Catholic Commentary on Psalm 95

"Today, if only you would hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." (Psalm 95:7-8)

The Venite

Psalm 95, known in the Latin tradition as the Venite from its opening word, has been sung at the beginning of Morning Prayer in the Church for centuries. It opens with a triple call to joyful worship: come, let us sing for joy; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation; let us come before him with thanksgiving. The reasons follow: the LORD is the great God and great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains, who made the sea and formed the dry land. Creator and Sustainer, he deserves the worship he invites.

Then the psalm shifts from joy to warning. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture. But immediately: Today, if only you would hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did at Massah in the wilderness. The Epistle to the Hebrews quotes this verse three times as the most urgent warning in the New Testament: the hardening of the heart is possible for the baptised, and the today of Psalm 95 is always the present moment of grace. The Catechism describes the hardened heart as the spiritual catastrophe that makes grace unable to penetrate (CCC 1859).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, today is the word the psalm presses. Not yesterday's devotion and not tomorrow's intention. Today, if you hear his voice. The voice is speaking now, in Scripture, in the Eucharist, in the events of your life, in the people around you. Is your heart soft or hard today? That question is the most important one you will answer.

Prayer

Lord God, we come to you with thanksgiving and bowing in worship. Keep our hearts soft before your voice. Do not let the hardening come. Whatever Meribah we have carried in our past, free us from its pattern. Speak today, and let us hear and obey. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

95
Do Not Harden Your Hearts
(Hebrews 3:7–11)
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!
2 Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.
 
3 For the LORD is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
5 The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hands formed the dry land.
 
6 O 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,
the sheep under His care.
 
Today, if you hear His voice,
8 do not harden your hearts
as you did at Meribah,* 95:8 LXX as you did in the rebellion; Meribah means quarreling; see Exodus 17:7; cited in Hebrews 3:15 and Hebrews 4:7.
in the day at Massah in the wilderness,† 95:8 LXX in the day of testing in the wilderness; Massah means testing; see Exodus 17:7.
9 where your fathers tested and tried Me,
though they had seen My work.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation,
and I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,‡ 95:10 LXX They always go astray in the heart
and they have not known My ways.”
11 So I swore on oath in My anger,
“They shall never enter My rest.”§ 95:11 Cited in Hebrews 3:7–11, Hebrews 4:3, and Hebrews 4:5

*95:8 95:8 LXX as you did in the rebellion; Meribah means quarreling; see Exodus 17:7; cited in Hebrews 3:15 and Hebrews 4:7.

†95:8 95:8 LXX in the day of testing in the wilderness; Massah means testing; see Exodus 17:7.

‡95:10 95:10 LXX They always go astray in the heart

§95:11 95:11 Cited in Hebrews 3:7–11, Hebrews 4:3, and Hebrews 4:5

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