Reading: Psalm 95

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
O 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. O that today you would listen to his voice!
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.”
Therefore in my anger I swore, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Reflection

We often think Psalms are something to turn to in times of personal joys or sorrows; times of personal strength or struggle. And they are. Absolutely. Go for it. I do often.

Yet, look at this psalm. The pronoun us is there 6 times; the possessive pronoun our 3 times. This is a Psalm of fellowship and community. Yes, sing alone. Sing in the shower. Yet also, let us sing and make a joyful noise to the Lord, the rock of our salvation. Yes, come into God’s presence alone. Probably at bedtime prayers. Yet also, let us come into his presence with thanksgiving. Yes, worship in moments of awe alone. Yet also, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel down before the Lord, our Maker.

For he is our God. Yours, mine, ours. Let us keep that in heart and celebrate that in community. When will you next be in fellowship to sing, worship and bow down?

–Ruth Gates

Prayer

We sing to you, Lord, and we thank you. We worship you and bow down. Be in our hearts and in our community.

Amen.