And we see the structure of this psalm. O come, let us sing unto the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods. In his hands are the deep places of the earth. I think I said last week, Mariana Trench. And the strength or the height of the hills or the mountains is His also. It all belongs to Him, the deepest place, the highest place. The sea is His and He made it. And His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. I told you in that verse, you know, there's your frame of Frame of mind. Worship, bow, kneel. The reason that's, you say, well, don't you believe that the Lord loves us? Yeah, it doesn't have anything to do with it. I believe the Lord, the I am, loves us. So this is why we, when we worship, we bow and we kneel. We say, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. So just like Psalm 139, just like Psalm 149, this is all good. This is something, if they didn't know it came from the Psalms, they'd be really eager to sing. Well, I think most Christians go, oh yeah, we can sing that because it's pretty much not offensive and they like to make it apply to us because these are all great words. So yeah, all wonderful, but then things begin to change. Today, the end of verse seven, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the day of 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 swear in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. Period. End of Psalm. So I think it's pretty easy to see the comparison between this Psalm, Psalm 139 and Psalm 149. It just starts off so great. We can all rejoice until you get to the last third and like, okay, wait a minute, what's happening here? You know, you're walking on the street. Uh-oh, there's something going wrong. I think I'm having a stroke. Well, they're having a stroke when they hear the end of this. So that's the structure, you see, of so many of these Psalms. Our point isn't to say, we know we shouldn't be put off by that. If we are put off by the words of God, then there's something off with us. Because our role is to conform to him, not him to us. Now, The psalmist here in Psalm 95 lived long after the wilderness journeys of Israel under the tutelage of Moses. Because that's what's being referenced in seven through 11. The wandering of Israel in the wilderness because of their sin. They wouldn't go into the land like the Lord told them. I brought you through all this, take the land. And they were afraid, so they paid a price over 40 years, and that whole generation, guilty of that faithlessness, died in the wilderness. Their children got to go in, because they can't be blamed. And that's being referenced. That's like the centerpiece of the last third of this psalm. It's so wonderful. Then what do you bring up that bad stuff for, you know? Okay, so, but what I want you to understand is The psalmist is referencing that event of Israel in the wilderness under Moses. And the psalmist is writing long after that event took place, approximately 400 years. Moses to David. Now you just bear that in mind. So there's three observations I want to make about this. So David here, if we assume this is a Psalm of David, But the psalmist, let's put it that way, the psalmist here in Psalm 95 is referencing and talking about what happened to the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness under Moses. And he's referring to Moses' generation. And he's using what happened to Israel in Moses' generation to warn his generation. I mean, yes, there's application for this psalm to us, but obviously, its most immediate direct application are those to whom it was originally delivered. So, you gotta understand, the psalmist is writing about what Israel did 400 years earlier for the purpose of warning his generation Don't make the same mistake. And then we go forward in time. We go forward in time by about a thousand years from David. And we find that the author of Hebrews does the same thing. He does the same thing. The author of Hebrews says, look back, not a thousand years, look back 1400 years to Moses' generation and look what they did. And the author of Hebrews says, to his generation in the first century, a thousand years after David, don't do that. Okay, let's let's take a look at that. Okay. Let's go to Hebrew chapter 3 You say well if you start going making comparisons again, we won't have any time to finish it. Yes, we will. It isn't that hard. It isn't that hard. But you know what? These comparisons are connectives that are in the Bible. They're Bible connectors. The author of Hebrews is saying, hey, what David said in Psalm 95, hey, he was talking about what happened in Moses' day, and I want you to know about that. See, this is a theme. So let's take a look at Hebrews 3 here and start at verse 1. Wherefore, holy brethren, oh, the author of Hebrews is writing to the Hebrew Christians in the first century. And he says, wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. It's pretty obvious, the apostle speaking to Hebrew believers in Christ, Christians that came from Hebrew start. He wants them to consider Christ Jesus. He says, speaking of Christ Jesus, who is faithful to him, that is him being God, who is faithful to him that appointed him as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man, Christ, was counted worthy of more glory than Moses in as much As he who hath built the house hath more honor than the house. Yes, Christ deserves more glory than Moses. There's really no comparison. For every house is built by some man, but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant for testimony of those things which were to be spoken after. But Christ as a son over his own house, whose house are we. Hey, listen, that'd be the house of God. Oh, the third temple, we're not waiting for it to be built. The day you receive Christ as your Savior, they put a new addition on in that house that was being built. You're that addition. You're that new stud or the new stone in the foundation. We're not the foundation, we're the structure over the foundation. Still being built. But Christ is a son over his own house, whose house we are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end, if. Verse 7. Now, watch this. Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith... Now, he's going to quote Psalm 95, 7 through 11. So he says, wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, which tells me that Psalm 95, 7 through 11, the part that people get all the willies over, is inspired of the Holy Ghost, says so right here. Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, what did the Holy Ghost say? Well, the last sentence of Psalm 95 7. Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the day of provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness. Is this not Psalm 95 7-11? When your fathers tempted me, and proved me, and saw my works forty years." You know, it's an interesting thing. It's verses 7 through 11 here, too. I just noticed that. That's kind of coincidental. I mean, the verse divisions aren't inspired, but that's how it works. "'Hard not your hearts in the day of provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore, I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways." You know, I've got to say, what maybe scares some of the Christians there in Psalm 95 seems like the author of Hebrews wants to quote that whole section. And he didn't quote the prior section in that Psalm. So I swear in my wrath. Yeah, he concludes that. I swear in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest. Now he just quoted the whole last third of that chapter, which makes many Christians hesitant to want to sing the Psalms. Well, that's not for New Testament Christians. Why is the author of Hebrews under the new covenant speaking about these things so freely? Isn't he ashamed of maybe some people he's witnessing to? That maybe he'll ruin, you know, the testimony and the foundation he's already laid by pointing to such a mean God? Apparently, it seems like the author of Hebrews is not afraid of that. Now, he continues. And look at this. Take heed, brethren. See, there's a reason for him to quote this. Why is he quoting the last part of Psalm 95? To warn his generation of Jewish believers in the first century, take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief like them. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Notice, an evil heart of unbelief, but they're departing. Oh, if they're departing, it can't be unbelief. Lest any of you in an evil heart of unbelief depart from the living God. You say, well, I thought people couldn't lose their salvation. It's not saying you can lose your salvation. But there will be people that will profess God. They'll profess Christ. They'll swear an oath to Him. They'll be baptized. They join churches. And then they walk away because they never knew Him. And it's not a good place to be. If you think about Hebrews 6, it leaves you wondering, is there any hope? You can't play around with the Son of God, okay? Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you. Now, look at what he said in verse one. Wherefore, holy brethren, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, This is how he's referring to them, and yet he's warning them the way he's doing it here in verse 12. Surely these mature believers couldn't fall into these things. What's the warning for? So he continues his exhortation, but exhort one another daily, not once in a while, daily, while it is called today. lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin like they were 1,400 years earlier. Verse 14, for we are made partakers of Christ, We hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. You always will recognize the elect of God, because the saints will persevere by the strength of God, and the discipline of God, and the chastisement of God. But one way or another, they will disappear. The Lord will retrieve the lost lamb that goes off the path. That's why Hebrew six, Can they be renewed back to repentance once they declare them and then walk away? Verse 15, while it is said today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. He's quoting Psalm 95 again. While it is said today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation. Once again, he's warning his generation with the very warning that David gave to his generation. And both of them, both the Apostle here and David, are pointing to Moses' generation and the sin that took place then. And the Apostle says here, verse 16, For some, when they had heard, did provoke, howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses, but with whom he was he grieved forty years. Who was it he was mad at? Well, he tells us. Was it not with them that had sinned? whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, and to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believe not." Isn't that who the judgment came on? Yes. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. It's due to unbelief. And just to show why he's doing this, just read the next sentence, verse one of chapter four. Let us therefore, in light of everything he's been saying in chapter three, let us therefore fear. What? These people that he called holy brethren? Yes. Let us fear. Let us therefore fear left a promise being left us of entering into his rest. Any of you should seem to come short of it. Very sobering. David quoted – referred to Moses' generation to warn his generation. The apostle here in Hebrews referred to Moses' generation to warn his generation. Well, therefore, shouldn't we in 2025 use Moses' generation to warn our generation? Or are we better than those other generations? Are we more righteous? More faithful? It's beyond us, but for them, you know, yeah, you know, most of the generation, David's generation, well, the generation of the believers in the first century, yeah, they're not strong like the Christians today, because we've had many years to grow in grace, really, yeah. No, brethren, look, if Moses had to warn the people, and he did countless times, if David had to warn his generation, you could fall into the same thing. If the apostle in the first century, in which Jesus ministered and performed miracles, and the apostles lived and performed miracles themselves, if that generation would go through the tribulation And they would not take the mark of the beast. And they were fateful unto death. Yet that generation was warned with what Israel did unto Moses. Who are we to think that we don't need the same warning? Who are you to presume that we do? How could we presume that we wouldn't? So if someone thinks we're just taking up space, going on and on and on about Psalm 95, well, guess what? It seems to me the history of God's people is going on and on and on about Psalm 95. There's reasons for what we do. Maybe my style makes you forget the reasons. I don't know, the way I talk. But there's a reason. Let's do that. Let's make that application. But we'll do it through the lens of Psalm 95. So let's go back to Psalm 95. And 711, we don't need to read that again. We just read it in Hebrews. And before that we read it in Psalm 95. But notice what it says here in Psalm 95 verse 7. Today, in the last sentence, because that's where there's a shift, right? All these great things in verse one, verse two, verse three, verse four, verse five, verse six, then the first part of verse seven, for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture. He's saying we believers are the sheep of his hand, that's so great. But then, there's a shift in the psalm, like those other two psalms. Today, If you will hear his voice, harden not your heart." Now one thing, I'll just make a note in passing, I find it strange that when they said, hey, let's divide up the scriptures into Bible verses so we can all get on the same page to the sentence we want. Let's put numbers there. Why did they take the last sentence? Why didn't they take the last sentence of verse seven and make that the beginning of verse eight? That's a big shift, and you look at it, verse eight is a continuation of the last verse of verse seven, and it's a complete shift in topic. So I'm not complaining, because the Bible verses as verses and numbers, that's not inspired. It's just a handy tool. But sometimes you wonder, it almost seems like it was arbitrary. Well, OK, anyway, we look at that last sentence of verse 7. Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart. Now, we have to stop right there, because it's already a good lesson. That's how it goes. And that's no wisdom from me. It's like obvious stuff, but you gotta stop and say it. Today. Today. If you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. When? Today. The time for self-examination The time for introspection, to say like David, Lord search me and know my heart. See if there'd be any wicked way in me. When is the time to do that? The time to repent and amend our ways when we find that they are off, is always today. Today. If you hear his voice, harden not your heart today. You look within, you ask the Lord to search you today. That's when you do it. But here's the problem. Man is corrupt. And his heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. And so we have that huge, massive word there that's so all comprehensive, if. Say, is that a big word? It is. Today, if you will hear his voice. Every jot and tittle, today, he says to God's people, if you will hear his voice. Seems to me that it's questionable whether those or declaring themselves to be God's people and who really need to hear his voice, it seems questionable whether they would bother to hear it or bother to take it to heart. They might be willing to listen, but then, you know, okay, whatever. Who are these brethren? that cause the psalmist to raise the question of whether or not they'll bother listening to God. Who are these brethren who possibly will refuse to listen to him? Well, Jude tells us. False professors, in most instances, Jude says they are clouds without water. You know, they're an agrarian society. You know, go over to the Middle East, it can be pretty dry and parched sometimes. And if they're short on food, they can't just put in an order to the, you know, order something on Amazon, it shows up the next day on your doorstep, dropped by a drone. That's not gonna happen. Their crops really have to grow, because that's how they eat. The cattle can't starve. That's how they eat, too. And you've got to have water to drink. Clouds without water. So an agrarian society like Israel, the ground hasn't rained in quite a while. Those fig trees are looking bad. The olives aren't good. What are we going to do? Then clouds come, nice gray clouds. And they're low. Here they come. Look at that. There's a front. Here comes the clouds. Oh, it's going to happen, finally. They watch these gray clouds come. Maybe they stand on their porches and watch. And then they go. And a drop of water came out. The children of Israel were clouds without water. False professors are clouds without water. The people who say they're the people of God, but they will not hear his voice. Jude says they're clouds without water. In other words, I guess maybe in modern terminology we say, well, they're empty suits. They look good. There's nothing behind it. It's clouds with life-giving water that will saturate the ground and bring life and physical salvation. And there's great hope. You see, we think in modern society, oh, rain. Rain's always bad, right? Because we work in buildings and we write on paper. And food just magically appears in store shelves. If you're living off the land, it's everything. So when he says there are clouds without water, Jude says it. These were false brethren that came in. He says they're clouds without water. Right here in Psalm 95 7, these are people that are supposed to be God's people and they won't hear his voice. And he's referencing it to the generation in Moses' day which perished under the wrath of God in the wilderness. Jude says clouds without water. Twice dead, he says. Twice dead? You're dead dead. Twice dead, plucked up by the roots. Well, if you're plucked up by the roots, any life you maybe had, no more. You don't yank a plant out of the ground and rip its roots out and think it'll survive. Clouds without water, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. They're wandering stars, we're told, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. These were the so-called believers that came amongst the large people, and they're being warned by Jude. That's what these people are. You know, in the scripture, sometimes it describes them as wolves in sheep's clothing. They look like sheep. They baa like sheep. Maybe they even smell like sheep. They smell of a Schofield Bible, maybe. I don't know if they smell. But they're not sheep. Wolves in sheep's clothing. Didn't Jesus say? that my sheep will hear my voice and they will follow me. That's what he said. That's important to remember, because we're asking the question here, who are these Jewish people of God in the Old Testament that won't hear his voice and that will harden their hearts? Well, we know it's the generation in Moses' day, because that's the reference that God killed. And so when you go back to that word, if, I said it's an awfully big word here. Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. If, in verse seven there, is you think about it, it actually separates The sheep from the goats. So as Moses had to warn his generation of God's people, so the Psalmist in Psalm 95 knew he had to warn his generation of God's people by pointing back to that generation in Moses' day. The author of Hebrews knew he had to warn his generation of holy people who were believers, or at least declared it. He had to warn his generation, point him back to Moses' day. And so I would think we need to do the same thing 3,400 years later. Well, unless men have changed, that's not true. So if someone thinks, well, you're just, you know, wasting time going this deeply into it. No, it's serious. That's what I'm saying. How do you preach through, I don't know how to do it. How do you preach through the whole word of God in your lifetime without knowingly walking over treasure hidden in the field? And which treasure are you gonna edit out? I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. Just try my best. Lord, forgive me for what I didn't get to. And I said, Lord, if I'm going in the wrong direction, just shoot me in another direction. If the Lord really wants me to, I'm sure he knows how to get the point across. So I just do my best. It's a lot of good stuff. And it's so practical. You could almost, you know, it's almost like the whole Bible can fit in so many singular texts. Like in principle, like, well, I don't know what to do in this life and how to live like a Christian. It's almost like there's a hundred texts in the Bible. It's all right here. Now it's said very differently over there, but it's really the same thing. I guess that's the essence of teaching. Repeating what people are already supposed to know, but we forget because the cares of this world, whatever. So okay, today, if you will hear his voice, verse eight, harden not your heart as in the day of provocation, as in the day of Temptation in the wilderness. So we know what he's talking about. Okay. Harden not your hearts in the day of provocation. Now I looked up the Hebrew word for provocation. Meribah or Meribah. Sound familiar? We sing about Meribah in our own Psalter. Meribah. We'll use it as a closing psalm this evening. Yeah, that word provocation, it's meribah. The definition of meribah, now there it's referred to as a place because of what happened at the place. But the word meribah means quarreling, strife, contention. That's what Moses was getting. Quarreling, strife, contention. It also, is the day of temptation. Look at verse eight, hard not your heart in the provocation as in the day of temptation in the wilderness. Now, I look up that word temptation. You know what the Hebrew word for that is? Masa. You know what masa means? Masa means testing. Israel was testing or you could also say tempting God. Israel was Striving with Moses. Moses, what did you bring us out here for? We are at no water. They were striving with Moses. And their belly aching. They were testing God's patience. Meribah and Massah. Okay. Now, we'll go to that thought right now. Go to Exodus 17. Let's look at the situation in question. Might as well go directly to the source. Exodus 17, and starting at verse 1. What's all the hullabaloo about? Let's find out. Verse 1, Exodus 17. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin. I'm not so sure they're ever leaving that. After their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim. And there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses. and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? See that? The people thirsted there for water. And the people murmured against Moses and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? Is that what you're trying to do, Moses? Poor Moses. You know, it was their irritating, godless ways that so frustrated him and ended up keeping Moses out of the promised land. He was fed up. But he never forsook them. But it's hard ministering to those kind of people. And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. The Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee the elders of Israel, and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river. Take in thy hand and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb. And thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. Just give them what they ask. Probably a little irritating to Moses. Both times, because there's two times. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Masa. See? Yeah, Masa. Which means tefting or tempting. He named the place tempting because you're tempting God with your rebellion and unbelief. He called it, this place is going to be called Masa. Bomber, give it another name, Meriba. Masa comes first because they're irritating God, you know, they're tempting God. Then he says, well, you know, it's Meribah too because you're striving with me. You're in contention with me. And he spells it out. And he called the name of the place Masa. See verse 2 of 17 here. Wherefore did the people chide with Moses, Masa? And Meribah. Verse two, why chide you with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? Meribah. See, it's all there. So verse seven, and he called the name of the place Massa and Meribah. You know how it's just utterly descriptive of their rebellion. Because of the chiding of the children of Israel and because they tempted the Lord, saying, and look what they said, is the Lord among us or not? Why are we thirsty? Is God here or isn't he, Moses? Sometimes you don't get the whole picture until you read it as it's referenced in all the different places in the Bible. And the more the picture you get, it just becomes uglier. Or man is revealed more for who he really is, I guess. So let's go back to Psalm 95. Time to actually go through Psalm 95, but we're looking at the biblical connectives to have the fuller picture. And that's a right thing to do. Not that you have to do it every time, but you need to do it sometime, I guess. Psalm 95. Look at verse 8 and 9. Harden not your heart, as from the day of provocation, as from the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. What did Israel do? We just read the original article. What did Israel do? Well, they failed to believe and trust God, number one. God's supposed to be with us? Where is God? We don't have any water. That's one thing, failed to believe or trust God. Number two, they were murmuring and complaining against God's providence. which is to be murmuring and complaining against God's promises. How can God bring us into this situation? They're not happy with the situation they're in. They're not happy with what God's providence was for them in that moment. They're rejecting it. Look, I don't think God's here. What'd you bring us here, to kill us? Why'd you bring us? To kill us here? That's what you're doing? They're not trusting God, they're not believing God. And they're murmuring and complaining about what God's providence was for them. He didn't forget to give them water. He withheld it intentionally to manifest to themselves who they are, because they're going to have to find that out in time. But it may take some of them 40 years to learn the lesson. Sin one, failure to believe and trust God. Sin two, murmuring and complaining against God's providence. Sin three, despising Moses, God's servant. Now, if David says, let's learn from their error to his generation, and the apostle in Hebrew says, let's learn from their sins in his generation, who am I not to apply it to us? Do believers today Do these things? For instance, do we fail to sometimes believe and trust God when we should believe and trust Him? Do we ever murmur and complain against God's providence because it doesn't suit us and it doesn't seem right? And do Christians today ever despise the servants God sends to them to tell them what is true? Before I ever came here, I only heard bad stuff about Pastor Corgini. And I didn't believe it, though I knew nothing about him. I just listen to the nature of the complaint. Well, first of all, do believers, because this is foremost, do believers sometimes today fail to believe God? Well, yeah, I think they do. It's pretty obvious by the things we've gone through in recent years. Jesus said he'd be coming soon with that hand. be in that generation, and it would be before that whole generation would die off. Someone would still be alive when he would come in the glory of his father in his kingdom. But Christians in 2025 say, well, that didn't happen. Well, then aren't they not believing that? No, they say, we're not, no, we're believing it, it's just not what it says. And I believe in it. That was the first sin of Israel. I don't know, do dispensationalist believers today acknowledge that when Gentile people, by the way, actually there are no such thing as Gentile people today, right? No such thing. But we understand what it's referring to. But when Gentile people today, And by the way, when I say there's no Gentile people, I'm not talking universally. I'm saying he destroyed the Jewish nation. And we are the Israel of God. Now you have the heathen, but Gentile being non-Jews, well, it depends on how you define it, right? But that's kind of like a technical argument. But do not dispensational Christians reject the idea that when non-Jewish people in 2025 receive Christ as their Savior, that they actually literally become the sons of Abraham and are grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel, and that they become the recipients of the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that we as Christians, who aren't Jewish, become the heirs of the promises to the Jewish nation? No way, they would say. But that's like everywhere in the Bible. Do we sometimes fail to believe what God has said? I think we do. The majority of Christians will reject election to salvation today. They don't want to hear anything about reprobation. But most of them don't even know what the word means, because no one brings it up, even from the Calvinist camp. Do they really want to hear the doctrine of separation? Oh no, Harold Lockingay, back in the 40s, he says, okay, there's no more separation. That's not working. Instead of separation, we're going to infiltrate. And that's why he, that's why Billy Graham was raved up as a prophet, to bring in the ecumenical movement, because no more separation. We all get isolated and separated. We got to win the people, and so there's Christians in every denomination. We get together, we pool our resources, we'll be more effective to the world. That was the new philosophy. Before then, what we have in our gable was the normal practice of Christians. No more. That was new evangelicalism. What was the name of the newspaper magnate that financed Billy Graham? You remember his name? Yeah, William Hearst. William Randolph Hearst. William Randolph Hearst. He financed that revolution. Well, I mean, 2 Corinthians 6 is still in our New Testament. Come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean things. or has Old Testament root, and it has New Testament application, but we were tired of it. Yeah, sometimes Christians don't want to believe and trust the Word of God. And we don't want to be told to sing the Psalms, well, we're not going to do that. A lot of Christians today, they won't believe in a six-day creation, that's impossible. Yeah, they were there, they ought to know. Lordship salvation, oh, that's complete legalism. If I teach lordship salvation, most of my church will go away. Yeah, I know why, they're unconverted. I don't trust a man who preaches against lordship salvation. I'll never recommend him, I don't trust him. It's too easy to see in the scripture, it's everywhere. People don't wanna hear it. They don't wanna, you know. If we talk about regeneration that changes people's lives, what about all these people that really don't change? You're gonna make them feel bad. I make them feel bad. They don't come to my church anymore. They don't put money in the orphan plate. And I can't retire when I'm looking to retire. And the world goes on. Oh, there's a list, right? So yeah, we still have problems with believing God when we claim to be God's people. We also can fail to trust in his providential workings, can't we? Don't we do that sometimes? That's what Israel did. That was another one of her sins. Sin number two, murmuring and complaining against God's providence. Where? We're supposed to have water. We're God's people. He's delivering us and look what's happening. Where's the water? He's supposed to be amongst us. They're murmuring and complaining against God's providence. If divine providence isn't according to the modern Christian's liking, and it brings a cross and hardship into their life, what do they say about that cross and hardship? I'm being attacked by the devil. They're calling the providence of God the work of Satan. That doesn't seem good to me. Did Job ever declare his trials the work of Satan? And the funny thing is, in a small way, it was the work of Satan. Right? Satan said to God, well, Job, he's always going to serve you. You gave him a big family, riches, health, a life, a good life. If you take away all those goodies you give him, he'll curse you. The Lord says, okay, then you go do and have your way with Job. I decree it. I'm allowing it. I'm calling it. I'm ordaining it. Go ahead and do it, but don't touch his life. All right. We'll see how that works. Job, they kill his cattle, they destroy his property, they murder his children, and then his body is stripped of its health. Just a pile of humanity left, writhing in anguish. And his wife says, curse God and die. And Satan said, see, now Satan was secondary in bringing that about. He couldn't do it unless God says, do it. So you could say, Satan was doing that to Job. Did Job ever say that this is Satan doing it to me? Did Job ever Explain his trials as the working of the devil. No. They didn't. In fact, Job said, the Lord gave and the Lord taketh away. The Lord, Job said, took my wealth. The Lord, Job said, took my children. The Lord Job said, destroyed my body. And then you know what he said? Blessed be the name of the Lord. Christians, they have advanced knowledge of the new covenant. How many of them would do that? Almost the go-to thing is, oh, something bad came in my life? It's Satan attacking me. Now let's go back to Psalm 95. Oh, we're in Psalm 95 still. We're bouncing around so much, I forget when we're moving. Psalm 95, verse eight. Hard not your heart on the day of provocation, as on the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your father tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Okay, that deserves an, and saw my work. They saw my work. They saw my mighty works when I delivered them from Egyptian bondage. They saw the plagues with their optic nerves. They saw the Red Sea potted by God Almighty and they walked off right through the middle of it like dry ground. Yeah, shoes didn't even get wet. Then they watched the sea close up on the enemies that were pursuing them and the Egyptian army was wiped out and they didn't lift a finger or draw a sword. They saw it. They experimentally saw it with their senses. They saw water come out of a rock. They saw manna show up on the ground in the morning. Even quail when they're looking for a little meat. What do you think we are, vegetarians? They saw all that. But then they wouldn't believe him. For water, one more time. I mean, he can give water before, well, he's not doing it now. After seeing all that. So, verse 10 and 11. 40 years long was I grieved with this generation. and said, it is the people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. Now that doesn't mean, see, because they sinned up front and wouldn't take the land, I judge them. And they're all gonna die. I said that generation would die off. So let them die off. I'm mad at them for what that one thing they did 40 years before. Now it's really being said here. I mean, I know that's how it began, but he says, 40 years long was I grieved with this generation. 40 years. And said, it is a people that do err in their heart and they have not known my ways. If they just sinned up front and then during the 40 years they repented, turned to the Lord and had an exercise faith and humbled themselves and wouldn't sackcloth and ashes and meant it. Are we going to say the Lord wouldn't forgive them? Would he describe them that way if they had really done that? In spirit and in truth? No, he wouldn't. The Lord is quick to show mercy. Now think about it, 40 years. He says, 40 years long was I grieved with this generation and said, it is the people that do err in their heart and they have not known my ways. Now think about that. They worship God in the wilderness. for 40 years. They sacrificed blood sacrifices to God for 40 years. They sang Psalms. They kept the Sabbath and the feast days for 40 years. What's the net conclusion? Verse 10, 40 years was I grieved with this generation and said, it is the people that do err in their heart and they have not known my ways. Well, the Christian says, I walked to the altar. Every head was bowed, every eye was closed. And as a second stanza of just as I am, I walked up to the altar. I said the sinner's prayer. And I was baptized, and I joined the church, and I gave my tithe for 40 years. And the Lord might say of some Christians today, I say Christians, quotation marks, I guess, 40 years as I grieve with this generation, and said, it is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. They say, we cast out devils in your name, Jesus. We did many wonderful works in your name. He says, I never knew you. Just like Israel, 40 years of fake worship. There was a stench in the nostrils of God. Moses said, and warned of his generation, they wouldn't listen. David pointed to Moses' generation, these are your fathers of whom you boast, the fathers, the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses and the people of God, he gave them the land and corn and wine, and there were great things that happened, and prophets came, and kings rose, and things like that. And there's good things that happened, right? But David pointed to Moses' generation, the psalmist pointed to Moses' generation in his day, 400 years later, and said, don't do what they did. And the author of Hebrews, to the first century Jewish believers who were willing to die for the cause of Christ, to be a Jew and receive Christ as your savior then. Those were the ones Paul wanted to drag to Jerusalem and kill them. Not Paul, but Saul of Tarsus. The author of Hebrews says, to those believers then in that trying time, and don't you repeat the error of your fathers from the generation of Moses. So should I not challenge our generation with the same warning? You know what, one of the sins, I didn't even mention it because I'm out of time, but I said the three sins of Israel there. And the last one, which is, I put less, I think probably so, but one of their sins was they chided with Moses. They despised the man that God sent to them to tell them the truth so that they'd be blessed. And they hated him. Moses says, I think they want to kill me, Lord. I remember when I was young, I saw daggers, daggers in the eyes of certain people about Paul's father, who was my minister when I was younger. And as a boy, I said to myself, I see those daggers. He said, well, his father wasn't perfect. Well, okay, show me the one that is. What's your point? Pastor Cugini, I told you he was a relative. Well, he's a communist under every rock. Well, if those same people were alive today, were they? If those same people are alive today, well, guess what? There is a communist under every rock. They're not even under rocks, they're running the country. Pat McKinnon said it. Joe McCarthy was right. So shouldn't we use the same warning that seems like it's been used in the history of all of God's people for our own generation? Shouldn't I challenge our own generation with the same example that keeps being brought up in scripture? Shouldn't I challenge myself with that same scripture? Of course we should. I think we should do both. And well, we've done that tonight. That's why we're talking about it. And let everybody weigh it in their own conscience. I guess the only thing we can say is, no matter how it comes out, blessed be the name of the Lord. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the wisdom of the Psalms, which in their eloquence are so powerful to speak to the mind and heart that wants to hear from Thee. Lord, we're all broken vessels with our faults and failures. We just ask, Lord, that You would help us to overcome our faults and failures. and in spite of them, to grow in grace, to separate ourselves from the evil of the world and from the apathy of modern religion. Help us to be faithful to the scriptures and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died and rose again from the dead, that we might live. And help us ever to have in perspective this tremendous act of love and grace in the presence of all the providential circumstances that will come before our lives, so that whether we are blessed or whether we seemingly appear to be cursed, like Job of old, as a matter of faith, we would say and conclude, Blessed be the name of the Lord. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.