Broken Promises!
Opening Prayer
Mighty Lord, what a great God You are! I come to You with my praise and worship now.
Read PSALM 95:1-11
[1] Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. [2] Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. [3] For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. [4] In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. [5] The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. [6] Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; [7] for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, [8] do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, [9] where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. [10] 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.” [11] So I declared on oath in my anger, “They shall never enter my rest.” Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
What reasons does the psalmist give for praising God?My time as a Brownie scout was very short-lived! I spoke the Brownie Pledge with an initial burst of enthusiasm, but it was soon broken and ignored. I was never a fan of the uniform but even less enamored with the idea of having to think of others and do a good deed every day. Soon, I had forgotten my promise and hardened my heart towards the whole idea!
In a multiplicity of ways, that slide into rebellion is world-wearingly familiar. A marriage, a relationship, a team or a project can all suffer from disinterest and disruption, and before you know it, a once-favored relationship is dangerously on the rocks. The psalm is calling people back to the Lord. Even the Israelites, who had witnessed first hand the miracles of God, had hardened their hearts towards him and strayed (10). Hard to believe? Probably not, because we know the shape of our own hearts.
These verses remind us of the greatness of God, the highest King, the mountain maker, the creator who loves us and longs for us to follow him (1-7). Words to melt the hardest of hearts!
Apply
Has your heart hardened to the love of God? If so, read this psalm again and pray for a greater tenderness.
Closing prayer
Lord, I do pray for a tender heart that readily recognizes Your majesty and eagerly gives You praise for it.
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