Psalm 95 Overview
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 95
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 95 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 95
Author
Anonymous
Book
- Book 4 of the Psalter (Chapters 90-106)
"Obey his voice today" This title is a memorable phrase that helps remember the unique character and content of this psalm.
Purpose The Purpose was the psalmist's probable intent or reason for writing this psalm.
To exhort the congregation towards sincere worship
Content The Content is a concise summary of the whole psalm's content.
Come and bow down before YHWH! Do not harden your heart like your ancestors who hardened their hearts and put YHWH to the test, which is why he denied them entrance into his rest, the Promised Land. Instead of hardening your heart, if you kneel before YHWH as your maker and shepherd, then he will shepherd you and give you rest.
Message The Message is the main idea the psalmist probably wanted the audience to remember upon or after hearing the psalm.
Entering YHWH's presence requires obeying his voice.
Psalm 95 At-a-Glance
These sections divide the content of the psalm into digestible pieces , and are determined based on information from many of our layers, including Semantics, Poetics, and Discourse. The columns, left to right, contain: the verse numbers; the main title of the section; a brief summary of the content of that section (quote marks indicate the text is taken directly from the English text of the psalm (as per our Close-but-Clear translation); and an icon to visually represent and remember the content.
Background Orientation for Psalm 95
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
- As creator of everything, YHWH is sovereign and superior over all creation, including so-called "gods" (Exod 5:11; Ps 96:4-5; 135:5-6), and reigns over creation from his temple resting place (Isa 66:1; Ps 132:8), where his people are welcomed to enter and celebrate his reign (vv. 1, 6).
- God's people grumbled and complained against God at Massah and the waters of Meribah (Exod 17:7; Deut 9:22), which became a prototypical instance of rebellion against throughout Israel's history. For instance, precisely because of the rebellion at Meribah, Moses and Aaron were denied entry into the promised land (Num 20:10-13, 24; 27:14; Deut 32:51).
- After the spies disheartened the people due to their lack of faith, YHWH promised that the entire generation would wander the wilderness for forty years (Num 14:21-23). Despite YHWH's oath, the people tried to enter anyway, to their own peril (Num 14:29-35).
- The "rest" achieved after God finished all his activity of creating (Gen 2:2) is analogous to his people conquering the promised land and enjoying rest in the land (i.e., the fruit of the labors). Likewise, the "rest" achieved in the entrance of the land (see v. 11) is closely tied to the "rest" enjoyed in centralized temple worship (see Deut 12:8-12), such that covenantal faithfulness (obeying God's voice) leads to the "rest" of worship in God's presence, both in immediate temporal terms (worship in the physical temple) as well as eschatological terms (worship in the new heavens & earth).
Background Situation for Psalm 95
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Participants in Psalm 95
There are 4 participants/characters in Psalm 95:
Profile List
| Leader |
| YHWH |
| "YHWH" (vv. 1, 3, 6) |
| "rock of our salvation" (v. 1) |
| "our maker" (v. 6) |
| Congregation |
| [Congregation's] Ancestors |
Profile Notes
- The leader guides the congregation and includes himself in their group, indicated by "let us shout for joy" (v. 1) the "rock of our salvation" (v. 1) and "the one who made us" (v. 6) etc.
- YHWH is also referred to as "the rock of our salvation" (v. 1) and "our maker" (v. 6). He is also described as a "great God" and "great king" (v. 3) as well as "our God" (v. 7).
- The addressee of the psalm is considered the congregation, to which the leader belongs (see above). They are described as "the people YHWH shepherds, the flock led by his hand" (v. 7). They are warned not to harden their hearts, as their ancestors did.
- The ancestors are introduced as the antagonists in the psalm's story (cf. Pss 78-79). They are said to have put YHWH to the test, and they are described as a "people whose desires go astray, not recognizing YHWH's ways."