For the expounding of this Psalm we may gather a great deal of light from the apostle's discourse – Hebrews 3 and 4 – where it appears both to have been penned by David and to have been calculated for the days of the Messiah. For it is there said expressly (Hebrews 4 verse 7) that the day here spoken of in verse 7, is to be understood of the gospel day, in which God speaks to us by His Son in a voice which we ought to hear, and that he proposes to us a rest besides that of old Canaan.
Verse 1. "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation." "Come, let us sing unto the Lord ..." Let us join in singing to the Lord; not others without me, nor I alone, but others with me. Let us come together before his presence, in the courts of his house, where his people are wont to attend him and to expect his manifestations of himself. Whenever we come into God's presence we must come with thanksgiving that we are admitted to such a favour; and, whenever we have thanks to give, we must come before God's presence, set ourselves before him, and present ourselves to him in the ordinance which he has appointed. "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker," (Verse 6). Though bodily exercise alone profits little, yet certainly it is our duty to glorify God with our bodies by the outward expressions of reverence, seriousness, and humility in the duties of religious worship. We must praise God with our voice; we must speak forth, sing forth his praises out of the abundance of a heart filled with love, and joy, and thankfulness.
Verse 2. "Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving ..." We may make bold to come before the immediate presence of the Lord – for the voice of the Holy Ghost in this psalm invites us. But when we do draw near to him we should remember his great goodness to us and cheerfully confess it. Our worship should have reference to the past as well as to the future; if we do not bless the Lord for what we have already received, how can we reasonable look for more. We are permitted to bring our petitions, and therefore, we are honour-bound to bring our thanksgivings.
Verse 7. "... To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and in the day of temptation in the wilderness ..." If we put off repentance another day, we have a day more to repent of, and a day less to repent in. (W. Mason). He that has promised pardon on our repentance, has not promised to preserve our lives till we repent. (Francis Quarles). You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it will be too late. (Thomas Fuller).
Verse 7. "To day ..." Lord, I have discovered a fallacy whereby I have deceived myself in the past. I have always chosen to begin some amendment or resolution on a birthday, or from the first day of the year, or from some eminent festival etc. This I have done so that my repentance might bear some remarkable date. I am resolved not to fool myself in that way again. I see no day but to-day: the instant time is always the fittest time. In Nebuchadnezzar's image, the lower the members the coarser the metal; so, the farther off the time, the more unfit. Today is the "golden" opportunity; to-morrow will be the "silver" season; next day but the "brazen" one, and so on, until at last I shall come to the toes of "clay" and be turned to dust. Grant therefore that "to-day" I may hear Thy voice. And if this day be remarkable on the calendar for nothing in itself, grant that it may be made memorable to be as beginning the reformation of my life, with Thine assistance.
Verse 9. "When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works." The meaning of the ninth verse is, that when the children of Israel tempted God, they "proved" him; that is, they found out by bitter experience how great his displeasure was, and saw his works and his dealings with them for forty years. He retained them in the wilderness that period, until the death of all who had disbelieved his word at the return of the spies. He gave them the proof of his displeasure.
"To day if ye will hear his voice."