WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.160 There are two universal languages in the world, 00:00:03.299 --> 00:00:09.880 it has been said, athletics and music. Both languages 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:12.919 can be used with profit to gain the attention 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:17.820 of our world and its citizens so that they might 00:00:17.820 --> 00:00:23.000 hear the message that we have to deliver. Some 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.660 of the Christian Olympians in the recent 24th 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:31.420 Olympiad had a large hearing. because of their 00:00:31.420 --> 00:00:34.100 achievements in the Olympics, Carl Lewis being 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:38.200 one of them. But this morning I want to speak 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:41.039 about the other universal language and that is 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:48.380 music. God created music. He created music to 00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:53.159 glorify himself and to enrich our human experience. 00:00:54.219 --> 00:00:58.259 And God created man with a nature for music. 00:00:59.850 --> 00:01:04.049 He gives to us the ability to conceive it, to 00:01:04.049 --> 00:01:09.109 create it. He gives us the ability to hear it, 00:01:09.890 --> 00:01:13.609 to sing it, and to respond to it. God created 00:01:13.609 --> 00:01:18.930 us with a nature for music. Music has a potential 00:01:18.930 --> 00:01:23.209 of reaching more people, perhaps, than any other 00:01:23.209 --> 00:01:27.969 vehicle of communication that we have. The text 00:01:27.969 --> 00:01:32.030 that we are looking at today, Exodus 15, includes 00:01:32.030 --> 00:01:34.709 the first song lyrics recorded in scripture. 00:01:36.250 --> 00:01:41.409 It is a song of redemption. Redemption that was 00:01:41.409 --> 00:01:45.209 by purchase and redemption that was by power. 00:01:46.730 --> 00:01:49.329 The purchase being the shed blood of the Passover 00:01:49.329 --> 00:01:52.769 lamb that was offered that last night in Egypt. 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:56.959 The power being the power of God demonstrated 00:01:56.959 --> 00:01:59.980 when the Red Sea was parted for the deliverance 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:05.099 of the people of Israel. After that glorious 00:02:05.099 --> 00:02:09.259 deliverance, the people of Israel rejoiced with 00:02:09.259 --> 00:02:12.400 the song that is recorded for us here, said to 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:15.840 be sung to the Lord by Moses and the sons of 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:21.300 Israel. Now while music is universal to all people, 00:02:21.770 --> 00:02:24.930 It seems to me that only the redeemed of the 00:02:24.930 --> 00:02:30.569 Lord have this tune to sing. That is the song 00:02:30.569 --> 00:02:34.949 of redemption. What is the tune that is playing 00:02:34.949 --> 00:02:38.490 in your life this morning? As we look at our 00:02:38.490 --> 00:02:41.810 text, the entire chapter, we're going to see 00:02:41.810 --> 00:02:46.610 that there are really two tunes in the chapter, 00:02:46.750 --> 00:02:52.590 each different in nature, each distinctive. The 00:02:52.590 --> 00:02:56.349 first tune is actually a hymn. It's a hymn of 00:02:56.349 --> 00:03:00.750 worship. And let there be no question as to the 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:03.490 direction of the hymn. It is directed toward 00:03:03.490 --> 00:03:10.310 God Himself. The words the Lord or my God are 00:03:10.310 --> 00:03:14.909 used in this hymn, these 21 verses or so, some 00:03:14.909 --> 00:03:19.919 15 times. In addition to that, personal pronouns 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:26.240 referring to God, number 35. So you have at least 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:31.259 50 references to God in these brief verses. This 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:37.360 is a hymn of worship to God. There are three 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:40.639 stanzas to the hymn. The first stanza is verses 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:45.240 1 through 6. Please keep in mind that Hebrew 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:51.590 poetry is not written like our poetry. The Hebrew 00:03:51.590 --> 00:03:54.629 mind looked at poetry differently than we do. 00:03:56.270 --> 00:03:59.370 The repetition of thoughts was important to them. 00:04:00.729 --> 00:04:03.310 Often in our poems we are progressive, we're 00:04:03.310 --> 00:04:06.770 logical. We start here and we work through a 00:04:06.770 --> 00:04:09.069 sequence of thoughts and we come to this point. 00:04:12.949 --> 00:04:16.569 In Oriental poetry, the thought is often circular. 00:04:17.970 --> 00:04:21.060 In other words, there is a Follow through on 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:23.459 one thought, and then there is a follow through 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:25.779 on the same thought again and again and again 00:04:25.779 --> 00:04:29.220 and again. So there's not necessarily progression 00:04:29.220 --> 00:04:33.480 in their poetry, but there is depth and emphasis 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:38.819 to one particular truth. And we see that in these 00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:41.579 three stanzas. Stanza one, verses one through 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:46.199 six, I've entitled, What God Did. And we see 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:48.899 here his power to destroy his enemies. I will 00:04:48.899 --> 00:04:52.019 sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The 00:04:52.019 --> 00:04:54.800 horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. 00:04:55.740 --> 00:04:58.399 The Lord is my strength and song, and he has 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:02.180 become my salvation. This is my God, and I will 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:05.500 praise him. My Father is God, and I will extol 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:09.600 him. The Lord is a warrior. The Lord is his name. 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:13.060 Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has cast into 00:05:13.060 --> 00:05:16.480 the sea. And the choicest of his officers are 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:20.279 drowned in the Red Sea. The deeps cover them. 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:24.199 They went down into the depths like a stone. 00:05:25.100 --> 00:05:27.860 Thy right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power. 00:05:27.980 --> 00:05:31.860 Thy right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy." 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:34.060 The end of the first verse seems to be signaled 00:05:34.060 --> 00:05:36.800 by the repetition of that word and that phrase 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:41.990 rather, thy right hand, O Lord, in verse 6. We 00:05:41.990 --> 00:05:44.389 notice in this first stanza that God's name is 00:05:44.389 --> 00:05:48.509 said to be Warrior. We don't often consider that 00:05:48.509 --> 00:05:51.810 an appropriate title for God, do we? There seems 00:05:51.810 --> 00:05:54.329 to be an emphasis in our day on a God who is 00:05:54.329 --> 00:06:00.709 benign, a God who is peaceful, an image of gentleness 00:06:00.709 --> 00:06:05.050 and quietness. And that certainly is true about 00:06:05.050 --> 00:06:07.870 God, but there's more to be said about God than 00:06:07.870 --> 00:06:12.399 just that. God is also the Lord of hosts, the 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:16.220 Lord of the armies. Unfortunately, this hymn 00:06:16.220 --> 00:06:18.399 that names him as a warrior would not be allowed 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:21.879 in some denominational hymnals these days, for 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:24.279 even onward Christian soldiers have been removed 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:29.000 because of its military -like language. Here 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:32.980 God is said to be a warrior. That is, God fights 00:06:32.980 --> 00:06:37.420 on behalf of his people. In fact, there will 00:06:37.420 --> 00:06:41.100 be no true peace in the world, will there, until 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:46.639 our Lord Jesus Christ returns as a warrior, as 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:49.300 depicted in the 19th chapter of the book of Revelation, 00:06:50.139 --> 00:06:54.579 and He destroys the armies of the world. And 00:06:54.579 --> 00:06:57.300 then when He has destroyed them, as the Lord 00:06:57.300 --> 00:07:00.600 of hosts, He will reign upon His righteous throne 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:02.959 throughout the millennial period, the thousand 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:05.779 years, and there will be peace on the earth. 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:08.620 But there is no peace today, nor can there be 00:07:08.620 --> 00:07:13.180 among men because of sin and unrighteousness. 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:17.339 Satan is still free to roam the earth and causes 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:21.560 lack of peace. Here we see God as a warrior acting 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:23.319 on behalf of his people. That's what he did. 00:07:23.379 --> 00:07:27.540 He destroyed the armies of the Egyptians. Now 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:30.639 verses 7 through 11, and notice again in verse 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:34.250 11 how we'll see a repetition of phrases. And 00:07:34.250 --> 00:07:36.829 the greatness of thine excellence, and in the 00:07:36.829 --> 00:07:39.170 greatness of thine excellence, thou dost overthrow 00:07:39.170 --> 00:07:42.769 those who rise up against thee. Thou dost send 00:07:42.769 --> 00:07:45.810 forth thy burning anger, and it consumes them 00:07:45.810 --> 00:07:49.870 as chaff. And at the blast of thy nostrils, the 00:07:49.870 --> 00:07:53.250 waters were piled up. The flowing waters stood 00:07:53.250 --> 00:07:57.110 up like a heap. The deeps were congealed in the 00:07:57.110 --> 00:08:01.040 heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue. 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:04.540 I will overtake. I will divide the spoil. My 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:07.079 desire shall be gratified against them. I will 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:11.540 draw out my sword. My hand shall destroy them." 00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:14.439 You get a picture here of those armies of Egypt 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:16.860 coming and the swords are just twirling in the 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:19.879 air. They can't wait to get up with the Israelites. 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:26.819 Notice what God does. Don't you love that? That 00:08:26.819 --> 00:08:29.959 poetic expression, thou dost blow with thy wind. 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:34.019 Just the breath of God took care of the enemy. 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:38.480 The sea covered them. They sank like lead in 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.679 the mighty waters. Who is like thee among the 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:46.620 gods, O Lord? Who is like thee, majestic in holiness, 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:51.500 awesome in praises, and working wonders? And 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:53.519 so here we see a description of God's mighty 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:57.750 power. In the language of a poet, of course. 00:08:58.990 --> 00:09:01.870 The third stanza, verses 12 through 16, the result 00:09:01.870 --> 00:09:06.809 of what God did. Thou didst stretch out thy right 00:09:06.809 --> 00:09:09.549 hand, the earth swallowed them. The first result, 00:09:10.049 --> 00:09:13.850 death to the army. As though the earth just opened 00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:18.009 up and they disappeared into its depths. Verse 00:09:18.009 --> 00:09:20.769 13, in thy loving kindness thou hast led the 00:09:20.769 --> 00:09:23.919 people. whom thou hast redeemed. In thy strength 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:27.120 thou hast guided them to thy holy habitation." 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:29.620 The second result of what God did is safety for 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:34.059 his own. Death to the army, safety for God's 00:09:34.059 --> 00:09:37.320 own, the Israelites. Then beginning in verse 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.139 14, we see a third result, and it's warning to 00:09:40.139 --> 00:09:44.899 the nations. The peoples have heard. They tremble. 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:47.940 Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. 00:09:48.820 --> 00:09:52.220 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. The leaders 00:09:52.220 --> 00:09:56.200 of Moab, trembling, grips them. All the inhabitants 00:09:56.200 --> 00:09:59.779 of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread 00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:03.440 fall upon them. By the greatness of thine arm, 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:06.379 they are motionless as stone. They're just frozen 00:10:06.379 --> 00:10:09.960 with fright because of what happened at the Red 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:14.779 Sea. Until thy people pass over, O Lord, until 00:10:14.779 --> 00:10:18.379 the people pass over whom thou hast purchased. 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:21.120 Notice there again the repetition of the end 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:26.279 of verse 3 in this hymn. And then there is a 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:29.399 coda, verses 17 and 18, where it speaks of the 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:31.740 promise, the assurance that belongs to God's 00:10:31.740 --> 00:10:35.299 people. Thou wilt bring them and plant them in 00:10:35.299 --> 00:10:37.820 the mountain of thine inheritance, the place, 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.320 O Lord, which thou hast made for thy dwelling, 00:10:41.139 --> 00:10:44.779 the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:48.850 The Lord shall reign forever and ever. And so 00:10:48.850 --> 00:10:51.870 we see a word here that God will eventually bring 00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:55.830 his people to Canaan and to Mount Zion, as it's 00:10:55.830 --> 00:10:59.509 called later, to the city of Jerusalem, his habitation, 00:10:59.590 --> 00:11:03.809 and there he will reign over his people. Now 00:11:03.809 --> 00:11:09.769 verse 21 seems to have been a response that the 00:11:09.769 --> 00:11:13.110 women of Israel may have given between each of 00:11:13.110 --> 00:11:17.769 these stanzas. Miriam led them. Sing to the Lord. 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:21.100 For he is highly exalted, the horse and his rider 00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:24.440 he has hurled into the sea." And as they were 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:27.139 singing this, they were dancing around with their 00:11:27.139 --> 00:11:30.820 instruments, rejoicing in this worship service 00:11:30.820 --> 00:11:34.460 beside the Red Sea because of what God had done 00:11:34.460 --> 00:11:42.580 for them. My friend, music is the worship, the 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:47.179 expression of praise within a redeemed soul. 00:11:48.370 --> 00:11:53.710 One who has not been redeemed by the blood and 00:11:53.710 --> 00:11:57.710 by the power of the resurrection cannot enter 00:11:57.710 --> 00:12:02.789 into words like these. Praise to God. For worship, 00:12:03.289 --> 00:12:07.450 a hymn of praise is the expression of one who 00:12:07.450 --> 00:12:12.429 has been saved, who is redeemed. And it comes 00:12:12.429 --> 00:12:17.389 naturally. We may not all be able to write the 00:12:17.389 --> 00:12:21.320 words. But when we sing them, we feel them, we 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:25.120 enter into them because we understand the meaning. 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:30.460 When our missionaries, the Lanettis, arrived 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:33.659 back on their station in Indonesia in January, 00:12:35.220 --> 00:12:37.379 before they could get out of the airplane, right 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:40.539 there at the end of that landing strip in the 00:12:40.539 --> 00:12:45.759 jungle, the Taliabu people surrounded the plane. 00:12:46.340 --> 00:12:48.779 You recall that they had preached the gospel 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:52.159 to them the previous July, and many of them had 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:55.379 responded by faith in Christ. And during the 00:12:55.379 --> 00:12:57.860 months of their absence, others had come to faith 00:12:57.860 --> 00:13:00.419 in Christ. They were being built up through the 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:02.460 teaching of another missionary couple there. 00:13:03.340 --> 00:13:05.379 Before they would allow them to get out of the 00:13:05.379 --> 00:13:09.919 plane, they had to sing to them a hymn that they 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:14.019 had written. Not one that had been translated 00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:16.179 from our language into theirs, but one that they 00:13:16.179 --> 00:13:18.820 had written out of their own hearts and in the 00:13:18.820 --> 00:13:22.220 midst of their own culture. I can't possibly 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:25.019 reproduce for you the singing because I don't 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:26.899 know what the tune was like or what the sounds 00:13:26.899 --> 00:13:29.940 were like. But I can give you the words as translated 00:13:29.940 --> 00:13:35.860 into the English. Here's what they sang. We give 00:13:35.860 --> 00:13:40.659 our respect to the Father. Our shelter is in 00:13:40.659 --> 00:13:46.230 the Father. Our hope is in the Father. We comfort 00:13:46.230 --> 00:13:50.029 the news bearers, the missionaries. We console 00:13:50.029 --> 00:13:54.710 the news bearers. Because of the Father, life 00:13:54.710 --> 00:13:58.690 was brought to us. Because of the Father, light 00:13:58.690 --> 00:14:04.649 was brought to us. We are truly joyful. I love 00:14:04.649 --> 00:14:08.230 this last sentence. We are happy from our insides 00:14:08.230 --> 00:14:12.210 out. Isn't that great? We are happy from our 00:14:12.210 --> 00:14:16.470 insides out. That's what a hymn of praise is 00:14:16.470 --> 00:14:20.049 all about. Is there music like that in your life 00:14:20.049 --> 00:14:25.330 today? Name the tune in your life. Is that what's 00:14:25.330 --> 00:14:30.830 playing? Around what is your life dancing today? 00:14:31.690 --> 00:14:37.250 Is it your salvation? A believer whose mind is 00:14:37.250 --> 00:14:40.759 in the Word of God and who is living under the 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:44.440 lordship of Jesus Christ cannot help but sing 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:47.799 according to Colossians 3 .16 and Ephesians 5 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:52.559 .19. It is impossible not to enjoy music and 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:56.220 to be musical to some degree, though we have 00:14:56.220 --> 00:15:01.120 a spectrum of appreciation. When one is filled 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:04.240 with the Holy Spirit, music is the expression 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:08.379 of worship. That's not only true of us individually, 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.580 but it's vital It's important, it's true of us 00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:15.120 as a church as well. Music ministry in a church 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:19.899 is absolutely essential and vital. But it's not 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:22.139 an easy one for a couple of reasons. In the first 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:27.000 place, there is high expectation of a music ministry 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:29.840 in the day in which we live. And that's because 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:32.720 nearly everyone has records that are professionally 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:36.509 produced. Many of us have at least one Christian 00:15:36.509 --> 00:15:38.950 radio station that we can tune into every day 00:15:38.950 --> 00:15:43.669 of the week. And when we come to church, we just 00:15:43.669 --> 00:15:47.590 naturally expect to hear the same quality of 00:15:47.590 --> 00:15:52.370 music that we hear professionally produced. And 00:15:52.370 --> 00:15:56.009 that's not always possible. I believe that every 00:15:56.009 --> 00:15:58.870 church should do the best it can. I thank God 00:15:58.870 --> 00:16:03.389 for the talented musicians in our church. A larger 00:16:03.389 --> 00:16:06.009 church has that potential to draw from, a smaller 00:16:06.009 --> 00:16:12.370 church doesn't. When I go home to Kansas and 00:16:12.370 --> 00:16:17.190 visit a worship service there, I rejoice in the 00:16:17.190 --> 00:16:19.350 fellowship of those people. But when the 11 or 00:16:19.350 --> 00:16:24.389 12 people get up to sing, I have to work at it 00:16:24.389 --> 00:16:29.299 to enjoy it. I do, because I know them. But it's 00:16:29.299 --> 00:16:31.860 not exactly like listening to the Hawaiians, 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:36.019 believe me. Maybe the Hawaiians at a slower speed 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:38.700 or something like that, I don't know. We have 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:43.159 high expectations of music. We need to do the 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:47.519 best we can with our music. I don't believe that 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:49.480 everybody who gets up here and sings has to be 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.019 professional. I don't mean that, but I do mean 00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:54.679 this, that there is no particular blessing in 00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:58.590 God's Word for mediocrity either. We ought to 00:16:58.590 --> 00:17:03.289 present to the Lord our very best in music. There's 00:17:03.289 --> 00:17:05.130 a second reason that the ministry of music is 00:17:05.130 --> 00:17:07.430 not easy and that's because of the variety of 00:17:07.430 --> 00:17:13.630 tastes that exist among the Lord's people. Not 00:17:13.630 --> 00:17:16.309 everybody has an appreciation for good music 00:17:16.309 --> 00:17:24.490 like I do. Not everybody likes bluegrass. My 00:17:24.490 --> 00:17:27.130 wife and I go round and round about that. She 00:17:27.130 --> 00:17:30.650 was born in the land of bluegrass. How she can 00:17:30.650 --> 00:17:33.529 possibly not like the sound of it is beyond me, 00:17:33.730 --> 00:17:39.170 but I accept that because I love her. Boy, when 00:17:39.170 --> 00:17:41.569 I hear some good bluegrass music, it just gets 00:17:41.569 --> 00:17:45.430 to me. I love it. I was down at the fair, that 00:17:45.430 --> 00:17:49.430 pavilion beside the DNR area. Just at the right 00:17:49.430 --> 00:17:51.849 time, one afternoon, I had a whole half hour 00:17:51.849 --> 00:17:54.269 of some really good bluegrass music. I enjoyed 00:17:54.269 --> 00:17:58.539 that. And I enjoy the old country music, not 00:17:58.539 --> 00:18:06.700 this modern music, but the old stuff, the old 00:18:06.700 --> 00:18:12.319 country music that you hear occasionally, like 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:16.559 on the Grand Ole Opry. But not everybody has 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:19.519 that taste, and I understand that. There are 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:27.480 those who prefer Bach and Beethoven. No, I really 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:31.980 do know how to pronounce it. And I enjoy some 00:18:31.980 --> 00:18:35.500 of that, too, frankly. I really do. But we have 00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:37.740 to acknowledge the fact that among us there is 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:40.339 a broad variety of tastes, and it's difficult 00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:44.519 in any church to please everybody all the time. 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:46.339 And not only is it difficult, it's impossible. 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:49.420 One thing we have to keep in mind about taste 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:54.099 in music is that our taste is often heavily influenced 00:18:54.099 --> 00:18:59.640 by the world. which is Satan's order. I guess 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:01.759 my feeling is that church music ought to sound 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:06.500 more like heaven than the other place. It ought 00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:08.680 to sound more like God's domain than the domain 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:12.700 of Satan. Now I recognize that that can be interpreted 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:16.500 variously, but that's just kind of a general 00:19:16.500 --> 00:19:20.539 thought concerning taste in music, I guess. It's 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:23.819 interesting that in ancient Israel, There was 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:28.380 a real emphasis on music and public worship Music 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:32.779 musicians rather were set apart even by their 00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:38.160 birth and They were trained To give their whole 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:41.940 lifetime to the pursuit of music and to performance 00:19:41.940 --> 00:19:45.579 of music in public worship You can read about 00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:49.940 that at first Chronicles 25 for example in fact 00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:53.410 when David established the order of the musicians. 00:19:53.529 --> 00:19:57.690 There were over 4 ,000 of them who were supported 00:19:57.690 --> 00:20:02.509 by the tithes, the taxes of the nation, so that 00:20:02.509 --> 00:20:06.329 they could use their music gifts within the worship 00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:10.529 of the people of Israel as they came to the tabernacle 00:20:10.529 --> 00:20:16.450 and to the temple later. There was emphasis too 00:20:16.450 --> 00:20:19.430 there upon skill and upon the training. of its 00:20:19.430 --> 00:20:23.549 leaders. In fact, there were 288, if I recall 00:20:23.549 --> 00:20:26.410 correctly, who seemed to have been teachers in 00:20:26.410 --> 00:20:29.869 the established schools of music there in the 00:20:29.869 --> 00:20:31.990 temple, so that they'd be training musicians 00:20:31.990 --> 00:20:35.890 constantly for the public worship of the church. 00:20:37.150 --> 00:20:39.750 First Baptist Church in Atlanta has a school 00:20:39.750 --> 00:20:44.130 of music within its ministry. They're not only 00:20:44.130 --> 00:20:46.470 training musicians for their own church, but 00:20:46.470 --> 00:20:48.410 through that they're training musicians for other 00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:51.750 churches throughout the Atlanta area. It's a 00:20:51.750 --> 00:20:57.309 great idea. Sometimes I get a little weary with 00:20:57.309 --> 00:20:59.509 the attitudes of some people toward the music 00:20:59.509 --> 00:21:02.349 ministry of a church. We ought never to begrudge 00:21:02.349 --> 00:21:06.170 money that is budgeted and invested toward worship. 00:21:07.730 --> 00:21:10.529 I recognize that a lot of us have different priorities. 00:21:10.650 --> 00:21:14.730 Some have missions as the priority. Others have 00:21:14.730 --> 00:21:17.230 children's ministry as a priority. Some have 00:21:17.230 --> 00:21:20.049 local evangelism. Some have paying off building 00:21:20.049 --> 00:21:23.630 debt. Others have other priorities. The fact 00:21:23.630 --> 00:21:27.009 is, though, that worship is one of those. We 00:21:27.009 --> 00:21:30.390 ought never to begrudge or cheat on the money 00:21:30.390 --> 00:21:32.849 that we invest in the worship ministry of our 00:21:32.849 --> 00:21:36.200 church. You look at the emphasis on that in the 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:38.259 Old Testament, and you cannot come away with 00:21:38.259 --> 00:21:41.240 any impression except that it is a high priority 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:45.640 to God that what we do in worship be quality 00:21:45.640 --> 00:21:49.680 and that it be pleasing to Him to be done with 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:53.059 the right heart and motive. Music is as vital 00:21:53.059 --> 00:21:57.059 to our worship of God as, well, peanuts are the 00:21:57.059 --> 00:22:01.059 peanut butter. Whereas the alphabet is to a newspaper. 00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:05.160 It's just worship is a part Music, rather, is 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:08.619 a part of our worship. And by the way, we are 00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:11.440 commanded in the Bible to sing. We read that 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:16.019 this morning. Did you know that? To fail to participate 00:22:16.019 --> 00:22:22.099 in singing in a worship service is to sin against 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:26.460 God. I recognize occasionally we have sore throats 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:29.059 or there are other reasons that we may not sing 00:22:29.059 --> 00:22:35.769 a particular verse or hymn. But to habitually 00:22:35.769 --> 00:22:40.069 and persistently refuse to sing indicates a heart 00:22:40.069 --> 00:22:44.849 that is somehow out of touch with God. Furthermore, 00:22:44.910 --> 00:22:49.970 to be careless about what we say as we sing is 00:22:49.970 --> 00:22:58.190 to flirt with hypocrisy and to be in danger of 00:22:58.190 --> 00:23:04.380 making vows that we don't intend to keep. If 00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:08.519 you look at some of the words that we sing, and 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:12.220 what they mean, it would cause all of us to be 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:15.880 sobered. We ought never to enter into a service 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:21.460 and just to sing because we know the words. But 00:23:21.460 --> 00:23:23.940 we ought to sing with the words coming fresh 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:26.619 to our minds. What am I saying? What am I singing 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:32.079 to God? It is sinful to do less than that. It 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:37.650 is sinful. And I want to emphasize again this 00:23:37.650 --> 00:23:39.650 week, and I recognize this is the second Sunday 00:23:39.650 --> 00:23:42.470 in a row I've said something about it. One, two. 00:23:42.910 --> 00:23:46.309 I can count that far. It's important to be in 00:23:46.309 --> 00:23:50.670 the service on time. Please do not stand in the 00:23:50.670 --> 00:23:52.670 hallways and talk when the service is beginning. 00:23:54.369 --> 00:23:57.190 I urge you who are in small church in the 815 00:23:57.190 --> 00:24:01.660 hour to get out on time to be here by 930. Because 00:24:01.660 --> 00:24:04.220 the worship of God begins at that hour with us 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:07.619 as a congregation. The first hymn is not the 00:24:07.619 --> 00:24:10.640 processional. I recognize that there are reasons 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:13.480 for people to be late into a service. We can't 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:15.599 be legalistic about that, but the point is too 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:19.319 many of us come in late. We need to be in our 00:24:19.319 --> 00:24:22.220 places and with our hearts prepared. We need 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:25.220 to have that hymnal open or be reading that scripture 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:27.680 so that we're ready to enter into that service 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:32.559 because we are here in the presence of God. to 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:38.099 worship Him. And then that worship that we experience 00:24:38.099 --> 00:24:41.559 together is really little more than the outflow, 00:24:41.740 --> 00:24:45.140 the overflow of our hearts from our worship all 00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:49.400 week long. If somehow we have been out of touch 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:51.740 with God all week and we have not been worshiping 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:54.359 Him through the week, we can almost be guaranteed 00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:56.799 a dry worship service that Sunday. We'll not 00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:59.599 get much out of it. Because, you see, when we 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:01.579 come together corporately, it's the overflow 00:25:01.579 --> 00:25:06.339 of what we do privately and individually. Here 00:25:06.339 --> 00:25:09.180 we see the people of Israel dancing and singing 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:13.359 with joy and praise to God because of their deliverance, 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:18.559 a hymn of worship. Then they went on. God led 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:24.000 them on to a place called Merah. The second tune 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.519 that we see in our text today is the blues. of 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:32.240 complaint. Not a hymn of worship. We come now 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:35.059 to what Bernard McGee calls the desert blues. 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:41.180 Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:45.619 out into the wilderness of Shur. I think what 00:25:45.619 --> 00:25:47.759 happened was he said, are you ready to go? And 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:50.839 they said, sure. So they went on out. And they 00:25:50.839 --> 00:25:52.900 went three days into the wilderness and found 00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:56.640 no water. And when they came to Marah, they could 00:25:56.640 --> 00:25:58.859 not drink the waters of Marah, for they were 00:25:58.859 --> 00:26:03.940 bitter. Therefore it was named Marah. So the 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:07.339 people grumbled at Moses, saying, what shall 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:12.940 we drink? This was really a double trial to test 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:14.700 the people of Israel. In the first place, there 00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:18.799 was no water for three days. And when they got 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:22.759 to the oasis in the desert, the water was brackish. 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:27.900 It was bitter. They were not able to drink it. 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:32.059 God put them through this double trial that He 00:26:32.059 --> 00:26:37.519 might expose their hearts. God wanted to know 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:40.000 whether the worship three days earlier had been 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:43.819 genuine. Did they really believe what they said 00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:49.420 in the songs? Or were they just caught up in 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:55.089 the emotion of the moment? They had been delivered 00:26:55.089 --> 00:26:58.109 from slavery in Egypt, but we see here that they 00:26:58.109 --> 00:27:00.829 had not been delivered from the spirit of Egypt. 00:27:02.789 --> 00:27:04.930 For the corruption and the unbelief of their 00:27:04.930 --> 00:27:10.109 hearts was manifested in this trial. Beloved 00:27:10.109 --> 00:27:14.230 God leads us to tests as well, doesn't he? To 00:27:14.230 --> 00:27:19.630 the wilderness? To bitter experiences? You see, 00:27:19.730 --> 00:27:22.650 you mean God leads us there? That's right. David 00:27:22.650 --> 00:27:27.210 said, the righteous God tries the hearts and 00:27:27.210 --> 00:27:32.269 minds. God led the people of Israel through three 00:27:32.269 --> 00:27:35.869 days without water and then to water that could 00:27:35.869 --> 00:27:43.890 not be drunk. God leads us to test that He might 00:27:43.890 --> 00:27:48.769 expose the true content of our hearts. Do we 00:27:48.769 --> 00:27:53.220 really believe what we say we believe? Well, 00:27:53.220 --> 00:27:55.200 the answer to that is usually found in the midst 00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:59.220 of a test. What is it that causes a redeemed 00:27:59.220 --> 00:28:03.740 person to lose his tune of praise and adopt the 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:09.019 blues? Well, someone says, it's just human nature, 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:12.119 isn't it, to complain? Well, of course, that's 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:17.960 true. It is just human nature to grumble, to 00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:22.369 murmur, and to complain about things. But the 00:28:22.369 --> 00:28:25.029 question we have to ask is this, is the human 00:28:25.029 --> 00:28:31.410 nature to rule over the divine nature? If we 00:28:31.410 --> 00:28:34.329 are saved, we are made partakers of the divine 00:28:34.329 --> 00:28:39.069 nature. We who are partakers of God's nature, 00:28:39.509 --> 00:28:43.609 should we excuse our complaining and our grumbling 00:28:43.609 --> 00:28:49.910 with such a cheap and sinful response as saying 00:28:49.910 --> 00:28:55.700 it's only human? Had the people here forgotten 00:28:55.700 --> 00:29:00.019 the good purpose of God or God's promises? Did 00:29:00.019 --> 00:29:02.299 they think that God had forgotten to be gracious 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:11.920 to them? Have we at times forgotten that? In 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:18.880 the meras of our life? In the deserts that we 00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:24.009 go through? Rather, when those tests come, we 00:29:24.009 --> 00:29:27.630 ought to say, as did Job even before the day 00:29:27.630 --> 00:29:32.130 of Moses, the Lord has given, now the Lord has 00:29:32.130 --> 00:29:35.930 taken away. But blessed be the name of the Lord. 00:29:38.609 --> 00:29:43.069 God leads us to Merah as well so that we can 00:29:43.069 --> 00:29:48.109 there learn the power of His grace to sweeten 00:29:48.109 --> 00:29:53.109 our lives in the midst of bitterness. Moses cried 00:29:53.109 --> 00:29:55.849 out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, 00:29:56.009 --> 00:29:58.230 and he threw it into the waters, and the waters 00:29:58.230 --> 00:30:02.670 became sweet. There he, God, made for them a 00:30:02.670 --> 00:30:06.769 statute and regulation, and there he tested them. 00:30:08.089 --> 00:30:10.930 And he said, If you will give earnest heed to 00:30:10.930 --> 00:30:13.430 the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is 00:30:13.430 --> 00:30:15.490 right in his sight, and give ear to his commandments, 00:30:15.670 --> 00:30:18.799 and keep all his statutes. I will put none of 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:21.599 the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians, 00:30:21.779 --> 00:30:31.339 for I am Jehovah -Rapha. I am the Lord your healer." 00:30:31.339 --> 00:30:34.640 When our experiences become bitter, God can make 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:37.480 them sweet as He does here for the people of 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:42.000 Israel. We too should take the issue to God in 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:47.450 prayer. not be complaining or grumbling or murmuring 00:30:47.450 --> 00:30:51.230 but to pray and then to be sure that God's provision 00:30:51.230 --> 00:30:54.970 is near and our need really is only for God to 00:30:54.970 --> 00:30:58.630 open our eyes that we might see his provision 00:30:58.630 --> 00:31:02.289 for with the bitter water God will always give 00:31:02.289 --> 00:31:08.849 the healing tree close at hand and then does 00:31:08.849 --> 00:31:12.890 not this healing tree remind us of Jesus Christ 00:31:14.759 --> 00:31:19.299 who himself was cut down, was slain for the sake 00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:24.259 of sinners. His sacrifice on the cross for us 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:28.160 sweetens the bitterness of our lives because 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:33.700 of sin, and we are saved from that. It is worthy 00:31:33.700 --> 00:31:37.940 to note here perhaps that the grumbling was directed 00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:44.119 against Moses. Isn't that interesting? As Spurgeon 00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:46.519 pointed out in one of his messages, how like 00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:51.200 us to be angry with God and to deny it by doubling 00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:59.599 our complaint at Moses. We are like the dog who 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:03.680 is beaten by its master but bites at the stick. 00:32:07.140 --> 00:32:09.819 Whatever the instrument may be that the sovereign 00:32:09.819 --> 00:32:14.319 God has used to bring us low, to our place of 00:32:14.319 --> 00:32:19.539 testing. What we need to do is be honest to admit 00:32:19.539 --> 00:32:22.180 that God is bigger than whatever instrument he 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:26.920 has employed and that if there is anger or complaint 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:30.619 or murmuring or bitterness, it's really against 00:32:30.619 --> 00:32:39.519 God and not the instrument he has used. We need 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:43.539 to learn from these people. to be done with a 00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:48.539 complaining tongue, to discipline the murmuring, 00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:52.619 gossiping attitude and spirit, and to recognize 00:32:52.619 --> 00:32:58.339 those words for what they are, sin. And we need 00:32:58.339 --> 00:33:01.640 often to recognize the root is that of unbelief, 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:04.180 as is the case here, for they did not believe 00:33:04.180 --> 00:33:07.450 that God was able to deliver them from these 00:33:07.450 --> 00:33:09.970 circumstances. Remember, these are the same people 00:33:09.970 --> 00:33:12.349 that were praising God beside the Red Sea three 00:33:12.349 --> 00:33:18.009 days before. But before we jump on them with 00:33:18.009 --> 00:33:21.990 too much harshness, we have to consider our own 00:33:21.990 --> 00:33:25.789 tendencies, don't we? Here, we all look into 00:33:25.789 --> 00:33:30.150 the mirror that God polishes for us in His Word 00:33:30.150 --> 00:33:35.349 at Merah. And having seen the human tendency. 00:33:36.430 --> 00:33:39.109 Let's not deceive ourselves and just go away, 00:33:39.150 --> 00:33:42.950 having looked into the mirror, to forget what 00:33:42.950 --> 00:33:49.730 we have observed. In fact, we can say blessed 00:33:49.730 --> 00:33:54.210 are those who experience meras in life, who go 00:33:54.210 --> 00:33:58.650 through the afflictions, sorrows, disappointments, 00:33:58.849 --> 00:34:02.259 and heartaches that life entails. You say, what 00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:05.180 do you mean blessed are they that have merahs? 00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:09.679 Rather blessed are they that avoid them. Had 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:14.659 there been no merah, how would they have learned 00:34:14.659 --> 00:34:18.699 God's grace to bring healing to bitter waters? 00:34:20.619 --> 00:34:26.659 To have no merahs is to miss the personal, experiential 00:34:26.659 --> 00:34:31.480 knowledge of God's marvelous grace. To have no 00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:35.039 meras is to be without sympathy for the fellow 00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:41.219 pilgrim who faces his. To have no meras is to 00:34:41.219 --> 00:34:44.260 have no ability to encourage another who suffers 00:34:44.260 --> 00:34:49.099 and who is laid low in the trial of God. Yes, 00:34:49.219 --> 00:34:51.980 rather, count it all joy when you fall into various 00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:58.639 kinds of meras. God wants to bring blessing to 00:34:58.639 --> 00:35:03.360 our lives. That is the attitude, the loving attitude 00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:07.280 of God for all of us. Sometimes God brings blessing 00:35:07.280 --> 00:35:12.019 to us by a miracle at the Red Sea, and sometimes 00:35:12.019 --> 00:35:15.579 God brings blessing to us by taking us through 00:35:15.579 --> 00:35:22.400 a dry desert to a bitter spring. Whichever way 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:25.320 God designs to bring the blessing, the principle 00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:29.119 is the same, that obedience brings blessing. 00:35:29.579 --> 00:35:33.820 And disobedience brings discipline. That's what 00:35:33.820 --> 00:35:37.880 he says basically in verse 26. But isn't God 00:35:37.880 --> 00:35:43.679 good? Even when you and I come to our trials, 00:35:43.960 --> 00:35:51.340 to our meres, and we fail, He is there to graciously 00:35:51.340 --> 00:35:53.679 provide anyway. That's what He did for the people 00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:57.889 of Israel. And it may be that you are passing 00:35:57.889 --> 00:36:00.570 through one of those wilderness experiences this 00:36:00.570 --> 00:36:04.809 morning or that you have come to a bitter, nasty, 00:36:05.610 --> 00:36:10.130 brackish, distasteful experience in your life. 00:36:12.329 --> 00:36:16.650 I want you to know that the Lord is near and 00:36:16.650 --> 00:36:18.650 that if you will simply pray to Him, He will 00:36:18.650 --> 00:36:22.170 open your eyes that you might see His provision 00:36:22.170 --> 00:36:26.019 near at hand. Which, if you will appropriate 00:36:26.019 --> 00:36:30.460 it, will sweeten those waters that you cannot 00:36:30.460 --> 00:36:34.980 now possibly drink, so you think. God's provision 00:36:34.980 --> 00:36:38.780 is near you this morning. Open your eyes to see 00:36:38.780 --> 00:36:44.780 it. Indeed, open your eyes to see Him who on 00:36:44.780 --> 00:36:50.880 the tree, the cross, bore our sins and our sorrows. 00:36:52.279 --> 00:36:55.199 That cross of Jesus Christ is available today 00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:58.059 to sweeten the waters of your present experience. 00:36:59.139 --> 00:37:01.260 But what you need to do, as it were, is to cut 00:37:01.260 --> 00:37:03.179 it down and throw it into the waters. You need 00:37:03.179 --> 00:37:10.960 to apply it to yourself. Will you do that? Name 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:15.440 the tune that's in your life today. Is it a hymn 00:37:15.440 --> 00:37:19.159 of worship? Or is it the blues of complaint? 00:37:20.489 --> 00:37:27.269 Or is it some other tune? Whatever the tune is, 00:37:27.929 --> 00:37:32.630 my prayer is that we're playing from God's music. 00:37:36.050 --> 00:37:48.929 Let's bow together. Listen real close. to the 00:37:48.929 --> 00:37:52.889 tune that's in your life this morning. Is that 00:37:52.889 --> 00:37:58.730 a tune that is honoring God? Is it a tune of 00:37:58.730 --> 00:38:06.550 joyful worship and praise? Or is it a tune of 00:38:06.550 --> 00:38:13.230 compromise and disobedience? Or is it a tune 00:38:13.230 --> 00:38:21.619 of complaints and bitterness? Will you bring 00:38:21.619 --> 00:38:28.079 that tune to the Lord? Will you allow Him to 00:38:28.079 --> 00:38:34.420 restore you to Himself by an honest confession 00:38:34.420 --> 00:38:41.519 of your sin? By an appropriation of the cross 00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:46.280 of Jesus Christ, if you're a child of God, to 00:38:46.280 --> 00:38:49.320 bring to Him those experiences that have caused 00:38:49.320 --> 00:38:55.530 you to be angry or hurt, and to sacrifice them 00:38:55.530 --> 00:39:00.449 at the cross for Jesus' sake. There is no sorrow 00:39:00.449 --> 00:39:04.250 like His that He bore for you. He's able to identify 00:39:04.250 --> 00:39:06.710 with all you're passing through at this time. 00:39:08.389 --> 00:39:12.929 Bring them to Him today. If you're not a Christian, 00:39:13.190 --> 00:39:18.440 your need is to bring the song of sin. with all 00:39:18.440 --> 00:39:23.659 of its discord and disharmony, to Him, to Christ, 00:39:24.840 --> 00:39:27.699 to recognize that He died for you and rose again, 00:39:28.619 --> 00:39:30.699 that He might save you and be the Lord of your 00:39:30.699 --> 00:39:34.340 life and bring a new song to you, the song of 00:39:34.340 --> 00:39:43.599 redemption. Will you do that? Sing with me this 00:39:43.599 --> 00:39:49.699 chorus, will you? everybody sing praise to the 00:39:49.699 --> 00:40:02.059 Lord everybody sing praise to the Lord everybody 00:40:02.059 --> 00:40:18.960 sing praise to He's wonderful at Merah as much 00:40:18.960 --> 00:40:23.360 as at the Red Sea. Open your eyes, friend, see 00:40:23.360 --> 00:40:49.889 Him today. Sing with me again. reach up and touch 00:40:49.889 --> 00:41:33.760 Him, and say, Will you open your eyes today and 00:41:33.760 --> 00:41:37.820 see him as that tree that God has provided right 00:41:37.820 --> 00:41:44.500 there at your mirror? Won't you give that experience 00:41:44.500 --> 00:41:50.159 to him and let him sweeten it in your life? Father 00:41:50.159 --> 00:41:54.519 I pray today whatever the tune may be that it's 00:41:54.519 --> 00:41:58.039 music you've written That we're not playing the 00:41:58.039 --> 00:42:01.880 world's tunes that we're not in the devil's chorus, 00:42:02.980 --> 00:42:06.460 but that our song is one of praise and worship 00:42:06.460 --> 00:42:10.000 and gratitude to you for whatever circumstances 00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.940 we're in today. Help us to appreciate the tests 00:42:14.940 --> 00:42:18.719 that you take us through. And thank you for your 00:42:18.719 --> 00:42:21.900 grace so that when we do fail them, you're there 00:42:21.900 --> 00:42:24.280 to pick us up and to give us a new beginning 00:42:24.280 --> 00:42:28.639 to take us on. Some of us are at that place today. 00:42:29.289 --> 00:42:31.989 Thank you for your faithfulness to take us on 00:42:31.989 --> 00:42:37.550 in our journey with you. Thank you for this time 00:42:37.550 --> 00:42:43.130 of worship this morning. We love you and we want 00:42:43.130 --> 00:42:47.530 our lives to be a melody of thanksgiving and 00:42:47.530 --> 00:42:54.570 praise every day to your worthy name. Amen.