Sing Praises and Bow Down to Him

Psalm 95

English Standard Version (ESV)

95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us ^(A)make a joyful noise to ^(B)the rock of our salvation!
² Let us ^(C)come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us ^(D)make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
³ For the Lord is ^(E)a great God,
    and a great King ^(F)above all gods.
⁴ In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
⁵ The sea is his, for ^(G)he made it,
    and his hands formed ^(H)the dry land.

⁶ Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us ^(I)kneel before the Lord, our ^(J)Maker!
⁷ For he is our ^(K)God,
    and we are the people of his ^(L)pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
^(M)Today, if you ^(N)hear his voice,
^{8     (O)}do not harden your hearts, as at ^(P)Meribah,
    as on the day at ^(Q)Massah in the wilderness,
⁹ when your fathers put me to the ^(R)test
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my^(S)work.
^10 (T)For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
    and they have not known ^(U)my ways.”
¹¹ Therefore I ^(V)swore in my wrath,
    “They shall not enter ^(W)my rest.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+95&version=ESV)

Why is it that praise time at church has become such a matter of contention?  This Psalm is talking to us today about singing to the Lord, our creator, the creator of this earth, the KING above all kings, yet we grumble and complain about the songs we sing to Him.  Could it be because we are not singing to Him but rather for our own pleasure?  This scripture goes on to say how we should bow down before our Maker.  We should not only be singing to Him we should be bowing down to Him.  I think sometimes that praise time is more of an entertainment time for us rather than a time of giving God the praise.  We are asked to sing standing up but how often are we encouraged to bow down?  We get stuck in a routine rather than stuck on praising Him.  If it were the other way around there wouldn’t be complaining but rather there would be true worship of His people whether it be an old time hymn or the newest release. 

This Psalm goes on to say what God thinks of those sheep that are too stubborn to recognize Him as Shepherd.  Yes, he describes us as sheep.  Did you know that sheep are not very smart?  They are a beautiful animal but from what I understand they are not smart and can be a bit stubborn at times.  It takes someone who is gentle and patient to work well with sheep.  Well, we are His sheep and He is gentle and patient with us but time after time of not listening and getting into trouble our hearts can become hardened and God is no longer patient with us.  At that point He does like He did to the Israelites, H lets us wander.

I can remember listening for the dinner bell as a young child.  We had a bell at the back door and when it was rung it was time to come in for our evening meal.  We harkened to the sound of that bell.  Today our scripture tells us listen for God and when we hear Him we need to harken to His call, don’t delay, rather do as He has asked and trust in Him.  How do we hear God’s call?  Read His word, seek Him with all our heart, and His guiding hand will direct our paths.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila