O that today you would listen to his voice!
Harden not your hearts.
1. Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord. (R.)
2. Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand. (R.)
3. O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.’ (R.)
From July 30 readings King Solomon talks to God. In the Transfiguration story God speaks, presumably to the disciples, and in another reading God is in the breeze. Great question is where do hear God’s voice. I would like to think if God is present in us God’s voice is already right where we are. Learn to listen to the deep sense in us…
I think also this psalm presents a directive to make sure that you keep an active awareness of where you find the presence of the Lord in your life. “Harden not your hearts” to me seems to encourage the reader to seek out God’s voice in the corners and pockets of your life. He’s in the pasture with you, you just have to open your eyes a bit.
This Psalm is for some assigned to the Sabbath. Later scholars associate it with New Year. It is part of a ceremony that includes procession, adoration, prayer, reading and sermon. God, in searching out the peaks of the mountains and the depths of the valleys, appears as king over the universe as well as over the heights and depths of the human heart – even in hostile conditions. (Harper’s Biblical Commentary)