In the middle of Psalm 95, the author suddenly shifts tone from exuberant praise to urgent admonition. Reminding us of the 40-year period when Israel wandered in the wilderness because they were unwilling to follow God’s instructions, the author urges us to listen to God with an open heart, so that we can receive the blessings He has prepared for us:
To day if ye will hear his voice,
Psalm 95:7-11
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.
The prophet Alma doesn’t announce that he’s quoting from this psalm, but he builds upon it during the last part of his sermon in Ammonihah. Much like Hebrews 3 and 4, and to a lesser degree, Jacob 1:7-8 and 6:4-6, Alma borrows phrases from the psalm and elaborates on its key concepts. Here are some examples:
| Psalm 95 | Alma 12 & 13 |
|---|---|
| To day if ye will hear his voice | “Now is the time to repent, for the day of salvation draweth nigh; “Yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, doth declare it unto all nations…. “I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance” (Alma 13:21-22, 27). |
| Harden not your heart | “If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son; “Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest. “And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest” (Alma 12:33-35). “Others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds… “Thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts” (Alma 13:4-5). |
| as in the provocation | “And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first. “And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word” (Alma 12:36-37). |
| It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: | “They are made known unto us in plain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err” (Alma 13:23). |
| Unto whom I sware in my wrath | “May the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be bound down by the chains of hell, that ye may not suffer the second death” (Alma 13:30). (See also Alma 12:35-37.) |
| that they should not enter into my rest | “There were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God. “And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest…. “That ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest” (Alma 13:12-13, 29) (See also Alma 12:34-37, Alma 13:6, 16.) |
Here are some insights about the psalm after studying Alma’s use of it:
- The time to repent is now because God’s blessings are available now. Why would you defer receiving those blessings?
- We seem to have an instinctive tendency to harden our hearts: to be stubborn, to dig in our heels, to double down when challenged, and to assiduously avoid admitting we’re wrong. In order to receive God’s blessings, we have to intentionally override this impulse.
- Words like “provocation” and “wrath” might seem harsh, but we can certainly understand God’s pain when we refuse to receive his grace. In the psalm, the provocation refers to the rebellion of the children of Israel as they traveled to the promised land. Alma speaks of two provocations: Adam and Eve partaking of the forbidden fruit, and us rejecting God’s commandments.
- In the psalm, God laments the people “[erring] in their heart.” Alma clarifies that this is not an excuse: We have been taught clearly, and we need not err.
- When we do receive God’s blessings, we feel peace and confidence. We enter a state of rest, where we are no longer plagued by anxiety, fear, or guilt.
Today, I will choose to hear God’s voice and not harden my heart. I will be grateful for the peace and stability that comes from receiving the blessings He offers to all of His children.
Leave a Reply