Who Let the Dogs In
Psalm 95
Introduction: One of my favorite movies is "The Christmas Story", you know, the "You'll shoot your eye out" flick. On one of the scenes, the mother has prepared Christmas dinner consisting of an irresistible roasted turkey. During a distraction, somehow the neighbor's hound dogs came in and got the turkey off the table as it cooled. Now, all the plans, celebration and expectations come to an end for the anticipated turkey Christmas dinner. Who let the dogs in?
That is similar to how Psalms 95 reads. In Psalms 95, we need to look at who let the dogs in.
Why were the children of Israel which were adults coming out of Egypt not allowed to go into the promise land? We may find something that surprises us in the 95th Psalm.
This Psalm has confused preachers for years because of it's sudden twist, or turn. Many pastors who preach from this Psalm breaks it into two parts because it almost seems it doesn't fit together. We will look at the two great contrasts found in this Psalm of Ascent. In Psalm 95, you get a great picture of God. Yet you get a poor picture of God's followers. In other words, we have a picture of how things should be compared to how things too often are.
The Hebrews writer took this Psalm as a text for Hebrews chapter 3 and 4 to apply it to today.
I. The Instruction to Praise. (1-2) "Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!"
This call to worship has been called the invitation to Praise. However, it is more of a summons, exhortation, in the command form.
"rock of our salvation": Our first veiled reference to the disobedient Children of Israel in Exodus 17. In the Wilderness, when Moses struck the rock at Massah, or Meribah, it was a beautiful example of the living water that comes from Christ Jesus our Lord.
He is a firm foundation and the source of all we need. Therefore, we come to Him with thanksgiving. We sing and shout.
(Joyful noise). According to the Barnes commentary "Let us make a joyful noise - The word used here means commonly to make a loud noise, to shout, Job_30:5. It is especially used
(a) of warlike shouts, Jos_6:16; 1Sa_17:20;
(b) of the shout of triumph, Jdg_15:14;
(c) of the sound or clangor of a trumpet, Num_10:9; Joe_2:1.
It may thus be used to denote any shout of joy or praise. In public worship it would denote praise of the most animated kind."
II. The Inception of Praise.
A. His Greatness Declared. (3) "For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods."
The Lord is the best God (superlative): The best a god can be. The Hebrew for great (gâdôl) indicates a superlative. Hence, you cannot imagine a better God, a better subject of worship.
A great king above all other heavenly beings or heavenly hosts (Hebrew: Elohiym).
B. His Greatness Described. (4-5) "In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land."
The creation testifies of the greatness of the creator, yet many people cannot see it.
Romans 1:19-21 "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." They did not recognize Him, and therefore the now cannot see Him.
Ill. "Hubble found that the universe was not static, but rather was expanding! (http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_expansion.html).
Funny, no one can tell you where the universe begins on one side and ends on the other. Traditionally, we are told that the the universe may be without limits. Space may go on forever and ever. But it is getting bigger?
Things within the observable universe (stars and nebulae) are moving away from what is believed to be the center and therefore we assume the universe is expanding. For us, the fact that something beyond limits is still getting bigger must tell us that we have a wonderfully unlimited Creator. To others, it is just a fact.
III. The Invitation to Praise. (6-7a) "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 7a For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand."
Again the invitation, or instruction, to worship is given. Here, the invitation to worship is associated first with posture. "bow down" and "kneel before the Lord" are described. "bow down" could be kneeling (the movement to kneel) or being prostrate (laying face down before). "Kneeling" could be kneeling, as it says, or bowing before to honor or bless.
Ill. While the telephone repairman was working, three Church staff people were talking about their favorite posture for prayer. "I prefer kneeling to my knees," said the pastor. "I really get in touch with God when I kneel and pray." The music pastor quickly piped in. "I love to stand with my hands lifted towards heaven. I sense the presence of the Lord when I do that." "Not me," said the youth pastor. "I really find myself humbled and submissive to God when I lay flat on my face, fully prostrate before my Lord." The telephone repairman, standing up from making the connection on the wall cleared his voice. "That is all well and good," he said. "But my best prayer came when I was hanging upside down on a telephone pole."
I want you to notice that worship here has involved all of singing, shouting, bowing, kneeling and laying prostrate. All are signs of submission and showing honor.
Why? Because He is our Elohiym. He is God. That should be enough. Further...
Because we are His people; belonging to Him.
Here is a description of RELATIONSHIP. Nothing better describes the desire God has for relationship with us more than this. He is our God, we are His people.
Something catches my attention here: "we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand." Does that come across to you as backwards like it does to me? I can see, "We are the people of his hand, the sheep of His pasture." But it is the converse. We are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand." What do you make of that?
To me, the interweaving of people and sheep is important. We are the people of His flock: valued as people, cared for as sheep need care. Yet we are the needy sheep that He supplies with His hand and complete care as valued people.
To put it the way we would suspect would reduce the illusion to sheep as a mere analogy. Yet our neediness, as that of sheep, is greater and creates a greater dependence upon God than life seems to testify. I hope I made that impression clear.
Transition in scriptures: Here the Psalm changes directions from the positive to the negative. Who let the dogs in?
IV. Interruption of Praise
A. The Example of disobedience. (7b-9) "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work."
Reference to Exodus 17. God told the Israelites to move, but they grumbled about no water in the new location.
The people literally asked, "Is the Lord really with us or not?" (Ex. 17:7). "Why did you bring us out here with our children to simply die from thirst?" (Exodus 17:3). Moses told God the people quarreled with him (vs. 7) and actually brought up stoning Moses for leading them there (vs. 4).
Moses was sent before them to carry his rod and strike the rock. Water came from the rock, what a beautiful picture of Jesus before an angry crowd. However, the people interpreted it as their whining and complaining techniques paid off for them and reverted to it again and again. What a contrast to the first part of this Psalm of Praise! Who let the dogs in?
B. The Results of disobedience. (10) "For forty years I loathed that generation and said, 'They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.'"
What a shocking scripture; "For forty years I loathed that generation". Note the timing of Exodus 17. The Israelites have just entered the wilderness after crossing the Red Sea and had a great worship service of thanksgiving.
Consider all of the rebellions and disobedience of the people of Israel: Grumbling begins (15), Bitter water turned sweet (15), (First warning) Exo 15:26 saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer." Complaining and Quail and manna given to eat (16), Complaining and Water from the rock (17), building the golden calf, turning away from the promise land, etc......
Of all these, which does the Psalmist and the Hebrew writer use to typlify disobedience? One of the first grumblings, the Meribah (complaining) and Massah (testing).
C. The Consequences of disobedience. (11) "Therefore I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'"
God invited the Israelites to follow His path, but later vowed they would never get there to sit down from their journey and rest. For 40 years, God loathed this generation and made this terrible proclamation. "They shall not enter my rest." The implication is that this oath from God was made in Massah, and simply declared later just outside of Canaan. Who let the dogs in?
Some quick lessons from this Psalms.
1. Praise is worthy when it is an expression of the Lordship of Christ.
The Israelites praised God for what He had done but fell short in trusting Him for what He promised He would do. Each time they faced a new challenge, they doubted.
Vs. 9 "your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work." This explains why a high praise Psalm turns on a dime and becomes a threat. Incomplete surrender is not surrender at all. Complete surrender equates to complete trust and faith. A lack of faith lets the dogs in and ruins everything.
2. Worry and complaining are reflections of a lack of faith.
It is easy for us to be amazed at the Hebrews' lack of faith. After all they had seen God do, they continued to doubt His hand. Thus, they worried and complained about everything.
Hebrews 4:2 "For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened."
What is more difficult is to interpret our worrying and complaining as lack of faith. But don't we have God's promises that "all things will work together for His glory and our good?" Romans 8:28. Do we not have His promise that He has supplied all we need for life and righteousness? 2 Pet. 1:3. Hasn't my God promised to supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus? Phil. 4:19. Do we go down God's road in faith and confidence or resolve to wander and never rest in Him?
3. Disbelief is what will receive the harshest judgment.
When I say disbelief, of course I mean lack of faith. Lack of faith creates disobedience, so the lack of faith is judged harder than disobedience. Obedience performed with a lack of faith is not pleasing to God. Romans 14:23 "But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin."
James said Faith without works is death. Faith begets good works of righteousness. The opposite is also true. Lack of faith begets sinful acts. The problem is the lack of faith, not the sin. The lack of faith in God let's the dogs in.
4. Priorities have to always be re-evaluated.
When did Israel complain? When they were out of food or water. They were willing to return back to Egypt for something as simple as food and drink.
One has said, "You can tell a Christian's priorities by what he prays for." Sometimes, we stumble simply because we fail to gain the heart of God.
Ill. In the book "Jim and Casper Goes to Church" by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper, while visiting a well-known Church, an athiest noted the announcement, "God answered your prayers. Our pastor got an interview with the singing star Bono." The Church cheered wildly at the announcement.
The atheist looked at a Christian beside him and asked, "Is that what you guys pray for? You claim to appeal to the God who created all the universe, the most powerful being behind every power and you ask for an interview with Bono? Children are starving in Ghana, India, Africa and China and you pray for an interview with Bono? Bombs are falling in the middle-East and you pray for an moment with a Rock star?"
God has called us into a relationship. In that relationship, we are SUPPOSED to gain the heart of God. We will not have the heart of God unless we reflect the message of Luke 15.
Luke 15:1-7 "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.' So he told them this parable: 'What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.'"
Those in a relationship with God will make Christ Lord of his life. Those in true relationship with God will seek a greater faith, since that is what pleases God. Those in true relationship with God will have a heart ever changing to match the heart of God. And those who are in a true relationship with God will enter into rest in this life.
Hebrews 4:9-10 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
