338: Roger Lewis – The Faithfulness Of The House Of Asaph

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Welcome to good Chris Selfian
talks.

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I’m Levi, I’m Chris, I’m Jason,
and I’m Brian.

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Thank you for joining us this
week on this podcast.

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We select one talk a week to
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Daily News feed.
Each week we post a talk that we

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previewed from suggestions sent
in by listeners from around the

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world.
Then we record a short intro

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beforehand as a personalized
recommendation to you on why we

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are sharing the talk.
And now let’s talk more about

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this week’s talk.
Hi, this is Brother Levi.

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This week’s class is titled The
Faithfulness of the House of

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Asaph that Roger Lewis gave a
couple times.

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I actually can’t find from where
I download this class.

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I can’t find exactly where he
presented it, but I do know that

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he presented this series
multiple times.

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I listened to it in person when
I was much younger, which is how

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I remembered this class.
I was actually reading Ezra

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chapter 3 and, and, and ran into
some notes in my Bible of from

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this class, from this series and
from this session in particular.

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I really, I, I, I remember this
class very well and it was

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really fun to listen to it
again.

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It’s an excellent kind of use of
Bible study, but also a really

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inspiring story about how the
House of Asaph kept the songs,

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kept the old songs for hundreds
of years.

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And it’s a neat, neat kind of
verse chain to see them showing

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back up, presenting it.
It’s absolutely an example of

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faithfulness.
Roger also ends with a

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discussion kind of on our own
hymn book, on the Christophian

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hymn book and the importance,
you know, of, of maintaining the

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same kind of songs that are
biblically sound but also

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identify in a way us as
Christadelphians.

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And I I that thought has also
has stayed with me since he

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presented it that I mean, some
some have even said before that

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you could kind of define a
Christadelphian as someone who

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sings from the Christadelphian
hymn book, which is what Roger

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says or someone who reads from
the Robert Roberts reading plan.

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It’s those two things are
actually kind of our most

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unifying documents as a larger
community.

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So, and I do think our community
has that same heritage as the

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House of Asaph that we need to
hold our principles and you

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know, the the truths that we
understand from the Bible from

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generation to generation as as
the House of Asaph shows here.

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So it was fun to revisit this
class and I’m excited to to

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share it here on the podcast.
This is the house, the

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faithfulness of the House of
Asaph.

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Well, thank you, brother
chairman, and my dear brothers

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and sisters in the Lord Jesus
Christ.

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You’ll remember that in our in
our previous study yesterday, we

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looked at the House of Asaph
from the time of Jehoshaphat to

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the time of Hezekiah.
You’ll remember how we saw

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Jehoiada’s revival 25 years
after Jehoshaphat in

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approximately BC 835, and how he
insisted on having the very best

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of the singers present at the
coronation of Joash.

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And how that the sons of Asaph,
in fact, were the leading cause

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of those leading singers in
praise who were there at the

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coronation of the King, so that
the very best of standards might

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be the benchmark of the young
King’s reign.

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And then you’ll remember that
about 120 years later, in

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approximately BC 715, we saw the
tremendous readiness of the

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House of Asaph in the days of
Hezekiah.

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And we learned how this amazing
family had practiced their songs

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in secret through all those
years of dreadful apostasy.

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And we learned to appreciate,
did we not, the excellence of

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endeavour.
And to know that for the House

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of Asaph, even their practice
each day was considered to be

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out of their offering to
Almighty God.

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So what happened then to the
House of Asaph after Hezekiah

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died?
Well, you know, the reigns of

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the next two kings in Judah,
we’re amongst the worst in the

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history of the nation.
In fact, if you come to the

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Second of Kings and chapter 21,
we’re told of the circumstances

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of the king that followed
Hezekiah, who was of course his

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son Manasseh.
And we’re told him the Second of

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Kings chapter 21.
And reading from verse, perhaps

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reading from verse 4, it says
this.

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And he built altars in the House
of Yahweh, of which Yahweh said

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in Jerusalem, I will put my
name.

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And he built altars for all the
hosts of heaven, and the two

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courts of the House of Yahweh.
Verse 7.

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And he set a graven image of the
Grove that he had made in the

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House of which Yahweh said to
David and to Solomon his son.

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In this house and in Jerusalem,
which I have chosen out of all

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tribes of Israel, will I put my
name forever their brothers and

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sisters inside the very House of
God.

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Manasseh put a graven image of
the Grove.

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What would it have been like to
be one of the singers in the

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days of this man Manasseh
brothers and sisters and and his

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successor Amon was little better
than he because in this same

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chapter in the reign of Amon,
we’re told in the second of

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Kings chapter 21 and verse 21,
it says of Amon or Amon his son,

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and he walked in all the way
that his father walked in and

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served the idols that his father
served and worshipped them.

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And he forsook Yahweh, Elohim of
his fathers, and walked not in

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that particular way, the way of
God, but his son, son of Amon,

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surprisingly, was a man
altogether different in spirit

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to his father, because of
course, the son of Ammon was

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none other than good king Josiah
of Judah.

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And if you come to the Second of
Chronicles chapter 34, this man

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was going to launch yet another
revival in the nation of Judah.

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And the history of that people
we’re told in the Second of

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Chronicles, chapter 34 and verse
30, right at the end of the

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chapter, it says this.
It says, And the king went up

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into the House of the Lord, and
all the men of Judah, and the

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inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
the priests and the Levites, and

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all the people great and small,
He read in their ears all the

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words of the book of the
covenant that was found in the

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House of Yahweh.
And the king stood in his place

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and made a covenant before
Yahweh to walk after Yahweh, and

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to keep his commandments and his
testimonies and his statues with

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all his heart and with all his
soul, to perform the words of

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the covenant which are written
in this book.

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And so he was a man that was
going to begin things afresh.

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He repaired and he cleansed the
temple, and then standing here

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at the temple, he bound the
nation into a covenant promise

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that they might keep the law of
God.

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Again, as it was written in the
scroll of the book of

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Deuteronomy.
You see, Josiah, I believe, knew

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by this stage that judgment
could not be avoided.

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He knew that judgment would come
and that it could not be

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avoided.
But the desire of Josiah was

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that he would try to build
nevertheless a spiritual remnant

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who, although carried away to
Babylon, would become the

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spiritual core of those who
might one day come back to the

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land of promise.
He knew that he could not avoid

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the judgment on Judah.
It had already been pronounced

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in this chapter.
God had already said, they will

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go into captivity, the nation
will be judged.

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But I think Josiah’s spirit of
endeavour here in causing the

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nation to be pledged again to
the law was that he might build

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a remnant that could be saved
out of Babylon in due course.

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And then we’re told in chapter
35 and verse one of the great

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Passover that Josiah celebrated
in his 18th year.

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Now I want you to notice
something really interesting

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about the opening verses of the
Second of Chronicles 35.

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It says in verse one.
Moreover, Josiah kept the

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Passover unto Yahweh in
Jerusalem, and they killed the

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Passover on the 14th day of the
first month, that he set the

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priests and their charges and
encouraged them to the service

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of the House of Yahweh.
And he said unto the Levites,

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that taught all Israel, which
were holy unto Yahweh, put the

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holy ark in the house, which
Solomon the son of David king of

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Israel, did build.
Now if those words are true, you

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brothers and sisters, in the
second of Chronicles 35 and

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verse 3, then the burning
question of this chapter is

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where was the ark and who had
it?

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If the command came to the
Levites in the third verse that

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they should put it back into the
house, where was the ark of God?

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And I think that there are three
possibilities as to what had

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happened to the ark on this
occasion in the history of the

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nation.
The 1st is, and it has been

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suggested and it’s perfectly
reasonable that it was taken out

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by by Josiah himself at the time
of the cleansing of the temple.

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So that’s one possibility, and
it may well be so, that Josiah

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had removed the ark in the
course of his cleansing and

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repair of the Temple in the
previous chapter.

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A second possibility is, and
this is what the rabbinical

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writers of the Jews say, is that
it was actually sent forth by

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Manasseh to make room for the
idolatrous statues that he

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wished to bring into the House
of God.

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That it was at the request of
Manasseh that the ark was

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removed in order that he might
bring in his own private

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worship, idols of worship, into
the house.

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But a third possibility is, and
I’m going to suggest to you this

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morning, that this is quite
possibly what did happen. 1/3

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possibility is that the Ark of
God was removed by the Levites

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themselves in order to prevent
the desecration of the Ark in

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these times of the apostasy of
Manasseh and Amon.

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Now were the Levites who have
taken the Ark, who would carry

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the Ark?
And of course, well, there’s no

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doubt about that, is there?
It would be the Koathites.

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Only the Koathites were allowed
to lift the Ark, but who would

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be with them in spirit?
And the answer is surely the

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House of Asaf, because the House
of Asaf, Well, their whole job

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was to sing before the Ark of
God and to celebrate the

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sacredness of that ark and what
it stood for.

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If there was ever a family in
Israel that would want to see,

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that, would want to prevent any
desecration to the Ark, it would

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be the House of Asaph.
And we wonder whether perhaps

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the House of Asaph, in
collaboration with the

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Koathites, had had ensured that
the Ark was spirited away at

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this time into a place of safety
so that it might, might not be

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defiled or profaned.
Now, do you know why we suggest

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that that is possibly what
happened?

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It’s because of the strange
phrase that occurs later on in

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this third verse, because you
see what the verse goes on to

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say.
Josiah says, put the holy ark in

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the house which Solomon the son
of David, king of Israel, did

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build.
And then he says this.

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It shall not be a burden upon
your shoulders.

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Now, by the way, those words
come from the first of

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Chronicles 23 and verse 26, as
the margin tells us.

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And, and in those words of David
on an earlier occasion, what

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we’re being told is that when
the ark of God finally came to

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its resting place in the temple,
the Levites were told that it

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would no longer be their burdens
to carry the ark anymore.

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It had come to its final resting
place.

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So why does Josiah in chapter 35
of the Second of Chronicles, in

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verse three, say to the Levites,
It shall not be a burden upon

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your shoulders, unless the ark
had in recent times become yet

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again a burden of responsibility
to the coophytes?

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And why might it have become in
recent times a burden again to

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the coophytes?
The answer is because they had

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recently borne the ark 4IN
collaboration with the sons of

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Asaph, who would be determined
to safeguard it from damage and

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defilement.
After all, as the verse says, it

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was the holy Ark.
So I believe, brothers and

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sisters, that when Josiah in
this verse asked the Levites to

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put the ark back in the house,
I, I think, well, sorry, when he

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asked for, for the Levites to
put the ark in the house, I

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think he meant for them to put
it back in the house because

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they had it.
And that that’s therefore

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exactly what they did.
And what then follows is a

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magnificent Passover
celebration, the like of which

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00:14:34,080 –> 00:14:37,360
had not been seen for hundreds
of years in the history of the

215
00:14:37,360 –> 00:14:39,320
nation.
They observed everything

216
00:14:39,320 –> 00:14:42,120
according to the writings of
David and the writings of

217
00:14:42,120 –> 00:14:44,240
Solomon and the writings of
Moses.

218
00:14:44,360 –> 00:14:47,920
Everything was to be done
according to Scripture and the

219
00:14:47,920 –> 00:14:49,720
writing of Scripture on this
occasion.

220
00:14:49,800 –> 00:14:52,480
And one thing I can tell you,
brothers and sisters, and it’s a

221
00:14:52,480 –> 00:14:55,400
remarkable thing, is that when
the ark of God suddenly

222
00:14:55,400 –> 00:14:58,440
reappears back in the temple on
this occasion, guess who’s

223
00:14:58,440 –> 00:15:02,160
there?
Quick as a flash, verse 15.

224
00:15:06,320 –> 00:15:14,000
And the singers, the sons of
Asaph, were in their place

225
00:15:16,240 –> 00:15:20,760
according to the commandment of
David and Asaph and Heman and

226
00:15:20,760 –> 00:15:24,640
Judithan, the King’s seer, and
the porters waited at every

227
00:15:24,640 –> 00:15:27,320
gate.
You know, it was not a

228
00:15:27,440 –> 00:15:32,080
requirement of the Passover law
that the singers be present at

229
00:15:32,080 –> 00:15:36,400
Passover time.
So the House of Asaph are not

230
00:15:36,400 –> 00:15:39,800
there in verse 15 because it is
in any sense a commandment of

231
00:15:39,800 –> 00:15:43,600
Moses.
And I don’t think that they were

232
00:15:43,600 –> 00:15:46,760
there because Josiah had
instructed them to be there,

233
00:15:47,240 –> 00:15:50,640
because the record doesn’t tell
us in any, at any stage of this

234
00:15:50,640 –> 00:15:53,480
chapter that Josiah had
specifically requested that the

235
00:15:53,480 –> 00:15:57,200
House of Asaph be there.
And although they were there in

236
00:15:57,200 –> 00:16:00,120
accordance with the instructions
of David, I don’t think they

237
00:16:00,120 –> 00:16:02,920
were there because of the
commandment of David either.

238
00:16:05,120 –> 00:16:09,160
I think the House of Asaph was
there in the 15th verse for one

239
00:16:09,160 –> 00:16:12,280
reason only.
They were there on an entirely

240
00:16:12,280 –> 00:16:14,240
voluntary basis, brothers and
sisters.

241
00:16:14,400 –> 00:16:18,920
They were there because no power
on earth could have stopped them

242
00:16:19,000 –> 00:16:22,880
from being there that day.
This was their chance to

243
00:16:22,880 –> 00:16:25,920
minister before the Ark with the
singing of their family.

244
00:16:26,000 –> 00:16:29,320
Family psalms.
You try stopping them from being

245
00:16:29,320 –> 00:16:33,000
there that day.
There must have been tears for

246
00:16:33,000 –> 00:16:37,120
joy in the House of Asaph as
they sang their psalms before

247
00:16:37,120 –> 00:16:39,840
the Ark on this occasion,
because the discipline of

248
00:16:39,840 –> 00:16:44,240
practice now had its fulfillment
and an outpouring of praise in

249
00:16:44,240 –> 00:16:48,600
public worship.
Some of these here this day had

250
00:16:48,600 –> 00:17:00,080
waited all their lives for this
one moment, this one day in the

251
00:17:00,080 –> 00:17:06,440
time of Josiah, for the chance
to sing before the ark just this

252
00:17:06,440 –> 00:17:08,960
once.
Can you imagine, brothers and

253
00:17:08,960 –> 00:17:12,520
sisters, if we were told that we
had but one chance, but one

254
00:17:12,520 –> 00:17:15,880
opportunity, to sing in an
evening of song and praise, in a

255
00:17:15,880 –> 00:17:18,359
choral evening of worship to our
Father?

256
00:17:18,440 –> 00:17:23,800
One chance in our life to sing
in a choir and to offer praise

257
00:17:23,800 –> 00:17:29,880
to the Father.
How would we sing on that night?

258
00:17:31,720 –> 00:17:35,480
Wouldn’t we strain every fiber
of our being and lifting up our

259
00:17:35,720 –> 00:17:38,320
our songs of praise?
You know, this is the last

260
00:17:38,320 –> 00:17:42,000
occasion, Brothers and sisters,
this chapter, the second of

261
00:17:42,000 –> 00:17:47,800
Chronicles 35, is the last
occasion in recorded history

262
00:17:48,440 –> 00:17:52,280
that the Ark of God appears
amongst the children of Israel.

263
00:17:54,320 –> 00:17:59,320
And who’s there singing in front
of the ark with all their hearts

264
00:18:01,880 –> 00:18:06,440
but the House of Asaph?
It’s exactly the spirit that we

265
00:18:06,440 –> 00:18:08,520
would have expected of this
family.

266
00:18:09,760 –> 00:18:14,240
You know, Psalm 81 celebrates
that particular time in the life

267
00:18:14,240 –> 00:18:17,400
of Josiah.
If we come back to Psalm 81,

268
00:18:17,840 –> 00:18:22,280
we’re told this, and we’ve
already looked at this in terms

269
00:18:22,280 –> 00:18:25,360
of the fact that the great theme
of Psalm 81 is connected with

270
00:18:25,680 –> 00:18:29,320
both the book of the Law and the
theme of Passover.

271
00:18:30,200 –> 00:18:36,200
But just have a look at the
recurring refrain, the recurring

272
00:18:36,720 –> 00:18:42,400
refrain of Psalm 81, because you
see, I think that this Psalm was

273
00:18:42,400 –> 00:18:45,840
brought forth by the House of
Asaph at the very time of

274
00:18:46,120 –> 00:18:49,680
Josiah’s reformation, and that
what it captures is the

275
00:18:49,680 –> 00:18:53,880
bittersweet sadness of Josiah’s
reformation.

276
00:18:54,040 –> 00:18:56,600
He knew that the bulk of the
people were lost.

277
00:18:57,200 –> 00:19:00,160
He desperately wanted to build a
remnant if he could.

278
00:19:00,480 –> 00:19:02,720
And here’s the refrain of Psalm
81.

279
00:19:03,080 –> 00:19:10,560
Verse 8 Here, O my people, and I
will testify unto thee, O

280
00:19:10,560 –> 00:19:15,360
Israel, if thou wilt hearken
unto me.

281
00:19:16,360 –> 00:19:23,520
Verse 11 But my people would not
hearken to my voice, and Israel

282
00:19:23,520 –> 00:19:29,480
would none of me.
Verse 13 Oh, that my people had

283
00:19:29,480 –> 00:19:34,200
hearkened unto me, and Israel
had walked in my ways.

284
00:19:34,520 –> 00:19:37,480
And you see what this Psalm
dwells on, Brothers and sisters,

285
00:19:37,640 –> 00:19:41,880
it is a lamentation of the
tragedy of a people for whom the

286
00:19:41,880 –> 00:19:46,320
time of repentance had gone.
If only they had listened, if

287
00:19:46,320 –> 00:19:49,480
only they had hearkened, what
could have been done?

288
00:19:49,560 –> 00:19:51,400
What might have been
accomplished?

289
00:19:52,440 –> 00:19:57,160
It’s a Psalm of lamentation that
shows all the pathos and all the

290
00:19:57,160 –> 00:20:02,600
heartbreak of those there who
saw Josiah’s mighty effort and

291
00:20:02,600 –> 00:20:06,480
who knew the desperate sadness
of the king in his endeavours of

292
00:20:06,480 –> 00:20:08,760
reformation.
I think that that Psalm from the

293
00:20:08,760 –> 00:20:13,160
House of Asaph breathes all the
sadness of that moment in the

294
00:20:13,160 –> 00:20:15,440
history of the nation.
Do you know when this episode

295
00:20:15,440 –> 00:20:19,320
took place?
The great Passover of Josiah in

296
00:20:19,320 –> 00:20:21,880
the Second of Chronicles,
chapter 35?

297
00:20:22,200 –> 00:20:32,280
Well, this is about BC 620.
And therefore it is 95 years

298
00:20:32,440 –> 00:20:36,520
after Hezekiah’s reformation in
the Second of Chronicles chapter

299
00:20:36,520 –> 00:20:39,240
29.
So from the time that the

300
00:20:39,240 –> 00:20:42,720
singers sang in the days of
Hezekiah, we’ve marched now

301
00:20:42,720 –> 00:20:48,040
another 95 years to come to the
great Passover of Josiah in the

302
00:20:48,040 –> 00:20:51,480
Second of Chronicles chapter 35.
That’s about another 3

303
00:20:51,480 –> 00:20:56,120
generations of the House of
Asaph, but they’re still there,

304
00:20:56,120 –> 00:20:59,800
quick of the flesh, when the Ark
of God reappears in the temple

305
00:20:59,880 –> 00:21:06,440
in Josiah’s time.
So what must this family have

306
00:21:06,440 –> 00:21:11,760
felt when a man, when a king as
good as Josiah died?

307
00:21:11,760 –> 00:21:15,400
Well, we’re told actually in the
Second of Chronicles chapter 35,

308
00:21:15,400 –> 00:21:18,480
because of course, this is the
tragedy of what happened in the

309
00:21:18,480 –> 00:21:21,440
time of Josiah.
He embarked upon this

310
00:21:21,440 –> 00:21:25,040
reformation and upon this
wondrous Passover at which the

311
00:21:25,040 –> 00:21:28,760
House of Asaph sang.
But we’re told in the Second of

312
00:21:28,760 –> 00:21:36,120
Chronicles chapter 35 and verse
23, and The Archers shot at King

313
00:21:36,120 –> 00:21:38,520
Josiah.
And the king said to his

314
00:21:38,520 –> 00:21:41,120
servants, have me away, for I’m
sore wounded.

315
00:21:41,680 –> 00:21:44,680
His servants therefore took him
out of that chariot and put him

316
00:21:44,680 –> 00:21:46,200
in the second chariot that he
had.

317
00:21:46,360 –> 00:21:47,800
And they brought him to
Jerusalem.

318
00:21:47,800 –> 00:21:52,120
And he died and was buried in
one of the sepulchers of his

319
00:21:52,120 –> 00:21:55,320
fathers.
And all Judah and Jerusalem

320
00:21:55,320 –> 00:22:00,800
mourned for Josiah, and Jeremiah
lamented for Josiah, and all the

321
00:22:00,800 –> 00:22:05,840
singing men and the singing
women spake of Josiah in their

322
00:22:05,840 –> 00:22:10,240
lamentations to this day.
You see, I can imagine how how

323
00:22:10,240 –> 00:22:14,400
desperately sad the House of
Asaph would have been when such

324
00:22:14,400 –> 00:22:17,840
a man as this, who was so close
in spirit to them, died.

325
00:22:18,040 –> 00:22:21,280
And that work of revival began
to decline again, because with

326
00:22:21,280 –> 00:22:26,120
the death of Josiah, the nation
now rapidly did decline through

327
00:22:26,120 –> 00:22:30,600
the reign of Jehoiahs, through
the time of Jehoiakim, through

328
00:22:30,600 –> 00:22:34,560
the reign of Jehoiah Qin, to the
time of Zedekiah.

329
00:22:36,080 –> 00:22:40,360
When finally all was lost and
the nation was about to be

330
00:22:40,360 –> 00:22:44,400
carried forth into captivity,
the House of God was burned with

331
00:22:44,400 –> 00:22:49,400
fire.
And Psalm 74 and Psalm 79 were

332
00:22:49,400 –> 00:22:53,560
written by the House of Asaph,
weeping as they went forth into

333
00:22:53,560 –> 00:22:56,880
captivity in Babylon at the
desolation that had come upon

334
00:22:56,880 –> 00:23:02,680
the House of God, and bitter
lamentation or the spiritual

335
00:23:02,680 –> 00:23:07,480
failure of the nation.
In the meantime, brothers and

336
00:23:07,480 –> 00:23:12,360
sisters, the sons of Asaph were
put in the basket of good figs,

337
00:23:14,200 –> 00:23:15,560
and they were carried to
Bebelen.

338
00:23:17,000 –> 00:23:19,240
And what was their spirit when
they got to Bebelen, do you

339
00:23:19,240 –> 00:23:21,720
think?
What do you think the spirit and

340
00:23:21,720 –> 00:23:25,400
the attitude of the family of
Asaph was when they came into

341
00:23:25,400 –> 00:23:28,880
the land of the stranger and
into their place of captivity?

342
00:23:28,880 –> 00:23:31,760
Well, I think we know.
I think we’re given a Psalm that

343
00:23:31,760 –> 00:23:37,560
tells us exactly how the how the
whoops, how the House of Asaph

344
00:23:37,640 –> 00:23:40,920
felt in captivity.
Now, what might that Psalm be,

345
00:23:41,080 –> 00:23:48,400
you know?
Well, it’s Psalm 137.

346
00:23:49,360 –> 00:23:52,440
Now come and have a look at this
because I think that this Psalm

347
00:23:52,440 –> 00:23:57,320
tells us exactly what the spirit
of this family was in the time

348
00:23:57,480 –> 00:24:00,360
of their captivity in the land
of Babylon.

349
00:24:01,880 –> 00:24:05,960
It says there in the first
verse, you see what this Well,

350
00:24:06,080 –> 00:24:08,520
in fact, before we even get to
the first verse, they’re heading

351
00:24:08,520 –> 00:24:15,200
over my Bible for Psalm 137 says
the constancy of the Jews in

352
00:24:15,200 –> 00:24:17,920
captivity.
That’s the heading for the

353
00:24:17,920 –> 00:24:21,680
Psalm, the constancy of the Jews
in captivity.

354
00:24:21,840 –> 00:24:26,160
But I, I don’t think that the
Psalm celebrates the constancy

355
00:24:26,160 –> 00:24:30,480
of the Jews in general.
I think that this Psalm

356
00:24:30,480 –> 00:24:35,920
celebrates the constancy of a
particular group of Jews in

357
00:24:35,920 –> 00:24:38,760
captivity.
Now, do you know who that that

358
00:24:38,760 –> 00:24:40,960
group might be?
Well, I’ll tell you.

359
00:24:40,960 –> 00:24:44,000
It’s the group who are known as
the Singers.

360
00:24:44,680 –> 00:24:48,640
This Psalm is all about the
singers who went to Babylon, and

361
00:24:48,640 –> 00:24:51,800
the Psalm will reveal the spirit
of the House of Asaph.

362
00:24:51,960 –> 00:24:57,480
Here’s a break up or a breakdown
as the case may be of Psalm 137.

363
00:24:57,880 –> 00:25:06,400
It’s a very simple 1 verses one
to three pathos, verses 4 to 6

364
00:25:06,640 –> 00:25:12,200
defiance, verses 7 to 9
judgement.

365
00:25:13,200 –> 00:25:17,440
This Psalm is the spirit of the
House of Asaph in Babylon.

366
00:25:17,680 –> 00:25:21,520
They were determined not to give
up their songs, but they were

367
00:25:21,520 –> 00:25:24,360
equally determined that they
would not sing them to the

368
00:25:24,360 –> 00:25:26,720
heathen.
And so when it says, well,

369
00:25:26,720 –> 00:25:31,000
wedding in verse one by the
rivers of Babylon, there we sat

370
00:25:31,000 –> 00:25:33,560
down.
Yeah, we wept when we, when we

371
00:25:33,560 –> 00:25:37,520
remembered Zion.
We hanged our hearts upon the

372
00:25:37,520 –> 00:25:41,440
willows in the midst thereof.
For there they that carried us

373
00:25:41,440 –> 00:25:46,800
away captive required of us a
song, and they that wasted us

374
00:25:46,800 –> 00:25:51,280
required of us mirth, saying,
Sing us one of the songs of

375
00:25:51,280 –> 00:25:53,720
Zion.
Now who might the Babylonians

376
00:25:53,720 –> 00:25:57,000
have asked to sing the songs of
Zion?

377
00:25:57,000 –> 00:26:00,320
Brothers and sisters, but the
families of the singers, of

378
00:26:00,320 –> 00:26:02,760
course.
And what was the spirit of the

379
00:26:02,760 –> 00:26:04,240
singers?
Verse 4?

380
00:26:04,480 –> 00:26:08,920
How shall we sing Yahweh song in
a strange land?

381
00:26:09,120 –> 00:26:12,160
Now you see, I think that the
words of verse 4 is not the

382
00:26:12,160 –> 00:26:16,560
spirit of apathy.
I think that here instead was

383
00:26:16,560 –> 00:26:20,920
that silence which sprang from a
burning loyalty to the truth,

384
00:26:21,160 –> 00:26:25,200
only made more intense by the
disaster of the captivity.

385
00:26:25,360 –> 00:26:28,200
It wasn’t that this family
weren’t prepared to sing the

386
00:26:28,200 –> 00:26:30,960
songs of God, brothers and
sisters, that they would not

387
00:26:30,960 –> 00:26:35,840
sing them to strangers.
You see what verse, what verses

388
00:26:35,840 –> 00:26:39,400
5 and 6 say?
If I forget the O Jerusalem, let

389
00:26:39,400 –> 00:26:42,560
my right hand forget her
cunning.

390
00:26:42,880 –> 00:26:47,600
If I do not remember thee, let
my tongue cleave to the roof of

391
00:26:47,600 –> 00:26:53,840
my mouth.
Tongues and hands.

392
00:26:55,520 –> 00:27:00,600
Now who might those two words
refer to in Psalm 137?

393
00:27:00,960 –> 00:27:08,560
Tongues and hands, but the
singers on instruments.

394
00:27:09,840 –> 00:27:14,440
This is the vow of loyalty that
the singers made in Babylon,

395
00:27:15,000 –> 00:27:19,440
that they would never forget
Jerusalem in all of their

396
00:27:19,440 –> 00:27:23,640
captivity.
Now, you see, I think that this

397
00:27:23,640 –> 00:27:27,240
particular Sam is appropriate to
the overthrow of Babylon.

398
00:27:27,240 –> 00:27:29,680
That has been used, by the way,
on some occasions in the

399
00:27:29,680 –> 00:27:33,040
brotherhood to argue other
causes, such as relating it to

400
00:27:33,040 –> 00:27:35,440
the time of the Assyrians and
Seneca.

401
00:27:35,440 –> 00:27:36,920
But I do not think that that’s
so.

402
00:27:37,160 –> 00:27:40,280
I think it is definitely a Sam
relating to the Babylonian

403
00:27:40,280 –> 00:27:42,760
captivity.
I can think of three good

404
00:27:42,760 –> 00:27:47,560
reasons for saying so.
Firstly, in verse 7, the day of

405
00:27:47,560 –> 00:27:52,080
Jerusalem that is referred to is
the day when the foundations of

406
00:27:52,080 –> 00:27:54,200
the city of Jerusalem were
discovered.

407
00:27:54,360 –> 00:27:57,480
It is clearly the day of
Jerusalem’s overthrow.

408
00:27:58,280 –> 00:28:00,960
The overthrow of Jerusalem never
happened in the days of the

409
00:28:00,960 –> 00:28:03,600
Assyrians.
Sennacherib never got even

410
00:28:03,600 –> 00:28:06,240
inside the city.
He never did overthrow

411
00:28:06,240 –> 00:28:09,440
Jerusalem.
But this Psalm is a lamentation

412
00:28:09,440 –> 00:28:13,520
for the day when Jerusalem fell
that relates to the Babylonians

413
00:28:14,440 –> 00:28:17,760
in verse 8.
The words happy, the word

414
00:28:17,760 –> 00:28:23,200
reward, and the words served are
all deliberately taken from

415
00:28:23,200 –> 00:28:30,160
Jeremiah chapter 51 and verse 56
concerning the future overthrow

416
00:28:30,160 –> 00:28:34,760
of Babylon.
The very verbs of Psalm 137

417
00:28:34,760 –> 00:28:39,080
verse 8 are taken specifically
from the prophecy of Jeremiah

418
00:28:39,080 –> 00:28:44,080
chapter 51, verse 56, which most
certainly is not about Assyria,

419
00:28:44,360 –> 00:28:49,760
it’s about Babylon.
And lastly, verse 9 says, Happy

420
00:28:49,760 –> 00:28:54,760
shall he be that taketh and
dasheth thy little ones against

421
00:28:54,760 –> 00:28:57,560
the stones.
And Rotherham’s translates that

422
00:28:57,800 –> 00:29:02,040
blessed is the man that shall do
these things.

423
00:29:02,160 –> 00:29:06,880
And this Psalm looks forward to
a particular individual that one

424
00:29:06,880 –> 00:29:10,880
day would conquer Babylon and
answer the prayers of the

425
00:29:10,880 –> 00:29:13,920
singers who were there.
And you see, I think that what

426
00:29:13,920 –> 00:29:17,360
Psalm 137 is talking about,
brothers and sisters, is that

427
00:29:17,360 –> 00:29:20,960
the way by which the singers
would not forget Jerusalem was

428
00:29:20,960 –> 00:29:24,600
that they would continue to
practice the songs of Zion in

429
00:29:24,600 –> 00:29:28,480
the blazing conviction that one
day they would return there.

430
00:29:28,640 –> 00:29:33,800
This Psalm is the passion and
the drive and the commitment of

431
00:29:33,800 –> 00:29:37,600
the House of Asaph in captivity.
It wasn’t that they wouldn’t

432
00:29:37,600 –> 00:29:42,200
sing the temple songs in a
strange land, but they wouldn’t

433
00:29:42,200 –> 00:29:46,280
sing them for the public
amusement of profane and

434
00:29:46,280 –> 00:29:51,280
scornful heathen.
So in public, therefore, they

435
00:29:51,280 –> 00:29:56,200
showed that their singing was
over and their harps abandoned.

436
00:29:57,520 –> 00:30:03,400
But in private they practiced
like they always had, because

437
00:30:03,400 –> 00:30:08,080
they vowed in the Psalm that
they never, ever would forget

438
00:30:08,080 –> 00:30:11,880
Jerusalem with their heart or
their hand or their tongue.

439
00:30:12,160 –> 00:30:16,480
You see, this family never gave
in, and they never gave up.

440
00:30:18,280 –> 00:30:26,160
And one day, one blessed day,
the deliverer of their prayers

441
00:30:26,560 –> 00:30:32,560
appeared, and his name was
Cyrus.

442
00:30:34,440 –> 00:30:38,760
And then Ezra chapter 1, we’re
told of the great proclamation

443
00:30:38,760 –> 00:30:43,880
of Cyrus that would lead to a
return of the Jewish people from

444
00:30:43,880 –> 00:30:47,560
captivity.
And this is what we’re told in

445
00:30:47,720 –> 00:30:53,040
Ezra chapter 1 and reading from
the second verse.

446
00:30:55,920 –> 00:30:58,600
Thus saith Cyrus, king of
Persia.

447
00:31:00,840 –> 00:31:03,440
The Lord God of heaven hath
given me all the kingdoms of the

448
00:31:03,480 –> 00:31:07,600
earth, and he has charged me to
build him in a house at

449
00:31:07,600 –> 00:31:12,320
Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Who is there among you of all

450
00:31:12,320 –> 00:31:13,760
His people?
His God?

451
00:31:13,760 –> 00:31:17,080
Be with him, and let him go up
to Jerusalem, which is in Judah,

452
00:31:17,080 –> 00:31:21,200
and build the House of Yahweh,
God of Israel.

453
00:31:21,360 –> 00:31:23,680
Now Can you imagine, brothers
and sisters, this phrase in the

454
00:31:23,680 –> 00:31:26,440
third verse utter than the
proclamation of Cyrus?

455
00:31:26,640 –> 00:31:29,760
Can you imagine the impact of
this phrase upon the House of

456
00:31:29,760 –> 00:31:34,240
Asaph in particular?
Who is there of all His people

457
00:31:34,640 –> 00:31:36,600
that might, might respond to
this call?

458
00:31:36,800 –> 00:31:39,120
Well, you just know that it
would have to be the House of

459
00:31:39,120 –> 00:31:41,440
Asaph, wouldn’t you?
That of all the families that

460
00:31:41,440 –> 00:31:44,880
would desire to go back to the
land of Israel killer, to the

461
00:31:44,880 –> 00:31:48,160
place of the House of God and to
the presence of God amongst his

462
00:31:48,160 –> 00:31:50,200
people, it would be the House of
Asaph.

463
00:31:50,400 –> 00:31:54,760
So it is with no surprise then
that when we come to Ezra

464
00:31:54,760 –> 00:31:59,240
chapter 2 and we read the list
of the genealogy of those who

465
00:31:59,240 –> 00:32:03,840
returned in this first wave,
this first return of the

466
00:32:03,840 –> 00:32:07,480
redeemed to Zion under
Zerubbabel and Joshua.

467
00:32:07,720 –> 00:32:12,920
That in Ezra chapter 2 and verse
41 amongst those who came in

468
00:32:12,920 –> 00:32:20,440
this very first wave, it says
the singers, the children of

469
00:32:20,440 –> 00:32:27,760
Asaph and 120 and 8.
So this was the family, perhaps

470
00:32:27,760 –> 00:32:31,920
above all others who celebrated
the spirit of Psalm 137 that

471
00:32:31,920 –> 00:32:33,480
they would never forget
Jerusalem.

472
00:32:33,600 –> 00:32:37,040
Because when the when the chance
first came to come back to the

473
00:32:37,040 –> 00:32:40,520
land, the House of ASA are there
right at the front, right in the

474
00:32:40,520 –> 00:32:42,400
forefront.
And that brings us you see to to

475
00:32:42,440 –> 00:32:44,800
Ezra chapter 3.
Now just come and have a look at

476
00:32:44,800 –> 00:32:48,520
Ezra chapter 3 then, because
here and there is the story in

477
00:32:48,520 –> 00:32:53,280
Ezra chapter 3 of the laying
again of the foundation of the

478
00:32:53,280 –> 00:32:56,040
Temple.
This was an exciting, exciting

479
00:32:56,040 –> 00:32:58,000
moment in the history of the
nation.

480
00:32:58,240 –> 00:33:01,800
Now you see what the seventh
verse says in Ezra chapter 3.

481
00:33:02,600 –> 00:33:06,680
It says that they gave money
also unto the Masons and to the

482
00:33:06,680 –> 00:33:11,480
carpenters, and meat.
Now that word meat, by the way,

483
00:33:11,480 –> 00:33:14,680
in verse 7 ought to be
translated meal, shouldn’t it?

484
00:33:14,680 –> 00:33:18,400
It’s the word for meal.
So it’s really to do with grain.

485
00:33:18,760 –> 00:33:24,640
So they gave grain and drink,
and that drink is wine and oil

486
00:33:25,080 –> 00:33:29,080
unto them of Zeidan, and to them
of Tyre, to bring cedar trees

487
00:33:29,080 –> 00:33:32,240
from Lebanon to the sea of
Joppa.

488
00:33:32,400 –> 00:33:35,800
So what this first tells us is
that they made arrangements to

489
00:33:35,800 –> 00:33:44,480
supply exports of grain, of wine
and of oil in return for Cedars

490
00:33:44,480 –> 00:33:47,520
from Lebanon floated down to
Joppa.

491
00:33:47,920 –> 00:33:49,520
Do you know where that all comes
from?

492
00:33:51,080 –> 00:33:55,240
That is a deliberate reenactment
of the days of Solomon.

493
00:33:55,440 –> 00:33:58,160
Now hold your hand in Ezra
chapter 3 and come back to the

494
00:33:58,160 –> 00:34:01,400
Second of Chronicles chapter 2
because, well, this is what

495
00:34:01,400 –> 00:34:03,840
happened in the days of Solomon.
You see, we’re told in the

496
00:34:03,840 –> 00:34:08,159
Second of Chronicles chapter 2.
And then reading firstly from

497
00:34:08,159 –> 00:34:12,760
verse three, it says this here’s
Solomon building the temple.

498
00:34:13,360 –> 00:34:16,199
And I think that you see in Ezra
chapter 3 that those who had

499
00:34:16,199 –> 00:34:19,360
come back to the land
deliberately did it this way

500
00:34:19,560 –> 00:34:21,760
that they might echo the days of
Solomon.

501
00:34:21,760 –> 00:34:25,840
They wanted to recreate the
golden age of Solomon all over

502
00:34:25,840 –> 00:34:27,800
again.
Now in the second of Chronicles

503
00:34:27,800 –> 00:34:32,360
2, verse three, it says, And
Solomon sent to Hiram the king

504
00:34:32,360 –> 00:34:37,960
of Tyre, saying, As thou didst
deal with David my father, and

505
00:34:37,960 –> 00:34:41,760
didst send him Cedars to build
him an house to dwell therein,

506
00:34:42,440 –> 00:34:46,880
Even so dwell with me.
And then in verse 2, verse 10,

507
00:34:47,320 –> 00:34:50,080
he he, he said that this is what
he would be prepared to pay.

508
00:34:50,679 –> 00:34:53,280
Behold, I will give to thy
servants the hewers that cut

509
00:34:53,280 –> 00:34:58,400
timber, 20,000 measures of
beaten wheat and 20,000 measures

510
00:34:58,400 –> 00:35:05,480
of barley.
So that’s the grain, and 20,000

511
00:35:05,480 –> 00:35:11,680
baths of wine and 20,000 baths
of oil.

512
00:35:13,480 –> 00:35:18,680
So there was an arrangement for
the export of grain, of wine and

513
00:35:18,680 –> 00:35:21,280
of oil.
In return for what?

514
00:35:22,560 –> 00:35:25,760
Well, in return for trees.
And Hiram agreed.

515
00:35:25,760 –> 00:35:29,200
Because verse 15 says Now
therefore the wheat and the

516
00:35:29,200 –> 00:35:33,600
barley, the oil and the wine
which my Lord has spoken of, let

517
00:35:33,600 –> 00:35:36,640
him send unto his servants, and
we will cut wood out of Lebanon

518
00:35:36,640 –> 00:35:39,600
as much as thou shalt need, and
we will bring it to thee in

519
00:35:39,600 –> 00:35:43,840
floats.
If I see so Joppa.

520
00:35:44,920 –> 00:35:49,000
Oh, now that’s the very language
you see of Ezra chapter 3 and

521
00:35:49,000 –> 00:35:51,080
verse 7.
And I think that what happened

522
00:35:51,080 –> 00:35:53,800
is when they came back to the
land that they deliberately

523
00:35:53,800 –> 00:35:57,600
reenacted the story of Solomon.
They wanted to recreate the

524
00:35:57,600 –> 00:36:01,440
temple as it was in its glory in
earlier times.

525
00:36:01,440 –> 00:36:04,560
Come back to Ezra chapter 3 and
and now read verse 8.

526
00:36:05,640 –> 00:36:10,400
So in Ezra chapter 3 and verse 8
it says now in the second year

527
00:36:10,480 –> 00:36:13,920
of their coming into the House
of God at Jerusalem in the

528
00:36:13,920 –> 00:36:19,680
second month began Serababul and
Jesua.

529
00:36:20,440 –> 00:36:23,720
And if we were to ask what was
it that they began in the eighth

530
00:36:23,720 –> 00:36:28,400
verse, the answer is they began
to lay the foundation of the

531
00:36:28,400 –> 00:36:29,960
temple.
But when did they lay it?

532
00:36:30,080 –> 00:36:33,520
Well, the eighth verse says it
was in the second month, but if

533
00:36:33,520 –> 00:36:36,560
you come back to the First of
Kings chapter 6, you’ll find

534
00:36:36,560 –> 00:36:42,440
that that was the very month
that Solomon began to build the

535
00:36:42,440 –> 00:36:44,480
temple.
And I think that they chose this

536
00:36:44,480 –> 00:36:47,520
time deliberately.
You see in the First of Kings

537
00:36:47,520 –> 00:36:52,040
chapter 6, we’re told in the
first verse, it came to pass on

538
00:36:52,040 –> 00:36:55,880
the 480th year after the
children of Israel would come

539
00:36:55,880 –> 00:36:59,160
out of the land of Egypt in the
fourth year of Solomon’s reign

540
00:36:59,160 –> 00:37:05,840
over Israel in the month Ziff,
which is the second month that

541
00:37:05,840 –> 00:37:12,840
he began to build the House of
Yahweh, first of Kings 6, verse

542
00:37:12,840 –> 00:37:14,200
one.
And not only that, but if you

543
00:37:14,200 –> 00:37:19,040
come to the very if you come to
verse 37 of that chapter, first

544
00:37:19,040 –> 00:37:23,760
of Kings 6, verse 37, it says in
the fourth year was the

545
00:37:23,760 –> 00:37:28,200
foundation of the House of
Yahweh laid in the month Ziff.

546
00:37:29,120 –> 00:37:32,040
So the second month was the very
month that Solomon laid the

547
00:37:32,040 –> 00:37:37,440
foundations of the temple.
And now in Ezra chapter 3 and

548
00:37:37,440 –> 00:37:41,840
verse 8, Joshua and Zerubbel
begin to lay the foundations of

549
00:37:41,840 –> 00:37:46,080
the temple in the second month.
Oh yes, I think they knew

550
00:37:46,080 –> 00:37:48,760
exactly what they were doing on
this occasion.

551
00:37:48,960 –> 00:37:52,560
Now come back to Ezra 3 and
verse 10.

552
00:37:55,600 –> 00:37:59,880
And when the builders laid the
foundation of the temple of

553
00:37:59,880 –> 00:38:07,440
Yahweh, they set the priests in
their apparel with trumpets and

554
00:38:07,440 –> 00:38:16,840
the Levites, the sons of Asaph
with symbols to praise Yahweh

555
00:38:16,840 –> 00:38:19,080
after the ordinance of David,
King of Israel.

556
00:38:20,560 –> 00:38:22,560
And you see, what we’re being
told in verse 10, I think, is

557
00:38:22,560 –> 00:38:26,080
that this was again exactly the
same as it were in the day that

558
00:38:26,080 –> 00:38:28,520
the ark of God was taken in, in
Solomon’s celebration.

559
00:38:28,520 –> 00:38:30,040
It’s all the same all over
again.

560
00:38:30,040 –> 00:38:32,840
You see, the trumpeters are
there, the singers are there,

561
00:38:32,880 –> 00:38:35,720
the instruments are there.
They’re all clothed in the in

562
00:38:35,720 –> 00:38:38,080
the robes of linen.
It’s exactly as if it’s

563
00:38:38,080 –> 00:38:42,120
Solomon’s day all over again.
And yet of course, it wasn’t

564
00:38:42,120 –> 00:38:47,240
Solomon’s day and it was.
Honestly, brothers and sisters,

565
00:38:47,240 –> 00:38:52,000
in the 10th verse of Ezra 3,
really there is rending pathos

566
00:38:52,200 –> 00:38:56,120
to this particular scene on this
occasion because as we looked

567
00:38:56,120 –> 00:39:00,120
about the hill on which they
stood on the occasion of Ezra 3

568
00:39:00,120 –> 00:39:04,680
and verse 10, the signs of
desolation are everywhere.

569
00:39:05,600 –> 00:39:08,400
The Temple Mount is still
scarred and ravaged from

570
00:39:08,400 –> 00:39:12,680
Babylonian fire.
That there, amidst the signs of

571
00:39:12,680 –> 00:39:17,320
ruin, embedded into the good
earth of Mount Moriah, sunk into

572
00:39:17,320 –> 00:39:22,440
its rocky outcrop, was a row of
freshly dressed stones, clean

573
00:39:22,440 –> 00:39:25,040
and sharp.
That was the beginning of a new

574
00:39:25,040 –> 00:39:29,800
foundation for a new temple.
And who’s there ready to sing

575
00:39:29,800 –> 00:39:31,640
the songs of the Lord?
Verse 10.

576
00:39:31,720 –> 00:39:34,040
Why the sons of Asaph?
You notice, by the way, in the

577
00:39:34,040 –> 00:39:37,320
10th verse it doesn’t mention
either Heman or Judithan.

578
00:39:38,640 –> 00:39:42,080
There’s no record that either
the sons of Heman or the sons of

579
00:39:42,080 –> 00:39:45,720
Judithan returned at this time.
Only the sons of Asaph are

580
00:39:45,720 –> 00:39:47,680
there.
You see, these are the ones,

581
00:39:47,680 –> 00:39:51,560
perhaps more than any others,
who kept that burning flame of

582
00:39:51,560 –> 00:39:56,160
Psalm 137 alive.
And look what it says in verse

583
00:39:56,160 –> 00:40:00,040
11.
They sang together by course.

584
00:40:01,160 –> 00:40:04,000
Do you know that the Nehemiah
Chapter 7, we’re told that when

585
00:40:04,000 –> 00:40:06,520
some of the priests came back to
the land that they couldn’t

586
00:40:06,520 –> 00:40:09,240
prove their lineage, could they?
And they were not able to

587
00:40:09,240 –> 00:40:11,880
establish what priestly course
they belonged to?

588
00:40:11,880 –> 00:40:16,840
Do you remember that the sons of
Asaph had no trouble with

589
00:40:16,840 –> 00:40:21,160
knowing what their course was?
They were ready to sing in their

590
00:40:21,160 –> 00:40:24,760
courses after all this time
without hesitation.

591
00:40:24,840 –> 00:40:28,400
They knew exactly what their
orders and their courses were,

592
00:40:28,520 –> 00:40:31,520
and they were ready to sing at
the command of Joshua and

593
00:40:31,520 –> 00:40:32,960
Zerubbabel.
And what are they sing?

594
00:40:32,960 –> 00:40:35,800
Verse 11?
They sang together by course in

595
00:40:35,800 –> 00:40:39,720
praising and giving thanks.
Also there there are two

596
00:40:39,720 –> 00:40:43,640
keywords.
They praised and gave thanks,

597
00:40:44,840 –> 00:40:49,640
and you’d never believe, but the
words of their song were

598
00:40:49,720 –> 00:40:55,360
brothers and sisters, would you?
They gave thanks unto Yahweh

599
00:40:56,880 –> 00:41:06,200
because He is good for His mercy
endureth forever toward Israel.

600
00:41:07,600 –> 00:41:10,040
Why?
That’s the first of Chronicles

601
00:41:10,040 –> 00:41:17,000
chapter 16 and this 34.
You see, the foundation might be

602
00:41:17,000 –> 00:41:20,520
new brothers and sisters, but
the singers who sang in front of

603
00:41:20,520 –> 00:41:25,440
that new foundation this day
sang their old songs to the old

604
00:41:25,440 –> 00:41:29,280
words.
They didn’t find them old

605
00:41:29,280 –> 00:41:32,840
fashioned.
They found them absolutely fresh

606
00:41:32,840 –> 00:41:35,360
and new because they believed
that they were singing eternal

607
00:41:35,360 –> 00:41:37,200
truths.
Do you know that this episode

608
00:41:37,200 –> 00:41:39,480
and Ezra chapter 3, brothers and
sisters?

609
00:41:39,760 –> 00:41:44,400
Well, it’s 85 years after the
time of Josiah in the Second of

610
00:41:44,400 –> 00:41:48,560
Chronicles 35.
It’s 85 years later.

611
00:41:48,560 –> 00:41:57,440
This is BC 535, but it’s 460
years after David gave this

612
00:41:57,440 –> 00:42:03,680
Psalm to this family in the
first of Chronicles 16, 460

613
00:42:03,680 –> 00:42:06,280
years later, brothers and
sisters, you know, we’re told on

614
00:42:06,280 –> 00:42:09,040
the occasion of this chapter
that there were some who wept,

615
00:42:09,160 –> 00:42:12,240
some who wept because of the joy
of building a new temple, some

616
00:42:12,240 –> 00:42:14,800
who wept because they remember
the glories of the old.

617
00:42:15,000 –> 00:42:17,400
I would have wept on that day,
brothers and sisters, for a

618
00:42:17,400 –> 00:42:22,880
family who after 460 years could
stand up and sing the same hymn

619
00:42:22,880 –> 00:42:26,960
for the same words, and never
have forgotten it in their

620
00:42:26,960 –> 00:42:30,120
family through all those
generations.

621
00:42:30,280 –> 00:42:32,840
And you see, this is the spirit
of Psalm 137.

622
00:42:32,960 –> 00:42:36,520
They said, never let us forget
those who said, raise it, raise

623
00:42:36,520 –> 00:42:38,760
it to the very foundations
thereof.

624
00:42:38,880 –> 00:42:43,520
And now in triumph they sing
before a fresh foundation that

625
00:42:43,520 –> 00:42:47,080
arises upon the good earth.
You see, they didn’t despise the

626
00:42:47,080 –> 00:42:50,880
day of small things.
They were always there.

627
00:42:51,000 –> 00:42:53,600
At the time of a spiritual
revival of brothers and sisters

628
00:42:53,600 –> 00:42:57,560
in the nation, the House of
Asaph were there, ready to sing

629
00:42:57,680 –> 00:43:00,440
their ancient songs all over
again.

630
00:43:00,560 –> 00:43:03,040
You see, I think that this is
the great lesson of our study

631
00:43:03,040 –> 00:43:06,880
this morning.
It is the lesson of the virtue

632
00:43:07,040 –> 00:43:12,720
of constancy.
The virtue of constancy is one

633
00:43:12,720 –> 00:43:16,520
of the great principles that the
House of Asaph stood for.

634
00:43:17,160 –> 00:43:21,880
You know, we have hymns in our
hymn book today that come from

635
00:43:21,880 –> 00:43:25,400
the Golden Harp.
Now you know what the Golden

636
00:43:25,400 –> 00:43:28,320
Harp is.
Golden Harp was the very first

637
00:43:28,320 –> 00:43:29,520
Christadelphian.
The hymn book.

638
00:43:29,520 –> 00:43:32,280
You know that we’ve still got
hymns that we sing today from

639
00:43:32,280 –> 00:43:35,440
that first hymn book.
I think that’s marvellous that

640
00:43:35,440 –> 00:43:39,040
we still sing according to the
principles of our own ancient

641
00:43:39,040 –> 00:43:41,280
heritage.
You know our hymn book, brothers

642
00:43:41,280 –> 00:43:44,120
and sisters, the Christadelphian
Hymn book over the years.

643
00:43:44,400 –> 00:43:47,600
Well, it did borrow hymns from
other sources, but I’ll tell you

644
00:43:47,600 –> 00:43:52,440
what, our earlier brethren that
borrowed those hymns put them

645
00:43:52,440 –> 00:43:57,920
through a mighty fine sieve.
And by the time they got through

646
00:43:57,920 –> 00:44:02,320
that soothe into our hymn book,
the words and the spirit so

647
00:44:02,320 –> 00:44:06,480
utterly echoed what we believe,
that we could sing that Psalm or

648
00:44:06,480 –> 00:44:09,480
that song and give a hearty Amen
to the words.

649
00:44:09,520 –> 00:44:15,280
It preserved the heritage of our
faith, and we need to appreciate

650
00:44:15,400 –> 00:44:19,560
how vital a hymn book is in
holding together a community to

651
00:44:19,560 –> 00:44:21,240
those principles that we believe
in.

652
00:44:21,240 –> 00:44:25,520
You see this house, they never,
ever once changed their hymns

653
00:44:25,680 –> 00:44:29,720
because they believed that the
truths they sang were eternal.

654
00:44:29,800 –> 00:44:32,480
Will sow out our truths,
brothers and sisters, and

655
00:44:32,480 –> 00:44:35,840
therefore we believe that we
should treasure and value the

656
00:44:35,840 –> 00:44:38,480
hymn book that we have.
Whenever I hear a brother or

657
00:44:38,480 –> 00:44:41,440
sister saying that they think
the hymns are boring, I think

658
00:44:41,440 –> 00:44:45,000
there’s a problem.
I think they haven’t discovered

659
00:44:45,000 –> 00:44:48,320
the true majesty and power of
the scriptural record that will

660
00:44:48,320 –> 00:44:51,760
make those hymns come alive.
But what I do know for certain

661
00:44:51,920 –> 00:44:56,000
is that the solution doesn’t lie
in borrowing from modern

662
00:44:56,000 –> 00:45:00,360
Christian sources.
And there is a bit of that in

663
00:45:00,360 –> 00:45:01,840
the Brotherhood today, isn’t
there?

664
00:45:03,000 –> 00:45:07,000
And increasing use of music from
modern Christian sources.

665
00:45:07,000 –> 00:45:11,920
But the danger is that we may
not use the same careful

666
00:45:12,120 –> 00:45:16,840
discriminating process that was
used by earlier generations of

667
00:45:16,840 –> 00:45:21,560
Christadelphians, especially
given the fact that modern

668
00:45:21,560 –> 00:45:26,720
Christian music is nothing other
than pure humanism with a

669
00:45:26,720 –> 00:45:29,920
religious coat on.
It’s nothing more than that.

670
00:45:31,040 –> 00:45:33,200
It’s utterly different to the
spirit of the truth.

671
00:45:33,400 –> 00:45:36,960
We need to be very careful,
brothers and sisters, in terms

672
00:45:36,960 –> 00:45:41,880
of the source of our music.
Now, I’m all for exploring new

673
00:45:41,880 –> 00:45:45,400
music and worship.
I think it’s good, and we do,

674
00:45:45,600 –> 00:45:48,920
especially in our special
evenings of of song and praise.

675
00:45:49,160 –> 00:45:53,480
But if the spirit of searching
for new music is to replace our

676
00:45:53,480 –> 00:45:56,840
hymn book because we think it’s
boring, then I’m passionately

677
00:45:56,840 –> 00:45:59,920
against new music if that’s the
motive.

678
00:46:01,400 –> 00:46:04,920
But if we want to sing other
spiritual songs as well as

679
00:46:04,920 –> 00:46:07,880
treasure our hymn book, then I
think that’s a wonderful thing.

680
00:46:08,160 –> 00:46:12,480
Our hymn book should remain the
core of our spiritual worship.

681
00:46:12,640 –> 00:46:17,280
And that hymn book, in turn,
ought to maintain the heritage

682
00:46:17,280 –> 00:46:22,000
of our faith and be the standard
bearer for what we truly believe

683
00:46:22,160 –> 00:46:25,840
is proper music according to the
benchmark of the House of Asaph.

684
00:46:26,000 –> 00:46:28,640
You see, the spirit of today is
we want something new.

685
00:46:28,720 –> 00:46:32,280
We want something new.
The spirit of the House of Asaph

686
00:46:32,280 –> 00:46:35,360
was treasure.
The old, treasure the old.

687
00:46:36,480 –> 00:46:37,600
It’s a different spirit, isn’t
it?

688
00:46:39,000 –> 00:46:42,160
But you see, that spirit of that
family is what kept them

689
00:46:42,160 –> 00:46:44,720
faithful down through all these
years.

690
00:46:44,880 –> 00:46:48,560
You know, change sometimes can
seem to be very small.

691
00:46:49,480 –> 00:46:54,440
Such a little change here and
there may seem to be harmless.

692
00:46:57,200 –> 00:47:03,640
The where the triumph of
gradualism.

693
00:47:06,440 –> 00:47:11,360
It is by little changes,
brothers and sisters, that our

694
00:47:11,360 –> 00:47:14,280
songs of worship might
imperceptible be altered over

695
00:47:14,280 –> 00:47:23,000
time until our faith is lost,
and we don’t ever want that to

696
00:47:23,000 –> 00:47:26,520
happen.
So you watch for trends, you

697
00:47:26,520 –> 00:47:30,280
see, you watch for trends.
And if the trend is towards an

698
00:47:30,280 –> 00:47:35,760
increasing focus on music at the
expense of the words, then

699
00:47:35,760 –> 00:47:41,440
resist the trend and stay with
those old and lovely things that

700
00:47:41,440 –> 00:47:44,360
we have sung as a community and
that have kept us faithful as a

701
00:47:44,360 –> 00:47:46,280
brotherhood now for a long
period of time.

702
00:47:46,760 –> 00:47:53,080
Not as long, mind you, as the
House of ASAP who managed to

703
00:47:53,080 –> 00:47:56,600
stay on the same hymn book
without revision for an awful

704
00:47:56,600 –> 00:48:02,400
long period of time.
The virtue of constancy.

705
00:48:03,680 –> 00:48:07,400
You see, the instruments of
music were specially made by

706
00:48:07,400 –> 00:48:12,880
David for praising the Lord.
It suggested that David received

707
00:48:12,880 –> 00:48:17,600
the pattern for these by the
divine revelation, and that he

708
00:48:17,600 –> 00:48:20,400
received this in common with the
pattern for all other

709
00:48:20,400 –> 00:48:23,440
instruments that were used for
service in the temple.

710
00:48:24,600 –> 00:48:28,280
They were known, therefore, as
musical instruments of God.

711
00:48:29,800 –> 00:48:33,520
Later revivals of the temple
worship did not deviate from

712
00:48:33,520 –> 00:48:36,960
this standard, and the songs of
the Lord were still sung with

713
00:48:36,960 –> 00:48:39,200
the instruments of David, the
man of God.

714
00:48:40,400 –> 00:48:44,280
In similar fashion.
The words of these songs were

715
00:48:44,280 –> 00:48:46,720
jealously guarded by the House
of Asaph.

716
00:48:47,120 –> 00:48:50,240
The original Psalm delivered
them, delivered to them by

717
00:48:50,240 –> 00:48:53,080
David.
To sing became the center of

718
00:48:53,080 –> 00:48:57,520
their praise.
It’s simple majesty, undimmed by

719
00:48:57,520 –> 00:49:02,360
centuries.
It is reasonable to assume that

720
00:49:02,360 –> 00:49:09,560
just as both instrument and word
did not vary, so also the music

721
00:49:09,560 –> 00:49:15,280
played remained unchanged
throughout the centuries.

722
00:49:16,560 –> 00:49:19,560
I believe that brothers and
sisters, I believe that when the

723
00:49:19,560 –> 00:49:24,040
House of Asaph sang their songs
in Ezra Chapter 3, that they

724
00:49:24,040 –> 00:49:29,760
sang the same words played on
the same instruments, sung to

725
00:49:29,760 –> 00:49:33,960
the same tune.
They never, ever varied.

726
00:49:33,960 –> 00:49:36,880
This faithful family.
Well, brothers and sisters,

727
00:49:36,880 –> 00:49:39,920
they’re back in the land.
They’ve come back.

728
00:49:41,440 –> 00:49:44,120
And there’s more to the story
yet, because the story’s not

729
00:49:44,120 –> 00:49:48,240
quite finished.
But as to what finally happened

730
00:49:48,880 –> 00:49:53,360
to the House of ASAP, well, we
must wait until tomorrow to find

731
00:49:53,360 –> 00:50:08,260
out.
Thank you for listening to the

732
00:50:08,260 –> 00:50:09,860
Good Christadelphian Talks
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733
00:50:10,700 –> 00:50:13,140
We hope this talk helped you in
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734
00:50:13,140 –> 00:50:15,500
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735
00:50:15,500 –> 00:50:17,260
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736
00:50:17,660 –> 00:50:20,900
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00:50:22,200 –> 00:50:24,520
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00:50:24,520 –> 00:50:26,440
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739
00:50:27,360 –> 00:50:30,040
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740
00:50:30,040 –> 00:50:33,920
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741
00:50:33,920 –> 00:50:37,680
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00:50:37,680 –> 00:50:40,680
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746
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749
00:50:57,360 –> 00:51:00,040
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750
00:51:00,320 –> 00:51:02,240
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