7 March • Thursday of the Third Week in Lent
Psalm 95:1-11
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,
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.”
Meditation
That God is still “a great King above all gods” (v.3) is reason enough to worship Him with songs and praises (vv.1-2, 6). He is after all our Creator God (vv.4-5) and we are His people (v.7).
“Today, if only you would hear His voice...” is the proper response. The warning to “hear His voice” is about not making the same mistakes their forefathers made. They were unfaithful even after experiencing God’s powerful deliverance from the Egyptians. (vv.8-11).
God the Creator is a living God and He constantly speaks to us. Hearing His voice is a daily experience in the reading and reflection on His Word.
We can be worshipping and praising Him without hearing Him through the liturgy, hymns and songs. How often do we mouth words without appreciating their meaning, “say” our prayers, especially liturgical prayers, without engaging in praying, let our minds wander during the preaching of God’s Word, and worship mechanically and perfunctorily?
When our spirit is not engaged with the Spirit of God, there is a real and present danger of the hardening of our hearts. Doubting God’s ability to deliver us from our troubles or provide for our daily needs are examples of a non-receptive faithless heart. We harden our hearts when we have no faith in Him for “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 NASB).
Life is far more complex today. The voices out there from all media are growing louder and shriller. We are inundated with misinformation and disinformation every day at every turn. We need to hear His voice today, trusting in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. In all our ways, we need to submit to him, and He will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5).
Prayer
Lord, forgive us when we do not hear Your soft still voice in the midst of our busy life. Forgive us when we worship perfunctorily, mouthing words in praise and prayer without engaging Your Spirit by listening to Your prompting. Help us to listen well when Your Word is read and preached that we may sense Your presence among us. Make us ready instruments for Your purpose in this broken world. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Action
Take time to read the Word carefully and make notes of action to take in obedience. When worshipping and praising God, pay attention to the words of the liturgy and lyrics of the hymns and songs. Take notes of sermons and take steps to act according to what is preached.
Rev Dr William Wan, JP., PhD.
Senior Consultant
Singapore Kindness Movement
Comments