Enter into My rest

Psalm 95-96 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.

95 O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
² Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
³ For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
⁴ In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
⁵ The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.

⁶ Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
⁷ For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you would hear His voice,
⁸ Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
⁹ “When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
¹⁰ “For forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
¹¹ “Therefore I swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.

96 Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
² Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
³ Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
⁴ For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
⁶ Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

⁷ Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
⁸ Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courts.
⁹ Worship the Lord in holy attire;
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
¹⁰ Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity.”

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
¹² Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
¹³ Before the Lord, for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.

In Psalm 95 it says:   Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, “When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. “For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”    There are many today who do not know the rest and peace of the Lord. They too have hardened their hearts, even though they have seen the work of the Lord. Romans 1:18-21 says:    The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.      The thing is, God doesn’t really need to punish those who have hardened their hearts against Him.   It is punishment enough that they do not enter His rest; that they do not walk in His presence. In Acts 26:14-16, when Paul recounted his conversion, his coming to the knowledge of Christ as Lord, he said:    I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose,to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.’     It was not that Paul’s life became easy when he began doing the Lord’s will. In fact, he suffered many hardships and even persecution, but he had the peace of God and walked and worked in the rest of the Lord.   In Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus says:   “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”    We too, like Paul, need to choose whether we will kick against the goads, hardening our hearts to the knowledge and will of God or will we put on the yoke of Christ. Our circumstances and situations may not seem to change, but if we will acknowledge God and Jesus as Lord, we will know His rest. In John 16:33 Jesus says:  "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

Sing to the Lord a new song; Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens… Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy Before the Lord, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness. Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for Your peace and Your rest; for all that You grant those who will walk and work with You.   Amen.