Come, let us sing aloud to Jehovah, let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation;
The psalm opens with an invitation, not an order: "let us," not "you must." Two questions follow. Why does the call start with singing? And why does it name Him a rock?
The one who gives this call is already among the singers.
Psalm 95 invites from inside the company — "Come, let us sing." In the next psalm the word goes to those who are far off: Sing to Jehovah, and declare His glory among the nations.
That "us" matters when a whole company sings it.
In the assembly, singing is not just a private exercise between one soul and God. It is that and more, because no one stands alone in the worship of the assembly. Praise together is not a hundred songs sung by a hundred people at the same time. It is one song sung by a hundred believers as one, saying to the Lord the one thing on the hearts and minds of all.
The song has an object, and the name given to Him is a picture of stability. A rock is what nothing shifts.
Rock of salvation. A completely solid and unshakeable basis for salvation. Whatever aspect of salvation we think of, God is the rock of salvation. Some teach that we can be saved today and lost tomorrow. The salvation they teach is not based on a rock. With God's salvation we have absolute certainty — He is the rock of salvation.
The call to sing assumes something is already true of the singers.
Worship of God has been described as "the honour and adoration given to Him because of what He is in Himself, and what He is to those who give it." This assumes that the worshipper already has some relation with God, and that God sets the order of service or worship. God had redeemed the Israelites out of Egypt, so as a ransomed people they could come near to the place He appointed and worship in the order He gave.
The tone of the opening words matches this. What begins the psalm is not quiet reflection but a burst of gladness.
And here (95) have we not a shout of joy, as the Psalm commences: "O come, let us sing to Jehovah; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation."
Commentators read this call as a prophetic one, spoken to Israel. Those called are the children of the people who failed in the wilderness.
What we have in this Psalm is a prophetic exhortation. It is addressed to Israel as no longer under law, but under grace. They stand before God, and in front of one another, as the children of the fathers who provoked Him long ago in the wilderness. But their hearts have truly turned to the Lord. They are ready to enter the rest their fathers lost through unbelief.
The call to rejoice comes with a condition attached.
Psalm 95 calls the people of God, in the Spirit of prophecy that stirred the godly, to rejoice in Jehovah. He is no longer hidden but revealed in Christ, who brings in salvation, glory, and rest. Yet no blessing comes without hearing His voice.
The psalm opens with no complaint in it. The reason is what the singers are looking at.
Notice, up to that point, there is not a single jarring note. And why? Their eye and their heart are turned to the mighty God, their Saviour and their Creator, "the Rock of our salvation." As they think of Him and are taken up with Him, they can only urge one another to make a joyful noise. Where God is all in all, where Christ fills the heart, there is only room for praise. We would be a praising people as we go through the wilderness, if Christ Himself filled and held the heart. He sounded the keynote for them through Moses and Miriam at the Red Sea: "Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously." They could have gone through the wilderness with a pilgrim song on their lips and pilgrim joy in their hearts.
- Rock first. The song rests on something before it makes a sound. God is a solid, unshakeable basis for salvation, and with Him we have absolute certainty.
- Redeemed first. Worship assumes a relationship — a ransomed people drew near, and only then could they sing.
- Together. "Let us" means one song sung with one accord, not a hundred private songs at the same time.
- Outward. The call starts among those who know Him. The next psalm sends it out to those far off.
- Listening. The joy is real, but no blessing comes without hearing His voice.
Let us come before his face with thanksgiving; let us shout aloud unto him with psalms.
Psalm 95 opens with a call to sing. This second verse tells the singers where to go and what to bring: into God's presence, with thanks and with music. Three questions sit behind that invitation. What does "thanksgiving" mean? Who is called? And why does joy come before the psalm's warning about hard hearts?
The verse asks for thanksgiving. In the original, that word says more than thanks.
The psalm opens by urging them to sing to Jehovah as the Rock of their salvation, and to answer with "confession" of what He is to them. The word for "thanksgiving" literally means "confession." For Jehovah their God is a great God, and a great King over everything that people would raise up as a god.
One translator renders the phrase "let us come before his face" (William Kelly). That the invitation exists at all says something about the character of the One being approached.
The psalmist invites them to "come into His presence with thanksgiving." He is not a God you cannot come near. He is One who is glad when His creature values His presence.
The second half of the verse names the instrument of the joy: psalms. That word had a settled meaning in Israel's worship, and it shifted when the church began to sing.
In the Old Testament this word appears only in connection with the Psalms of David and those in the Book of Psalms. David is called "the sweet psalmist of Israel." There is no doubt that the singers used the Psalms as they praised God with instruments. We read "sing psalms to him" and "make a joyful noise to him with psalms." In New Testament days, for a time at least, believers may have sung the Psalms of David, but there were also hymns and spiritual songs.
One writer reads the psalm as grace's last appeal to Israel, made before judgment falls.
Psalm 95 summons Israel to come with joyful songs and thanksgiving before Jehovah… Judgment has not yet come in with power. While it is still called today — for in that great tomorrow no evil and no rebellious person will be allowed — they are told not to harden their hearts. Their fathers hardened theirs long ago in the wilderness, and God swore that they would not enter His rest. But now, after everything, grace says Today, and invites them to come before His presence, to Him who is the rock of their salvation.
If the psalm is a call to get ready for someone's arrival, then verse 2 is part of the answer to a practical question: what does a welcome look like?
How are they, His people, to welcome Him? With singing, with confession (this is the literal translation of thanksgiving in verse 2), with worship and bowing low.
The praise comes first, and the psalm's warning comes later. One writer explains what makes that order possible.
Notice, up to that point, there is not a single jarring note. And why? Their eyes and hearts turn toward the mighty God, their Saviour and their Creator, "the Rock of our salvation." As they think of Him and are taken up with Him, they can only urge one another to make a joyful noise. Where God is all in all, where Christ is before the soul and fills the heart, there is only room for praise. We would be a praising people as we go through the wilderness, if Christ Himself filled and occupied the heart.
Thanksgiving has a starting point and a destination.
Thanksgiving is very closely connected with worship, if it is not the very essence of it. Thanksgiving is the result of blessings received, whether in God's daily care for us or in redemption. The sense of God's goodness and grace… moves us to pour out our thanks in His presence. That leads us to think about the character and attributes of the God who delights to surround us with the signs of His love and care. And so thanksgiving passes over into worship.
- Rock first. The singing starts because of who God is — the Rock of salvation, Creator and great King. Looking at Him is what silences every jarring note.
- Thanks means confession. The word translated "thanksgiving" means confession. It says back to God what He has shown Himself to be.
- His presence is open. The call to come into His presence proves He is not far off. He is glad when His people value being with Him.
- Songs carry it. Confession is not silent. Israel sang it with psalms and instruments, and hymns and spiritual songs joined it later.
- Thanks becomes worship. Thanks for blessings received turns the heart toward the Giver. There thanksgiving passes over into worship.