Great Prayers of the Old Testament
Part 34: Wisdom about Worship
Psalm 95:1-11
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared November 11, 2025)
BACKGROUND:
*Today our focus is on worship, and nothing is more important in Christian life than heartfelt worship of the LORD! God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is always worthy of our worship! He is the only true and living God, eternally perfect in every way. He created us, loves us, and has given us every good thing we have ever received. Best of all, God the Father gave His only begotten Son to become a mortal man, live a perfect life, and die on the cross for our sins. God the Holy Spirit also had a crucial part in this saving work all the way from our creation to Jesus' conception, and His resurrection.
*This anonymous Psalm doesn't list the author, and many commentators question if King David was the writer. But three Bible scholars I trust the most were all sure David was the author. John Phillips said that Hebrews 4:7 quoted this Psalm as a Psalm of David. John Gill wrote that the Jews believed all anonymous Psalms were written by David. But the most important fact about the author of this Psalm is found in David’s last words. 2 Samuel 23:1-2 says, "Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; thus says the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet Psalmist of Israel: 'The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.'" (1)
*Hallelujah Church! There is no question that God is most worthy of our worship! But how can we truly worship God? F. B. Meyer explained that "This psalm should be lived out every week in God's Church as His people gather for worship.
*Some of the wonderful works of God in creation are listed as inspirations to worship and praise the LORD. The sea, the hills, the deep places of the earth have often inspired the musician, but how much more the devout soul! Let us remember, also, when we are tossed on the seas of life, or are called to descend into valleys of shadow, that faith will still dare to sing!
*But from Psalm 95:6 onward, we are confronted with the sad story in Exodus 17:1-16. There the Children of Israel came to a place without water. They started grumbling against the LORD God, and were almost ready to stone Moses! Of course the LORD provided everything they needed. And the LORD will provide everything we need, if we will only trust Him enough to wait upon the LORD!" (2)
MESSAGE:
*Heartfelt worship is incredibly important in Christian life, and a great place to see this truth is the salvation of the woman at the well in Samaria. John 4:19-26 reports:
19. The woman said to Him (that is to Jesus), "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
20. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."
21. Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
23. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
25. The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things."
26. Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
*William MacDonald explained that "Jesus announced to the woman that from now on worship of the Father would be in spirit and truth. The Jewish people had reduced worship to outward forms and ceremonies. They thought that by religiously adhering to the letter of the law, and going through certain rituals, they were worshiping the Father. But theirs was not a worship of the spirit. It was outward, not inward. Their bodies might be bowed down on the ground but their hearts were not right before God. Perhaps they were oppressing the poor, or using deceitful business methods.
*The Samaritans, on the other hand, had a form of worship, but it was false. It had no Scriptural authority. They had started their own religion and were carrying out ordinances of their own invention. Thus, when the Lord said that worship must be in spirit and truth, He was rebuking both Jews and Samaritans.
*But Jesus was also informing them that, now that He had come, it was possible for men to draw near to God through Him in true and sincere worship. Ponder this! The Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is interested in the adoration of His people! DOES HE RECEIVE THIS FROM ME?
*'God is Spirit' is a definition of God's being. He is not a mere man, subject to all the errors and limitations of humanity. Neither is He confined to any one place at any time. By God the Holy Spirit, He is an invisible Person who is present in all places at one and the same time, who is all-knowing, and who is all-powerful. He is perfect in all His ways. Therefore, those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. There must be no pretending, no pretense to being religious, when inwardly one's life is corrupt. There must be no idea that in going through a series of rituals, God is pleased. Even if God instituted those rituals Himself, He still insists that man approach Him with a broken and a contrite heart.
*As the woman of Samaria had listened to the Lord, she had been made to think of the coming Messiah. The Holy Spirit of God had stirred up within her a desire that the Messiah should come. She expressed the confidence that when He did come, He would teach all things. In this statement, she showed a very clear understanding of one of the great purposes of Christ's coming.
*'Messiah' is the Hebrew word, and 'Christ' is the Greek word for the same thing. They mean 'God's Anointed One.' Jesus was announcing to her the startling truth that He was Jehovah God of the Old Testament come down with a human body in the New Testament." (3)
*The same Messiah who spoke to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well over 2,000 years ago is our crucified and risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Today and forever God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will always be worthy of our worship! But all Christians need more wisdom about worship, and we can find it here in the Word of God.
1. FIRST, WE NEED WISDOM ABOUT OUR HELP FOR WORSHIP.
[1] AND MUSIC CAN BE A GREAT HELP IN WORSHIP.
*We see this truth in vs. 1-2.
1. Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms.
*Music may have always been a help for worship, but the first song words reported in the Bible are in the Book of Exodus. After the LORD parted the Red Sea, Moses led the Children of Israel across on dry land. But those walls of water closed in on the Egyptian army chasing the Israelites. And the very next thing we see in Exodus 15 is, "The Song of Moses," a song of praise to the LORD. The first 4 verses of this song say:
1. Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
2. The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.
3. The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.
4. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
[2] MUSIC CAN BE A GREAT HELP IN WORSHIP, BUT IT CAN ALSO BE A HINDRANCE.
*Most of the battles between using traditional hymns over contemporary Chistian music (CCM) are long over. But when I started serving as a Youth Pastor in 1983, music was the center of a hot controversy in Baptist churches.
*What really started the divide in these churches was that the youth groups would go off to camp in the summertime and hear some of the new, inspirational CCM music. Then they would want to hear the same kind of music in their own church.
*It got ugly and venomous in many churches. Many pastors preached that CCM was inappropriate because it brought "worldly" music into the church, which basically meant any instruments other than the organ and piano. Some preached that anyone who liked CCM was committing a terrible sin. They even believed that CCM lovers were somehow helping Satan destroy churches!
*I am one of the many people who love both the old hymns and CCM. I love the old songs! Too many to mention, hymns like John Newton's, "Amazing grace! How sweet the sound; That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see." And "When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we first begun." Praise the LORD! And who doesn't love the old Christmas carols, like "Joy to the World"? (4)
*So, what kind of music does God like? -- It must not matter to Him, because in all of the Bible (Over 1,700 pages in my Bible) The LORD didn’t put one note of music in here. Oh, there are lots of songs, at least 185, but just the words, not one note of music. The LORD God has given you the privilege of choosing the kind of music you like. So Ephesians 5:19 says we should be, "Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." That's a variety of music. So, what kind of music do you like?
*If you really like the traditional music, then, you are probably a "Be Still and Know" person. If you had a Scripture motto, it would be Psalm 46:10, where the LORD said, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" or Habakkuk 2:20, where God's Word says, "The LORD is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him."
*Your main focus is reverence. You want to honor God with all your heart, but you want to do it in a quiet and reverent way. You also want to sing the tried and true hymns of old. And that’s great. Those hymns have stood the test of time for a reason. "The Be Still and Know People."
*On the other hand, if you really like CCM, you are probably a "Shout to the LORD person. And your Scripture motto could be Psalm 5:11. "Let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You."
*Your main focus is rejoicing in the Lord, so you want some of your music to be louder and more peppy. Sometimes you want to clap your hands, and that's great. Psalm 47:1-2 says, "Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth."
*Often, you want to raise your hands too, and that's fine, because Psalm 63 is "A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah," and there vs. 1-5 say:
1. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
2. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.
3. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.
4. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
*Psalm 134:2 says, "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD." In Psalm 141:2 King David said, "Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." Lamentations 3:40-41 says, "Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD; Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven." In 1 Timothy 2:8 Paul wrote, "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." And there are many other examples.
*Most of us lift our hands to our chest when we pray, and we are so used to it, that we don’t even think about it. But some of us also want to lift our hands up high like this, especially when we sing. And that’s fine too! I will always remember dear, sweet, Mrs. Pat Corley leading the worship service over at Ridgecrest Nursing Home 5 decades ago. And she told those elderly patients that it was okay to raise their hands. Miss Pat said, "Remember: 1 hand is a salute, and 2 hands mean LORD, I surrender to YOU!"
*An even better picture to me is a little child reaching up to its parents, just wanting to be held, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
*One of my favorite preachers is Melvin Newland, and he said, "When my grandchildren come to me with raised hands, I don’t say, 'Put down your hands, you little charismatics.' What are they doing? They’re coming to me saying, 'Grampa, pick me up. Hold me.' And when we come to God with our hands raised, could it not be that same idea? 'God, I’m tired. This world is a tough place. Please take me and hold me close to You.' So if you want to raise your hands, I’ll not consider you to be showboating. But if I don’t raise mine, please don’t consider me to be unspiritual. Let’s just understand and love each other as we worship God together." (5)
*That's the most important thing! We shouldn’t be looking around to see what other people are doing, or not doing. We ought to be keeping our spiritual eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ. As our Associate Pastor said back then, "It’s not about them. -- It’s about HIM! And when it comes to music, it’s fine to like one style more than the other.
*But it’s a big mistake to think that my music is somehow more righteous and holy, or to think, "I just can’t worship with CCM" or "I can't worship with hymns." That’s putting the music above the Master. And we must not put the music above the Master. We must not make music more important than it really is. Worship is about the Master, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our HERO!
2. SO YES, WE NEED WISDOM ABOUT OUR HELP FOR WORSHIP. BUT INFINITELY MORE, WE NEED WISDOM ABOUT OUR HERO.
*We can find all of the godly wisdom we need in the Bible because it is in truth the Word of God. And Psalm 95 gives us great wisdom about our Hero, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Verses 1-7 say:
1. Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms.
3. For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.
4. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also.
5. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.
6. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. . .
*The LORD is a great God! He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lord's. He is far, far above all the false gods of this world. They are simply demonic fallen angels using their lies to deceive and capture everyone they possibly can. But our LORD God, the only true and living God is infinitely far above us. We always tend to underestimate the greatness of God. And we can never overestimate the greatness of God!
*And in vs. 4-5 we see that He is our Creator, "In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land." So believers, vs. 6-7 say, "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. . ."
*This reminds us that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. That’s what Jesus did when he died on the cross for our sins. And because Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty, He rose again from the dead. And he will give abundant, eternal life to everyone who believes in Him, to everyone who receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
*That’s why in vs. 1, Jesus is the Rock of our salvation! And that is why in vs. 2, one of the most important parts of our worship is thanksgiving. Thank you, God for loving a sinner like me! Thank you, God for saving a sinner like me!
3 THAT'S GODLY WISDOM ABOUT OUR HERO FOR WORSHIP. BUT WE ALSO NEED WISDOM ABOUT OUR HEART FOR WORSHIP.
*And we see this wisdom in vs. 7-11, where God's Word says:
7. . . Today, if you will hear His voice:
8. "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9. When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work.
10. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.'
11. So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'"
*True worship is all about our hearts to Heaven, so God says, don’t harden your heart! It’s a necessary, warning, because it’s easy to harden our hearts with prejudice or pride, with cynicism or criticism, with selfishness or bitterness. But God says, don’t harden your heart! So real worship must be from the heart. It is all about repenting and rejoicing, relating to God, relying on God, and finding real rest from the Lord Jesus Christ.
*Most of remember the devastating fire last January in southern California. The Palisades Fire spread to over 36 square miles, killed 12 people, and destroyed 6,837 structures. It was the most destructive wildfire in the history of Los Angeles. (6)
*But that fire is overshadowed the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. That inferno is the most famous fire in American history. It claimed 300 lives, destroyed 17,450 buildings, and caused 200 million dollars in damage. Church: That would be well over 100 trillion dollars in today's money! Roughly one-third of the city lay in ruins, and nearly 100,000 people were left homeless.
*On October 8, 1871, Horatio Spafford was totally wiped out by that Great Chicago Fire. Several months before that, his only son had died. Horatio was a successful attorney and a very godly man. He loved the Lord. He loved his wife. And he loved his four daughters: Maggie, Tanetta, Annie and Bessie.
*Horatio was also a close friend of the great evangelist D. L. Moody. Two years after the fire, Horatio planned a trip to Europe with his family. The trip was to coincide with one of Moody's crusades. But at the last minute, some important business delayed Horatio, so he put his wife and four daughters on the French liner Ville de Havre. Horatio planned to catch up with them 3 or 4 weeks later.
*The trip started out beautifully. But on the evening of November 21, 1873, the ship was suddenly struck by another vessel. It sank in two short hours. The four girls were swept from their mother's arms. And Mrs. Spafford was found nearly unconscious, clinging to a piece of the wreckage. Nine days later when the survivors landed in Cardiff, Wales, she cabled these two words to her husband: "Saved Alone."
*Horatio immediately booked passage to join his wife. On the way over, on a cold December night, the captain called him aside and said, "I believe we are now passing over the place where the Ville du Havre went down." Spafford went to his cabin, and in that sleepless night he found God's peace that passes understanding. Then he said to himself, "It is well; the will of God be done."
*Out of that experience Horatio Spafford wrote one of our favorite hymns: "It Is Well with My Soul." The second verse says:
-"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
-Let this blest assurance control,
-That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
-And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
-It is well, it is well with my soul." (7)
CONCLUSION:
*That’s worship! -- Christians: Let’s worship the Lord! But if you don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ, please hear His voice today speaking through God's Word and God's Holy Spirit. Jesus loves you! He died on the Cross for you too. But three days later our crucified Lord rose again from the dead, forever in glorious victory over sin and death!
*Now our Risen Savior will save your soul! He will give you His gift of eternal life, if you will put your trust in Him. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today. Call on the Lord to save now as we go back to God in prayer. Then join us in worshipping the LORD God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
(1) Sources:
-JOHN PHILLIPS COMMENTARY, "Psalm 95: Lest History Repeat Itself" - Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
-Charles H. Spurgeon, THE TREASURY OF DAVID, Psalm 95, Published in 1869-1885; public domain - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
-JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D. D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - Hebrews 4:7 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(2) Adapted from THROUGH THE BIBLE DAY BY DAY "A Devotional Commentary" by F. B. Meyer - Psalm 95:1-11 - PRAISE THE LORD AND TEMPT HIM NOT - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(3) Adapted from William MacDonald - "The Conversion of a Woman of Samaria" - John 4:1-30 - BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Nashville - Copyright 1995 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(4) Sources:
-"Amazing Grace" - Words by John Newton (1725–1807) - Olney Hymns (London: W. Oliver, 1779), Book 1, number 41. (Exception: The last stanza is by an unknown author; it appeared as early as 1829 in the "Baptist Songster", by R. Winchell (Wethersfield, Connecticut), as the last stanza of the song "Jerusalem My Happy Home." - Music: New Britain, Virginia Harmony, by James P. Carrell & David S. Clayton (Winchester, Virginia: 1831).
-"Joy to the World - The United Methodist Hymnal Number 246 - Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 - Music: Arr. from G. F. Handel by Lowell Mason, 1792-1872
(5) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "Worship Is More Than That" by Melvin Newland - Psalm 95:6-7
(6) 2025 Palisades Fire - Wikipedia Article 11/10/2025 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Fire
(7) Sources:
-Britannica.com - Great Chicago Fire - The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica - This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen - https://www.britannica.com/event/Chicago-fire-of-1871
-James S. Hewett, "Illustrations Unlimited" - Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988 - pp. 243-244 - Source: "Bible Illustrator for Windows" - Topic: Love - Subtopic: Of God - Index: 2206 - Other Topic: Adversity/2902 - Date: 7/1996.776 - Title: "Saved Alone" - Other source: SermonCentral illustration contributed by Adam Cruse
