Opening Our Ears

 Psalms 95

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God

And a great King above all gods,

 In whose hand are the depths of the earth,

The peaks of the mountains are His also.

The sea is His, for it was He who made it,

And His hands formed the dry land.

 Come, let us worship and bow down,

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you would hear His voice,

 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,

 "When your fathers tested Me,

They tried Me, though they had seen My work.

 "For forty years I loathed that generation,

And said they are a people who err in their heart,

And they do not know My ways.

 "Therefore I swore in My anger,

Truly they shall not enter into My rest."

I have always loved this Psalm, or perhaps I should say I really like the song that goes with these verses.  Not only do I love the beat of the song, but I really appreciate the words that the psalmist penned.  There are so many great mental images represented here.  The chapter starts out with the idea that the Lord is the rock of our salvation.  I can't help but think of the wise man that built his house upon the rock and when the storms came his foundation stood firm (Matthew 7:23-25).  He truly is our unshakable foundation that stands firm through all of life's challenges.

Verse two continues the beautiful imagery with us coming before His presence.  It is amazing and wonderful that we the created can approach the throne of the creator with confidence thanking Him for all He has done for us.  He is beyond doubt a great God not only because He made all that has been created and continues to hold it all in His hands, but also because He calls us His people (Psalms 95:3-7).  

All of these ideas are things I have known for a long time, but during my recent re-reading of this chapter, I noticed something for the first time.  After he points out all of these things, the Psalmist stated, "Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness."  It is very interesting to me that he brings up these things after he has just written a beautiful song of praise.  It seems that the author is indicating that somehow singing and worshiping Him opens our ears and heart to hear His voice.  When we sing, our focus changes from our struggles to the Creator that can overcome all.  Once we begin singing, we often quickly find that we are no longer focused on the bad but are soon worshiping Him.  When we worship Him, our hearts are open to Him and His will.  Songs touch us in a way that little else does.  

I couldn't help but wonder how differently the story might have turned out for the Israelites if they would have spent the time singing praises to God in the wilderness and looking around them at all that the Lord had made instead of grumbling about what they didn't have.  I believe the singing would have helped them to hear His voice, and they all would have made it to the promised land and it certainly wouldn't have taken 40 years.  

How different would my own life be if every time I have disgruntled thoughts I would lift up songs of worship and praise to Him?  I bet I would be amazed at how much more I would hear His voice in all I do.  

Jane

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), Copyright(c) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.