Before we leave Psalm 95, we need to take note of not just its glorious beginning, but how it ends. The beginning is where we often focus. We are joyfully shouting because our God is Creator and Sustainer of all His Creation and because He is our Maker and our Shepherd.
We cannot, however, ignore the warning that comes at the end.
“Today, if you hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness where your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they had seen what I did. For 40 years I was disgusted with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray; they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My anger, ‘They will not enter My rest.’” [vs 8-11 HCSB]
There is a warning that we are not to allow our hearts to become hardened. The psalmist uses an incident out of Exodus 17 where the people complained once again before the LORD. Even though they had seen mighty miracles, even though God proved Himself strong on their behalf repeatedly, still they complained.
Complaining is an easy trap to fall into, one that the enemy of our soul is always pushing us towards. Complaining is the opposite of thanksgiving. It narrows our vision and focus to only what is wrong. It pushes the awareness of God’s presence and the appreciation of His blessings out of sight.
When we complain we see only what we think we want or need that we do not have. We fail to see our Shepherd’s abundant mercy, grace, love, and care. Complaining drives us out of the Presence of our God and into a wilderness where we wander around hopeless and lost.
So, let us not harden our hearts. Instead let us lift our hearts with our hands in joyful and triumphant praise to our Great King.
