Selected Psalms

Worship or Perish!

“Worship God or experience the wrath of God...” - Psalm 95

Introductory Thoughts:

·        I want to invite you this evening to open your Bibles with me to Psalm 95...

·        Allow me to read to you the devotion on Psalm 95:1-7 that we put in today’s bulletin:

“Some people think that going to a church service is not much different than going to a music concert. There are similarities: We travel to get there, we assemble with people of a common interest, our attention is focused on the front, and the ceiling is high.

There are many differences, though. You don’t have to purchase a ticket to get into church. No popcorn is allowed. But most significantly, the purpose of church is not for entertainment.

That’s where a lot of believers have the wrong idea. They think the people on the platform are putting on church for their sakes - to excite, enthral, and entertain them.

Wrong. All wrong. The focus of the church is to be on God. We are there to worship Him.

John Phelan Jr. wrote in The Covenant Companion: “Worship is not meant to please me, to make me feel good, to meet my criteria, my standards, my tastes. Worship is for God! I am not to be the centre of worship. God is to be at the centre.”

In Psalm 95, we are urged to come joyfully, thankfully, and reverently before the Lord.

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” (v.6).

·        Psalm 95 is all about worshipping God.

·        That’s what we were made for: to worship! There is nothing more important in the Christian life than worship! It’s the most important thing we do, and we not only do it when we gather together on the Lord’s day, be it online or in person, but we are called to do it in all of life!

·        And so, this Psalm that is on the worship of God is a wonderful Psalm, but it is also a sobering Psalm… for in this Psalm we find that God is giving us an ultimatum concerning worshipping or not worshipping Him… in this Psalm we find the ultimatum: worship or perish…!

·        “Worship God or experience the wrath of God...”

·        Everyone on this earth have one of two choices: They can either worship God with great joy or they can harden their hearts and perish…!

·        This Psalm has then been written to confront us with that ultimatum.

·        In the first part of the Psalm we find the invitation to “come and worship” – verses 1-7a

·        In the second part of the Psalm we find God’s condemnation on those who harden themselves and do not worship Him – verses 7b-11.

·        What makes this Psalm so important for us tonight is that this Psalm is aimed at everyone who professes to be a follower of Christ, to everyone who associates with His church so as to examine ourselves if we are worshipping God in spirit and in truth – if we are worshipping God with a humble and sincere heart and if we are worshiping God for who He is…

·        With that then as our introduction to this Psalm, lets then read Psalm 95...

Teaching Points:

·        We can divided this Psalm into two parts namely the invitation part (v1-7a) and the warning part (v7b-11).

·        Following this division, we will then study this Psalm under two main headings:

1. The Call to and Cause for Humble and Heartfelt Worship! (v1-7a)

·        In verses 1-2 & 6 we find the call to worship and in verse 3-5 & 7, we find the cause for worship.

·        In verses 1, 2, 6 we then find the who, what and how of worship.

1. Who are we to Worship?

·        The Lord (v1, 6) – referring to Yahweh, the covenant and promise keeping God who is the only true and living God…!

·        Our maker (v6) – this helps us to remember that He is the creator, and we are His creation. We owe our very existence to Him alone!

·        The Rock of our Salvation (v1) – Steven Cole comments on this and says: “In this psalm, which refers to Israel in the wilderness, the rock that literally saved the nation was the rock that Moses struck, which then flowed with water (Exo 17:1-7). Paul then tells us that that rock was Christ (1 Cor 10:4). It is only through Jesus that we can come to worship God…!

·        The call then is to worship the faithful God who created us and redeemed us through His Son Jesus Christ! Already we should see that He is truly worthy to be worshipped…!

2. What are we to do in Worship?

·        We are to come to the Lord, and come into His presence with:

·        Singing (v1) – to sing is to give expression to what we are thinking, experiencing, and even feeling in our hearts. Music and singing are wonderful gifts from God, and we should use it to worship Him above all!

·        Thanksgiving (v2) – as we come to worship, we should not come to get but to give… to give thanks... to have an attitude of gratitude before God. Many people are slow to worship God because they are not thankful towards Him…

·        Songs of Praise (v2) – as we come, we are to come to exalt God by praising Him… by declaring how wonderful and great and glorious He is – to praise Him!

·        But note spesifically a phrase that is repeated twice in these opening two verses namely: “make a joyful noise” – this speaks of coming before God with intensity and passion and joy…! It expresses the expectation that our hearts should be passionately involved when we come to sing songs of praise with thankfulness to our God! Many of us can do with more joyful expression of our worship of God…!

3. How are we to worship?

·        Verse 6 is such an important verse…!

·        The Psalmist is actually using three words that could be translated the same way namely “let is bow down, bow down, bow down…” this is to express that when we come to worship the Lord, we should come with an attitude of great humility… with a lowly heart and not in arrogance and with a haughty attitude of thinking that God needs our worship…!

·        To worship is to come and give adoration to God because we are in awe of Him…!

·        To bow down is to come in submission before Him acknowledging that He is God, the king our maker…!

·        To kneel is to come with reverence and respect before God in knowing whom we have to deal with is no one other than the almighty God of the universe…!

·        All of these terms are addressing that we should have the right posture as we come to worship God…

·        Our outward posture as we worship is not essential but it is important… but more important than the outward posture is the inward posture of the heart namely a soft and humble heart… you cannot worship God without humility!

·        In verses 3-5, 7, we then find the great why of worship…

·        Both these two clauses begin with the word “for” which is then aimed at giving us the reasons why we should come before God as was described for us in verse 1, 2, 6…

The reason for our worship is simply who God is and what He has done and is doing…!

1. Who God is…

·        God is described as:

·        A great God (v3) – Ps 113:3-5; 145:3

·        A King above all gods (v3) – the Psalmist is not suggesting that there are in fact any other real gods but is simply stating the reality that God is above all the manmade gods for there in nothing and no one who can compare with Him or be likened unto Him…!

·        Our God (v7) – God is not some impersonal force. His is peronally related to those who He has made in being their God. He is the transcended and exalted God who is also immanent and present.

2. What He has done and is doing…

·        Notice the repetition of “hand” in verse 4.5,7…

·        He is the One who controls everything (v4) - there is no place where we can go that God is not in control…!

·        He is the one who creates everything (v5) – the sea and the dry land is meant to include everything that is part of it so as to establish the truth that everything exists because God made it…! (cf. Rev 4:11)

·        He is also the one who then cares for us (v7) – He provides for us and protects us. We are completely dependent upon Him for everything in our lives…!

·        The Psalmist is stating these things, about His control, creatorship and caring, to ultimately fix our attention on this great reality: He owns everything – us as well – based on who He is and what He has done. We owe our existence to Him and therefore, we owe our worship to Him as well…!

·        That then brings us to our second main heading, the warning part of this Psalm…

·        God deserves our worship and if we do not worship Him, He will give to us what we deserve…!

2. The Warning against and Wrath over a Stony and Straying Heart! (v7b-11)

·        The warning comes as a very urgent warning that needs to be heeded immediately namely: today…!

·        Many people are procrastinating to worship God, thinking that they will “deal” with Him at a later stage in their life… we are not guaranteed of another single moment, let alone tomorrow…

·        We are to give to God today and every other day what is due to Him namely: our worship!

·        The Psalmist bases his warning on the history of Israel where in the desert, at meribah and massah, they complained against God in Exo 17:1-7 about His care for them and where they tested God and put Him to the proof.

·        Thinking about the first half of the Psalm helps us to see how ridiculous and rebellious this is that the creation will dare the creator to proof Himself to them! And in the context of Israel – this after they have seen everything that He has done…!

·        The Psalmist then helps us to see why they put God to the test – it was a heart issue…

·        They were hardened in their hearts, and they went astray in their hearts… they had stony and straying hearts…!

·        The Hebrews writer preaches a whole sermon on this last part of this Psalm in Heb 3:7-4:11 and in his exposition of this last part of the Psalm, he indentifies what a stony and straying heart is marked by…

A stony heart is marked by unbelief… Heb 3:12, 19

·        In Ps 95:9 the Psalmist reminds us that these people had seen the mighty works of God and yet they didn’t gave Him the worship He deserved… they didn’t trust in God to care and provide for them…!

·        This unbelief was rooted in complaining against God and being unthankful and discontent with what He was doing…

·        We should therefore take great care that we do not complain against the work of God in our lives, for if we are unthankful towards God for His work in our lives, it may lead us to start to harden our hearts to the point of living in unbelief…

A straying heart is marked by disobedience… Heb 4:6, 11

·        Ps 95:10 helps us to see that this straying, disobedient heart is rooted in ignoring God and His Word – not knowing His ways…

·        It is to maybe hear His voice but then not to listen to Him be stepping out in obedience to Him.

·        Jam 1:22 warns against this…

·        We should take great care that we are not ignoring the Word of God in our lives where it may then result in us straying in our hearts where we end up living lives of disobedience to God…

·        Warren Wiersbe comments on these verses: “How do we harden our hearts? It's a process that occurs gradually as we complain about God's work and ignore His Word. The Israelites complained about the way He led them and the way He fed them. They heard God's Word and deliberately disobeyed.”

·        It is then these two things that leads to not worshipping God – a stony heart marked by unbelief and a straying heart marked by disobedience…

·        The result of this is simply that God then swears in His wrath that these people, who complain against Him and ignore Him, who do not believe in Him and obey Him, who have stony and straying hearts and refuse to worship Him, even in the light of all that they have heard and seen, they will not enter his rest…! They will not enter into eternal life, into the joy of His presence…!

·        But His wrath shall be upon them – His settled, calculated and righteous anger over them not giving Him what he deserves – their worship…!

·        Rom 1:18-25 says it like this…

·        And this is where this Psalm ends, with this very sobering warning… either you worship God, or you perish at His hand!

·        There is no middle ground…!

Closing Thoughts:

·        In closing then, may I remind you that this Psalm was written as a warning to all those who associated with God, with Jesus and His Church, and yet it may be that there are some who are not giving God the worship that He deserves.

·        Under the nation of Israel and even in the church today, it may be so that there are those of whom Matt 15:8 is true…

·        What is the state of your heart…?

·        Do you have a thankful and humble heart that is trusting in God and living in obedience to Him and giving Him the worship that He deserves…?

·        Or do you have a complaining and arrogant heart that is marked by unbelief and disobedience towards God…?

·        Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart, but come to Jesus and be saved so that your heart of stone may be removed, and you may receive a heart of flesh… that He may fill you with His Spirit and cause you to walk in His ways…!

·        We were made to worship God… Worship Him or perish…!