לְכוּ נְרַנְּנָה לַה' נָרִיעָה לְצוּר יִשְׁעֵנוּ

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; moreover, let us make a joyful sound, by raising our voices loudly in song or by playing musical instruments, to the rock of our salvation.

נְקַדְּמָה פָנָיו בּתוֹדָה בִּזְמִרוֹת נָרִיעַ לוֹ

Let us greet Him with verbal declarations and sacrificial offerings of thanksgiving. Let us cry out to Him joyfully, with song.

כִּי אֵל גָּדוֹל ה' וּמֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל עַל כָּל אֱלֹהִים

For the Lord is a great God, a great King, above all gods, and therefore deserving of our praises and joyful singing,

אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדוֹ מֶחְקְרֵי אָרֶץ וְתוֹעֲפֹת הָרִים לוֹ

in whose hand are depths of the earth, and peaks of the mountains are His,

אֲשֶׁר לוֹ הַיָּם וְהוּא עָשָׂהוּ וְיַבֶּשֶׁת יָדָיו יָצָרוּ

who owns the sea and made it, and whose hands formed the dry land.

בֹּאוּ נִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנִכְרָעָה נִבְרְכָה לִפְנֵי ה' עֹשֵׂנוּ

Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

כִּי הוּא אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַאֲנַחְנוּ עַם מַרְעִיתוֹ וְצֹאן יָדוֹ הַיּוֹם אִם בְּקֹלוֹ תִשְׁמָעוּ

For He is our God, and we are the people of His flock, whom He leads and cares for, and the sheep under His hand. Even today, would you only heed His voice; to remain protected we must only obey and follow Him.

אַל תַּקְשׁוּ לְבַבְכֶם כִּמְרִיבָה כְּיוֹם מַסָּה בַּמִּדְבָּר

Using historical examples, the psalmist provides a reminder of the suffering that befalls those who do not follow God faithfully. In this verse and the following ones, God speaks to Israel: Do not harden your hearts as you did at the waters of Meriva, or at Masa in the desert, references to events described in the Torah.

אֲשֶׁר נִסּוּנִי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם בְּחָנוּנִי גַּם רָאוּ פָעֳלִי

These were two representative incidents when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, and they also saw My work; they saw that I fulfilled their requests and that I punished them for their unfaithfulness.

אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה אָקוּט בְּדוֹר וָאֹמַר עַם תֹּעֵי לֵבָב הֵם וְהֵם לֹא יָדְעוּ דְרָכָי

For forty years I spurned that generation, the generation of the exodus. I said: They are a people who err in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.

אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי בְאַפִּי אִם יְבֹאוּן אֶל מְנוּחָתִי

Thus I swore in My wrath that they would not come to My resting place, the Land of Israel. Alongside the benefit from seeking God’s protection by following His commands, there is also a serious threat associated with rejecting God’s authority: Just as those who trust in God are not treated neutrally but given all they need, those who deviate from His ways are not treated neutrally but are subjected to full severity of punishment.