Class 5 from this series was used in GCT Episode 338.<\/p>\n
2
\n00:00:05,840 –> 00:00:07,960
\nChristchurch Ecclesia of New
\nZealand. <\/p>\n
3
\n00:00:09,480 –> 00:00:12,880
\nThe theme for Brother Louis’s
\nclass this week is the House of <\/p>\n
4
\n00:00:12,880 –> 00:00:18,320
\nAsaph Family of Faith.
\nToday’s class is entitled The <\/p>\n
5
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\nFaithfulness of the House of
\nAsaph. <\/p>\n
6
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\nWell, thank you, brother
\nChairman, and my dear brothers <\/p>\n
7
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\nand sisters in the Lord Jesus
\nChrist. <\/p>\n
8
\n00:00:29,640 –> 00:00:33,000
\nYou’ll remember the now.
\nIn our previous study yesterday,<\/p>\n
9
\n00:00:33,520 –> 00:00:38,320
\nwe looked at the House of Asaph
\nfrom the time of Jehoshaphat to <\/p>\n
10
\n00:00:38,320 –> 00:00:42,640
\nthe time of Hezekiah.
\nYou’ll remember how we saw <\/p>\n
11
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\nJehoiada’s revival 25 years
\nafter Jehoshaphat in <\/p>\n
12
\n00:00:47,440 –> 00:00:54,680
\napproximately BC 835, and how he
\ninsisted on having the very best<\/p>\n
13
\n00:00:54,680 –> 00:00:58,800
\nof the singers present at the
\ncoronation of Joash. <\/p>\n
14
\n00:00:59,560 –> 00:01:02,760
\nAnd how that the sons of Asaph
\nin fact were the leading course <\/p>\n
15
\n00:01:02,760 –> 00:01:07,280
\nof those leading singers in
\npraise who were there at the <\/p>\n
16
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\ncoronation of the King, so that
\nthe very best of standards might<\/p>\n
17
\n00:01:11,560 –> 00:01:14,120
\nbe the benchmark of the young
\nKing’s reign. <\/p>\n
18
\n00:01:16,080 –> 00:01:20,880
\nThen you’ll remember that about
\n120 years later, in <\/p>\n
19
\n00:01:20,880 –> 00:01:27,600
\napproximately BC 715, we saw the
\ntremendous readiness of the <\/p>\n
20
\n00:01:27,600 –> 00:01:30,840
\nHouse of Asaph in the days of
\nHezekiah. <\/p>\n
21
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\nAnd we learned how this amazing
\nfamily had practiced their songs<\/p>\n
22
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\nin secret through all those
\nyears of dreadful apostasy. <\/p>\n
23
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\nAnd we learned to appreciate,
\ndid we not, the excellence of <\/p>\n
24
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\nendeavour, and to know that for
\nthe House of Asaph, even their <\/p>\n
25
\n00:01:46,600 –> 00:01:51,080
\npractice each day was considered
\nto be part of their offering to <\/p>\n
26
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\nAlmighty God.
\nSo what happened then to the <\/p>\n
27
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\nHouse of Asaph after Hezekiah
\ndied? <\/p>\n
28
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\nWell, you know, the reigns of
\nthe next two kings in Judah were<\/p>\n
29
\n00:02:06,360 –> 00:02:09,240
\namongst the worst in the history
\nof the nation. <\/p>\n
30
\n00:02:09,240 –> 00:02:13,400
\nIn fact, if you come to the
\nSecond of Kings and chapter 21, <\/p>\n
31
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\nwe’re told of the circumstances
\nof the king that followed <\/p>\n
32
\n00:02:17,440 –> 00:02:20,480
\nHezekiah, who was of course his
\nson Manasseh. <\/p>\n
33
\n00:02:21,160 –> 00:02:23,760
\nAnd we told him the Second of
\nKings chapter 21. <\/p>\n
34
\n00:02:24,120 –> 00:02:29,880
\nAnd reading from verse, perhaps
\nreading from verse 4, it says <\/p>\n
35
\n00:02:29,880 –> 00:02:34,360
\nthis.
\nAnd he built altars in the House<\/p>\n
36
\n00:02:34,360 –> 00:02:39,240
\nof Yahweh, of which Yahweh said
\nin Jerusalem, I will put my <\/p>\n
37
\n00:02:39,240 –> 00:02:42,360
\nname.
\nAnd he built altars for all the <\/p>\n
38
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\nhosts of heaven, and the two
\ncourts of the House of Yahweh. <\/p>\n
39
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\nVerse 7.
\nAnd he set a graven image of the<\/p>\n
40
\n00:02:51,960 –> 00:02:58,480
\nGrove that he had made in the
\nHouse of which Yahweh said to <\/p>\n
41
\n00:02:58,480 –> 00:03:03,360
\nDavid and to Solomon his son in
\nthis house and in Jerusalem, <\/p>\n
42
\n00:03:03,360 –> 00:03:07,080
\nwhich I have chosen out of all
\ntribes of Israel, will I put my <\/p>\n
43
\n00:03:07,080 –> 00:03:12,080
\nname forever their brothers and
\nsisters inside the very House of<\/p>\n
44
\n00:03:12,080 –> 00:03:17,680
\nGod.
\nManasseh put a graven image of <\/p>\n
45
\n00:03:17,680 –> 00:03:19,880
\nthe Grove.
\nWhat would it have been like to <\/p>\n
46
\n00:03:19,880 –> 00:03:22,920
\nbe one of the singers in the
\ndays of this man? <\/p>\n
47
\n00:03:22,920 –> 00:03:26,640
\nManasseh brothers and sisters.
\nAnd and his successor Amon was <\/p>\n
48
\n00:03:26,640 –> 00:03:30,880
\nlittle better than he because in
\nthis same chapter in the reign <\/p>\n
49
\n00:03:30,880 –> 00:03:35,080
\nof Ammon, we’re told in the
\nsecond of Kings chapter 21 and <\/p>\n
50
\n00:03:35,120 –> 00:03:40,160
\nverse 21, it says of Amon or
\nAmon his son. <\/p>\n
51
\n00:03:40,400 –> 00:03:43,960
\nAnd he walked in all the way
\nthat his father walked in and <\/p>\n
52
\n00:03:43,960 –> 00:03:47,720
\nserved the idols, that his
\nfather served and worshipped <\/p>\n
53
\n00:03:47,720 –> 00:03:50,920
\nthem.
\nAnd he forsook Yahweh, Elohim of<\/p>\n
54
\n00:03:50,920 –> 00:03:56,200
\nhis fathers, and walked not in
\nthat particular way, the way of <\/p>\n
55
\n00:03:56,200 –> 00:04:04,840
\nGod, but his son, son of Amon,
\nsurprisingly, was a man <\/p>\n
56
\n00:04:04,840 –> 00:04:08,240
\naltogether different in spirit
\nto his father, because of <\/p>\n
57
\n00:04:08,240 –> 00:04:13,120
\ncourse, the son of Ammon was
\nnone other than good king Josiah<\/p>\n
58
\n00:04:13,120 –> 00:04:15,120
\nof Judah.
\nAnd if you come to the Second of<\/p>\n
59
\n00:04:15,120 –> 00:04:19,399
\nChronicles chapter 34, this man
\nwas going to launch yet another <\/p>\n
60
\n00:04:19,399 –> 00:04:24,760
\nrevival in the nation of Judah.
\nAnd the history of that people <\/p>\n
61
\n00:04:25,000 –> 00:04:28,880
\nwe’re told in the Second of
\nChronicles, chapter 34 and verse<\/p>\n
62
\n00:04:28,880 –> 00:04:31,480
\n30, right at the end of the
\nchapter, it says this. <\/p>\n
63
\n00:04:33,000 –> 00:04:37,440
\nIt says, And the king went up
\ninto the House of the Lord, and <\/p>\n
64
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\nall the men of Judah, and the
\ninhabitants of Jerusalem, and <\/p>\n
65
\n00:04:40,640 –> 00:04:44,720
\nthe priests and the Levites, and
\nall the people great and small, <\/p>\n
66
\n00:04:45,680 –> 00:04:49,080
\nhe read in their ears all the
\nwords of the book of the <\/p>\n
67
\n00:04:49,080 –> 00:04:52,320
\ncovenant that was found in the
\nHouse of Yahweh. <\/p>\n
68
\n00:04:52,880 –> 00:04:55,680
\nAnd the king stood in his place
\nand made a covenant before <\/p>\n
69
\n00:04:55,680 –> 00:04:59,200
\nYahweh, to walk after Yahweh,
\nand to keep his commandments and<\/p>\n
70
\n00:04:59,200 –> 00:05:03,280
\nhis testimonies and his statues
\nwith all his heart, and with all<\/p>\n
71
\n00:05:03,280 –> 00:05:06,200
\nhis soul, to perform the words
\nof the covenant which are <\/p>\n
72
\n00:05:06,200 –> 00:05:08,720
\nwritten in this book.
\nAnd so he was a man that was <\/p>\n
73
\n00:05:08,720 –> 00:05:12,320
\ngoing to begin things afresh.
\nHe repaired and he cleansed the <\/p>\n
74
\n00:05:12,320 –> 00:05:16,160
\ntemple, and then standing here
\nat the temple, he bound the <\/p>\n
75
\n00:05:16,160 –> 00:05:19,800
\nnation into a covenant promise
\nthat they might keep the law of <\/p>\n
76
\n00:05:19,800 –> 00:05:22,080
\nGod.
\nAgain, as it was written in the <\/p>\n
77
\n00:05:22,080 –> 00:05:23,880
\nscroll of the book of
\nDeuteronomy. <\/p>\n
78
\n00:05:24,080 –> 00:05:28,960
\nYou see, Josiah, I believe, knew
\nby this stage that judgment <\/p>\n
79
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\ncould not be avoided.
\nHe knew that judgment would come<\/p>\n
80
\n00:05:32,880 –> 00:05:34,680
\nand that it could not be
\navoided. <\/p>\n
81
\n00:05:34,880 –> 00:05:38,920
\nBut the desire of Josiah was
\nthat he would try to build <\/p>\n
82
\n00:05:38,920 –> 00:05:44,560
\nnevertheless a spiritual remnant
\nwho, although carried away to <\/p>\n
83
\n00:05:44,560 –> 00:05:48,400
\nBabylon, would become the
\nspiritual core of those who <\/p>\n
84
\n00:05:48,400 –> 00:05:50,640
\nmight one day come back to the
\nland of promise. <\/p>\n
85
\n00:05:50,800 –> 00:05:54,040
\nHe knew that he could not avoid
\nthe judgement on Judah. <\/p>\n
86
\n00:05:54,200 –> 00:05:56,560
\nIt had already been pronounced
\nin this chapter. <\/p>\n
87
\n00:05:56,760 –> 00:06:00,920
\nGod had already said, they will
\ngo into captivity, the nation <\/p>\n
88
\n00:06:00,920 –> 00:06:04,000
\nwill be judged.
\nBut I think Josiah’s spirit of <\/p>\n
89
\n00:06:04,000 –> 00:06:07,640
\nendeavour here in causing the
\nnation to be pledged again to <\/p>\n
90
\n00:06:07,640 –> 00:06:12,200
\nthe law was that he might build
\na remnant that could be saved <\/p>\n
91
\n00:06:12,360 –> 00:06:17,280
\nout of that in due course.
\nAnd then we’re told in chapter <\/p>\n
92
\n00:06:17,280 –> 00:06:23,040
\n35 and verse one of the great
\nPassover that Josiah celebrated <\/p>\n
93
\n00:06:23,200 –> 00:06:25,760
\nin his 18th year.
\nNow I want you to notice <\/p>\n
94
\n00:06:25,760 –> 00:06:28,520
\nsomething really interesting
\nabout the opening verses of the <\/p>\n
95
\n00:06:28,520 –> 00:06:33,720
\nSecond of Chronicles 35.
\nIt says in verse one. <\/p>\n
96
\n00:06:33,720 –> 00:06:37,040
\nMoreover, Josiah kept the
\nPassover unto Yahweh in <\/p>\n
97
\n00:06:37,040 –> 00:06:41,240
\nJerusalem, and they killed the
\nPassover on the 14th day of the <\/p>\n
98
\n00:06:41,240 –> 00:06:44,120
\nfirst month, that he set the
\npriests and their charges and <\/p>\n
99
\n00:06:44,120 –> 00:06:46,680
\nencouraged them to the service
\nof the House of Yahweh. <\/p>\n
100
\n00:06:48,800 –> 00:06:54,120
\nAnd he said unto the Levites,
\nthat taught all Israel, which <\/p>\n
101
\n00:06:54,120 –> 00:07:03,920
\nwere holy unto Yahweh, put the
\nholy ark in the house, which <\/p>\n
102
\n00:07:03,920 –> 00:07:08,960
\nSolomon the son of David, king
\nof Israel, did build. <\/p>\n
103
\n00:07:12,080 –> 00:07:15,440
\nNow if those words are true,
\nbrothers and sisters, in the <\/p>\n
104
\n00:07:15,440 –> 00:07:20,960
\nsecond of Chronicles 35 and
\nverse 3, then the burning <\/p>\n
105
\n00:07:20,960 –> 00:07:29,320
\nquestion of this chapter is
\nwhere was the ark and who had <\/p>\n
106
\n00:07:29,320 –> 00:07:32,720
\nit?
\nIf the command came to the <\/p>\n
107
\n00:07:32,720 –> 00:07:36,280
\nLevites in the third verse that
\nthey should put it back into the<\/p>\n
108
\n00:07:36,280 –> 00:07:43,040
\nhouse, where was the ark of God?
\nAnd I think that there are three<\/p>\n
109
\n00:07:43,040 –> 00:07:45,720
\npossibilities as to what had
\nhappened to the ark on this <\/p>\n
110
\n00:07:45,720 –> 00:07:47,880
\noccasion in the history of the
\nnation. <\/p>\n
111
\n00:07:47,880 –> 00:07:51,080
\nThe 1st is, and it has been
\nsuggested and it’s perfectly <\/p>\n
112
\n00:07:51,080 –> 00:07:55,360
\nreasonable, that it was taken
\nout by by Josiah himself at the <\/p>\n
113
\n00:07:55,360 –> 00:07:57,680
\ntime of the cleansing of the
\ntemple. <\/p>\n
114
\n00:07:57,680 –> 00:08:02,280
\nSo that’s one possibility, and
\nit may well be so, that Josiah <\/p>\n
115
\n00:08:02,280 –> 00:08:05,200
\nhad removed the ark in the
\ncourse of his cleansing and <\/p>\n
116
\n00:08:05,200 –> 00:08:08,120
\nrepair of the Temple in the
\nprevious chapter. <\/p>\n
117
\n00:08:08,480 –> 00:08:11,600
\nA second possibility is, and
\nthis is what the rabbinical <\/p>\n
118
\n00:08:11,600 –> 00:08:16,160
\nwriters of the Jews say, is that
\nit was actually sent forth by <\/p>\n
119
\n00:08:16,160 –> 00:08:21,720
\nManasseh to make room for the
\nidolatrous statues that he <\/p>\n
120
\n00:08:21,720 –> 00:08:24,080
\nwished to bring into the House
\nof God. <\/p>\n
121
\n00:08:25,000 –> 00:08:27,600
\nThat it was at the request of
\nManasseh that the ark was <\/p>\n
122
\n00:08:27,600 –> 00:08:31,000
\nremoved in order that he might
\nbring in his own private <\/p>\n
123
\n00:08:31,400 –> 00:08:35,039
\nworship, idols of worship, into
\nthe house. <\/p>\n
124
\n00:08:36,240 –> 00:08:39,799
\nBut a third possibility is, and
\nI’m going to suggest to you this<\/p>\n
125
\n00:08:39,799 –> 00:08:43,400
\nmorning, that this is quite
\npossibly what did happen. 1\/3 <\/p>\n
126
\n00:08:43,400 –> 00:08:49,440
\npossibility is that the Ark of
\nGod was removed by the Levites <\/p>\n
127
\n00:08:49,440 –> 00:08:55,680
\nthemselves in order to prevent
\nthe desecration of the Ark in <\/p>\n
128
\n00:08:55,680 –> 00:08:59,520
\nthese times of the apostasy of
\nManasseh and Amon. <\/p>\n
129
\n00:09:01,120 –> 00:09:04,120
\nNow were the Levites who have
\ntaken the Ark, who would carry <\/p>\n
130
\n00:09:04,120 –> 00:09:05,120
\nthe Ark?
\nAnd of course, well, there’s no <\/p>\n
131
\n00:09:05,120 –> 00:09:07,200
\ndoubt about that, is there?
\nIt would be the Koathites. <\/p>\n
132
\n00:09:07,440 –> 00:09:09,800
\nOnly the Koathites were allowed
\nto lift the Ark. <\/p>\n
133
\n00:09:10,120 –> 00:09:12,240
\nBut who would be with them in
\nspirit? <\/p>\n
134
\n00:09:13,840 –> 00:09:16,920
\nAnd the answer is surely the
\nHouse of Asaph, because the <\/p>\n
135
\n00:09:16,920 –> 00:09:21,000
\nHouse of Asaf, Well, their whole
\njob was to sing before the ark <\/p>\n
136
\n00:09:21,000 –> 00:09:25,160
\nof God and to celebrate the
\nsacredness of that ark and what <\/p>\n
137
\n00:09:25,160 –> 00:09:27,400
\nit stood for.
\nIf there was ever a family in <\/p>\n
138
\n00:09:27,400 –> 00:09:30,960
\nIsrael that would want to see,
\nthat, would want to prevent any <\/p>\n
139
\n00:09:30,960 –> 00:09:33,680
\ndesecration to the Ark, it would
\nbe the House of Asaph. <\/p>\n
140
\n00:09:33,920 –> 00:09:36,760
\nAnd we wonder whether perhaps
\nthe House of Asaph, in <\/p>\n
141
\n00:09:36,760 –> 00:09:39,920
\ncollaboration with the
\nKoathites, had had ensured that <\/p>\n
142
\n00:09:39,920 –> 00:09:44,000
\nthe Ark was spirited away at
\nthis time into a place of safety<\/p>\n
143
\n00:09:44,160 –> 00:09:47,200
\nso that it might, might not be
\ndefiled or profaned. <\/p>\n
144
\n00:09:48,280 –> 00:09:50,960
\nNow, do you know why we suggest
\nthat that is possibly what <\/p>\n
145
\n00:09:50,960 –> 00:09:53,640
\nhappened?
\nIt’s because of the strange <\/p>\n
146
\n00:09:53,720 –> 00:09:59,000
\nphrase that occurs later on in
\nthis third verse, because you <\/p>\n
147
\n00:09:59,000 –> 00:10:00,880
\nsee what the verse goes on to
\nsay. <\/p>\n
148
\n00:10:01,960 –> 00:10:05,800
\nJosiah says, put the holy ark in
\nthe house which Solomon the son <\/p>\n
149
\n00:10:05,800 –> 00:10:08,080
\nof David, king of Israel, did
\nbuild. <\/p>\n
150
\n00:10:08,320 –> 00:10:14,240
\nAnd then he says this.
\nIt shall not be a burden upon <\/p>\n
151
\n00:10:14,240 –> 00:10:17,720
\nyour shoulders.
\nNow, by the way, those words <\/p>\n
152
\n00:10:17,720 –> 00:10:20,840
\ncome from the first of
\nChronicles 23 and verse 26, as <\/p>\n
153
\n00:10:20,840 –> 00:10:24,800
\nthe margin tells us.
\nAnd, and in those words of David<\/p>\n
154
\n00:10:24,800 –> 00:10:27,680
\non an earlier occasion, what
\nwe’re being told is that when <\/p>\n
155
\n00:10:27,680 –> 00:10:31,520
\nthe ark of God finally came to
\nits resting place in the temple,<\/p>\n
156
\n00:10:31,800 –> 00:10:35,400
\nthe Levites were told that it
\nwould no longer be their burdens<\/p>\n
157
\n00:10:35,480 –> 00:10:39,280
\nto carry the ark anymore.
\nIt had come to its final resting<\/p>\n
158
\n00:10:39,280 –> 00:10:44,640
\nplace.
\nSo why does Josiah in chapter 35<\/p>\n
159
\n00:10:44,640 –> 00:10:47,760
\nof the Second of Chronicles, in
\nverse three, say to the Levites,<\/p>\n
160
\n00:10:47,960 –> 00:10:53,440
\nIt shall not be a burden upon
\nyour shoulders, unless the ark <\/p>\n
161
\n00:10:53,600 –> 00:11:00,080
\nhad in recent times become yet
\nagain a burden of responsibility<\/p>\n
162
\n00:11:00,200 –> 00:11:04,920
\nto the coophytes?
\nAnd why might it have become in <\/p>\n
163
\n00:11:04,920 –> 00:11:08,480
\nrecent times a burden again to
\nthe coophytes? <\/p>\n
164
\n00:11:09,840 –> 00:11:13,680
\nThe answer is because they had
\nrecently borne the ark 4IN <\/p>\n
165
\n00:11:13,680 –> 00:11:17,520
\ncollaboration with the sons of
\nAsaph, who would be determined <\/p>\n
166
\n00:11:17,520 –> 00:11:20,120
\nto safeguard it from damage and
\ndefilement. <\/p>\n
167
\n00:11:20,120 –> 00:11:24,160
\nAfter all, as the verse says, it
\nwas the holy ark. <\/p>\n
168
\n00:11:25,320 –> 00:11:28,480
\nSo I believe, brothers and
\nsisters, that when Josiah in <\/p>\n
169
\n00:11:28,480 –> 00:11:32,400
\nthis verse asked the Levites to
\nput the ark back in the house, I<\/p>\n
170
\n00:11:32,400 –> 00:11:35,480
\nthink, well, sorry, when he
\nasked for the Levites to put the<\/p>\n
171
\n00:11:35,480 –> 00:11:39,920
\nark in the house, I think he
\nmeant for them to put it back in<\/p>\n
172
\n00:11:39,920 –> 00:11:45,400
\nthe house because they had it.
\nAnd that that’s therefore <\/p>\n
173
\n00:11:45,400 –> 00:11:50,640
\nexactly what they did.
\nAnd what then follows is a <\/p>\n
174
\n00:11:50,680 –> 00:11:53,560
\nmagnificent Passover
\ncelebration, the like of which <\/p>\n
175
\n00:11:53,560 –> 00:11:56,880
\nhad not been seen for hundreds
\nof years in the history of the <\/p>\n
176
\n00:11:56,880 –> 00:11:58,840
\nnation.
\nThey observed everything <\/p>\n
177
\n00:11:58,840 –> 00:12:01,600
\naccording to the writings of
\nDavid and the writings of <\/p>\n
178
\n00:12:01,600 –> 00:12:03,720
\nSolomon and the writings of
\nMoses. <\/p>\n
179
\n00:12:03,880 –> 00:12:07,400
\nEverything was to be done
\naccording to Scripture and the <\/p>\n
180
\n00:12:07,400 –> 00:12:09,200
\nwriting of Scripture on this
\noccasion. <\/p>\n
181
\n00:12:09,280 –> 00:12:12,000
\nAnd one thing I can tell you,
\nbrothers and sisters, and it’s a<\/p>\n
182
\n00:12:12,000 –> 00:12:14,920
\nremarkable thing, is that when
\nthe ark of God suddenly <\/p>\n
183
\n00:12:14,920 –> 00:12:17,920
\nreappears back in the temple on
\nthis occasion, guess who’s <\/p>\n
184
\n00:12:17,920 –> 00:12:21,640
\nthere?
\nQuick as a flash, verse 15. <\/p>\n
185
\n00:12:25,840 –> 00:12:33,480
\nAnd the singers, the sons of
\nAsaph, were in their place <\/p>\n
186
\n00:12:35,760 –> 00:12:40,240
\naccording to the commandment of
\nDavid and Asaph and Heman and <\/p>\n
187
\n00:12:40,240 –> 00:12:44,160
\nJudithan, the King’s seer, and
\nthe porters waited at every <\/p>\n
188
\n00:12:44,160 –> 00:12:46,880
\ngate.
\nYou know, it was not a <\/p>\n
189
\n00:12:46,960 –> 00:12:51,600
\nrequirement of the Passover law
\nthat the singers be present at <\/p>\n
190
\n00:12:51,600 –> 00:12:55,920
\nPassover time.
\nSo the House of Asaph are not <\/p>\n
191
\n00:12:55,920 –> 00:12:59,320
\nthere in verse 15 because it is
\nin any sense a commandment of <\/p>\n
192
\n00:12:59,320 –> 00:13:03,120
\nMoses.
\nAnd I don’t think that they were<\/p>\n
193
\n00:13:03,120 –> 00:13:06,280
\nthere because Josiah had
\ninstructed them to be there, <\/p>\n
194
\n00:13:06,760 –> 00:13:10,120
\nbecause the record doesn’t tell
\nus in any, at any stage of this <\/p>\n
195
\n00:13:10,120 –> 00:13:12,960
\nchapter that Josiah had
\nspecifically requested that the <\/p>\n
196
\n00:13:12,960 –> 00:13:16,760
\nHouse of Asaph be there.
\nAnd although they were there in <\/p>\n
197
\n00:13:16,760 –> 00:13:19,640
\naccordance with the instructions
\nof David, I don’t think they <\/p>\n
198
\n00:13:19,640 –> 00:13:22,440
\nwere there because of the
\ncommandment of David either. <\/p>\n
199
\n00:13:24,680 –> 00:13:28,680
\nI think the House of Asaph was
\nthere in the 15th verse for one <\/p>\n
200
\n00:13:28,680 –> 00:13:31,840
\nreason only.
\nThey were there on an entirely <\/p>\n
201
\n00:13:31,840 –> 00:13:33,760
\nvoluntary basis, brothers and
\nsisters. <\/p>\n
202
\n00:13:33,960 –> 00:13:38,440
\nThey were there because no power
\non earth could have stopped them<\/p>\n
203
\n00:13:38,560 –> 00:13:42,440
\nfrom being there that day.
\nThis was their chance to <\/p>\n
204
\n00:13:42,440 –> 00:13:46,320
\nminister before the Ark with the
\nsinging of their family psalms. <\/p>\n
205
\n00:13:46,560 –> 00:13:49,840
\nYou try stopping them from being
\nthere that day. <\/p>\n
206
\n00:13:51,280 –> 00:13:54,720
\nThere must have been tears for
\njoy in the House of Asaph as <\/p>\n
207
\n00:13:54,720 –> 00:13:57,920
\nthey sang their psalms before
\nthe Ark on this occasion, <\/p>\n
208
\n00:13:58,200 –> 00:14:01,760
\nbecause the discipline of
\npractice now had its fulfillment<\/p>\n
209
\n00:14:01,760 –> 00:14:04,720
\nand an outpouring of praise in
\npublic worship. <\/p>\n
210
\n00:14:04,960 –> 00:14:14,040
\nSome of these here this day had
\nwaited all their lives for this <\/p>\n
211
\n00:14:14,040 –> 00:14:23,760
\none moment, this one day in the
\ntime of Josiah, for the chance <\/p>\n
212
\n00:14:23,920 –> 00:14:26,480
\nto sing before the ark just this
\nonce. <\/p>\n
213
\n00:14:27,200 –> 00:14:30,160
\nCan you imagine, brothers and
\nsisters, if we were told that we<\/p>\n
214
\n00:14:30,160 –> 00:14:33,840
\nhad but one chance, but one
\nopportunity, to sing in an <\/p>\n
215
\n00:14:33,840 –> 00:14:37,400
\nevening of song and praise, in a
\nchoral evening of worship to our<\/p>\n
216
\n00:14:37,400 –> 00:14:40,760
\nFather?
\nOne chance in our life to sing <\/p>\n
217
\n00:14:40,760 –> 00:14:44,040
\nin a choir and to offer praise
\nto the Father. <\/p>\n
218
\n00:14:46,080 –> 00:14:53,440
\nHow would we sing on that night?
\nWouldn’t we strain every fibre <\/p>\n
219
\n00:14:53,440 –> 00:14:56,200
\nof our being and lifting up our
\nour songs of praise? <\/p>\n
220
\n00:14:56,240 –> 00:14:59,560
\nYou know, this is the last
\noccasion, Brothers and sisters, <\/p>\n
221
\n00:14:59,960 –> 00:15:04,000
\nthis chapter, the second of
\nChronicles 35, is the last <\/p>\n
222
\n00:15:04,000 –> 00:15:09,680
\noccasion in recorded history
\nthat the Ark of God appears <\/p>\n
223
\n00:15:10,200 –> 00:15:17,120
\namongst the children of Israel.
\nAnd who’s there singing in front<\/p>\n
224
\n00:15:17,120 –> 00:15:22,480
\nof the ark with all their hearts
\nbut the House of Asaph? <\/p>\n
225
\n00:15:24,400 –> 00:15:27,240
\nIt’s exactly the spirit that we
\nwould have expected of this <\/p>\n
226
\n00:15:27,240 –> 00:15:31,240
\nfamily.
\nYou know, Psalm 81 celebrates <\/p>\n
227
\n00:15:31,240 –> 00:15:34,720
\nthat particular time in the life
\nof Josiah. <\/p>\n
228
\n00:15:34,720 –> 00:15:40,080
\nIf we come back to Psalm 81,
\nwe’re told this, and we’ve <\/p>\n
229
\n00:15:40,080 –> 00:15:43,200
\nalready looked at this in terms
\nof the fact that the great theme<\/p>\n
230
\n00:15:43,200 –> 00:15:47,520
\nof Psalm 81 is connected with
\nboth the book of the Law and the<\/p>\n
231
\n00:15:47,520 –> 00:15:50,960
\ntheme of Passover.
\nBut just have a look at the <\/p>\n
232
\n00:15:51,200 –> 00:15:59,440
\nrecurring refrain, the recurring
\nrefrain of Psalm 81, because you<\/p>\n
233
\n00:15:59,440 –> 00:16:03,560
\nsee, I think that this Psalm was
\nbrought forth by the House of <\/p>\n
234
\n00:16:03,680 –> 00:16:07,640
\nAsaph at the very time of
\nJosiah’s reformation, and that <\/p>\n
235
\n00:16:07,640 –> 00:16:12,640
\nwhat it captures is the
\nbittersweet sadness of Josiah’s <\/p>\n
236
\n00:16:12,640 –> 00:16:14,920
\nreformation.
\nHe knew that the bulk of the <\/p>\n
237
\n00:16:14,920 –> 00:16:18,280
\npeople were lost.
\nHe desperately wanted to build a<\/p>\n
238
\n00:16:18,280 –> 00:16:21,560
\nremnant if he could.
\nAnd here’s the refrain of Psalm <\/p>\n
239
\n00:16:21,560 –> 00:16:23,120
\n81.
\nVerse 8. <\/p>\n
240
\n00:16:24,080 –> 00:16:31,960
\nHere, O my people, and I will
\ntestify unto thee, O Israel, if <\/p>\n
241
\n00:16:32,000 –> 00:16:36,760
\nthou wilt hearken unto me.
\nVerse 11. <\/p>\n
242
\n00:16:38,080 –> 00:16:43,280
\nBut my people would not hearken
\nto my voice, and Israel would <\/p>\n
243
\n00:16:43,280 –> 00:16:49,000
\nnone of me.
\nVerse 13, that my people had <\/p>\n
244
\n00:16:49,000 –> 00:16:53,680
\nhearkened unto me, and Israel
\nhad walked in my ways. <\/p>\n
245
\n00:16:54,000 –> 00:16:57,000
\nAnd you see what this Psalm
\ndwells on, Brothers and sisters,<\/p>\n
246
\n00:16:57,160 –> 00:17:01,400
\nit is a lamentation of the
\ntragedy of a people for whom the<\/p>\n
247
\n00:17:01,400 –> 00:17:05,839
\ntime of repentance had gone.
\nIf only they had listened, if <\/p>\n
248
\n00:17:05,839 –> 00:17:09,000
\nonly they had hearkened, what
\ncould have been done? <\/p>\n
249
\n00:17:09,079 –> 00:17:10,880
\nWhat might have been
\naccomplished? <\/p>\n
250
\n00:17:11,960 –> 00:17:16,720
\nIt’s a Psalm of lamentation that
\nshows all the pathos and all the<\/p>\n
251
\n00:17:16,720 –> 00:17:22,119
\nheartbreak of those there who
\nsaw Josiah’s mighty effort and <\/p>\n
252
\n00:17:22,119 –> 00:17:26,040
\nwho knew the desperate sadness
\nof the king in his endeavors of <\/p>\n
253
\n00:17:26,040 –> 00:17:28,280
\nreformation.
\nI think that that Psalm from the<\/p>\n
254
\n00:17:28,280 –> 00:17:32,720
\nHouse of Asaph breathes all the
\nsadness of that moment in the <\/p>\n
255
\n00:17:32,720 –> 00:17:35,000
\nhistory of the nation.
\nDo you know when this episode <\/p>\n
256
\n00:17:35,000 –> 00:17:38,880
\ntook place?
\nThe great Passover of Josiah in <\/p>\n
257
\n00:17:38,880 –> 00:17:41,400
\nthe Second of Chronicles,
\nchapter 35? <\/p>\n
258
\n00:17:41,720 –> 00:17:52,440
\nWell, this is about BC 620, and
\ntherefore it is 95 years after <\/p>\n
259
\n00:17:52,440 –> 00:17:56,720
\nHezekiah’s Reformation in the
\nSecond of Chronicles chapter 29.<\/p>\n
260
\n00:17:57,760 –> 00:18:00,160
\nSo from the time that the
\nsingers sang in the days of <\/p>\n
261
\n00:18:00,160 –> 00:18:05,280
\nHezekiah, we’ve marched now
\nanother 95 years to come to the <\/p>\n
262
\n00:18:05,280 –> 00:18:09,440
\ngreat Passover of Josiah in the
\nSecond of Chronicles chapter 35.<\/p>\n
263
\n00:18:09,600 –> 00:18:12,760
\nThat’s about another 3
\ngenerations of the House of <\/p>\n
264
\n00:18:12,760 –> 00:18:17,080
\nAsaph, but they’re still there,
\nquick of the flesh, when the Ark<\/p>\n
265
\n00:18:17,080 –> 00:18:20,840
\nof God reappears in the temple
\nin Josiah’s time. <\/p>\n
266
\n00:18:24,120 –> 00:18:29,920
\nSo what must this family have
\nfelt when a man, when a king as <\/p>\n
267
\n00:18:29,920 –> 00:18:32,680
\ngood as Josiah died?
\nWell, we’re told actually in the<\/p>\n
268
\n00:18:32,680 –> 00:18:36,080
\nSecond of Chronicles chapter 35,
\nbecause of course, this is the <\/p>\n
269
\n00:18:36,080 –> 00:18:39,240
\ntragedy of what happened in the
\ntime of Josiah. <\/p>\n
270
\n00:18:39,600 –> 00:18:42,640
\nHe embarked upon this
\nreformation and upon this <\/p>\n
271
\n00:18:42,640 –> 00:18:46,200
\nwondrous Passover at which the
\nHouse of Asaph sang. <\/p>\n
272
\n00:18:46,480 –> 00:18:51,360
\nBut we’re told in the Second of
\nChronicles chapter 35 and verse <\/p>\n
273
\n00:18:51,360 –> 00:18:57,880
\n23, and The Archers shot at King
\nJosiah and, and the king said to<\/p>\n
274
\n00:18:57,880 –> 00:19:00,600
\nhis servants, have me away, for
\nI’m sore wounded. <\/p>\n
275
\n00:19:01,200 –> 00:19:04,200
\nHis servants therefore took him
\nout of that chariot and put him <\/p>\n
276
\n00:19:04,200 –> 00:19:05,680
\nin the second chariot that he
\nhad. <\/p>\n
277
\n00:19:05,840 –> 00:19:07,320
\nAnd they brought him to
\nJerusalem. <\/p>\n
278
\n00:19:07,320 –> 00:19:11,600
\nAnd he died and was buried in
\none of the sepulchers of his <\/p>\n
279
\n00:19:11,600 –> 00:19:14,840
\nfathers.
\nAnd all Judah and Jerusalem <\/p>\n
280
\n00:19:14,840 –> 00:19:20,320
\nmourned for Josiah, and Jeremiah
\nlamented for Josiah, and all the<\/p>\n
281
\n00:19:20,320 –> 00:19:25,360
\nsinging men and the singing
\nwomen spake of Josiah in their <\/p>\n
282
\n00:19:25,360 –> 00:19:29,720
\nlamentations to this day.
\nYou see, I can imagine how how <\/p>\n
283
\n00:19:29,720 –> 00:19:33,920
\ndesperately sad the House of
\nAsaph would have been when such <\/p>\n
284
\n00:19:33,920 –> 00:19:37,360
\na man as this, who was so close
\nin spirit to them, died. <\/p>\n
285
\n00:19:37,520 –> 00:19:40,760
\nAnd that work of revival began
\nto decline again, because with <\/p>\n
286
\n00:19:40,760 –> 00:19:45,600
\nthe death of Josiah, the nation
\nnow rapidly did decline through <\/p>\n
287
\n00:19:45,600 –> 00:19:50,120
\nthe reign of Jehoiahs, through
\nthe time of Jehoiakim, through <\/p>\n
288
\n00:19:50,120 –> 00:19:54,080
\nthe reign of Jehoiah Qin, to the
\ntime of Zedekiah. <\/p>\n
289
\n00:19:55,600 –> 00:19:59,880
\nWhen finally all was lost and
\nthe nation was about to be <\/p>\n
290
\n00:19:59,880 –> 00:20:03,920
\ncarried forth into captivity,
\nthe House of God was burned with<\/p>\n
291
\n00:20:03,920 –> 00:20:08,880
\nfire.
\nAnd Psalm 74 and Psalm 79 were <\/p>\n
292
\n00:20:08,880 –> 00:20:13,040
\nwritten by the House of Asaph,
\nweeping as they went forth into <\/p>\n
293
\n00:20:13,040 –> 00:20:16,400
\ncaptivity in Babylon, at the
\ndesolation that had come upon <\/p>\n
294
\n00:20:16,400 –> 00:20:20,640
\nthe House of God, and bitter
\nlamentation. <\/p>\n
295
\n00:20:21,360 –> 00:20:23,680
\nOr the spiritual failure of the
\nnation. <\/p>\n
296
\n00:20:25,640 –> 00:20:30,000
\nIn the meantime, brothers and
\nsisters, the sons of Asaph were <\/p>\n
297
\n00:20:30,000 –> 00:20:34,480
\nput in the basket of good figs,
\nand they were carried to <\/p>\n
298
\n00:20:34,480 –> 00:20:37,720
\nBabylon.
\nAnd what was their spirit when <\/p>\n
299
\n00:20:37,720 –> 00:20:39,080
\nthey got to Babylon, do you
\nthink? <\/p>\n
300
\n00:20:40,040 –> 00:20:42,760
\nWhat do you think the spirit and
\nthe attitude of the family of <\/p>\n
301
\n00:20:42,760 –> 00:20:46,960
\nAsaph was when they came into
\nthe land of the stranger and <\/p>\n
302
\n00:20:46,960 –> 00:20:49,400
\ninto their place of captivity?
\nWell, I think we know. <\/p>\n
303
\n00:20:49,560 –> 00:20:54,600
\nI think we’re given a Psalm that
\ntells us exactly how the how the<\/p>\n
304
\n00:20:54,960 –> 00:20:58,880
\nwhoops, how the House of Asaph
\nfelt in captivity. <\/p>\n
305
\n00:20:59,000 –> 00:21:01,040
\nNow, what might that Psalm be?
\nAnyone know? <\/p>\n
306
\n00:21:03,840 –> 00:21:09,880
\nWell, it’s Psalm 137.
\nNow come and have a look at this<\/p>\n
307
\n00:21:10,480 –> 00:21:14,040
\nbecause I think that this Psalm
\ntells us exactly what the spirit<\/p>\n
308
\n00:21:14,040 –> 00:21:18,840
\nof this family was in the time
\nof their captivity in the land <\/p>\n
309
\n00:21:19,000 –> 00:21:23,520
\nof Babylon.
\nIt says there in the first <\/p>\n
310
\n00:21:23,520 –> 00:21:26,640
\nverse, you see what this Well,
\nin fact, before we even get to <\/p>\n
311
\n00:21:26,640 –> 00:21:30,920
\nthe first verse, the heading
\nover my Bible for Psalm 137 says<\/p>\n
312
\n00:21:31,280 –> 00:21:35,640
\nthe constancy of the Jews in
\ncaptivity. <\/p>\n
313
\n00:21:36,360 –> 00:21:40,320
\nThat’s the heading for the
\nPsalm, the constancy of the Jews<\/p>\n
314
\n00:21:40,320 –> 00:21:43,120
\nin captivity.
\nBut I, I don’t think that the <\/p>\n
315
\n00:21:43,120 –> 00:21:47,960
\nPsalm celebrates the constancy
\nof the Jews in general. <\/p>\n
316
\n00:21:48,840 –> 00:21:52,200
\nI think that this Psalm
\ncelebrates the constancy of a <\/p>\n
317
\n00:21:52,280 –> 00:21:56,200
\nparticular group of Jews in
\ncaptivity. <\/p>\n
318
\n00:21:57,120 –> 00:21:59,200
\nNow, do you know who that that
\ngroup might be? <\/p>\n
319
\n00:21:59,960 –> 00:22:02,280
\nWell, I’ll tell you.
\nIt’s the group who are known as <\/p>\n
320
\n00:22:02,280 –> 00:22:05,640
\nthe Singers.
\nThis Psalm is all about the <\/p>\n
321
\n00:22:05,640 –> 00:22:10,000
\nsingers who went to Babylon, and
\nthe Psalm will reveal the spirit<\/p>\n
322
\n00:22:10,160 –> 00:22:13,320
\nof the House of Asaph.
\nHere’s a breakup or a breakdown <\/p>\n
323
\n00:22:13,320 –> 00:22:16,960
\nas the case may be, of Psalm
\n137. <\/p>\n
324
\n00:22:17,400 –> 00:22:25,920
\nIt’s a very simple 1 verses one
\nto three pathos, verses 4 to 6 <\/p>\n
325
\n00:22:26,160 –> 00:22:31,640
\ndefiance, verses 7 to 9,
\njudgment. <\/p>\n
326
\n00:22:32,800 –> 00:22:36,960
\nThis Psalm is the spirit of the
\nHouse of Asaph in Babylon. <\/p>\n
327
\n00:22:37,200 –> 00:22:41,080
\nThey were determined not to give
\nup their songs, but they were <\/p>\n
328
\n00:22:41,080 –> 00:22:43,840
\nequally determined that they
\nwould not sing them to the <\/p>\n
329
\n00:22:43,840 –> 00:22:46,200
\nheathen.
\nAnd so when it says, well, <\/p>\n
330
\n00:22:46,200 –> 00:22:50,520
\nwedding in verse one by the
\nrivers of Babylon, there we sat <\/p>\n
331
\n00:22:50,520 –> 00:22:53,080
\ndown.
\nYeah, we wept when we, when we <\/p>\n
332
\n00:22:53,080 –> 00:22:57,040
\nremembered Zion.
\nWe hanged our hearts upon the <\/p>\n
333
\n00:22:57,040 –> 00:23:00,960
\nwillows in the midst thereof.
\nFor there they that carried us <\/p>\n
334
\n00:23:00,960 –> 00:23:06,320
\naway captive required of us a
\nsong, and they that wasted us <\/p>\n
335
\n00:23:06,320 –> 00:23:10,800
\nrequired of us mirth, saying,
\nSing us one of the songs of <\/p>\n
336
\n00:23:10,800 –> 00:23:13,240
\nZion.
\nNow who might the Babylonians <\/p>\n
337
\n00:23:13,240 –> 00:23:16,520
\nhave asked to sing the songs of
\nZion? <\/p>\n
338
\n00:23:16,520 –> 00:23:19,840
\nBrothers and sisters, but the
\nfamilies of the singers, of <\/p>\n
339
\n00:23:19,840 –> 00:23:22,240
\ncourse.
\nAnd what was the spirit of the <\/p>\n
340
\n00:23:22,240 –> 00:23:23,760
\nsingers?
\nVerse 4? <\/p>\n
341
\n00:23:24,000 –> 00:23:28,400
\nHow shall we sing Yahweh song in
\na strange land? <\/p>\n
342
\n00:23:28,640 –> 00:23:31,680
\nNow you see, I think that the
\nwords of verse 4 is not the <\/p>\n
343
\n00:23:31,680 –> 00:23:36,080
\nspirit of apathy.
\nI think that here instead was <\/p>\n
344
\n00:23:36,080 –> 00:23:40,440
\nthat silence which sprang from a
\nburning loyalty to the truth, <\/p>\n
345
\n00:23:40,680 –> 00:23:44,720
\nonly made more intense by the
\ndisaster of the captivity. <\/p>\n
346
\n00:23:44,880 –> 00:23:47,720
\nIt wasn’t that this family
\nweren’t prepared to sing the <\/p>\n
347
\n00:23:47,720 –> 00:23:50,480
\nsongs of God, brothers and
\nsisters, that they would not <\/p>\n
348
\n00:23:50,480 –> 00:23:55,400
\nsing them to strangers.
\nYou see what verse, what verses <\/p>\n
349
\n00:23:55,400 –> 00:23:58,920
\n5 and 6 say?
\nIf I forget Theo Jerusalem, let <\/p>\n
350
\n00:23:58,920 –> 00:24:02,080
\nmy right hand forget her
\ncunning. <\/p>\n
351
\n00:24:02,480 –> 00:24:07,120
\nIf I do not remember thee, let
\nmy tongue cleave to the roof of <\/p>\n
352
\n00:24:07,120 –> 00:24:13,360
\nmy mouth.
\nTongues and hands. <\/p>\n
353
\n00:24:15,040 –> 00:24:20,080
\nNow who might those two words
\nrefer to in Psalm 137? <\/p>\n
354
\n00:24:20,480 –> 00:24:28,080
\nTongues and hands, but the
\nsingers on instruments. <\/p>\n
355
\n00:24:29,440 –> 00:24:33,960
\nThis is the vow of loyalty that
\nthe singers made in Babylon, <\/p>\n
356
\n00:24:34,520 –> 00:24:38,960
\nthat they would never forget
\nJerusalem in all of their <\/p>\n
357
\n00:24:38,960 –> 00:24:43,160
\ncaptivity.
\nNow, you see, I think that this <\/p>\n
358
\n00:24:43,160 –> 00:24:46,800
\nparticular Sam is appropriate to
\nthe overthrow of Babylon. <\/p>\n
359
\n00:24:46,800 –> 00:24:49,240
\nThat has been used, by the way,
\non some occasions in the <\/p>\n
360
\n00:24:49,240 –> 00:24:52,560
\nbrotherhood to argue other
\ncauses, such as relating it to <\/p>\n
361
\n00:24:52,560 –> 00:24:55,000
\nthe time of the Assyrians and
\nSeneca. <\/p>\n
362
\n00:24:55,000 –> 00:24:56,480
\nBut I do not think that that’s
\nso. <\/p>\n
363
\n00:24:56,680 –> 00:24:59,800
\nI think it is definitely a Sam
\nrelating to the Babylonian <\/p>\n
364
\n00:24:59,800 –> 00:25:02,280
\ncaptivity.
\nI can think of three good <\/p>\n
365
\n00:25:02,280 –> 00:25:07,080
\nreasons for saying so.
\nFirstly, in verse 7, the day of <\/p>\n
366
\n00:25:07,080 –> 00:25:11,560
\nJerusalem that is referred to is
\nthe day when the foundations of <\/p>\n
367
\n00:25:11,560 –> 00:25:13,680
\nthe city of Jerusalem were
\ndiscovered. <\/p>\n
368
\n00:25:13,880 –> 00:25:17,000
\nIt is clearly the day of
\nJerusalem overthrow. <\/p>\n
369
\n00:25:17,680 –> 00:25:20,440
\nThe overthrow of Jerusalem never
\nhappened in the days of the <\/p>\n
370
\n00:25:20,440 –> 00:25:23,120
\nAssyrians.
\nSennacherib never got even <\/p>\n
371
\n00:25:23,120 –> 00:25:25,760
\ninside the city.
\nHe never did overthrow <\/p>\n
372
\n00:25:25,760 –> 00:25:28,960
\nJerusalem.
\nBut this Psalm is a lamentation <\/p>\n
373
\n00:25:28,960 –> 00:25:33,040
\nfor the day when Jerusalem fell
\nthat relates to the Babylonians <\/p>\n
374
\n00:25:34,000 –> 00:25:37,280
\nin verse 8.
\nThe words happy, the word <\/p>\n
375
\n00:25:37,280 –> 00:25:42,760
\nreward, and the word served are
\nall deliberately taken from <\/p>\n
376
\n00:25:42,760 –> 00:25:49,680
\nJeremiah chapter 51 and verse 56
\nconcerning the future overthrow <\/p>\n
377
\n00:25:49,680 –> 00:25:54,320
\nof Babylon.
\nThe very verbs of Psalm 137 <\/p>\n
378
\n00:25:54,320 –> 00:25:58,600
\nverse 8 are taken specifically
\nfrom the prophecy of Jeremiah <\/p>\n
379
\n00:25:58,600 –> 00:26:03,640
\nchapter 51, verse 56, which most
\ncertainly is not about a Syria, <\/p>\n
380
\n00:26:03,920 –> 00:26:09,240
\nit’s about Babylon.
\nAnd lastly, verse 9 says, Happy <\/p>\n
381
\n00:26:09,240 –> 00:26:14,280
\nshall he be that taketh and
\ndasheth thy little ones against <\/p>\n
382
\n00:26:14,280 –> 00:26:17,040
\nthe stones.
\nAnd Rotherham’s translates that <\/p>\n
383
\n00:26:17,320 –> 00:26:21,520
\nblessed is the man that shall do
\nthese things. <\/p>\n
384
\n00:26:21,680 –> 00:26:26,400
\nAnd this Psalm looks forward to
\na particular individual that one<\/p>\n
385
\n00:26:26,400 –> 00:26:30,360
\nday would conquer Babylon and
\nanswer the prayers of the <\/p>\n
386
\n00:26:30,360 –> 00:26:33,400
\nsingers who were there.
\nAnd you see, I think that what <\/p>\n
387
\n00:26:33,400 –> 00:26:36,880
\nPsalm 137 is talking about,
\nbrothers and sisters, is that <\/p>\n
388
\n00:26:36,880 –> 00:26:40,440
\nthe way by which the singers
\nwould not forget Jerusalem was <\/p>\n
389
\n00:26:40,440 –> 00:26:44,080
\nthat they would continue to
\npractice the songs of Zion in <\/p>\n
390
\n00:26:44,080 –> 00:26:48,000
\nthe blazing conviction that one
\nday they would return there. <\/p>\n
391
\n00:26:48,160 –> 00:26:53,280
\nThis Psalm is the passion and
\nthe drive and the commitment of <\/p>\n
392
\n00:26:53,280 –> 00:26:57,080
\nthe House of Asaph in captivity.
\nIt wasn’t that they wouldn’t <\/p>\n
393
\n00:26:57,080 –> 00:27:01,720
\nsing the temple songs in a
\nstrange land, but they wouldn’t <\/p>\n
394
\n00:27:01,720 –> 00:27:05,800
\nsing them for the public
\namusement of profane and <\/p>\n
395
\n00:27:05,800 –> 00:27:10,800
\nscornful heathen.
\nSo in public, therefore, they <\/p>\n
396
\n00:27:10,800 –> 00:27:15,720
\nshowed that their singing was
\nover and their harps abandoned. <\/p>\n
397
\n00:27:17,040 –> 00:27:22,920
\nBut in private they practiced
\nlike they always had, because <\/p>\n
398
\n00:27:22,920 –> 00:27:27,560
\nthey vowed in the Psalm that
\nthey never, ever would forget <\/p>\n
399
\n00:27:27,560 –> 00:27:31,360
\nJerusalem with their heart or
\ntheir hand or their tongue. <\/p>\n
400
\n00:27:31,640 –> 00:27:35,960
\nYou see, this family never gave
\nin, and they never gave up. <\/p>\n
401
\n00:27:37,800 –> 00:27:45,680
\nAnd one day, one blessed day,
\nthe deliverer of their prayers <\/p>\n
402
\n00:27:46,080 –> 00:27:52,040
\nappeared, and his name was
\nCyrus. <\/p>\n
403
\n00:27:53,920 –> 00:27:58,240
\nAnd in Ezra chapter 1, we’re
\ntold of the great proclamation <\/p>\n
404
\n00:27:58,240 –> 00:28:03,360
\nof Cyrus that would lead to a
\nreturn of the Jewish people from<\/p>\n
405
\n00:28:03,360 –> 00:28:07,000
\ncaptivity.
\nAnd this is what we’re told in <\/p>\n
406
\n00:28:07,200 –> 00:28:12,520
\nEzra chapter 1 and reading from
\nthe second verse. <\/p>\n
407
\n00:28:15,400 –> 00:28:18,040
\nThus saith Cyrus, king of
\nPersia. <\/p>\n
408
\n00:28:20,360 –> 00:28:22,920
\nThe Lord God of heaven hath
\ngiven me all the kingdoms of the<\/p>\n
409
\n00:28:22,960 –> 00:28:27,120
\nearth, and he hath charged me to
\nbuild him and the house at <\/p>\n
410
\n00:28:27,120 –> 00:28:31,840
\nJerusalem, which is in Judah.
\nWho is there among you of all <\/p>\n
411
\n00:28:31,840 –> 00:28:34,560
\nHis people?
\nHis God Be with him, and let him<\/p>\n
412
\n00:28:34,560 –> 00:28:38,640
\ngo up to Jerusalem, which is in
\nJudah, and build the House of <\/p>\n
413
\n00:28:38,640 –> 00:28:42,040
\nYahweh, God of Israel.
\nNow Can you imagine, brothers <\/p>\n
414
\n00:28:42,040 –> 00:28:44,640
\nand sisters, this phrase in the
\nthird verse utter than the <\/p>\n
415
\n00:28:44,640 –> 00:28:47,640
\nproclamation of Cyrus?
\nCan you imagine the impact of <\/p>\n
416
\n00:28:47,640 –> 00:28:50,440
\nthis phrase upon the House of
\nAsaph in particular? <\/p>\n
417
\n00:28:50,880 –> 00:28:56,120
\nWho is there of all His people
\nthat might respond to this call?<\/p>\n
418
\n00:28:56,360 –> 00:28:58,680
\nWell, you just know that it
\nwould have to be the House of <\/p>\n
419
\n00:28:58,680 –> 00:29:01,000
\nAsaph, wouldn’t you?
\nThat of all the families that <\/p>\n
420
\n00:29:01,000 –> 00:29:04,440
\nwould desire to go back to the
\nland of Israel killer, to the <\/p>\n
421
\n00:29:04,440 –> 00:29:07,720
\nplace of the House of God and to
\nthe presence of God amongst his <\/p>\n
422
\n00:29:07,720 –> 00:29:09,760
\npeople, it would be the House of
\nAsaph. <\/p>\n
423
\n00:29:09,920 –> 00:29:14,280
\nSo it is with no surprise then
\nthat when we come to Ezra <\/p>\n
424
\n00:29:14,280 –> 00:29:18,760
\nchapter 2 and we read the list
\nof the genealogy of those who <\/p>\n
425
\n00:29:18,760 –> 00:29:23,320
\nreturned in this first wave,
\nthis first return of the <\/p>\n
426
\n00:29:23,320 –> 00:29:26,960
\nredeemed to Zion under
\nZerubbabel and Joshua. <\/p>\n
427
\n00:29:27,200 –> 00:29:32,400
\nThat in Ezra chapter 2 and verse
\n41 amongst those who came in <\/p>\n
428
\n00:29:32,400 –> 00:29:39,920
\nthis very first wave, it says
\nthe singers, the children of <\/p>\n
429
\n00:29:39,920 –> 00:29:47,320
\nAsaph and 120 and 8.
\nSo this was the family, perhaps <\/p>\n
430
\n00:29:47,320 –> 00:29:51,440
\nabove all others who celebrated
\nthe spirit of Psalm 137 that <\/p>\n
431
\n00:29:51,440 –> 00:29:53,000
\nthey would never forget
\nJerusalem. <\/p>\n
432
\n00:29:53,160 –> 00:29:56,560
\nBecause when the when the chants
\nfirst came to come back to the <\/p>\n
433
\n00:29:56,560 –> 00:29:59,840
\nland, the House of Asaph are
\nthere right at the front, right <\/p>\n
434
\n00:29:59,840 –> 00:30:01,920
\non the forefront.
\nAnd that brings us you see to to<\/p>\n
435
\n00:30:01,960 –> 00:30:04,320
\nEzra chapter 3.
\nNow just come and have a look at<\/p>\n
436
\n00:30:04,320 –> 00:30:08,040
\nEzra chapter 3 then, because
\nhere and there is the story in <\/p>\n
437
\n00:30:08,040 –> 00:30:12,800
\nEzra chapter 3 of the laying
\nagain of the foundation of the <\/p>\n
438
\n00:30:12,800 –> 00:30:15,560
\ntemple.
\nThis was an exciting, exciting <\/p>\n
439
\n00:30:16,120 –> 00:30:18,920
\nin the history of the nation.
\nNow you see what the seventh <\/p>\n
440
\n00:30:18,920 –> 00:30:23,520
\nverse says in Ezra chapter 3.
\nIt says that they gave money <\/p>\n
441
\n00:30:23,520 –> 00:30:29,520
\nalso unto the Masons and to the
\ncarpenters and meat. <\/p>\n
442
\n00:30:29,720 –> 00:30:32,280
\nNow that word meat, by the way,
\nin verse 7 ought to be <\/p>\n
443
\n00:30:32,280 –> 00:30:35,720
\ntranslated meal, shouldn’t it?
\nIt’s the word for meal. <\/p>\n
444
\n00:30:36,000 –> 00:30:40,960
\nSo it’s really to do with grain.
\nSo they gave grain and drink, <\/p>\n
445
\n00:30:41,120 –> 00:30:46,440
\nand that drink is wine and oil
\nto them of Zeidan, and to them <\/p>\n
446
\n00:30:46,440 –> 00:30:51,160
\nof Tyre, to bring cedar trees
\nfrom Lebanon to the sea of <\/p>\n
447
\n00:30:51,160 –> 00:30:53,960
\nJoppa.
\nSo what this first tells us is <\/p>\n
448
\n00:30:53,960 –> 00:30:59,680
\nthat they made arrangements to
\nsupply exports of grain, of wine<\/p>\n
449
\n00:30:59,920 –> 00:31:06,480
\nand of oil in return for Cedars
\nfrom Lebanon floated down to <\/p>\n
450
\n00:31:06,480 –> 00:31:08,680
\nJoppa.
\nDo you know where that all comes<\/p>\n
451
\n00:31:08,680 –> 00:31:13,000
\nfrom?
\nThat is a deliberate reenactment<\/p>\n
452
\n00:31:13,000 –> 00:31:16,040
\nof the days of Solomon.
\nNow hold your hand in Ezra <\/p>\n
453
\n00:31:16,040 –> 00:31:19,520
\nchapter 3 and come back to the
\nSecond of Chronicles chapter 2 <\/p>\n
454
\n00:31:19,800 –> 00:31:22,240
\nbecause, well, this is what
\nhappened in the days of Solomon.<\/p>\n
455
\n00:31:22,240 –> 00:31:25,240
\nYou see, we’re told in the
\nSecond of Chronicles chapter 2. <\/p>\n
456
\n00:31:25,760 –> 00:31:30,800
\nAnd then reading firstly from
\nverse three, it says this here’s<\/p>\n
457
\n00:31:30,800 –> 00:31:34,160
\nSolomon building the temple.
\nAnd I think that you see in Ezra<\/p>\n
458
\n00:31:34,160 –> 00:31:36,840
\nchapter 3 that those who had
\ncome back to the land <\/p>\n
459
\n00:31:37,120 –> 00:31:40,800
\ndeliberately did it this way
\nthat they might echo the days of<\/p>\n
460
\n00:31:40,800 –> 00:31:42,840
\nSolomon.
\nThey wanted to recreate the <\/p>\n
461
\n00:31:42,840 –> 00:31:45,600
\ngolden age of Solomon all over
\nagain. <\/p>\n
462
\n00:31:45,600 –> 00:31:49,920
\nNow in the second of Chronicles
\n2, verse three, it says, And <\/p>\n
463
\n00:31:49,920 –> 00:31:54,720
\nSolomon sent to Hiram the king
\nof Tyre, saying, As thou didst <\/p>\n
464
\n00:31:54,720 –> 00:31:59,600
\ndeal with David my father, and
\ndidst send him Cedars to build <\/p>\n
465
\n00:31:59,600 –> 00:32:03,360
\nhim an house to dwell therein,
\nEven so dwell with me. <\/p>\n
466
\n00:32:04,160 –> 00:32:08,080
\nAnd then in verse 2, verse 10,
\nhe he, he said that this is what<\/p>\n
467
\n00:32:08,080 –> 00:32:11,440
\nhe would be prepared to pay.
\nBehold, I will give to thy <\/p>\n
468
\n00:32:11,440 –> 00:32:16,040
\nservants the hewers that cut
\ntimber, 20,000 measures of <\/p>\n
469
\n00:32:16,040 –> 00:32:18,920
\nbeaten wheat and 20,000 measures
\nof barley. <\/p>\n
470
\n00:32:20,400 –> 00:32:30,280
\nSo that’s the grain, and 20,000
\nbaths of wine and 20,000 baths <\/p>\n
471
\n00:32:30,280 –> 00:32:34,400
\nof oil.
\nSo there was an arrangement for <\/p>\n
472
\n00:32:34,400 –> 00:32:39,080
\nthe export of grain, of wine and
\nof oil. <\/p>\n
473
\n00:32:39,400 –> 00:32:43,840
\nIn return for what?
\nWell, in return for trees. <\/p>\n
474
\n00:32:44,360 –> 00:32:47,280
\nAnd Hiram agreed.
\nBecause verse 15 says Now <\/p>\n
475
\n00:32:47,280 –> 00:32:50,760
\ntherefore the wheat and the
\nbarley, the oil and the wine <\/p>\n
476
\n00:32:50,840 –> 00:32:54,680
\nwhich my Lord has spoken of, let
\nhim send under his servants and <\/p>\n
477
\n00:32:54,680 –> 00:32:57,560
\nwe will cut wood out of Lebanon
\nas much as thou shalt need, and <\/p>\n
478
\n00:32:57,560 –> 00:32:59,880
\nwe will bring it to thee in
\nfloats. <\/p>\n
479
\n00:33:00,720 –> 00:33:03,320
\nI see.
\nSo Joppa. <\/p>\n
480
\n00:33:04,440 –> 00:33:08,480
\nOh, now that’s the very language
\nyou see of Ezra chapter 3 and <\/p>\n
481
\n00:33:08,480 –> 00:33:10,600
\nverse 7.
\nAnd I think that what happened <\/p>\n
482
\n00:33:10,600 –> 00:33:13,520
\nis when they came back to the
\nland that they deliberately re <\/p>\n
483
\n00:33:13,520 –> 00:33:17,120
\nenacted the story of Solomon.
\nThey wanted to recreate the <\/p>\n
484
\n00:33:17,120 –> 00:33:20,960
\ntemple as it was in its glory in
\nearlier times. <\/p>\n
485
\n00:33:20,960 –> 00:33:24,080
\nCome back to Ezra chapter 3 and
\nand now read verse 8. <\/p>\n
486
\n00:33:25,160 –> 00:33:29,880
\nSo in Ezra chapter 3 and verse 8
\nit says Now in the second year <\/p>\n
487
\n00:33:29,960 –> 00:33:33,400
\nof their coming into the House
\nof God at Jerusalem, in the <\/p>\n
488
\n00:33:33,400 –> 00:33:39,160
\nsecond month began Sarabel and
\nJesua. <\/p>\n
489
\n00:33:39,960 –> 00:33:43,200
\nAnd if we were to ask what was
\nit that they began in the eighth<\/p>\n
490
\n00:33:43,200 –> 00:33:47,880
\nverse, the answer is they began
\nto lay the foundation of the <\/p>\n
491
\n00:33:47,880 –> 00:33:49,440
\ntemple.
\nBut when did they lay it? <\/p>\n
492
\n00:33:49,600 –> 00:33:53,040
\nWell, the eighth verse says it
\nwas in the second month, but if <\/p>\n
493
\n00:33:53,040 –> 00:33:56,040
\nyou come back to the First of
\nKings chapter 6, you’ll find <\/p>\n
494
\n00:33:56,040 –> 00:34:01,920
\nthat that was the very month
\nthat Solomon began to build the <\/p>\n
495
\n00:34:01,920 –> 00:34:03,960
\ntemple.
\nAnd I think that they chose this<\/p>\n
496
\n00:34:03,960 –> 00:34:07,000
\ntime deliberately.
\nYou see in the First of Kings <\/p>\n
497
\n00:34:07,000 –> 00:34:11,520
\nchapter 6, we’re told in the
\nfirst verse, it came to pass on <\/p>\n
498
\n00:34:11,520 –> 00:34:15,400
\nthe 480th year after the
\nchildren of Israel would come <\/p>\n
499
\n00:34:15,400 –> 00:34:18,639
\nout of the land of Egypt in the
\nfourth year of Solomon’s reign <\/p>\n
500
\n00:34:18,639 –> 00:34:25,360
\nover Israel in the month Ziff,
\nwhich is the second month that <\/p>\n
501
\n00:34:25,360 –> 00:34:32,360
\nhe began to build the House of
\nYahweh, first of Kings 6, verse <\/p>\n
502
\n00:34:32,360 –> 00:34:33,760
\none.
\nAnd not only that, but if you <\/p>\n
503
\n00:34:33,760 –> 00:34:38,560
\ncome to the very if you come to
\nverse 37 of that chapter, first <\/p>\n
504
\n00:34:38,560 –> 00:34:43,280
\nof Kings 6, verse 37, it says in
\nthe fourth year was the <\/p>\n
505
\n00:34:43,280 –> 00:34:47,639
\nfoundation of the House of
\nYahweh laid in the month Ziff. <\/p>\n
506
\n00:34:48,679 –> 00:34:51,560
\nSo the second month was the very
\nmonth that Solomon laid the <\/p>\n
507
\n00:34:51,560 –> 00:34:56,960
\nfoundations of the temple.
\nAnd now in Ezra chapter 3 and <\/p>\n
508
\n00:34:56,960 –> 00:35:01,360
\nverse 8, Joshua and Zerubbel
\nbegin to lay the foundations of <\/p>\n
509
\n00:35:01,360 –> 00:35:05,600
\nthe temple in the second month.
\nOh yes, I think they knew <\/p>\n
510
\n00:35:05,600 –> 00:35:08,240
\nexactly what they were doing on
\nthis occasion. <\/p>\n
511
\n00:35:08,480 –> 00:35:12,040
\nNow come back to Ezra 3 and
\nverse 10. <\/p>\n
512
\n00:35:15,120 –> 00:35:19,400
\nAnd when the build is laid, the
\nfoundation of the temple of <\/p>\n
513
\n00:35:19,400 –> 00:35:26,960
\nYahweh, they set the priests in
\ntheir apparel with trumpets and <\/p>\n
514
\n00:35:26,960 –> 00:35:36,360
\nthe Levites, the sons of Asaph
\nwith symbols to praise Yahweh <\/p>\n
515
\n00:35:36,360 –> 00:35:38,600
\nafter the ordinance of David,
\nKing of Israel. <\/p>\n
516
\n00:35:40,080 –> 00:35:42,120
\nNow you see what we’re being
\ntold in verse 10, I think, is <\/p>\n
517
\n00:35:42,120 –> 00:35:45,600
\nthat this was again exactly the
\nsame as it were in the day that <\/p>\n
518
\n00:35:45,600 –> 00:35:48,040
\nthe ark of God was taken in, in
\nSolomon’s celebration. <\/p>\n
519
\n00:35:48,040 –> 00:35:49,600
\nIt’s all the same all over
\nagain. <\/p>\n
520
\n00:35:49,600 –> 00:35:52,360
\nYou see, the trumpeters are
\nthere, the singers are there, <\/p>\n
521
\n00:35:52,440 –> 00:35:55,280
\nthe instruments are there.
\nThey’re all clothed in the in <\/p>\n
522
\n00:35:55,280 –> 00:35:57,600
\nthe robes of linen.
\nIt’s exactly as if it’s <\/p>\n
523
\n00:35:57,600 –> 00:36:01,640
\nSolomon’s day all over again.
\nAnd yet of course it wasn’t <\/p>\n
524
\n00:36:01,640 –> 00:36:06,760
\nSolomon’s day and it was.
\nHonestly brothers and sisters, <\/p>\n
525
\n00:36:06,760 –> 00:36:10,640
\nin the 10th verse of Ezra 3.
\nReally there is heart rending <\/p>\n
526
\n00:36:10,640 –> 00:36:15,320
\npathos to this particular scene
\non this occasion because as we <\/p>\n
527
\n00:36:15,320 –> 00:36:19,000
\nlooked about the hill on which
\nthey stood on the occasion of <\/p>\n
528
\n00:36:19,000 –> 00:36:24,160
\nEzra 3IN verse 10, the signs of
\ndesolation are everywhere. <\/p>\n
529
\n00:36:25,120 –> 00:36:27,920
\nThe Temple Mount is still
\nscarred and ravaged from <\/p>\n
530
\n00:36:27,920 –> 00:36:32,200
\nBabylonian fire.
\nBut there, amidst the signs of <\/p>\n
531
\n00:36:32,200 –> 00:36:36,880
\nruin, embedded into the good
\nearth of Mount Moriah, sunk into<\/p>\n
532
\n00:36:36,880 –> 00:36:41,960
\nits rocky outcrop, was a row of
\nfreshly dressed stones, clean <\/p>\n
533
\n00:36:41,960 –> 00:36:44,600
\nand sharp.
\nThat was the beginning of a new <\/p>\n
534
\n00:36:44,600 –> 00:36:49,320
\nfoundation for a new temple.
\nAnd who’s there ready to sing <\/p>\n
535
\n00:36:49,320 –> 00:36:51,160
\nthe songs of the Lord?
\nVerse 10. <\/p>\n
536
\n00:36:51,240 –> 00:36:53,560
\nWhy the sons of Asaph?
\nYou notice, by the way, in the <\/p>\n
537
\n00:36:53,560 –> 00:36:56,800
\n10th verse it doesn’t mention
\neither Heman or Juduthan. <\/p>\n
538
\n00:36:58,240 –> 00:37:01,600
\nThere’s no record that either
\nthe sons of Heman or the sons of<\/p>\n
539
\n00:37:01,600 –> 00:37:05,200
\nJudithan returned at this time.
\nOnly the sons of Asaph are <\/p>\n
540
\n00:37:05,200 –> 00:37:07,200
\nthere.
\nYou see, these are the ones, <\/p>\n
541
\n00:37:07,200 –> 00:37:11,080
\nperhaps more than any others,
\nwho kept that burning flame of <\/p>\n
542
\n00:37:11,080 –> 00:37:15,640
\nPsalm 137 alive.
\nAnd look what it says in verse <\/p>\n
543
\n00:37:15,640 –> 00:37:19,560
\n11.
\nThey sang together by course. <\/p>\n
544
\n00:37:20,680 –> 00:37:23,520
\nYou know that the Nehemiah
\nChapter 7, we’re told that when <\/p>\n
545
\n00:37:23,520 –> 00:37:26,040
\nsome of the priests came back to
\nthe land that they couldn’t <\/p>\n
546
\n00:37:26,040 –> 00:37:28,760
\nprove their lineage, could they?
\nAnd they were not able to <\/p>\n
547
\n00:37:28,760 –> 00:37:31,400
\nestablish what priestly course
\nthey belonged to. <\/p>\n
548
\n00:37:31,400 –> 00:37:36,320
\nDo you remember that the sons of
\nAsaph had no trouble with <\/p>\n
549
\n00:37:36,320 –> 00:37:40,720
\nknowing what their course was?
\nThey were ready to sing in their<\/p>\n
550
\n00:37:40,720 –> 00:37:44,280
\ncourses after all this time
\nwithout hesitation. <\/p>\n
551
\n00:37:44,360 –> 00:37:47,960
\nThey knew exactly what their
\norders and their courses were, <\/p>\n
552
\n00:37:48,080 –> 00:37:51,080
\nand they were ready to sing at
\nthe command of Joshua and <\/p>\n
553
\n00:37:51,080 –> 00:37:52,480
\nZerubbabel.
\nAnd what do they sing? <\/p>\n
554
\n00:37:52,480 –> 00:37:55,360
\nVerse 11.
\nThey sang together by course in <\/p>\n
555
\n00:37:55,360 –> 00:37:59,280
\npraising and giving thanks.
\nAlso there, there are two <\/p>\n
556
\n00:37:59,280 –> 00:38:03,200
\nkeywords.
\nThey praised and gave thanks, <\/p>\n
557
\n00:38:04,400 –> 00:38:09,120
\nand you’d never believe the
\nwords of their song were <\/p>\n
558
\n00:38:09,240 –> 00:38:14,880
\nbrothers and sisters, would you?
\nThey gave thanks unto Yahweh <\/p>\n
559
\n00:38:16,400 –> 00:38:25,680
\nbecause He is good for His mercy
\nendureth forever toward Israel. <\/p>\n
560
\n00:38:27,120 –> 00:38:29,560
\nWhy?
\nThat’s the first of Chronicles <\/p>\n
561
\n00:38:29,560 –> 00:38:36,520
\nchapter 16 and this 34.
\nYou see, the foundation might be<\/p>\n
562
\n00:38:36,520 –> 00:38:40,040
\nnew brothers and sisters, but
\nthe singers who sang in front of<\/p>\n
563
\n00:38:40,040 –> 00:38:44,960
\nthat new foundation this day
\nsang their old songs to the old <\/p>\n
564
\n00:38:44,960 –> 00:38:48,800
\nwords.
\nThey didn’t find them old <\/p>\n
565
\n00:38:48,800 –> 00:38:52,360
\nfashioned.
\nThey found them absolutely fresh<\/p>\n
566
\n00:38:52,360 –> 00:38:54,880
\nand new because they believed
\nthat they were singing eternal <\/p>\n
567
\n00:38:54,880 –> 00:38:56,840
\ntruths.
\nDo you know that this episode in<\/p>\n
568
\n00:38:56,840 –> 00:38:59,000
\nEzra Chapter 3, brothers and
\nsisters? <\/p>\n
569
\n00:38:59,280 –> 00:39:03,880
\nWell, it’s 85 years after to the
\ntime of Josiah in the second of <\/p>\n
570
\n00:39:03,880 –> 00:39:08,040
\nChronicles 35.
\nIt’s 85 years later. <\/p>\n
571
\n00:39:08,040 –> 00:39:16,920
\nThis is BC 535, but it’s 460
\nyears after David gave this <\/p>\n
572
\n00:39:16,920 –> 00:39:23,160
\nPsalm to this family in the
\nfirst of Chronicles 16, 460 <\/p>\n
573
\n00:39:23,160 –> 00:39:25,200
\nyears later.
\nBrothers and sisters, you know, <\/p>\n
574
\n00:39:25,200 –> 00:39:27,720
\nwe’re told on the occasion of
\nthis chapter that there were <\/p>\n
575
\n00:39:27,720 –> 00:39:30,680
\nsome who wept, some who wept
\nbecause of the joy of building a<\/p>\n
576
\n00:39:30,680 –> 00:39:33,120
\nnew temple, some who wept
\nbecause they remembered the <\/p>\n
577
\n00:39:33,120 –> 00:39:35,920
\nglories of the old.
\nI would have wept on that day, <\/p>\n
578
\n00:39:35,920 –> 00:39:40,560
\nbrothers and sisters, for a
\nfamily who after 460 years could<\/p>\n
579
\n00:39:40,560 –> 00:39:45,640
\nstand up and sing the same hymn
\nto the same words, never have <\/p>\n
580
\n00:39:45,640 –> 00:39:49,640
\nforgotten it in their family
\nthrough all those generations. <\/p>\n
581
\n00:39:49,800 –> 00:39:52,320
\nAnd you see, this is the spirit
\nof Psalm 137. <\/p>\n
582
\n00:39:52,480 –> 00:39:56,040
\nThey said, never let us forget
\nthose who said, raise it, raise <\/p>\n
583
\n00:39:56,040 –> 00:39:58,240
\nit to the very foundations
\nthereof. <\/p>\n
584
\n00:39:58,400 –> 00:40:03,000
\nAnd now in triumph they sing
\nbefore a fresh foundation that <\/p>\n
585
\n00:40:03,000 –> 00:40:06,560
\narises upon the good earth.
\nYou see, they didn’t despise the<\/p>\n
586
\n00:40:06,560 –> 00:40:10,440
\nday of small things.
\nThey were always there. <\/p>\n
587
\n00:40:10,520 –> 00:40:13,120
\nAt the time of a spiritual
\nrevival of brothers and sisters <\/p>\n
588
\n00:40:13,120 –> 00:40:17,080
\nin the nation, the House of
\nAsaph were there, ready to sing <\/p>\n
589
\n00:40:17,200 –> 00:40:19,960
\ntheir ancient songs all over
\nagain. <\/p>\n
590
\n00:40:20,120 –> 00:40:22,600
\nYou see, I think that this is
\nthe great lesson of our study <\/p>\n
591
\n00:40:22,600 –> 00:40:26,400
\nthis morning.
\nIt is the lesson of the virtue <\/p>\n
592
\n00:40:26,560 –> 00:40:32,240
\nof constancy.
\nThe virtue of constancy is one <\/p>\n
593
\n00:40:32,240 –> 00:40:36,040
\nof the great principles that the
\nHouse of Asaph stood for. <\/p>\n
594
\n00:40:36,680 –> 00:40:41,360
\nYou know, we have hymns in our
\nhymn book today that come from <\/p>\n
595
\n00:40:41,360 –> 00:40:44,880
\nthe Golden Harp.
\nNow you know what the Golden <\/p>\n
596
\n00:40:44,880 –> 00:40:47,360
\nHarp is.
\nThe Golden Harp was the very <\/p>\n
597
\n00:40:47,360 –> 00:40:49,960
\nfirst Christadelphian hymn book.
\nYou know that we’ve still got <\/p>\n
598
\n00:40:49,960 –> 00:40:52,720
\nhymns that we sing today from
\nthat first hymn book. <\/p>\n
599
\n00:40:52,720 –> 00:40:56,480
\nI think that’s marvelous that we
\nstill sing according to the <\/p>\n
600
\n00:40:56,480 –> 00:40:59,120
\nprinciples of our own ancient
\nheritage. <\/p>\n
601
\n00:40:59,400 –> 00:41:01,360
\nYou know, our hymn book,
\nbrothers and sisters, the <\/p>\n
602
\n00:41:01,360 –> 00:41:03,640
\nChristadelphian hymn book over
\nthe years. <\/p>\n
603
\n00:41:03,920 –> 00:41:07,120
\nWell, it did borrow hymns from
\nother sources, but I’ll tell you<\/p>\n
604
\n00:41:07,120 –> 00:41:12,000
\nwhat, our earlier brethren that
\nborrowed those hymns put them <\/p>\n
605
\n00:41:12,000 –> 00:41:17,400
\nthrough a mighty fine sieve.
\nAnd by the time they got through<\/p>\n
606
\n00:41:17,400 –> 00:41:21,840
\nthat soothe into our hymn book,
\nthe words and the spirit so <\/p>\n
607
\n00:41:21,840 –> 00:41:25,960
\nutterly echoed what we believed,
\nthat we could sing that Psalm or<\/p>\n
608
\n00:41:25,960 –> 00:41:28,960
\nthat song and give a hearty Amen
\nto the words. <\/p>\n
609
\n00:41:29,040 –> 00:41:34,800
\nIt preserved the heritage of our
\nfaith, and we need to appreciate<\/p>\n
610
\n00:41:34,920 –> 00:41:39,080
\nhow vital a hymn book is in
\nholding together a community to <\/p>\n
611
\n00:41:39,080 –> 00:41:40,760
\nthose principles that we believe
\nin. <\/p>\n
612
\n00:41:40,760 –> 00:41:45,040
\nYou see this house, they never,
\never once changed their hymns <\/p>\n
613
\n00:41:45,200 –> 00:41:49,240
\nbecause they believed that the
\ntruths they sang were eternal. <\/p>\n
614
\n00:41:49,320 –> 00:41:52,000
\nWill sow out our truths,
\nbrothers and sisters, and <\/p>\n
615
\n00:41:52,000 –> 00:41:55,360
\ntherefore we believe that we
\nshould treasure and value the <\/p>\n
616
\n00:41:55,360 –> 00:41:58,000
\nhymn book that we have.
\nWhenever I hear a brother or <\/p>\n
617
\n00:41:58,000 –> 00:42:00,960
\nsister saying that they think
\nthe hymns are boring, I think <\/p>\n
618
\n00:42:00,960 –> 00:42:04,480
\nthere’s a problem.
\nI think they haven’t discovered <\/p>\n
619
\n00:42:04,480 –> 00:42:07,840
\nthe true majesty and power of
\nthe scriptural record that will <\/p>\n
620
\n00:42:07,840 –> 00:42:11,280
\nmake those hymns come alive.
\nBut what I do know for certain <\/p>\n
621
\n00:42:11,440 –> 00:42:15,480
\nis that the solution doesn’t lie
\nin borrowing from modern <\/p>\n
622
\n00:42:15,480 –> 00:42:19,840
\nChristian sources.
\nAnd there is a bit of that in <\/p>\n
623
\n00:42:19,840 –> 00:42:21,280
\nthe Brotherhood today, isn’t
\nthere? <\/p>\n
624
\n00:42:22,520 –> 00:42:26,520
\nAn increasing use of music from
\nmodern Christian sources. <\/p>\n
625
\n00:42:26,520 –> 00:42:31,440
\nBut the danger is that we may
\nnot use the same careful <\/p>\n
626
\n00:42:31,640 –> 00:42:36,360
\ndiscriminating process that was
\nused by earlier generations of <\/p>\n
627
\n00:42:36,360 –> 00:42:41,080
\nChristadelphians, especially
\ngiven the fact that modern <\/p>\n
628
\n00:42:41,080 –> 00:42:46,240
\nChristian music is nothing other
\nthan pure humanism with a <\/p>\n
629
\n00:42:46,280 –> 00:42:49,440
\nreligious coat on.
\nIt’s nothing more than that. <\/p>\n
630
\n00:42:50,560 –> 00:42:52,720
\nIt’s utterly different to the
\nspirit of the truth. <\/p>\n
631
\n00:42:52,920 –> 00:42:56,440
\nWe need to be very careful,
\nbrothers and sisters, in terms <\/p>\n
632
\n00:42:56,440 –> 00:43:01,400
\nof the source of our music.
\nNow, I’m all for exploring new <\/p>\n
633
\n00:43:01,400 –> 00:43:04,880
\nmusic and worship.
\nI think it’s good, and we do, <\/p>\n
634
\n00:43:05,120 –> 00:43:08,440
\nespecially in our special
\nevenings of of song and praise. <\/p>\n
635
\n00:43:08,680 –> 00:43:13,000
\nBut if the spirit of searching
\nfor new music is to replace our <\/p>\n
636
\n00:43:13,000 –> 00:43:16,360
\nhymn book because we think it’s
\nboring, then I’m passionately <\/p>\n
637
\n00:43:16,360 –> 00:43:19,440
\nagainst new music if that’s the
\nmotive. <\/p>\n
638
\n00:43:20,880 –> 00:43:24,440
\nBut if we want to sing other
\nspiritual songs as well as <\/p>\n
639
\n00:43:24,440 –> 00:43:27,360
\ntreasure our hymn book, then I
\nthink that’s a wonderful thing. <\/p>\n
640
\n00:43:27,640 –> 00:43:31,960
\nOur hymn book should remain the
\ncore of our spiritual worship. <\/p>\n
641
\n00:43:32,160 –> 00:43:36,760
\nAnd that hymn book, in turn,
\nought to maintain the heritage <\/p>\n
642
\n00:43:36,760 –> 00:43:41,480
\nof our faith and be the standard
\nbearer for what we truly believe<\/p>\n
643
\n00:43:41,680 –> 00:43:45,320
\nis proper music according to the
\nbenchmark of the House of Asaph.<\/p>\n
644
\n00:43:45,520 –> 00:43:48,120
\nYou see, the spirit of today is
\nwe want something new. <\/p>\n
645
\n00:43:48,200 –> 00:43:51,800
\nWe want something new.
\nThe spirit of the House of Asaph<\/p>\n
646
\n00:43:51,800 –> 00:43:54,880
\nwas treasure.
\nThe old treasure the old. <\/p>\n
647
\n00:43:56,000 –> 00:43:57,120
\nIt’s a different spirit, isn’t
\nit? <\/p>\n
648
\n00:43:58,560 –> 00:44:01,680
\nBut you see, that spirit of that
\nfamily is what kept them <\/p>\n
649
\n00:44:01,680 –> 00:44:04,240
\nfaithful down through all these
\nyears. <\/p>\n
650
\n00:44:04,400 –> 00:44:08,040
\nYou know, change sometimes can
\nseem to be very small. <\/p>\n
651
\n00:44:09,000 –> 00:44:13,960
\nSuch a little change here and
\nthere may seem to be harmless. <\/p>\n
652
\n00:44:16,760 –> 00:44:23,000
\nBeware the triumph of
\ngradualism. <\/p>\n
653
\n00:44:25,960 –> 00:44:30,920
\nIt is by little changes,
\nbrothers and sisters, that our <\/p>\n
654
\n00:44:30,920 –> 00:44:33,800
\nsongs of worship might
\nimperceptible be altered over <\/p>\n
655
\n00:44:33,800 –> 00:44:42,520
\ntime until our faith is lost.
\nAnd we don’t ever want that to <\/p>\n
656
\n00:44:42,520 –> 00:44:45,920
\nhappen.
\nSo you watch for trends. <\/p>\n
657
\n00:44:45,920 –> 00:44:49,840
\nYou see, you watch for trends.
\nAnd if the trend is towards an <\/p>\n
658
\n00:44:49,840 –> 00:44:55,320
\nincreasing focus on music at the
\nexpense of the words, then <\/p>\n
659
\n00:44:55,320 –> 00:45:01,000
\nresist the trend and stay with
\nthose old and lovely things that<\/p>\n
660
\n00:45:01,000 –> 00:45:03,880
\nwe have sung as a community and
\nthat have kept us faithful as a <\/p>\n
661
\n00:45:03,880 –> 00:45:05,840
\nbrotherhood now for a long
\nperiod of time. <\/p>\n
662
\n00:45:06,320 –> 00:45:12,560
\nNot as long, mind you, as the
\nHouse of ASAP who managed to <\/p>\n
663
\n00:45:12,560 –> 00:45:16,080
\nstay on the same hymn book
\nwithout revision for an awful <\/p>\n
664
\n00:45:16,080 –> 00:45:21,880
\nlong period of time.
\nThe virtue of constancy. <\/p>\n
665
\n00:45:23,160 –> 00:45:26,880
\nYou see, the instruments of
\nmusic were specially made by <\/p>\n
666
\n00:45:26,880 –> 00:45:32,360
\nDavid for praising the Lord.
\nIt suggested that David received<\/p>\n
667
\n00:45:32,360 –> 00:45:37,080
\nthe pattern for these by the
\ndivine revelation, and that he <\/p>\n
668
\n00:45:37,080 –> 00:45:39,880
\nreceived this in common with the
\npattern for all other <\/p>\n
669
\n00:45:39,880 –> 00:45:42,920
\ninstruments that were used for
\nservice in the temple. <\/p>\n
670
\n00:45:44,120 –> 00:45:47,760
\nThey were known, therefore, as
\nmusical instruments of God. <\/p>\n
671
\n00:45:49,320 –> 00:45:53,000
\nLater revivals of the temple
\nworship did not deviate from <\/p>\n
672
\n00:45:53,000 –> 00:45:56,440
\nthis standard, and the songs of
\nthe Lord were still sung with <\/p>\n
673
\n00:45:56,440 –> 00:45:58,680
\nthe instruments of David, the
\nman of God. <\/p>\n
674
\n00:45:59,880 –> 00:46:03,760
\nIn similar fashion.
\nThe words of these songs were <\/p>\n
675
\n00:46:03,760 –> 00:46:06,200
\njealously guarded by the House
\nof Asaph. <\/p>\n
676
\n00:46:06,640 –> 00:46:09,760
\nThe original Psalm delivered
\nthem, delivered to them by <\/p>\n
677
\n00:46:09,760 –> 00:46:12,600
\nDavid.
\nTo sing became the center of <\/p>\n
678
\n00:46:12,600 –> 00:46:18,040
\ntheir praise, its simple majesty
\nundimmed by centuries. <\/p>\n
679
\n00:46:19,000 –> 00:46:24,840
\nIt is reasonable to assume that
\njust as both instrument and word<\/p>\n
680
\n00:46:25,000 –> 00:46:32,360
\ndid not vary, so also the music
\nplayed remained unchanged <\/p>\n
681
\n00:46:33,440 –> 00:46:37,040
\nthroughout the centuries.
\nI believe that brothers and <\/p>\n
682
\n00:46:37,040 –> 00:46:41,120
\nsisters, I believe that when the
\nHouse of Asaph sang their songs <\/p>\n
683
\n00:46:41,320 –> 00:46:46,080
\nin Ezra Chapter 3, that they
\nsang the same words played on <\/p>\n
684
\n00:46:46,080 –> 00:46:50,360
\nthe same instruments, sung to
\nthe same tune. <\/p>\n
685
\n00:46:51,880 –> 00:46:55,240
\nThey never, ever varied.
\nThis faithful family. <\/p>\n
686
\n00:46:55,440 –> 00:46:57,520
\nWell, brothers and sisters,
\nthey’re back in the land. <\/p>\n
687
\n00:46:58,680 –> 00:47:02,200
\nThey’ve come back.
\nAnd there’s more to the story <\/p>\n
688
\n00:47:02,200 –> 00:47:04,520
\nyet, because the story’s not
\nquite finished. <\/p>\n
689
\n00:47:06,000 –> 00:47:11,200
\nBut as to what finally happened
\nto the House of Asif, well, we <\/p>\n
690
\n00:47:11,200 –> 00:47:13,080
\nmust wait until tomorrow to find
\nout.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Class 5 from this series was used in GCT Episode 338. 1 00:00:00,320 –> 00:00:05,480 Our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":786,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/s\/8765608\/podcast\/play\/99598887\/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-2-9%2F75f5890c-0a7a-7379-865b-f5364f4daaaf.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:47:00","filesize":"8.07M","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"tags":[],"series":[18],"class_list":["post-1272","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","series-gct-ext"],"aioseo_notices":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1319730-1546836077275-ad9b1fa65b482-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1319730-1546836075997-e4feb369d8bf.jpg?fit=400%2C400&ssl=1","download_link":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/podcast-download\/1272\/roger-lewis-the-house-of-asaph-family-of-faith-and-masters-of-music-class-5-the-faithfulness-of-the-house-of-asaph","player_link":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/podcast-player\/1272\/roger-lewis-the-house-of-asaph-family-of-faith-and-masters-of-music-class-5-the-faithfulness-of-the-house-of-asaph","audio_player":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/podcast-player\/1272\/roger-lewis-the-house-of-asaph-family-of-faith-and-masters-of-music-class-5-the-faithfulness-of-the-house-of-asaph<\/a>","episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"anchor":{"key":"anchor","url":"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/gct-extended","label":"Anchor","class":"anchor","icon":"anchor.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/good-christadelphian-talks-extended\/id1451458376?mt=2&uo=4","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"breaker":{"key":"breaker","url":"","label":"Breaker","class":"breaker","icon":"breaker.png"},"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"https:\/\/castbox.fm\/channel\/id1440738","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NzY1NjA4L3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"overcast":{"key":"overcast","url":"https:\/\/overcast.fm\/itunes1451458376\/good-christadelphian-talks-extended","label":"Overcast","class":"overcast","icon":"overcast.png"},"pocketcasts":{"key":"pocketcasts","url":"https:\/\/pca.st\/s6u6","label":"PocketCasts","class":"pocketcasts","icon":"pocketcasts.png"},"podbean":{"key":"podbean","url":"","label":"Podbean","class":"podbean","icon":"podbean.png"},"radio_public":{"key":"radio_public","url":"https:\/\/radiopublic.com\/good-christadelphian-talks-extend-8X4LpA","label":"Radio Public","class":"radio_public","icon":"radio-public.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/572NtU94bGKGknHF4gmlM6","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/anchor-podcasts\/good-christadelphian-talks-extended","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/GoodChristadelphianTalksPodcast","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/feed\/podcast\/gct-ext","embedCode":"Roger Lewis – The House of Asaph – Family of Faith and Masters of Music – Class 5 – The Faithfulness of the House of Asaph<\/a><\/blockquote>