I once heard a church deacon said, while leading the holy communion, that there are two great motivations for obeying God: fear and love. Then he added, ″But the Bible prefers love″. Certainly, we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), but we mustn't underestimate or be apologetic for the motivating power of fear. Fear saves lives. In my country, there are warning signs at beaches that say, ″Beware of sharks″ or ″Beware of crocodiles″. If we ignore these warnings, we might die. Proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10), and the lack of fear of God is the pathway to folly and destruction (Proverbs 1:32). The apostle Paul similarly admonishes believers to have a proper fear of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:11, Philippians 2:12).

Psalm 95 begins as an exuberant song of joy to the Lord. The psalmist calls us to sing to the Lord, firstly, because He made all things (Psalm 95:3-5). Everything belongs to God, from the highest mountain peak to the deepest ocean valley, and everything in between. But there is another reason to ″bow down in worship″ (v. 6): the Creator is also the Shepherd of His people (v. 7). He provides all we need for life, and He guides and protects us.

We have a wonderful, powerful, and loving God. How could anyone turn away from Him? The sad reality is: it happens. Hence, in verse 8, the psalm takes a surprising turn from worship to warning. The psalmist reminds his readers of the great rebellion of their ancestors. After being saved from Egypt, Israel grumbled about the lack of water in the wilderness (Exodus 17). God heard their cry but the place is called ″Massah (means testing) and Meribah (means quarrelling) because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested the Lord″ (v. 7). Later they rejected the Lord and wanted to return to Egypt. Then the Lord said, ″not one of them will see the land I promised″ (Numbers 14:23). The psalmist warns his generation–and us–not to make the same tragic mistake and fail to enter God's rest.

In the book of Hebrews, the author made a similar warning to Christians who, like Israel in the wilderness, are being tempted to turn away from Christ and return to their old life. Repeatedly, he warns them and quotes Psalm 95. Hebrews 4:1 exhorts, ″Let us be careful″. In Christ, we have the wonderful hope of eternal life. This is our true rest. But we must be careful not to turn away from Christ.

Recently, a local paper told the story of a pastor who had lost his faith. It made it sound like he'd lost his car keys. Psalm 95 describes such rebellion as the hardening of heart (Psalm 95:8). Many who call themselves Christians have allowed their hearts to go astray (v. 10). So, let us not be too quick to dismiss this warning as not applicable to us. The Lord is saying two things to us today. First, worship God and rejoice in Him. Second, fear God and ″make every effort to enter that rest″ (Hebrews 4:11).