Psalms 95:8-11

8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,^[a]as you did that day at Massah^[b] in the wilderness,

9 where your ancestors tested me; they 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.’ ”

Psalms 95:8-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 95

This psalm, though without a title, was written by David, as appears from Heb 4:7, and to him the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions ascribe it. It belongs to the times of the Messiah, as Kimchi observes; the apostle applies it to the Jews of his time, and bespeaks them in the language of it, Heb 3:7-11, and in which time Israelites, believers in Christ, are called upon to serve and worship him, in consideration of his greatness in himself, and his goodness to them. Theodoret thinks that David spoke prophetically of King Josiah and his times; and wrote it in the person of him, and the priests of God.

Cross References

• 1. Mark 10:5; Hebrews 3:8
• 2. S Exodus 17:7; S Deuteronomy 33:8; Hebrews 3:15*; Hebrews 4:7
• 3. S Psalms 78:40
• 4. S Numbers 14:22; Psalms 78:18; 1 Corinthians 10:9
• 5. S Exodus 16:35; S Numbers 14:34; Acts 7:36; Hebrews 3:17
• 6. Psalms 58:3; Psalms 119:67,176; Proverbs 12:26; Proverbs 16:29; Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 31:19; Jeremiah 50:6; Ezekiel 34:6
• 7. S Deuteronomy 8:6
• 8. S Numbers 14:23
• 9. Deuteronomy 1:35; Hebrews 3:7-11*; Hebrews 4:3*

Footnotes

• [a]. "Meribah" means "quarreling."
• [b]. "Massah" means "testing."