Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Psalm chapter 95

English Standard Version

1Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9when 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." 11Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest."
New International Version

1Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, 8"Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, 9where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ "
New American Standard Bible

1Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord, Let’s shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. 2Let’s come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving, Let’s shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments. 3For the Lord is a great God And a great King above all gods, 4In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are also His. 5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. 6Come, let’s worship and bow down, Let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker. 7For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice, 8Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, As on the day of Massah in the wilderness, 9'When your fathers put Me to the test, They tested Me, though they had seen My work. 10For forty years I was disgusted with that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. 11Therefore I swore in My anger, They certainly shall not enter My rest.'
Christian Standard Bible

1Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!
2Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to him in song. 3For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. 4The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks are his.
5The sea is his; he made it. His hands formed the dry land. 6Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 7For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care. Today, if you hear his voice: 8Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness 9where your fathers tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10For forty years I was disgusted with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray; they do not know my ways." 11So I swore in my anger, "They will not enter my rest."
New Living Translation

1Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. 3For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. 4He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. 5The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.
6Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
7for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today! 8The Lord says, 'Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. 9For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did. 10For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ 11So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’'
King James Version

1O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
7For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
8Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
10Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
11Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
New King James Version

1Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 3For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods. 4In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. 5 The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. 6Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 7For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: 8“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. 10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’ 11So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

What does Psalm chapter 95 mean?

Among the psalms are those which emphasize God's rule over the entire word. These include Psalms 24, 27, 93, and 96—99. Psalm 95 is another example of an "enthronement" psalm.

Everything which exists was created by God. The proper response to this is worship and gratitude. The psalmist calls for loud and enthusiastic praise. When referring to the Lord being "above" other gods, the writer does not mean that there are other deities besides God. Rather, this is a reminder that the other gods of false religions are all imaginary (Deuteronomy 4:35; Isaiah 45:21; John 1:1–2). Only the God of Israel exists, and He alone forms, sustains, and rules over all creation (Psalm 95:1–5).

After calling for worship, the psalmist begins to shift focus. God's people ought to worship Him because He is both the Creator and a guiding Shepherd. This echoes the same themes explored by David (Psalm 23:1–3). Jesus, as well, used language related to shepherding (John 10:7–9, 11, 14, 16). Sheep are wise to follow the Shepherd's lead (Psalm 95:6–7).

At times, Israel failed to honor God with trusting obedience. They were stubborn, complaining and worrying despite the Lord's amazing miracles on their behalf (Exodus 3:20; 12:41; 15:22–26; 16:2–3, 12–14). In an infamous incident, Israel complained that they would die of thirst—ignoring all the wonders which had come before (Exodus 17:1–7). They also arrived at the borders of the Promised Land and refused to continue as God had commanded (Numbers 14:1–4). As a result, the Lord barred them from entry into Canaan. The nation spent forty years meandering around until the children of the rebellious generation were ready to move forward (Numbers 14:28–32). Here, this is phrased as a warning against being faithless towards the Lord (Psalm 95:7–11). [**note: the overlap on verse 7 is intentional]

The book of Hebrews cites the last portion of this psalm to make a similar warning (Hebrews 3:7–11, 15; 4:3–7). Trusting faith means obedience. Being fearful or obstinate keeps us from enjoying the "rest" of fulfilling God's plans for our lives. Resisting His will can result in a loss of rewards or the painful earthly consequences of our own mistakes.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: