This week, here in the United States, we will be celebrating our national Thanksgiving holiday. Despite it having been a difficult year for so many people around the world, there is always much that each of us, everywhere, should be grateful to the Lord God for. Giving of thanks is not something that we do only one day of the year, but instead should be something done 365 days of the year. Our psalm selection for this week is a call to the people of God to give Him thanks and praise. Let’s take a look.
Occasionally we all experience times when we don’t feel like praying or giving thanks, and we don’t know what to say to God, especially if we are going through a very difficult and trying time. For many people, this whole year has been like that. At those times we can start by actually counting all of our blessings. No matter how difficult or trying circumstances we may be in, there is always something that we can be thankful for. Counting our blessings will carry us away from our worries, trials and concerns. When we count the blessings we have been given, including even the little, everyday blessings and things we are thankful for, our focus will shift from our problems on to the Father’s graciousness and love.
Thanksgiving is nothing less than the proper prelude to worship. Psalm 95 places thanks before worship. We cannot properly worship without a joyful and thankful heart towards the Lord. Thanksgiving is the act of dressing properly to be in God’s royal court. We should not go into the presence of God without praise and thanksgiving to Him.
The psalmist begins his praise by using a metaphor for God, by calling Him the “Rock of our salvation” (vs. 1). This hearkens back to the time in the wilderness, after leaving Egypt, when the Lord God used Moses to bring water out of the rock (Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:1-13). Paul informs us that the Rock in the wilderness was a type for the Lord Jesus (I Corinthians 10:4). The psalmist continues on in verse 4 by proclaiming that God holds the “deep places of the earth”. Yahweh was not a local god like the false, pagan idols, who were often just local deities, and which were usually put up in high places. He is the Creator and Ruler of the whole earth.
It is good to remember that the Holy Spirit has brought all believers in the Lord Jesus into the fold of the Great Shepherd (vs. 6-7). The psalmist calls for us to bow and kneel before God. Sometimes it is good to get into a humble posture (if one physically can), to remind us of the Lord’s majesty.
The psalmist then warns us to abandon our stubborn ways with the call that God gives, “Today, if you will hear His voice” (vs. 7). He reminded his readers of the Israelites' past. They had rebelled against God at Meribah, in the wilderness (vs. 8-9). They had been complaining over and over about the lack of water, and they had no faith in God to provide for them. They tested Him there, desiring to go back to Egypt.
The “rest” mentioned in verse 11, was originally the Promised Land, at the end of the 40 years wandering in the wilderness. In the New Testament it is applied to salvation by grace (Hebrews 3:7-4-11). Ungrateful hearts will keep us from God’s blessings and entering His rest. Also this happens by not worshipping Him, hardening our hearts against Him, and testing Him with our doubts. God sternly warns us against having a hardened heart (Hebrews 4:5-11). A hardened heart is useless and dangerous to have. Nothing can restore it and make it useful. The Israelites were so convinced that God couldn’t help them that they lost all faith in Him. A hard-hearted person is so stubbornly set in their ways. They resist God long enough, and they won’t turn to Him. An artist or sculptor does not want to come to their studio and find their clay has gotten hard. They cannot work with it or use it. If we leave bread out it gets hard and cannot be eaten. It is then thrown out. God cannot use a hard heart.
This week, let us follow the pattern of Psalm 95. Let us come to the Lord God with worship and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us. And let us also heed God’s warning to not fall victim to a hardened heart.
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