Psalm 95:6-11 ESV  Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!  7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.   Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.  10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”  11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

This warning of vs. 7-11 against a hard heart comes on the heels of a glorious exaltation and worship of God.  This may seem strange at first, but it makes sense: in light of this glorious and awesome God, don’t trifle with him.  Don’t walk in unbelief. Love him with all your heart.  He is so great and awesome, why would you ever, ever, ever stoop to worship stupid idols or pursue your own sinful passions?  Rom 2:4-5 says that we presume or show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing God’s kindness leads us to repentance.  We neglect or do not appreciate the kindness and patience the Lord shows to us by waiting patiently, not killing us now.  Our stubborn refusal to believe God in the face of his greatness, love and power shows how depraved our hearts really are.  The logical, sensible response is faith, yet we remain stubborn.   So the Psalm essentially says, “Stop being so stubborn!”

So today, two words: Stop it!