John Calvin Commentary Psalms 95:8

"Harden not your heart, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness;" — Psalms 95:8 (ASV)

Harden not your heart, as in Meribah. The Psalmist, having extolled and commended the kindness of God their Shepherd, takes occasion, as they were stiffnecked and disobedient, to remind them of their duty as His flock, which was to yield a pliable and meek submission; and the more to impress their minds, he upbraids them with the obstinacy of their fathers.

The term מריבה, Meribah, may be used descriptively to mean strife or contention; but as the Psalmist evidently refers to the history contained in Exodus 17:2-7, I have preferred to understand it as referring to the place—and the same for מסה, Massah. In the second clause, however, the place where the temptation happened may be considered sufficiently described by the term wilderness; and if anyone reads, according to the day of temptation (instead of Massah) in the wilderness, there can be no objection.

Some would have it that Massah and Meribah were two distinct places, but I see no ground to think so; and, in a matter of such little importance, we should not be too meticulous or overly inquisitive. He elaborates with several expressions on the hardness of heart shown by the people and, for greater effect, introduces God Himself as speaking.

By hardness of heart, he undoubtedly means any kind of contempt shown to the word of God, though there are many different kinds of it. We find that when proclaimed, some hear it coldly and dismissively; some scornfully cast it aside after they have received it; others proudly reject it; while still others openly vent their rage against it with malice and blasphemy.

The Psalmist, in the one term he has used, includes all these offenders: the careless, the disdainful, those who deride the word, and those who are driven in their opposition to it by frenzy and passion. Before the heart can be judged soft and receptive to hearing God’s word, it is necessary that we receive it with reverence and with a disposition to obey it.

If it carries no authority and weight with it, we show that we regard God as no more than a mere human like ourselves; and here lies the hardness of our hearts, whatever its cause may be—whether simple carelessness, pride, or rebellion. He has intentionally singled out the hateful term used here to let us know what a detestable thing contempt of God’s word is; just as, in the Law, adultery is used to denote all kinds of fornication and uncleanness, and murder all kinds of violence, injury, hatreds, and enmities.

Accordingly, the person who simply treats the word of God with neglect and fails to obey it is said here to have a hard and stony heart, even if they are not an open despiser. The attempt Papists have made to base their favorite doctrine of the freedom of the will on this passage is ridiculous.

We should note, in the first place, that everyone's heart is naturally hard and stony. Scripture does not speak of this as a disease peculiar to a few, but as generally characteristic of all humankind (Ezekiel 36:26). It is an inherent depravity.

Yet, this hardness is voluntary; we are not unfeeling in the same way that stones are. The person who will not allow themselves to be ruled by God’s word makes that heart, which was already hard, even harder, and becomes convinced in their own mind and feeling of their obstinacy.

It by no means follows from this that softness of heart—a heart flexible in either direction—is at our command. The human will, through natural corruption, is entirely bent toward evil; or, to speak more accurately, is carried headlong into committing it.

And yet, everyone who disobeys God in this hardens themselves, for the blame for their wrongdoing rests with no one but themselves.