Psalm 95:1-7 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Sometimes things just pop into my head. I know it is more than by chance. God puts those thoughts there for a reason. Today it was Psalm 95. And that triggered a flood of memories for me. I could hear myself singing those words in Wednesday morning chapel services in parochial school from order of Matins (The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941). Versions of that service are still in use today. That led me to reflect on these words and do a little digging into the origins of “The Venite” as it is commonly known, from the Latin word that means “Come.”

There have been different versions of this canticle over the years. Some included the last four verses of the Psalm 95, which speak of God’s judgment.

I have always appreciated it as a call to worship. And while it is a song that sings the praises of our God and speaks of His greatness, did you notice that it is not addressed to God? It is an invitation to other people to join us in worshipping, bowing down, kneeling and making a joyful noise unto the Lord! That is how I remember it in chapel, encouraging others to worship God with us. Why? “For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hands are the deep places of the earth, the strength of the hills is His also … For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.”

I have a great appreciation for this reminder to not only sing the praises of our God, but to joyfully urge others to do so with us. And while I love singing “The Venite” I grew up with, I also recognize that our worship is not limited to the ancient liturgies the church. I love how many of the new songs of our day sing of about how great God is. One that comes to mind is the Newsboys’ song “The Greatness of our God.” It is joyful worship!

One of the interesting things I discovered while researching the history of this canticle comes from the establishment of the Church of England in the 1500s. Parliament passed The Act of Supremacy in 1534 which transferred control of the Catholic Churches in England from the Pope to King Henry VIII. In an attempt to normalize things, they developed the Book of Common in Prayer. In 1549, Parliament passed the Act of Uniformity, a law that “mandated life imprisonment for those who conducted Christian Worship not in conformity with the Book of Common Prayer.”  I guess worship wars have always been around.

When I read that, I was struck how that runs counter to the intent of Psalm 95. Telling people there is only one way to worship is a far cry from inviting other to make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! The Old Testament is filled with references of worshipping God with songs and all kinds of instruments and even dancing.

And let’s not forget why we worship. Our Good Shepherd came down here to lay down His life for us, the sheep. We had strayed, were in peril of perishing forever, so He came to rescue us. Our destiny was destruction, but Jesus bought us back from sin and death and gives us life and salvation instead. We receive this by trusting that He is our Redeemer. And now we want to follow Him, sing His praises, and tell others to join us in being “the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.”

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!