Psalm 95 opens with a jubilant expression of praise: “Let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation” (Psalm 95:1). But halfway through, in the middle of a verse, the tone suddenly shifts from joyful praise to urgent warning:
To day if ye will hear his voice,
Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
Psalm 95:7-11
The stark change in tone emphasizes the urgency of the message. Even the speaker changes. We are no longer talking to each other. This is the Lord speaking, warning us not to fall into the trap which snared the ancient Israelites: Don’t get stuck in the wilderness, wandering for decades because your hard heart keeps you from entering the promised land.
In his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul applies this scripture to us. After quoting the passage above, he says, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13).
When is our deadline to repent? David said “To day,” but he lived about 1,000 years before Paul. Paul also said “To day” about 2,000 years ago, but as he explained, it’s not too late for us. Here’s his logic:
- After God created the world, He rested on the seventh day. His “rest” became available from the very beginning. (See Hebrews 4:4, Genesis 2:2-3.)
- Thousands of years later, Joshua tried to help the children of Israel find rest in the promised land after wandering for many years in the wilderness. (See Hebrews 4:8, Joshua 1:12-15. Note that the name “Jesus” in Hebrews 4:8 refers to Joshua, not to the Savior. “Jesus” is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Joshua.”)
- Several hundred years later, the Israelites still hadn’t found that rest. So David urged them to soften their hearts “to day” and find it. (See Hebrews 4:5-7, Psalm 95:7-11.)
- Paul therefore concludes that the deadline of “today” applies to us as well. “There remaineth therefore a rest unto the people of God…. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest” (Hebrews 4:9, 11).
The prophet Jacob arrived at the same conclusion. After sharing the allegory of the olive tree, in which the Lord of the Vineyard keeps giving the trees more opportunities to change, Jacob pleads with us to take advantage of the time we have now. “While his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of day, harden not your hearts. Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Jacob 6:5-6).
Both Alma and Amulek made the same urgent plea.
After elaborating on the passage from Psalm 95 and explaining what it means to enter into “the rest of the Lord,” Alma emphasized to the people of Ammonihah that the time to repent was immediately. “Now is the time to repent,” he said, “for the day of salvation draweth nigh…. I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would…not procrastinate the day of your repentance” (Alma 13:21, 27).
And Amulek extended the following admonition and promise to the Zoramites: “I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you” (Alma 34:31).
Amulek’s promise is very much in harmony with Paul’s assurance that we can “come boldly to the throne of grace” where we will “obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
So when is the deadline for us to repent? It sounds like it’s today. Start now. Don’t let another day go by before you reach out to God for help. Do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. President Russell M. Nelson has said:
Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
“We Can Do Better and Be Better,” General Conference, April 2019
Today, I will repent. I will be grateful for the promise that God’s grace is available to me as quickly as I choose to soften my heart, approach His throne, and follow His voice.