Please turn with me tonight in the Word of God to Psalm 95, to Psalm 95. We'll read the whole psalm together. Psalm 95, let us hear God's own Word. Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massa in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I had done. For forty years I was angry with that generation. I said, they are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways. So I declared on oath in my anger, they shall never see my rest. So far, the reading of God's Word. Psalm 95 is really a very remarkable psalm. It's remarkable in a number of rather different ways. It's remarkable in its first part because it is so very familiar. It is perhaps the most frequently used call to worship in the history of the church. It invites the preacher to use these marvelous, joyful words to call the people of God into the presence of God, to meet with their God, to sing praises to their God. And so these words are really very familiar. I trust you all recall that Pastor Voss used them this morning to call us to worship. But this psalm is also remarkable because of the surprising turn it takes at the end of verse 7. Having been very joyful and positive and excited, if we can use that word as Reformed people, before the Lord, at the end of verse 7, the psalm takes a decidedly negative turn. The mood of the psalm changes dramatically to a very solemn warning. And this psalm is remarkable because it's one of the most quoted parts of the Old Testament in the New Testament. In the book of Hebrews, which in some ways is a long sermon, Psalm 95 becomes the text for two chapters in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4, in which the author of the letter to the Hebrews compares the situation of the church and the need of the people of God to what Psalm 95 in its second half has been talking about. And so it's a remarkable psalm both in its familiarity and its importance and also in some of the surprises it has for us. And as I was thinking about this remarkable little psalm, it dawned on me that what we have here in a sense is a wonderful summary of what it means to be in covenant with God. Now, that word covenant is a word, isn't it, that we as Reformed people delight in, that we frequently use, that we're very familiar with. But as is the case with very familiar words, there's always a danger. We may not have a clear sense of exactly what we mean when we say we are a covenant people. We have a covenant God. We are in covenant with God. And I'd like you to think with me tonight about what that really means for us to be in covenant with our God and allow Psalm 95 to instruct us. It's an interesting kind of instruction because, of course, it's not a systematic theology book, it's a poem. And yet, in the beauty of this poem, in the affecting way in which it can speak to our hearts, it speaks very wonderfully of what it means, and very solemnly, of what it means to be in covenant with God. The first point it makes is at the center of the psalm. And you know, often in Hebrew poetry, the essential message of the poem is to be found at the center, Not at the beginning or at the end. And so it is in this psalm with verse 7. What does it mean to be in covenant with God? It means to be connected to God. For He is our God. And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. That's the covenant connection. The great and glorious God becomes our God. And we who are a sinful and rebellious people become his people. Now that point is so simple, so familiar, that we may easily forget how really glorious, How really surprising it is. The God who is the creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. The God who exists in a splendor unimaginable to us. A God who knows more than we can even begin to think about what He knows. The God who accomplishes everything according to His purpose. The God who has a plan in detail for each one of us. The God who knows the end from the beginning. The God who is greater than all the splendors of the light years of a universe that we can see through telescopes. That God desires to be our God. that God desires to enter into a connection with us that is remarkably intimate and caring and providing. For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Our God is presented here as a shepherd. And we, His flock, for whom He cares, for whom He provides, He protects us, He watches over us. He enters into a connection of love and provision for us. That's what this psalm is celebrating. Our God is not distant and He is not indifferent. He is near to us. And it is with his hand that he reaches out to guide us and protect us and provide for us. This is what it means to be in covenant with God in the first place, to be connected to him. It is something remarkably personal, remarkably intimate in the provision that our God makes for us. Of course, we know that we see that most clearly, don't we? In our Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. For this covenant relationship that is established between the glorious God and a needy people is established at a great cost, at a great price to be paid, not by us, but by God. And so the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. That's the cost of his care. That's the extent of his care. That's the radical nature of his love. That's what it means to be in covenant with God. It's to be connected to a God who pays to save us from our sins, to restore us to himself. And this psalm, you see, is a celebration of that great truth. The great truth accomplished in Jesus Christ, God come in the flesh for us. That our God connects to us through the blood of the good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. So that every day, every hour, in every circumstance, we can be sure that the good shepherd cares for us. watches over us, provides for us. And that, of course, leads to great celebration, doesn't it? When we reflect on that covenant connection. Covenant connection, when really understood, must lead on to a covenant celebration. And that's how this psalm begins. That's what the first six verses of this psalm are all about. a celebration, a marvelous rejoicing in the Lord of the covenant. And this psalm, in so many different ways, speaks of the character of our God. It speaks of the character of His creating work. Verse 4, in His hand, there's that hand of God with us again, in His hand are the depths of the earth. That hand that cares so intimately for you and for me is also the hand of such greatness and such power that all the mountains of the earth can be in that hand. And all the depths of the sea can be in that hand. From the greatest heights to the greatest depths in this world. God is not just there, but God is in control. God is undergirding. God is preserving. God is the one who has brought all these things into being. And that's why it's good and right that from time to time we should look around at the world that surrounds us and reflect on how everything that we see is a result of His great creative work. But not only of His great creative work, but of His great preserving work. At every moment, the world that we know and think to be so stable does not exist on its own, but exists only because God, moment by moment, wills that it continue to be. He is the great Creator God. But He is also the great Redeemer God. O come, verse 1 says, O come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Now, God is the rock of our salvation is a fairly familiar image, particularly in the Psalter. God, again and again, is referred to as the rock of salvation. And that image brings with it a great sense of stability, reliability, solidity. God can be depended on when He says that He will be our Savior. God can be depended on to keep the promises that he has made. He will not fail in his purpose. He is a rock that is solid. But when Psalm 95 speaks of God as the rock of our salvation, particularly when later in the Psalm it goes on to speak about Meribah and Massah, there's another sense in which rock is being used here. You remember Israel camping at Rephidim and the place later becoming known as Meribah and Massah because of their grumbling and complaining. You remember that in Exodus 17 we have that remarkable story of Israel complaining against God that God had brought them out into the wilderness to die. Why did we ever leave Egypt? What a remarkably short memory those people have. How quickly they were inclined to say we had it better in Egypt. And how they complained against Moses that Moses had just brought them out into the wilderness to die. How they suspected that God's purpose was not life and salvation, but death and destruction. And they were thirsty, and they complained, and they grumbled. And what did God do? He sent out Moses, his prophet, with his staff that had parted the Red Sea, with his staff that had led his people through on dry ground. And Moses struck the rock and from the rock poured forth water, water of life, living water, water to assuage the thirst of these people so that they might know that God's plan was not that they should die in the wilderness, but that they should be delivered. I think Psalm 95 alludes to that rock, to the rock from which the water of life flowed forth. And these people are rejoicing to remember that their God is their Savior, their provider, the one who gives to them the water of life. And Paul, you remember in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, says that that rock was Christ. That that rock represented for that people the presence, the power, and the provision of Christ for them in their need. So this rock is not just a dry but solid rock. This is a rock from which comes forth the water of life. The water of life to give relief to the thirsty, to give life to the dying, to express the purpose of God for his people. And how glorious this is then for us to know that in our covenant connection, we can celebrate because we have a God who is the great creator and a God who is the great redeemer, the God who provides for his people. who comes to them and delivers them and blesses them. And so in their celebration, they declare that God is the great king, that God is above all gods. This is what we do Sunday by Sunday as we gather together. We come to reflect on God as creator and God as redeemer. We come to sing his praises. We come to be reminded of his promises. We come to be filled again with that sense of celebration, that amazing truth that we have a God who cares for us, who is the great King, the God above all gods. And surely that God deserves to be worshipped, deserves to be celebrated, deserves to be thanked, deserves to be rejoiced in. And that's what this psalm celebrates for us. This is why our forebearers delighted to sing the psalms. This is why we have a psalter hymnal. This is why the psalms are and need to... You knew this was coming, didn't you? This is why the psalms need to be precious to us. Because they so remarkably lift up before us the character of our God and call us to celebrate Him. Right? And you notice the character of this celebration. It is to be joyful. We need to be a joyful people before our God. And it is to be reverent. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. This is what Reformed worship seeks to do, to meld these two elements that don't always seem to fit so well together. Joy and reverence. As Psalm 2 says, rejoice with trembling. Somehow coming before this great King is both the deepest and profoundest joy of our hearts, but also the most solemn reality of our lives. And so we are rejoicing and reverent at the same time as we come to celebrate that covenant connection which God has established for us at such great cost in the blood of his own Son. And then the shift in the psalm reminds us that this covenant connection leads not only to celebration, but leads also to a cautionary word. Suddenly the psalm becomes very solemn and serious. Again, reminding us that celebration and seriousness are not really at odds with each other. But the psalm speaks a cautionary word to us. And it's this cautionary word that was particularly taken up in Hebrews 3 and 4 to speak to the church in that day. And here the psalm says, Today, if you hear His voice. Here is a very direct application, isn't it? Today, you, if you hear His voice, do you hear His voice today? Of course you do. The Scripture has been read. The Scripture is being preached. That is the Word of God coming to you today. And today, if you hear the voice of your God, what does He say to you? He says, don't harden your hearts. Don't harden your hearts. This too is a part of the covenant. This too is part of covenant reality. That although God has established a connection for us as a people with Himself, although we have entered into a celebration of that connection, we have to always be careful that we do not presume on that connection. There is a time to pause and to reflect and hear again the cautionary word of our God. Do not harden your hearts. As at Meribah, as on the day at Massa in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. What was the essence of the test to which the people put God at Rephidim? The essence of the test is that they grumbled and said to one another, I don't think God is really with us. You see how fundamentally that is a betrayal of God by his people. God who has created us, God who has redeemed us, God who has loved us, God who has given his own son for his people. Then to be told by his people, we're not so sure about you. We're not so sure about your purpose or your love. We're not so sure about your power or your strength. Maybe we should hedge our bets a little bit. Put a little money on Buddha as well as on Jehovah. Put a little money on Baal as well as on the Lord God. Can't hurt, can it? God's saying, yes, yes, it can hurt. I have loved you. And I expect you to love me. I've devoted myself to you. I expect you to be devoted to me. I have given for you. I expect you to give yourselves to me. You notice that little phrase at the end of verse 9. Though they had seen my work. this is describing the people who saw, didn't just read about it, just didn't hear preachers talk about it, saw the plagues on Egypt. They saw the angel of death's effects on the firstborn of Egypt. They saw that they had been passed over. They saw the cloud of fire and the pillar of fire and of cloud. They saw the Red Sea open before them. they saw the manna from heaven. And yet they came to a point where they said, does God care, does God know, can God help? Can you understand the anger of God against such doubt and indifference? You see, this is a solemn caution to a covenant people. Don't forget the Lord your God. Don't forget what he has done. Celebrate him. Maintain that connection with him. That's what he calls you to. You see how serious this was. For 40 years I loathed that generation and said they are a people who go astray in their heart. They have not known my ways. They went their way, not God's ways. God had revealed to them how they should walk before him, but they ignored him and went in their own way. Therefore I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. See how serious this is? What was the rest they would not enter? It was the promised land, I think. God had said, there is a land I will give to you, a land flowing with milk and honey. And there you shall have rest from your enemies. There you shall have fellowship with me. There you shall have blessedness. That land was a foretaste of the new heaven and the new earth, which God will bring into this world one day. That land of rest was a symbol of the eternal rest to come. But they turned their back on God and upon His rest and upon His ways. And we might be tempted to say, well, that's a problem for Israel, not a problem for us. That's why in Hebrews 3 and 4 we're told this word is a word not just to Israel, but it is a word to us, a word of warning to us. And it's not a unique word here. We can think of the book of the Revelation and Jesus walking amongst the lampstands and then writing to the churches and saying, Beware, if you're not faithful, your lampstand will be removed. And we can look at the history of the church outside of Scripture. And we can see where churches have become faithless and it would appear their lampstands have been removed. Turkey was once a Christian land. Syria was once a Christian land. Lebanon was once a Christian land. Algeria was once a Christian land. We don't know all the meanings and workings of providence, but it would appear those churches strayed from the Lord. We can look at the history of the churches in Europe and say, What wonderful things God did there 500 years ago, 400 years ago, 300 years ago, 200 years ago. But what shape are the churches in Europe in today? There's a danger that we as Americans become slightly smug that there's so much apparent religious vitality in our land today. But the question, you see, comes with great pointedness to us. Are we listening to the voice of our God? Are we seeking His ways? Are we seeking to celebrate Him in the ways in which He delights? My great fear is that increasingly churches in this country are not delighting in the word of God. They are not confident in the word of God. That they are trying all sorts of gimmicks and programs to give an appearance of energy to the church. But is there a longing to hear the voice of God? now some of you who know me know in certain circumstances I've been known to joke around a little bit and have fun but I'm always amazed how relatively few jokes there are in the Bible it's a serious business it's a serious business and part of the covenant connection we have with God is this appeal that he makes to us today you, Escondido United Reformed Church and each of you here worshiping the Lord tonight do you want to hear the voice of your God? Do you want to walk in his ways? If you won't you'll never enter his rest but if you will there's this blessed covenant connection between you and the caring God. There's this wonderful celebration that belongs to you as part of that covenant community. There's this wonderful declaration that we are the children of the Most High, that we are the ones who are the apple of the eye of the great king of this world. And so let it be true of us always as individuals and as a congregation that we listen to the Word of God with delight because that Word promises to us eternal rest, blessedness, and joy in Jesus Christ our Savior. May that be true for each one of us here. Amen. Let us pray. O Lord, our God, we pray that you would teach us to rejoice with trembling. To teach us to balance in our Christian lives joy and reverence. And teach us above all things to listen eagerly to your word. Oh, how blessed is that word that speaks of your great love for us in Jesus Christ. And let that blessed covenant connection established by our good shepherd never become old and tired for us. But renew us by your Holy Spirit in our devotion, in our eagerness, that today we would hear his voice, that today our hearts would be softened before him. and that today we would delight in his great salvation. Hear us and bless us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.