Psalms 95:8 (GNV)

Passage

Harden not your heart, as in Meribah, and as in the day of Massah in the wildernesse.

Nearby Context

Psalms 95:6 Come, let vs worship and fall downe, and kneele before the Lord our maker.

Psalms 95:7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheepe of his hande: to day, if ye will heare his voyce,

Psalms 95:8 Harden not your heart, as in Meribah, and as in the day of Massah in the wildernesse.

Psalms 95:9 Where your fathers tempted me, proued me, though they had seene my worke.

Psalms 95:10 Fourtie yeeres haue I contended with this generation, and said, They are a people that erre in heart, for they haue not knowen my wayes.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "harden", "heart", "meribah", "massah", and "wildernesse". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "harden" and "heart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "For he is our God and we..." into verse 9's "Where your fathers tempted me proued me...", so "harden" and "heart" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "harden" and "heart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.