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Sunday, February 9th
Spiritual Directive
Psalm 95 is typically the go-to "call to worship" passage used to drum up spiritual energy for a worship service to get the saints going... Would you agree? Let's remove those lenses for a moment and reconsider the psalm...
It's employed in a very specific way in Hebrews 3:7-11. The listeners here would have been familiar with it like us, and along with 149 other psalms they provided prayers and songs for Jews to reinforce their understanding of God, like a hymnal. Here in chapter 3 Anonymous continues to draw distinctions between Jesus the Son (the Builder) and Moses the servant. What's at stake are the promises guaranteed for those dwelling in the House, which Anonymous leans into with a warning not to lose confidence in our confession (v6). Psalm 95 is employed to remind these believers of the failure of their fathers in the past who easily fell away from their faith, were lost to the desert, and missed the Promise Land.
There is so much imagery here that packs together the subservient role of Moses to Jesus, who shepherded the people out of Egypt and even excelled in "testing" God among those of his generation; coupled with an image of a house of freedom that was built by Christ alone. And like those in Exodus and these listeners here, we too sojourn through a desert in God's presence - via His Spirit and the Word (literally God with us) - to remain set apart by our confession who belong to Christ.
Let there be a fresh fall of wonder and necessity for Psalm 95 in our walk with Jesus.
Set List
(Apple Music links in Titles)
Ben lead / 1 step down
Chris lead / 1 step down (Ab)
Chris lead / 2 steps up (D)
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