Catechesis Notes for the Week —Luther on Psalm 95 — A Song of Praise to the Rock of Our Salvation—The first seven verses of Psalm 95 has a very familiar place in the church’s regular prayer life in the Venite of the Matins service. Venite means, “Oh come…” and is the call to sing to the LORD who is the Rock of our salvation. In the Scriptures, singing, thanksgiving, a joyful noise, songs of praise, and worship are all actions that confess faith, trust, reliance, and dependence upon the Lord. In Psalm 95, like so many psalms, praising God as the Creator is also linked to confessing and praising Him as our Savior. Psalm 95 confesses Him to be the only God, the one who formed the depths of the earth, the heights of the mountains, the sea, and the dry land. The children of Israel sang this song as the people of God’s pasture and the sheep of His hand. The fervent joy of the first portion of the psalm gives way to the warning against unbelief. We are not to harden our hearts against God as the children of Israel in the wilderness. They did not enter His rest because of the impenitence of unbelief. Therefore, let us heed the warning and continue to “sing to the Lord” for He is “the Rock of our salvation.”

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