Make A Joyful Noise

                                                                     Sunday School Lesson
                                            

Lesson: Psalms 95:1-7a
                                                                                                 
Golden Text: “O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation” (Psalms 95:1).
I.  INTRODUCTION.  The word “worship” means to give value or worth to something or someone.  The idea is that in worship, one is ascribing true worth to the object of one’s reverence.  Psalms 95 calls the worshipper to approach God with great shouts of joy, and bowing before Him.  This psalm calls for a worship that is truly balanced, combining great exuberance with acts of prostration before God.
II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON.  Psalms is a title derived from the Greek word “psalmos,” denoting a poem sung to the accompaniment of musical instruments.  The Hebrew title for the Book of Psalms was “Sepher Tehillian” which means Book of Praises.  Seventy-three Psalms are attributed to David, twelve to Asaph (Psalms chapter 50, 73-83), two to Solomon (Psalms chapters 72. 127), one to Moses (Psalms chapters 90), one to Ethan (Psalms chapters 89), and twelve to the sons of Korah, a family of Levitical singers (Psalms chapters 42-49; 84, 85, 87, 88).  These Psalms arise from understanding what God has done in the past, what He will do in the future, and the need for God in the immediate present, recognizing his sovereignty and goodness.  Many Psalms celebrate the creation and other historical events, but one particular section is completely historical: Psalms chapters 104-106, which begin with the creation and end with the captivity.  The historical group should also include the Psalms which relate exclusively to the glory of the city of Jerusalem and its Temple, past and future (especially chapters 48, 84, 122, 132).  The familiar Psalm of Thanksgiving is Psalms 136; the great Psalm on the Word of God is Psalms 119; and the Hallelujah Psalms, sometimes called the Hallel, are Psalms chapters 111-113, and 115-117.  In Psalms 90, man’s frailty and God’s glory are contrasted and Psalms 91speaks of God’s protecting care.  Psalms chapters 95-100, are all calls to sing praises to the Lord.  In calling for praise and thanksgiving, these psalms give reasons why these responses are both appropriate and necessary for every believer. 
III. THE LORD IS OUR ROCK (Psalms 95:1-2) 
A. Praising and worshipping in song (Psalms 95:1).  This psalm begins with “O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.”  The words “O come” seem to indicate corporate or public worship.  Worship involves prayer, praise, thanksgiving, and adoration because of who God is and what He has done.  Even though we are called to worship together with fellow believers (see Hebrews 10:25), private worship must be a part of our lives.  Every part of our lives should be characterized by worship (see Hebrews 13:15).  Directed to Jews, the psalmist calls God’s people to come together and “let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise.”  This phrase is typical of Hebrew poetry where the writer uses two different phrases to say basically the same thing.  Both singing and making a joyful noise can give the picture of forceful, exuberant worship.  The One Israel was called to sing to and make a joyful noise is “the rock of our salvation.”  Of course this refers to the Lord.  The word “rock” is very commonly used in the Psalms to refer to God (see Psalms 18:2, 31, 46; 31:3; 42:9; 62:2, 6-7; 78:35; 89:26) and represents strength, endurance, stability, and a refuge from enemies.  The Lord is totally reliable and He provides a “salvation” both physical and spiritual that is sure and steady.  He is “the rock of our salvation” and worthy of our praise.  
B. Praising and worshipping with thanksgiving (Psalms 95:2).  The Psalmist goes onto say “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.”  As the Rock of our salvation, we should “come before his presence with thanksgiving.”  Worship without thanksgiving isn’t really worship.  Since believers have been changed by God’s saving work, thanksgiving should flow from us constantly and without effort.  Whether our worship is private or public, thanksgiving should be a major part of it.  While we are giving thanks, the Psalmist said we should also “make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.”  At the time this psalm was written the Book of Psalms was not complete, thus the word “psalms” here does not refer to the Book of Psalms, but to a song of praise.  Songs are a means for everyone to praise Jehovah, the Rock of our salvation.  However, reciting psalms from the Book of Psalms is an excellent way to praise the Lord.
IV. THE LORD IS OUR KING (Psalms 95:3).   This verse says “For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”  Here, the Psalmist begins to give a list of reasons why we are to praise our God.  First he said “For the Lord is a great God.”  We give thanks and praise to Him because of His exalted greatness.  There’s nothing that God can’t do (see Genesis 18:14; Numbers 11:23; Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27).  The second reason the psalmist gave for worshipping and praising God is because He is “a great King above all gods.”  In the time that this psalm was written, the nations around Israel all had multiple gods.  But the psalmist was not saying that other gods exist.  Instead, he was saying that the God Israel worshipped was far above all imaginary gods of the pagans.  We are called to worship God because He is the one true God and there is nobody like Him (see Exodus 9:14; Isaiah 46:9).          
V. THE LORD IS OUR SOVERIGN (Psalms 95:4-5)
A. (vs. 4).  This verse says “In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.”  A third reason why we should praise God is because “In his hand are the deep places of the earth.”  The phrase “In his hand” refers to God’s complete control over His creation.  Nothing happens anywhere nor at anytime without God’s knowledge and oversight.  “The deep places” comes from a verb meaning “to search or investigate.”  It refers to a place that is to be explored.  Therefore, it speaks of the Lord’s control even over those places of the earth that are still unexplored, for example, the interior of the earth.   A fourth reason to praise God is because “the strength of the hills is his also.”  In other words, God controls the mightiest mountains.  Again, the idea is that God controls and rules in places that cannot normally be reached by man.
B. (vs. 5).  Here the psalmist gives two more reasons why we should worship and praise the Lord.  He said “The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.”  Mentioning that God controls the sea again emphasizes the vastness of His rule and control as God and King.  The seas are so vast that water covers about three-fourths of the earth’s surface.  If Mount Everest was placed in the ocean’s deepest point, it’s peak would still be over a mile below the surface of the water.  Since God made the seas they belong to Him.  Another reason why we should praise the Lord is because “his hands formed the dry land.”  God’s sovereignty not only extends over the seas, but also over “the dry land.”  He controls it because He “formed” it.  Everything that we can see and even those things that we can’t see in the universe was created by God (see Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:11).  The Lord reigns as King of all creation.  His power and greatness are beyond our ability to understand, but surely it is not beyond our power to praise and worship Him, giving Him the honor and glory that only He deserves.
VI. THE LORD IS OUR CREATOR (Psalms 95:6).  In this verse, the psalmist again calls upon God’s people to come (see vs. 1) and worship Him.  He said “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”  The psalmist uses three terms for worship, the word “worship,” the words “bow down,” and the word “kneel.”  This is commonly called a Hebrew parallelism meaning the psalmist used synonyms to describe the same action.  This was often done in poetry.  The call here is to “come, let us worship” meaning to lay down on our faces as a sign of respect or reverence.  However, it speaks more of sincere devotion of the heart.  The call was also to “bow down” with the idea of bending forward.  Finally, the call was also “let us kneel before the Lord.”  The word “kneel” actually means “to kneel” but is also a Hebrew word for “bless.”  It has the idea of speaking well of the Lord by offering Him praise.  All three of these descriptions can be used for worship, but they all point to a heart that is submissive, thankful, obedient, and adoring.  We may or may not kneel physically when we worship, but our hearts are to bow before “the Lord our maker.”  We should be grateful that God made us so we can know and relate to Him.  When we bow before the Lord, we are not only worshipping the almighty, eternal God, but we are also worshipping the One who created us in His own image (see Genesis 1:26-27).  Therefore, we can know Him, love Him and serve Him forever.
VII. THE LORD IS OUR GOD (Psalms 95:7a).  In our final verse, the psalmist said “For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”   After declaring that The Lord is our Creator in the previous verse, the psalmist here says that “he is our God.”  Since the Lord is our God, those of us who know Him are also “the people of his pasture.”  In other words, believers are His people.  However, in this verse, the reference is to Israel, who was often identified as “the people of his pasture” (see Psalms 100:3; Jeremiah 23:1; Ezekiel 34:31).  But while the psalmist was thinking of Israel when He said this, by application it includes everyone who follows the Lord.  The phrase “and the sheep of his hand” is another Hebrew parallelism.  It is synonymous with “the people of his pasture.”  Again, by interpretation, the psalmist was speaking of Israel, but believers are also considered God’s sheep and He holds us in His hand.  The picture of believers as sheep and God as the Shepherd emphasizes the personal nature of God.  He is our personal God and as our personal Shepherd He loves and cares for us.  Like sheep, we are completely dependent upon our God for protection and guidance.  We can rest assured and be thankful that our God is not like a “hireling” who runs at the first sign of danger because he “careth not for the sheep” (see John 10:31).  Knowing this is enough for every believer to “Make a Joyful Noise” as we worship our God.

                     

VIII. Conclusion.  For centuries Psalm 95 has been read in churches as a call to worship.  It calls on God’s people to sing to the Lord and to come before Him with thanksgiving, praise, and a humble attitude that recognizes who our God is.  We are His sheep, and He is our God, our sovereign King, our Creator, and the Rock of our salvation.  Our unchanging God will always be who He is, so there is always reason to worship.  So let’s make a joyful noise unto Him!