah and Massah, in the wilderness;” the same fact and the same names as are mentioned Exodus 17:7; when the people murmured at Rephidim, because they had no water; hence it was called Meribah, contention or provocation, and Massah, temptation.

Verse 7. For he is our God — He not only has dominion over us, as he has over all the creatures, but stands in a special relation to us. He is our God in a peculiar sense, and therefore it would be most unreasonable and wicked if we should forsake him, when even the Gentiles shall submit to his law. And we are the people of his pasture — Whom he feeds in his church, with his word and by his ordinances, and defends by his watchful providence. And the sheep of his hand — Under his special care and government. To-day — That is, forthwith, or presently, as this word is often used. Or the expression may mean this solemn day of grace, or of the gospel, which the psalmist speaks of as present, according to the manner of the prophets; if ye will hear his voice — If ye will hearken to his call, and obey his further commands, which may be added as a necessary caution and admonition to the Israelites, that they might understand and consider that God’s presence and favour were not absolutely, necessarily, and everlastingly fixed to them, as they were very apt to believe, but were suspended upon the condition of their continued obedience, which, if they violated, they should be rejected, and the Gentiles, performing it, should be received for his people. And this clause may be connected with the preceding, and considered as expressing the condition of their interest in God as their God, thus: “He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, &c., if ye will hear his voice;” that is, if ye will be his obedient people he will continue to be your God. Or else the word µa, im, translated if, may be rendered in the optative form, O that you would hear his voice to-day, saying unto you, Harden not your hearts. “However this be,” says Dr. Horne, “what follows, to the end of the Psalm, is undoubtedly spoken in the person of God himself, who may be considered as addressing us, in these latter days, by the gospel of his Son; for so the apostle teaches us to apply the whole passage, Hebrews 3:4. The Israelites, when they came out of Egypt, had a day of probation, and a promised rest to succeed it; but by unbelief and disobedience, they to whom it was promised, that is, the generation of those who came out of Egypt, fell short of it, and died in the wilderness. The gospel, in like manner, offers, both to Jew and Gentile, another day of probation in this world, and another promised rest to succeed it, which remaineth for the people of God in heaven. All whom it concerns are, therefore, exhorted to beware, lest they forfeit the second rest, as murmuring and rebellious Israel came short of the first.”

Verse 7. We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. The Chaldee and the Vulgate read, “We are the people of his hand, and the sheep of his pasture.” He made us a people, and delivered us by his right hand, and he feeds us as sheep are fed in the pastures.

7. For he is our God—The reasons for this lively, willing, and unreserved devotion were, in verses 3-5, drawn from the greatness of God as creator and governor of the world. In verses 6, 7 the motives appeal more directly to the heart and the moral feelings. He is “our God,” “our Maker,” and we are his “people,” his “sheep.” Sheep of his hand—That is, we are guided, cared for, and protected by “his hand,” his personal attention. Psalm 77:21; 100:3; 23:3, 4. To-day—The “to-day,” or this day, indicates that a decisive moment, a crisis, had come. So the apostle applies it (Hebrews 3:7-11) to the Jews of his day, who stood, with reference to the gospel, as the Hebrews at Kadesh did in reference to Canaan. Thus it applies to every sinner each moment of his probation. “Hereby is meant the whole time by which Christ speaketh by his gospel.”—Ainsworth. If ye will hear his voice—Taking the conjunction here in its conditional sense, the apodosis, or concluding clause, seems obscure. Hengstenberg supplies it by reading: “‘If ye will hear his voice,’ he will bless you, his people.” This accords with the passage (Exodus 23:22,) “If thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.” But it equally answers the grammatical and doctrinal demand to supply, as the sense implies, ˆa, (then, on this account,) after “voice,” and read: “To day, if ye will hear his voice, [then] harden not your hearts.” The hearing implies heeding—hearing with a view to obeying—which is impossible while unbelief hardens the heart and perverts the will. The conditioning protasis does not anticipate a promissory apodosis, but a caution; not the blessings which flow upon hearing, but the moral preparation implied in obedient hearing.

V. 8. Harden not-By obstinate unbelief. Provocation-In that bold and wicked contest with God in the wilderness. Temptation-In the day in which you tempted me.

Verses 8, 9. Harden not your heart — As if he had said, If ye will hear his voice, and profit by what you hear, then do not harden your hearts by obstinate unbelief and wilful disobedience, rebelling against the light, and resisting the Holy Ghost, and the clear discoveries which he makes of the truth of the gospel; as in the provocation — As you did in that bold and wicked contest in the wilderness. Hebrew, hbyrmk, chimeribah, as in Meribah, which was the proper name of the place where this happened, and which was also called Massah, as appears from Exodus 17:7, and Deuteronomy 33:8. As in the day of temptation — In the day when you tempted me. Or, as in the day of Massah, that is, when you were at Massah. When — Or, in which place, namely, in Meribah, or Massah, or the wilderness last mentioned, your fathers tempted me — Doubting of my power, and demanding new proofs of my presence among them, Exodus 17:7, though they had had such extraordinary proofs of my presence and favour in their late deliverance at the Red sea, in my making the bitter waters sweet, and in sending them bread from heaven; and saw my works — Both my works of mercy, which gave them abundant cause to trust me, and my works of justice, for which they had reason to fear and stand in awe of me. Hebrew, my work, namely, that great and stupendous work of bringing my people out of Egypt with a strong hand; of conducting them safely through the Red sea into the wilderness, and of destroying the Egyptians.

8. As in the provocation… as in the day of temptation—It is better to take “provocation” and “temptation” as proper names. The Hebrew simply reads: As Meribah, as the day of Massah, in the wilderness. The allusion is to Exodus 17:7. “And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah”—Temptation and Rebellion. The name “Meribah” was also afterward given to Kadesh, (Numbers 20:13; 27:14,) written fully, “Meribah-Kadesh,” Deuteronomy 32:51. These were noted instances of rebellion through unbelief, and are advanced here only as specimens of the disobedience of their forefathers in the desert, against which the people are here warned.

V. 9. Works-Both of mercy, and of justice.

Verse 9. When your fathers tempted me] Tried me, by their insolence, unbelief, and blasphemy. They proved me-they had full proof of my power to save and to destroy. There they saw my works-they saw that nothing was too hard for God.

Verses 8, 9. Harden not your heart — As if he had said, If ye will hear his voice, and profit by what you hear, then do not harden your hearts by obstinate unbelief and wilful disobedience, rebelling against the light, and resisting the Holy Ghost, and the clear discoveries which he makes of the truth of the gospel; as in the provocation — As you did in that bold and wicked contest in the wilderness. Hebrew, hbyrmk, chimeribah, as in Meribah, which was the proper name of the place where this happened, and which was also called Massah, as appears from Exodus 17:7, and Deuteronomy 33:8. As in the day of temptation — In the day when you tempted me. Or, as in the day of Massah, that is, when you were at Massah. When — Or, in which place, namely, in Meribah, or Massah, or the wilderness last mentioned, your fathers tempted me — Doubting of my power, and demanding new proofs of my presence among them, Exodus 17:7, though they had had such extraordinary proofs of my presence and favour in their late deliverance at the Red sea, in my making the bitter waters sweet, and in sending them bread from heaven; and saw my works — Both my works of mercy, which gave them abundant cause to trust me, and my works of justice, for which they had reason to fear and stand in awe of me. Hebrew, my work, namely, that great and stupendous work of bringing my people out of Egypt with a strong hand; of conducting them safely through the Red sea into the wilderness, and of destroying the Egyptians.

9. When your fathers tempted me—Where “your fathers tempted.” The pronoun here refers to place— “the wilderness.” Tempted—Required proof by visible tests. See on Psalm 78:18. The temptations by Israel had been great: at the Red Sea, (Exodus 14:11, 12;) at Marah, (Exodus 15:23, 24;) at the Desert of Sin, (Exodus 16:1-3;) at Rephidim, (Exodus 17:1-3;) at Sinai, (Exodus 43;) in the matter of Nadab and Abihu, (Leviticus 10;) in their clamour for meat to eat, (Numbers 11:4-6;) in the matter of Aaron and Miriam, (Numbers 12;) of the spies, (Numbers 13 and 14;) of Korah and his company, (Numbers 16;) at Kadesh, (Numbers 20:1-5;) near Mount Hor, (Numbers 21:4-6;) in the matter of Baal-peor, (Numbers 25.) Proved me—Put me to the proof of my power and faithfulness. Saw my work—The “work” of God, here referred to, was not the punishment which followed their sin, but the whole series of miracles in Egypt and the wilderness. The apostle uses the plural, “works,” Hebrews 3:9. The idea is one of astonishment, that, after having seen these miracles, they should yet fall into the sin of unbelief and disobedience. The particle µg, (gam,) translated and, here, as in some other instances, takes the adversative sense of yet, although— “Where your fathers tempted me, proved me, although they saw [equal to had seen] my work.”

V. 10. Do err-Their hearts are insincere and bent to backsliding. Not known-After all my teaching and discoveries of myself to them; they did not know, nor consider, those great things which I had wrought for them.

Verse 10. Forty years long] They did nothing but murmur, disbelieve, and rebel, from the time they began their journey at the Red Sea till they passed over Jordan, a period of forty years. During all this time God was grieved by that generation; yet he seldom showed forth that judgment which they most righteously had deserved.

It is a people that do err in their heart] Or, according to the Chaldee, These are a people whose idols are in their hearts. At any rate they had not GOD there.

They have not known my ways] The verb [dy yada, to know, is used here, as in many other parts of Scripture, to express approbation. They knew God’s ways well enough; but they did not like them; and would not walk in them. “These wretched men,” says the old Psalter, “were gifnen to the lufe of this lyfe: knewe noght my ways of mekenes, and charite: for thi in my wreth I sware to thaim; that es, I sett stabely that if that sall entre in till my rest;” that is, they shall not enter into my rest. This ungrateful people did not approve of God’s ways-they did not enter into his designs-they did not conform to his commands-they paid no attention to his miracles-and did not acknowledge the benefits which they received from his hands; therefore God determined that they should not enter into the rest which he had promised to them on condition that, if they were obedient, they should inherit the promised land. So none of those who came out of Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, entered into Canaan; all the rest died in the wilderness, wherein, because of their disobedience, God caused them to wander forty years.

It is well known that the land of Canaan was a type of heaven, where, after all his toils, the good and faithful servant is to enter into the joy of his Lord. And as those Israelites in the wilderness were not permitted to enter into the land of Canaan because of their unbelief, their distrust of God’s providence, and consequent disobedience, St. Paul hence takes occasion to exhort the Jews, Hebrews 4:2-11, to accept readily the terms offered to them by the Gospel. He shows that the words of the present Psalm are applicable to the state of Christianity; and intimates to them that, if they persisted in obstinate refusal of those gracious offers, they likewise would fall according to the same example of unbelief.—Dodd.

Verse 10. Forty years long, &c. — Nor did they cease their discontented murmurings and distrust of me; but persisted in their stubborn infidelity and disobedience for the space of forty years; was I grieved with this generation — Or rather, with that generation, which then lived, who were your ancestors; and said, It is a people that do err in their heart — They not only sin through infirmity, and the violence and surprise of temptation, but their hearts are insincere and inconstant, and given to backsliding, and therefore there is no hope of their amendment. And they have not known — Or, they do not know, namely, with a practical and useful knowledge; they do not rightly understand, nor duly consider, nor seriously lay to heart, my ways — That is, either, 1st, My laws, or statutes, which are frequently called God’s ways; or, rather, 2d, My works, as it is explained verse 9, which also are often so called. They do not know nor consider those great things which I wrought for them and among them.

Ver. 10. They have not known my ways; that is, they would not know them. They shut their eyes against the light, and stopped their ears against the joyful sound.

10. Forty years long was I grieved—That is, disgusted, made to loathe, as the word imports. This not only illustrates the long suffering of God, but the incurable malignity of their sin. After all their bitter experience and rejection at Kadesh, the remaining thirty-eight years of wandering in the desert offered nothing pleasing to God, and effected no radical change in their manners. Nothing is recorded of those years of wandering except the names of their principal encampments. See on Psalm 90:9. Generation—To be understood qualitatively and not quantitatively; of the nature or kind of people, rather than the simple, aggregate body of those who perished in the wilderness. See note on Psalm 22:30. Err in their heart—The evil lay deep in the moral nature, as at enmity with God. “Err,” here, means confused, wandering; descriptive of one who has lost his way, and who fails in all his efforts to regain it. This was because of the state of their heart, which made them inapt to learn God’s ways.

V. 11. My rest-Into the promised land, which is called the rest, Deuteronomy 12:9.

Verse 11. Unto whom I sware in my wrath, &c. — In my just displeasure, I passed an irreversible sentence upon them, and confirmed it by an oath: that they should not enter into my rest — Into the promised land, so called Deuteronomy 12:9; 1 Chronicles 23. 25, of which sentence, see Numbers 14. Now this case of the Israelites, who were prohibited from entering Canaan, is here applied by the psalmist. 1st, To those of their posterity who lived when this Psalm was composed, and they are cautioned not to harden their heart, as their forefathers did, lest, if they were stubborn and disobedient, God should be provoked to prohibit them from enjoying the privileges of his temple at Jerusalem, of which he had said, Psalm 132:14, This is my rest. But it was intended also, 2d, For the instruction of all after ages, as has been observed on verse 7, and particularly of those Israelites who should live in the times of the Messiah, that they might take heed of falling after the same example of unbelief, as the apostle observes from this place, Hebrew 4:11, where see the notes.

Ver. 11. My rest. Heaven, of which the sabbath and the land of Canaan were but figures. It also applies to the repose, the confidence and joy, which the believer has in God. Hebrews 4:3.

11. I sware in my wrath—A most solemn transaction. The form of the oath is given Numbers 14:21, 28-34. My rest—That is, the land of Canaan, which was the “rest” which God had prepared for his people from the hardships of their bondage life in Egypt, the nomad life of their forefathers, (see Hebrews 11:9, 14,) and their pilgrim life in the desert. The apostle applies it spiritually to the “rest” of faith attained in Christ, (Hebrews 4:3, 8-10,) which also is forfeited by unbelief.