THE SERVICE OF SONG
[p. 216] THE SERVICE OF SONG
Hebrews 2:11,12, Exodus 15:20,21; 1 Chronicles 16:7 - 18
These scriptures speak of singing, and I have read them in order to bring forward certain features of divine service associated with and expressed in song. So I take the passage in Hebrews as the end to be reached in what I have to say, the Lord Himself being presented there as the Singer. Little is said of Him as singing in the gospels, but we are not to conclude that He did not sing. We have indeed a notable instance of singing in which evidently He took part. After the institution of His supper, according to the records of Matthew and Mark, they sang a hymn, and went out to the mount of Olives. They went out on a note that was to be continued, the mount of Olives denoting that spiritual power and resource for the maintenance of the elevated note indicated in that song. The Holy Spirit being here, if it has not continued (and we know it has not), there is at least the possibility of recovery in that direction, so that the church should go out on the top-note, so to speak, and not as drooping.
Now music (I speak spiritually) is calculated to produce the best feelings of which we are capable. I believe that the Lord at the present time is looking to the end, aiming at bringing out the best results of the work of God in the saints. So in Revelation He addresses Himself to the assembly at the end, “I am the root and the offspring of David”. Revelation 22:16. David stands in Scripture, in connection with many other things, for music; he is “the sweet psalmist of Israel”. 2 Samuel 23:1. Whatever he was for God, Christ was his root. The root of David alludes to the deity of Christ; and the gospel of John presents Him to us from the standpoint [p. 217] of His Person, So when He says, I am the root of David, the assembly understands; the allusion is to the gospel of John; but then He says, “the offspring of David”. Revelation 22:16. All that which David sets out has its full, blessed and perfect fruition in Christ, and that includes the service of music, Thus Christ presents Himself to the assembly in a way calculated to draw out of her the best results of the Spirit’s work; He appeals to that, “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come”, Revelation 22:16,17. You can hear that invitation, I believe. The Holy Spirit has got the saints thus with Him, I know of nothing that one aims at more than that, to be with the Spirit in what He is doing and saying, and not in any way at cross-purposes with Him.
That is what the Lord is effecting. It has already happened; the Lord has addressed Himself to the assembly as the root of David and as the offspring of David — John and Matthew — and the assembly understands. John brings in the root, and it is being greatly emphasised in the ministry of the last days, and if John is understood, Matthew is understood. We arrive at the assembly; we arrive really at Matthew through John. Thus in principle at least the Spirit and the bride say, Come. The Lord thus addresses us; it is Himself, and there is no change with Him. What He was, He is; what He is, He shall be. “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven”. Acts 1:11. He was attractive, they looked after Him. Then two angels said to them, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?” So it is a question of turning back into the city, and going to the upper room, full of all the grace and attractiveness of Christ, waiting for the coming out of the same Person, “I Jesus” Revelation 22:16; as it says elsewhere, “The Lord himself with an assembling shout ... shall descend from heaven” 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
— [p. 218] a well-known sound. He is as attractive at the end as He was at the beginning. He is calculated in His own Person as “the root and offspring of David” Revelation 22:16 to draw out and hold the best affections, the best feelings of His people.
In the meanwhile, between His going and His coming, the assembly is developed. There is no development in Him; the assembly is brought to Him, as Rebecca was brought to Isaac. Meantime, there is that allusion, the Lord Jesus coming in and going out amongst us. Spiritually that goes on all the time, so that we are well acquainted with Him; He is no stranger, and; He sings in the assembly. He has a vessel here so in accord with Himself, so tuned, that He sings in the midst of it. “In the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises”. Hebrews 2:12. That is the best. He has the saints so with Him that there in their midst He sings.
You can thus see the importance of song, and I want to show that it is within the reach of every one of us. So I come to David, because although there is so little said about the Lord singing in the New Testament, the Old Testament is full of it, and we have to read the Old Testament in the light of Christ. Hence when I speak of David I speak of him in the sense that he is a type of Christ. The Old Testament is full of references to singing, and as we have often remarked of Solomon, who is another type, his songs were a thousand and five. Is that mentioned simply to show that he was a mere rhymer, a man who wrote poetry off-hand? No; Scripture would pay no attention to such productions. There is a good deal of that kind of thing, but Solomon’s songs are noted by the Spirit, and they are said to be a thousand and five.
The Holy Spirit gives us one of them, “The song of songs, which is Solomon’s”. Song of Songs 1:1. Thus we get some idea of what the others are. We are told there is much which is not written in regard to Christ. John tells us [p. 219] that if all were written, the world would not contain the books. How much there is therefore although things are not written. That does not mean that they are not extant, for they are extant spiritually. The Holy Spirit being here, all that the Lord said is retained (see John 14:26). Think of the presence of the Spirit of God here, a divine Person, who conserves everything, who carries forward everything, and makes it available to us as He has opportunity! He is waiting upon us, to bring in wonderful things, if we only give Him the opportunity, so that it can be said, “In the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises”. That has gone on for nineteen centuries. Do you say, You will find them all in ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern’? You will find very few of them there. The Holy Spirit does not recognise all those thousand or more hymns. He has His own selection. The Lord Jesus has been employed in this blessed way in the assembly; He has His own songs, He knows how to affect His people and to draw out their best feelings, so that they should be presented to God. I turn now to Miriam, who is the first individual singer. In fact we have no singing in Scripture until this chapter — we have poetry. It is as they come out of the depths of the sea that we read, “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel”. Exodus 15:1. Then it was that Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel, the women following her, with timbrels and dances, and she answered them, “Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea”. Now I would seek to enlist the attention of the young people in this great subject. Miriam is a leader here. Leadership is one of the features of God’s ways, and you see how a woman is used to lead in this case — one that the youngest may look at, for she is, I believe, presented earlier unnamed as a young girl. There can be no doubt that she is the sister who looked after Moses in his infancy. She [p. 220] was in sympathy with her mother; she was ready, watching the babe as he lay in the ark of bulrushes in the Nile, and she knew what to do. Here she is called “the sister of Aaron”, and “the prophetess”. This is the first mention we have of her by name. We have nothing of Aaron’s history either until he was over eighty years of age, showing that he had to be content to be in obscurity until God selected him. Aaron is called God’s chosen. It is well worth while waiting in obscurity to come in for that, to have the reputation of being chosen of God. “For not he that commends himself is approved”. 2 Corinthians 10:18. We may rush forward and think we are doing much, and have gift, and so on, but it is a lovely thought to be chosen of God, and to wait for it.
Aaron’s history, I understand, represents secret history with God. What are any of us worth without that? There are no short cuts in spiritual history. What goes on in secret shows in time, but we have to wait. Aaron is called “the Levite”, and God says, I know what is going on in his heart. In the first introduction of Aaron in Scripture the Lord refers to his heart. He says to Moses, “When he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart”. Exodus 4:14. And Miriam is his sister, possibly older, for Aaron was but three years older than Moses. She, as well as Aaron, must now have been over eighty years of age, yet never mentioned by name until she led the women in song at the Red Sea. But she is “the sister of Aaron”.
She and Aaron both had secret histories. Need I say that she knew something of the heart of her brother, something of that levitical history — “Aaron the Levite”, And she was a prophetess. We do not acquire the spirit of prophecy without patiently waiting on God. I am speaking to young people and to sisters. Were you to hear Miriam speak, she would convey something of the mind of God to you. How much of the mind of God do we get from sisters?
[p. 221] This comes through experience with God and there can be no doubt that Miriam had this. Were you to hear her speak, how much she would tell you of secret matters, secret relations with God. It was a wonderful family from which she sprang. Her father was a Levite and her mother belonged to the same tribe; her mother could see in the infant Moses something that referred to God. What discernment she had! And Miriam her daughter could watch the babe. What family history, beloved, in that family of Levi that God was to take up! The three were used of Him, as it says in Micah 6:4, “I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam”. She had come up out of the sea, for her name possibly signifies that; a certain bitterness of the sea; apparently she had tasted death. The Israelites were not equal to it, for the waters were brackish.
Now she takes her timbrel. Is this within our reach? It is; it is a question of secret history with God. Whatever our gift, whatever our ability to speak and carry on outward service, apart from secret relations with God we are of no account. She comes up out of the sea; she is a daughter of it, as it were. She knew something of the Nile as she saw her brother there, but now the whole nation has come through the sea, She represents one having a secret history with God, having been baptised, having left the world, and who knows God. Such can speak of God to anyone coming in this way, and they have that which appeals to their best feelings. And what is that? Christ, who has triumphed gloriously. Miriam is influential, too, for all the women went after her with timbrels, and she answered them, “Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously”. It is an appeal, and I am making an appeal tonight to you. It is within the range of the youngest, because they are starting out from the banks of the Red Sea; it is typically the believer’s start. But here is one who appeals to your best feelings: “Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously”.
Now this note is what I may call initial; but it culminates in David. David is introduced by a young man to Saul. What I am speaking of is Within the range of the youngest believer here. In 1 Samuel 16 David is anointed. He was of such little account in the family that he was not even present at the feast — inexcusable neglect on the part of his father — but he had secret history with God. I do press this upon you, that any outward show you make will collapse if you have not private links With God. The great principle in Scripture for a chosen one is to wait God’s time. And so David comes in. Now look at him! Where have been your eyes, Jesse, and all ye brothers of David? Look at that young man; he is ruddy, beautiful-eyed, of beautiful appearance, he is attractive. I can understand Jesse saying to himself, What has blinded me all these years? I have never seen all this in him before. The incident sets forth Christ, hitherto of little account, neglected, but now brought to your notice. The Lord says to Samuel, “This is he”. 1 Samuel 16:12. God has His own way of calling attention. You say, Why did I not see it before? Yes, why did you not? God had to call your attention to it. There he is — anointed in the midst of his brethren. And Samuel retires to Ramah, as if to say, I have done now; that young man is king. Peter says, “Jesus Christ maketh thee whole” — He is doing the work now, the most honoured servant does not pretend to be doing it. Your heart is full of Christ as He is thus apprehended.
And so in the same chapter (1 Samuel 16) a young man tells Saul about David. Saul was told he needed such an one as that to keep away the Wicked spirit, so the young man said to Saul, “I have seen a son of Jesse [not the son of Jesse yet] who is skilful in playing”. 1 Samuel 16:18. He had noticed this, he had seen much [p. 223] more than others had seen in that son of Jesse. He said of him, “who is skilled in playing, and he is a valiant man and a man of war, and skilled in speech, and of good presence, and Jehovah is with him”. 1 Samuel 16:18. How much that young man had observed in David.
Now all that is in view in the passage I have read. It is, as I may say, the highest feature of David; it refers to Christ. So we read, “David delivered first this psalm”. When did this happen? It was an auspicious day; he had just brought the ark into Zion, where he had prepared a place for it. The end of his ministry had been reached, and now he begins to appoint the Levites. There were thirty-eight thousand Levites in his day, fully developed, “man by man”. I have been speaking to young people; now it is a question of maturity — man by man. David has those thirty-eight thousand Levites under his hand, all to be employed in the promotion of the best feelings in divine service. There were twenty-four thousand looking after the building of the house, six thousand rulers and judges, four thousand doorkeepers, and four thousand singers.
Am I merely speaking of something that happened thousands of years ago? Beloved, it is written for us; it is a question of being ranged under the hand of our David for song. If you look back to 1 Chronicles 15 you will see the number of names given — distinguished musicians and doorkeepers. I dwell upon the thought of doorkeeping, because you cannot have the best feelings within, if you do not have the doorkeepers. If you have no doorkeepers you will have sentimentality in your singing, popular hymns, popular tunes, hymns and tunes that appeal to the natural man. Every hymn-book should be marked by the spirit of the doorkeeper, so that all that which is of man is shut out, and there is only that which is calculated to be the vehicle of the best spiritual feelings of the people of God. That is what David is [p. 224] doing; the doorkeepers come before the singers, there are four thousand of each; as against every singer there is a doorkeeper. We should not allow natural thoughts to be mixed with our spiritual thoughts, for God will have the best.
Now I will give you an example: “David delivered first this psalm to give thanks to Jehovah through Asaph and his brethren”. If you compare it, you will find that it is a selection from several psalms, as if David would say, I am so particular about this, that I must have the best for God. He delivers it to Asaph and his brethren; it is to go up familywise, that is to say, the affections of the family find an outlet in the skill of the musician. Hence in Hebrews He is not ashamed to call us brethren; then “in the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises”. Hebrews 2:12. The assembly contemplates skill, affection and intelligence; in it there is every feature needed for the outgoings to God of the best feelings of the family. Many do not go beyond the family, but you can never have what is suitable to God without the idea of the assembly.
Let us look now at the composition of this first psalm, delivered to Asaph and his brethren. As I said, it is a selection from among the psalms, the part I read being from Psalm 105. I touch for a moment on the thoughts in the psalm. The thoughts are intended to appeal to our best feelings and affections. The covenant referred to is not the covenant made at Horeb, but the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — an everlasting covenant.
Spiritually it means that God gives us the very best that He has, that is the land. The covenant, the word is made to a thousand generations, and is a perpetual thing. For us it means that we are to be in heaven with Christ for ever. Such are the thoughts of God.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ; according as he has chosen us in him before the world’s foundation, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love”, Ephesians 1:3,4.
[p. 225] Does it not appeal to you, that we were in the heart of God before the world? The covenant is made for a thousand generations. We are so finite, so limited in our minds that we cannot take in the idea of eternity. We have the word, and we speak of it, but we cannot take it in; how much less can we take in the thought of God? Still God brings eternity within our apprehension.
But this covenant made “with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan”, is for a thousand generations. Does not that love of God appeal to you? “For his great love wherewith he loved us”, He has “quickened us together with Christ ... raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. Ephesians 2:4 - 6. There is the love of God, and there is the great love of God. The great love of God is seen in that He brings us into eternal pleasure, so that in the assembly the apostle breaks forth, “To him be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages”. Ephesians 3:21. That is what we are coming into. Is it not therefore well worth while looking into this matter, and coming under the leadership of Miriam, and under the leadership of David, so that we should be for song in the house of the Lord, and know how to join this psalm, this vehicle of praise to God, not now to Jehovah, but to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Hence you can understand the prayer of the apostle in Ephesians that we should have the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, and be strengthened by the Father’s Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ should have us under His hand for song, and that God should have the very best, the outgoings of our affections through Christ in the assembly.