The Gathered Church (5) - Gathered for Praise

Let's begin our worship. We're singing firstly today in Psalm 66. Psalm 66, that's in the

Sing Psalms. That's on page 83 of the Psalm books. We're singing to a tune, Golden Hill,

verses 1 to 6.

Shout loud with joy to God, all earth your chorus raise. Sing loud the honor of his name,

and glorious make his praise. Speak thus to God the Lord, how great your works of power.

For so overwhelming is your might, that foes before you cower. You can see from the bulletin

sheet that the focus of our study this morning of God's Word is on praise. The church gathered

together for praise, to praise the Lord. So the Psalms reflect that in the references to praise

as we sing them today. So Psalm 66, if you're able to stand, please stand to sing.

Sing loud the honor of his name, and glorious name.

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Sing outputs, ring办agle hog

Pray to stand, but seldomodiver give such broken heart.

Our greater works of power, so overwhelming is your might

That goes before you can

Alert, God's hand to you

This signal of your pain

They never cease to celebrate

The glory of your name

Come see what God has done

This mighty works of power

His deeds to watch the human race

Have lost unto the old

To let his people pass

On blue blue waters cross

He turned the sea into my land

Let us rejoice in God

Now let's pray briefly before the children go through to their Sunday school

Our gracious God

As we give thanks today

That you have gathered us together

In your name that is our desire

And our delight to be here

We thank you for the privilege of being able to do so

We ask Lord again your blessing for our children today

In each and every one of them

In all their classes

And all the things that they learned today about

You help them we pray

To apply this to their own young lives

And once again we pray

That their spiritual and moral development

Will continue under the teaching of your word

And we ask that all those who teach them

And give of their time

Will be rewarded by your own blessing

And not that we seek Lord to be rewarded

For the work that we do for you

But nevertheless you promise

That you will bless those who serve you

And seek to make your word known

Even to all ages

So bless the children today we pray

And give them today

To know your own spirit working in their young lives

Hear us we pray

In Jesus name

Amen

I'm going to read a couple of verses

From Judges

The book of Judges chapter 6

Judges 6 · chapter mention

And this is about Gideon

Gideon

Because I know that Sunday school

Today are beginning Gideon

In their lessons

For a number of weeks

At least I've looked at the schedule

And that's what's down

I'm sure that they're keeping to that

If possible

So I'm going to read from Judges chapter 6

Judges 6 · chapter mention

Just two or three verses

The Lord saying to Gideon

The Lord turned to him and said

Go in this might of yours

And save Israel

From the hand of Midian

Do not I send you

And he said to him

Please Lord

How can I save Israel?

Behold my clan is the weakest in Manasseh

And I am the least in my father's house

And the Lord said to him

But I will be with you

And you shall strike the Midianites

As one man

Now as you come to learn about Gideon

And various things that happened in his life

It's such an important part of the book of Judges

Because in a sense it summarizes what the book of Judges is about

And I want the young folks today just to think of two things

In relation to Gideon

I'm sure you'll learn a lot more as you go through the lessons

From Gideon's life

But here is the Lord saying to Gideon

To go and save Israel from the Midianites

The Midianites

The Midianites were people who had been attacking Israel

And had come because they had great numbers

And were attacking them and destroying their crops

Or taking their crops

All sorts of things that really provided so many difficulties for the people of Israel

It really was the people's own fault in a sense

Because God was annoyed with them

Because they had really gone after other gods

And stopped saving the Lord the way they should

But here the Lord is saying to Gideon

Go and save Israel

Now the Lord's calling

That's what we usually say

The Lord's calling of Gideon

Is something that applies to all our lives

Even our young people today

I mean you young folks and all of us too

Are being called by God through the Bible to serve Him

Not necessarily to be great leaders in the church

But everybody has the opportunity and the responsibility to do something for the Lord

The Lord is calling us all to be His servants

To serve Him in some way or other

And you young folk today

In your young days

That's your privilege too

To serve the Lord in whatever way you can

To do things for Jesus

So I want you to pray this prayer

Not just today

But throughout your whole life really

It's a prayer that goes something like this

Lord, please help me to be obedient to your call

Lord, please help me to be obedient to your call

It's a prayer everybody, adults as well, needs to pray

But for young folks today

Pray this prayer for yourselves

Lord, help me to be obedient

So whatever the Lord calls us to do

We should always pray

Lord, help me to be obedient to that

And then Gideon said

That he was too small

That he was not really strong enough to do this

And he said

How can I save Israel?

My clan is the weakest in Manasseh

And I am the least in my father's house

You see what they're saying

I just don't feel I can do this

It's too big for me

It's too big a task

I am the smallest in my father's house

And my clan is the smallest in Manasseh

You're asking me to do such a great thing

I don't think I can do it

What did the Lord say to him?

He said

The Lord said

But I will be with you

In other words

Gideon was to think

Not about his own ability

But God's strength

That's the second prayer

I want you to pray for yourselves as well

As your young lives go on

Lord, make me strong to be your servant

Make me strong to be your servant

So these are the two prayers

Help me to be obedient

So that I can serve you

And make me strong to be your servant

These are two very simple but important prayers

That you learn from the life of Gideon

So pray these prayers for yourselves

And do what you can to serve Jesus

As your lives go on

Now we're going to say the Lord's Prayer again together

Let's say the Lord's Prayer

Our Father which art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our debts

As we forgive our debtors

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom

And the power and the glory forever

Amen

It's great to hear all you young folks saying that

Prayer and reciting it like that

But you can pray it for yourselves of course as well

Let's sing again to God's Praise

Psalm 135 this time

Page 425

Singing to a tune Gainsborough

Verses 1-6

Praise ye the Lord

The Lord's name praise

His servants praise ye God

Who stand in God's house

In the courts of our God

In the courts of our God

Make abode

Psalm 135 and verses 1-6

To his praise

Praise ye the Lord

Praise ye the Lord

Praise ye the Lord

The Lord's name praise

His servants praise ye God

His servants praise

Praise ye the Lord

His servants praise ye God

Who stand in God's

His servants praise ye God

Who stand in God's

The servant's praise ye God

Who stand in God's

Our sing the courts

God, our God, make a word.

Praise ye the Lord, for he is good,

and to him praises sing.

Sing praises to this King,

because it is a pleasant thing.

For take up to himself the Lord,

take truth of his good pleasure,

and he hath chosen Israel

for his peculiar treasure.

Because I know assuredly the Lord is very great,

and that our Lord, above all gods,

in glory hath his seed.

What things so ever pleased the Lord,

but in the heavenly King,

and in the earth, the seas and all,

the places deep at thee.

Let's read God's Word together now

from Paul's letter to the Colossians.

Paul's letter to the Colossians, chapter 3,

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

and we're going to read the first 17 verses.

Colossians, chapter 3, from the beginning.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

If then you have been raised with Christ,

seek the things that are above where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on the things that are above,

not on things that are on earth.

For you have died, and your life is hidden

with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears,

then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you,

sexual immorality, impurity, passion,

evil desire, and covetousness,

which is idolatry.

On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.

In these you too once walked

when you were living in them.

But now you must put them all away,

anger, wrath, malice, slander,

and obscene talk from your mouth.

Do not lie one to another,

seeing that you have put off the old self

with its practices,

and have put on the new self,

which is being renewed in knowledge

after the image of its creator.

Here there is not Greek and Jew,

circumcised and uncircumcised,

barbarian, Scythian, slave, free,

but Christ is all and in all.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones,

holy and beloved,

compassion, kindness,

humility, meekness, and patience,

bearing with one another,

and if one has a complaint against another,

forgiving each other.

As the Lord has forgiven you,

so you also must forgive.

And above all these, put on love,

which binds everything together

in perfect harmony.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,

to which indeed you are called in one body,

and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing one another

in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs

with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

And whatever you do,

in word or deed,

do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father

through him.

And so on,

may the Lord bless to us

that reading of his own word.

We're singing once again,

this time in Psalm 104,

on page 374,

singing to the tune Kilmarnock

from verse 31

down to the end of the psalm.

The glory of the mighty Lord

continues shall forever.

The Lord Jehovah shall rejoice

in all his works together.

Earth, as affrightened,

trembleth all if he on it but look.

And if the mountains he but touch,

they presently do smoke.

I will sing to the Lord Most High

so long as I shall live.

And while I being have,

I shall to my God praises give.

Of him my meditation shall

sweet thoughts to me afford.

And as for me,

I will rejoice in God,

my only Lord.

From earth let sinners be consumed,

let ill men no more be.

O thou my soul,

bless thou the Lord.

Praise to the Lord,

give ye.

These verses,

the glory of the mighty Lord.

The glory of the mighty Lord,

continue shall forever.

The Lord Jehovah shall rejoice in all his works together.

earth,

earth as affrighted,

trembleth all,

if he on it but look.

and if the mountains he but touch,

they presently do so.

I will sing to the Lord Most High

so long as I shall live.

And while I be in half,

I shall to my God praises give.

Up in my meditation shall

sweet thoughts to me afford.

And as for me,

I will rejoice in God,

my only Lord.

from earth let sinners be consumed,

let ill men no more be.

O thou my soul,

bless thou the Lord.

Praise to the Lord,

give me.

Now please turn with me to Colossians chapter 3,

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

passage we read a short time ago.

Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

And today we're looking mainly at verse 16.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs

with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Obviously that's a text that stands in a run of verses

that focus on certain things to do with our service for God.

And the focus especially here is on the word of Jesus dwelling in his people richly,

but that's combined with singing praises to God,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness.

Now as we've been looking for a few weeks at the topic of the gathered church,

we're thinking especially of the church as gathered as we are today,

and some of the features of the gatherings of the church,

and what is important for us to bear in mind and to practice

in the gatherings of the church as we form part of that.

Last week, for example, we looked at being gathered for prayer

and how important it is for the church not only to pray,

but to be gathered for prayer,

to have gatherings where prayer features strongly in them,

and even gatherings for prayer and not much else but prayer.

And today we're looking at the church gathered for praise,

which is particularly an emphasis here on singing.

The church gathered for praise.

This evening, God willing, we'll look at the church gathered for growth from Ephesians.

So the focus really is on singing,

but it runs right through here from verse 16.

As we've said, it's a run of verses from there down through to verse 17 especially.

And it's important to notice the connection,

the very close connection in this verse itself,

because there's no full stop.

It's just a series of commas.

Notice the connection, therefore close connection,

between teaching and singing.

Teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.

And then immediately it says singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs

with thankfulness in your heart to God.

So there's a very close connection there between the church gathered together,

as we've seen before,

to listen to God,

to listen to God's word being proclaimed,

and for prayer as well.

A close connection here as well with the teaching that we receive from God's word

and the singing of praise to God,

because they very much are dovetailed together

and should be so in our thoughts as well.

Singing does not replace preaching.

But nevertheless,

even in the singing of the praise of God,

there is a very strong didactic or teaching element to it,

because you're learning things as you're singing.

We're learning things together as we're singing together.

And as we'll see,

the importance of singing together

carries with it so many benefits for us individually,

which come from being together to sing the praises of God.

Of course,

singing is one main feature of the gathered church for worship,

but it's a very important aspect of the church's gathering for worship,

along with reading the word,

and the word being expounded in preaching,

and prayer to God,

that is the element of singing together the praise of God.

And basically,

that is what comprises our worship services,

our public worship.

And it's important that we think of participation

and not performance.

I don't mean by that,

that our singing should be anything but of good quality.

But the singing is not a performance.

We don't have a choir.

Not that there's anything wrong with a choir in itself in certain contexts.

But we don't have a choir.

We have a presenter to lead the singing rather than a choir,

and there's good reason for that.

And when you go to a concert, for example,

or nowadays what's called a gig,

you go there basically as observers of the main item,

which is whether it's a band or whether it's an individual, whatever.

But you're going there as observers.

And even if you're participating in the sense of singing in with some of what's being performed on stage,

you're basically there to observe them.

They're the main feature of the gathering.

But in the gathered church,

gathering for praise means we are all collectively and equally involved,

participating in that praise of God.

We don't come to church to sing the praises of God

by just listening to others sing the praise.

It's a participation.

It's congregational praise.

The whole congregation participates in it.

It's a feature of many congregations now that they have a praise band.

I'm not necessarily saying I disagree with that entirely,

but the congregation's praise is important as congregational praise.

And if there is to be a praise band, and I'm not saying by any means that there should be or is to be,

it must never be a performance by the band performing to the congregation.

Because we come together to congregate as those who wish to praise God collectively.

And whatever else we say as features of sung praise to God,

and there is a place outside of congregational worship,

public worship, for many of these other things,

even what I've mentioned there.

But coming together today is for congregational praise.

And what a brilliant privilege it is to hear good congregational praise

as we sing that praise together.

We come together to praise the Lord congregationally.

And you notice the plurals here in this passage,

showing that it's together that these things are done.

Teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.

Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts, plural, to God.

They are all features of the gathered church,

gathered to praise the Lord.

And that means everybody should sing.

Does it mean singing even if you or I are saying,

well, I don't really have much of a voice,

so I don't think I should participate in the singing?

There is no reason at all, biblically,

why anybody should feel themselves left out of joining in

and participating in the praise, in the singing of praise to God.

Your voice may not be the best voice in the congregation.

It may be something even of a croak, as far as you're concerned.

But still the Lord is calling upon us to sing His praises.

And we sing together the praises of God.

I've heard some people even saying,

none of the congregation here,

but I've heard some people suggesting that

if you're not converted,

you shouldn't be singing the praises of God.

That is only for the Lord's converted people.

Where do you find that in the Bible?

We gather together today to praise the Lord.

That means each and every one of us contributes

and participates in the praise of God.

Even if we're saying today,

but I'm not yet a professing Christian,

even though I'd like to be,

I'm still not there.

You might even be saying to yourself,

I'm not even yet saved,

I'm not converted.

Well, I hope that's something you attend to soon,

because you should.

But the one thing you must never say is,

I'm not a professing Christian,

or I'm not converted,

so I don't really think I should take part

in the singing of praise.

There is nothing in any part of the Bible

that I know of

where the Bible says,

let's come together and sing the praises of God,

but you who are not yet professing Christians

are not involved in that.

It's congregational, friends.

It's congregational praise to God.

And as we meet together here today,

all our voices should be together raised

in the praise of God.

Now here we have in this verse

another feature that we sometimes find

difference of opinion on,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

And some people take that to be

a reference to the church

being at liberty to compose

songs other than you find in the psalms.

And that, of course, is true

and has been true for generations.

But it's also true that these words,

psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs

are features of the book of psalms,

because all of these titles

are used in the book of psalms

to describe different categories of psalms.

And that's why some people prefer

that this verse is taken as referring

to psalms, the book of psalms,

the psalms put into meter

as we sing them together.

And that's what it's meant.

So there is that difference of opinion

over how we should take the verse.

We're taking it at the moment

that we are singing psalms

of different catechises of psalms

in praise to God.

But irrespective of what our view is of that,

it's saying,

sing with thankfulness in your hearts to God

and sing together.

That's really the main feature

that we want to focus on this morning.

Sing together the praises of God

in congregational singing.

So what do we take from that?

And if we want to take out a few points,

these are just by way of introduction,

a bit longer than usual.

But what do we take from that

as we're looking at congregational singing

and the churches gather to sing

the praises of God?

Well, first of all,

our singing together

is actually commanded by God.

It's not something that we choose

to do or not to do.

Our singing together,

our congregational singing,

and our individual contribution to that

is commanded by God.

All you've got to do

is look through the book of psalms.

And as you look through the book of psalms,

you'll find so many psalms

in which God is purposefully commanding

or instructing His people to sing,

to glorify His name with singing,

to be together involved

in the singing of His praise.

Many, many times you'll find that

in the book of psalms.

Not only that,

but you'll find the likes of Psalm 792,

verse 1, Psalm 147.

Not only does it say

that it's something we must do

as commanded by God,

as instructed by God,

but that it is good for us to do so.

You see, some people think,

when you think of,

when we actually look at the fact

that the Bible is instructing us

to do many things,

in other words,

God is commanding us,

a lot of people think,

well, commanding things,

that's not really how it should,

it should be voluntary, shouldn't it?

It should be something

that we're willing to do of ourselves.

Well, that's all very well,

but sometimes we need God's command.

We need God's command

to actually make us think about

what we should be doing

and our responsibilities.

But when you come to Psalm 92,

for example,

it is a good thing

to sing the praises of God.

It's good for us

and it brings good to us.

And it's good in the sense

that God Himself

is being praised,

something which He regards as good.

It's a good thing

to praise the Lord

every morning,

every evening,

as that psalm says.

In other words,

the Bible doesn't just say

God requires us

to sing His praises,

but God emphasizes

what a good thing it is,

what a beneficial thing it is.

Not just good emotionally,

but it brings benefit.

We'll deal with that point in a minute.

It is good for us

to sing the praises of God

as instructed by God.

And in fact,

you come to this passage

and the corresponding passage

in Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

You'll find in Ephesians

that that's the same

kind of emphasis there

where singing praises to God

is something

that's actually required

or commanded by God

as an aspect of the new life

that we've come to have

through faith in Christ.

But here is Colossians here

in chapter 3 saying,

let the word of Christ

dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing

one another.

That's an instruction from God.

You go back even to

verse 6 of the chapter there

and you'll find

the command is there as well

on account of where you find,

sorry, not verse 6,

you have to put away

all these things he's saying,

the things that now

characterize the life

that you actually once lived.

And then he moves on through

from there,

right through to this command

as instruction

to praise the Lord

and to do so with singing

as well as also

with thankfulness

in our hearts.

Singing praise

is not an optional aspect

of worship.

It's something that's required

by God

as an essential part

of how we worship Him

together

as well as worshiping Him

individually.

And as we've said,

even if we're not,

wouldn't class ourselves

as singers,

wouldn't class ourselves

as having a good voice.

It's not really

the important thing.

You see what I was saying there?

With thankfulness

in your hearts

to God.

It's not primarily

a matter of our quality

of voice,

though that is good,

is gifted by God.

It's the heart really,

as we'll see,

that the inward soul

from which our singing emanates.

But it's important

to realize that singing,

singing praise to God

is commanded by God,

required by God.

It's an instruction

from God.

Secondly,

our singing together

expresses

important realities.

Through singing

the praise of God,

we express things,

especially as they're revealed

to us in the Bible,

we express things

that are important realities,

I've called it,

to ourselves.

And I'm going to focus

on two things,

especially in that.

The important realities,

first of all,

God's character

and His works.

And then secondly,

our own experiences.

Because we sing

about God's character,

we sing to Him

in praise of His character

and His works,

but we also sing out

our experiences.

And again,

we'll see that

from the book of Psalms.

God's character

and God's work

frequently

in the book of Psalms.

Let me just pick

on a couple,

just as,

I'm sure you're

very well aware

of these,

I know.

Like, for example,

Psalm 100.

Make a joyful noise

to the Lord.

See, there's the instruction

again,

it's a commandment.

Serve the Lord

with gladness.

Come into His presence

with singing.

Why?

For,

know that He is God.

He made us.

We are His people.

We are the sheep

of His pasture.

For the Lord is good.

His steadfast love

endured forever.

His faithfulness

to all generations.

What is that saying to us?

Saying to us,

here are features

of God's character

and of God's work

and of God's relationship

with His people.

So you sing praise

in relation to that.

You take these great truths,

these great realities,

you build them into your praise

as the psalmist is saying,

and Lord,

we know that you

are a shepherd

to your people.

We know that you're

our Savior.

We know that you've done

all these and you continue

to do all these things.

So I sing praises

because of that.

Or you go to Psalm 136,

the only other one

I'm going to mention

just now.

Psalm 136 is

quite a remarkable psalm

for the way that it repeats

certain things

all the way through.

Give thanks to the Lord

for He is good

for His steadfast love

endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods

for His steadfast love

endures forever.

And that's the refrain

throughout the psalm,

for His steadfast love

endures forever,

repeated again and again

just as a prominent note

in the teaching of the psalm.

But as you go through,

you can see all the things

that are related to that.

God, the creator

of the universe,

God who dealt

with the enemies of Israel,

God who divided the Red Sea

miraculously for them,

God who overthrew Pharaoh,

God led His people,

and so on all the way down.

You see these great realities

that are mentioned

as God's character

and God's work is revealed.

What is our response

to God's character

and to God's work?

Praise.

Singing is praise.

Singing is praise together.

Singing is praise congregationally.

And when you go to Exodus chapter 15,

Exodus 15 · chapter mention

there are the people

just newly out of Egypt

and having gone through the Red Sea

and seen the Egyptians

pursuing them

and God in His judgment

bringing the sea

over the Egyptians

to destroy them in the Red Sea.

And what did Israel do?

What did Moses do?

Well, you read there

the beginning of chapter 15

of Exodus.

Then Moses and Israel

sang this song.

And the rest of the chapter

is the song that they sang.

They sang praise to God

as they looked at

what had happened

and what they were singing about.

They were celebrating victory,

but they were celebrating

God's victory.

They were celebrating

God's actions.

They were celebrating

God's greatness.

Yes, He had preserved them.

He had led them.

He had kept them safe.

But He's the one to be praised.

And they're singing

the praises of God

as they sang this song

described in Exodus 15.

And you know, remarkably,

you can take that

right through the whole Bible

on into the book of Revelation

and chapter 15.

And you read there

something remarkable

that the singing in heaven

is the song of Moses

and of the Lamb.

The song of Moses

and of the Lamb.

In other words,

the same celebratory,

triumphant note

in singing

from Exodus

through to Revelation,

from this world

right through to heaven.

It's the praise of God.

Isn't it

precious

that eternity

is going to be spent

for God's people?

Singing praise to God.

Yes, there'll be other things,

but that's a prominent feature

of what heaven

is going to be about.

Singing the praises of God.

Singing the song of Moses

and of the Lamb of Jesus.

Celebrating

God's triumphant victory

over sin,

over Satan,

over death

by the cross

and the resurrection of Christ.

That's the song of heaven.

But it's sung song.

It's congregational song.

It's everybody

participating

in the praise of God.

And what we're doing here

on earth

in this world

as we sing

of the character

and the works of God

is anticipating

the glorious singing

of heaven.

What a privilege.

What a privilege

to be a participant

in a congregation

that sings

the praise of God.

God.

And the praise this morning,

the singing this morning,

I have to say,

was, as it usually,

very good.

And it's especially so

when certain harmonies

come through

in the singing.

And there's that

quality of sung praise

which reflects

our gratitude,

our thankfulness

to God.

God.

So, you see,

our present praise

of God

is actually linked

to the past,

to God's great works

of redemption

in the past,

but it also links us

to the future,

to what's going to be

true in heaven.

So, here you are today,

a congregation

of people

who sing

the praise of God,

and you're conscious

that you're connected

to the praises of God

in the past

for His character

and for His works,

and you're also conscious

you're connected

to the future

for God's people,

the singing of heaven.

It's the same praise,

the same God,

the same privilege,

singing with thankfulness

in your hearts

to God.

Now, what does that give us

when we do that together?

What does that do

more so than when we sing

by ourselves,

good though that is?

Well, doesn't it convey

together,

because it's being done together,

doesn't it really convey

a great sense of wonder

that God should be

this God to us,

that God should have done

all these things for us?

And doesn't it convey

as well as this sense

of wonder

as we sing together,

doesn't it convey

a sense of belonging?

Isn't it as you come together

to praise the Lord

more so than when you sing

on your own,

that you have that sense

of belonging to this people

who praise the Lord,

belonging to this people

whose privilege it is

to sing the praises

of God together?

Our singing together

expresses the important realities

of God's character

and God's works,

but secondly,

it also expresses

the reality of our experiences.

as you go to the book

of Psalms again,

you find sadness

and joy side by side.

So many of the Psalms

express the joy

of David and the other

psalmists

as they collectively,

as they sang the praises

of God with the people

of God,

the joy,

I joyed when to the house

of God,

go up,

they said to me.

And so many of the Psalms

have those wonderful features

of praise and thankfulness

and joy in their praise.

Psalm 27,

the Lord is my light

and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength

of my life.

Of whom shall I be afraid?

Triumph!

Joy!

Joy!

And all the way

through the Psalms,

you have that note

of joy prominently displayed.

The reality

of joy

in our experience.

But there's the other side.

You don't just sing

the praises of God

when you're joyous,

when your heart is glad,

when you feel lifted up.

You sing the praises of God

when you're sad,

when your heart is heavy,

when you have something

to be grieved about.

That's what the Psalms teach us.

Psalm 38, for example.

You see how that,

all the way through

that Psalm, really,

it's pretty much

a note of sadness.

Lord, rebuke me not

in your anger,

not discipline me

in your wrath.

He's talking there,

of course,

of his sins

as the Psalm goes on

to speak about

his own personal sense

of sinfulness and guilt.

There is no soundness

in my flesh.

My iniquities have gone

over my head

like a heavy burden.

They are too heavy for me.

My sighing is not hidden

from you.

My friends and companions

stand aloof

from my plague.

My nearest kin

stand afar off.

All the way through the Psalm,

you've got these notes

again and again

of sadness,

of despondency,

and of grief

in his heart.

But then you stop,

you see,

and you say,

well,

that's a Psalm

that God has given us

to sing together.

You don't just confine

your singings

to the Psalms

of exuberance

and of joy.

It's a privilege

to sing them,

but it's equally

a privilege

to be able to sing

together

from sad hearts,

from hearts

that experience

the pains

of this life,

the challenges

of this life,

the struggles

of this life,

the losses

of this life

as well as the gains.

But you see,

here's a great privilege.

We can sing

these out

to God

and we can sing

them out together

to God.

We share together

in the singing

of our sorrows

as well as the singing

of our joys.

And what a difference

that makes to you

as an individual

that you're singing

together with other people

who together

as you sing

the praises of God,

whether in sadness

or in joy,

we're all together

in the singing.

We're all together

in the praise.

We're saying

to one another

as we sing

our praises to God,

Lord,

collectively,

hear us today

because our heart

is going out

to you.

I think

the more I've gone on

in my Christian experience,

the more I've come

to value

and to appreciate

the benefit

we receive

from singing together

even when it's times

of singing out

our pains.

Just to know

that someone else

is singing with you

and wanting to participate

with you

and to share with you

in the sorrow

of your heart

as well as the joys

of your heart,

isn't that therapeutic?

Isn't that really

in a sense

strengthening

and confirmatory?

And doesn't it

give you again

that sense

of great privilege

and wonder

and thankfulness

to God

that you belong

to that kind

of body

of people

who share together

in their experiences

and whose experiences

are shared out

together in song,

in singing

the praises

of God?

You see,

that goes back

to what we said

at the very beginning,

the importance

of actually being

together,

gathering together

instead of just being

as we are able

to at times

join in with services

online,

but that should be

a secondary issue.

It should be for those

who can't be together

and it's a great facility

to have

and I keep saying this,

it's a wonderful facility

to have

and I hear more

and more of people

in different parts

of the world

who actually come

to join in

with the services

here of this congregation

who are maybe

not able to go

to a service

elsewhere themselves

or even our own

local people

who can't

because of illness

or whatever

cannot actually

physically be there

but when we can

then we should.

When we can,

here's one of the benefits

that we are able

to join together

in the praise of God,

that our voices

come to be

joined together

as we share

the experiences

of this life.

Singing

with thankfulness

in your heart

to God.

So our singing together

is commanded by God.

Our singing together

expresses important realities,

God's character and work,

our own experiences.

Thirdly, finally,

our singing together

contributes to our encouragement.

It's obvious

that we are able

to encourage one another

as we meet physically

rather than at other times.

Yes, you can encourage

many people

with a phone call,

with a WhatsApp

or whatever,

but it doesn't actually

replace the physical connection

as we share together

to encourage one another

in relation to the things

of life.

So as we reflect

on the goodness of God,

the gifts of God,

the mercy of God,

the salvation of God,

again you go back

to the Psalms

and this is what you find

frequently,

that as they shared together

in the experiences of life

and their knowledge of God,

so they were encouraged

and encouraged one another

as they actually traveled

together on the issues,

through the issues of life.

Psalm 103,

what does the psalmist do?

He's doing something

which some people

might think is a sign

of beginning to lose yourself.

He's talking to himself.

O thou my soul,

bless God the Lord.

He's talking into his soul.

He's speaking to his soul.

He's speaking to himself

and he's saying,

bless the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

And then he goes on

to express why

he's praising God.

Don't be forgetful

of all his gracious benefits

that he has bestowed upon you.

Who forgives all your sins.

Who heals you

from all your diseases.

By that he means,

of course,

ultimately spiritually.

And so the psalm goes on.

But as the psalmist

speaking into his soul,

so that out from his soul

will come the praises of God.

And as we reflect on

all of what God has done

and is doing for us,

as together we're sharing

in our knowledge of God

and the experiences

in his providence

that we come to share in.

Well, he's saying here,

sing from your hearts

with thankfulness

in your hearts

to God.

Our singing is not

just a formalized

following of

a certain score of music.

Nothing wrong with that

in itself at all.

But you see,

he's reminding us

that our singing

begins here

in the heart

and our soul.

That the soul

is the source

of our sound praise

to God.

That as each of us

looks into our soul

and finds reasons

to praise the Lord,

whether in sadness

or in gladness,

God is still the same.

And as we find

these reasons

and as we find

these experiences

and as we see

in the Bible

all that's true

about God himself

and what he means to us,

well, you see,

our heart is moved.

Our soul is stirred

and out from our soul

comes praise

in the worship of God

together,

collectively.

So we draw

from our experiences.

And as we draw

from our experiences,

we channel that

into our praise.

And something else

that just in passing

is important,

but it is important,

that means we think

about the words

of what we sing.

That we don't just,

and because we're

so used to the Psalms,

it is a danger

for us always,

of course,

that we get so used

to things

that we fail to

then just think

properly and deeply

about them.

But we should always

begin saying

to ourselves,

before we ever

come to start

the singing

as the Psalm

is set before us,

sometimes we read

the verses all together,

sometimes not.

But in any case,

as we're singing it,

our prayer should be,

Lord,

help me to think

about what I'm singing.

Help me to think

so that my heart

will truly be stirred,

so that I will have

from my soul

meaningfully

the praise

that has thought

about these great words

that you have given me

to sing,

so that they are

meaningful to me,

so that they

increasingly come

to be important

to me

in singing

your praises.

And so,

we can finish

with

Psalm 59,

not to sing it,

but just to quote

from it just now.

And the context,

of course,

is important.

It's a context

of severe difficulty

for the psalmist.

But then he goes on

to say in

verses 16 and 17

in the book of Psalms,

verse 16.

But I will sing

of your strength.

I will sing aloud

of your steadfast love

in the morning,

for you have been

to me a fortress

and a refuge

in the day

of my distress.

O my strength,

I will sing

praises to you,

for you,

O God,

are my fortress,

the God

who shows me

steadfast love.

sing.

Sing praise.

Sing together.

Sing to God's glory.

Sing in reflection

of what God has done,

of who God is.

Sing out your experiences.

Sing together

the praises

of God.

Let us pray.

Lord, we give thanks

as we sing

your praises,

that we sing

words that are

meaningful to us,

words that fit in

with our experiences,

words that convey

to us

something of

your own greatness,

your might,

your power,

words that we use,

O Lord,

to express

our thanks

and our dependence

upon you.

We thank you

that we can sing

our joys to you,

that we can sing

our sorrows to you.

We thank you

for the privilege,

Lord,

of singing together,

of praising the Lord

as a congregation,

and we pray

that that may be

reflected more and more

as time goes by.

We receive our thanks

be with us

throughout the remainder

of the day

and pardon our sin

for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Well, we're going to sing

again to God's praise

in conclusion

from Psalm 67.

Psalm 67

on page 84.

And we're singing

to the tune,

Sussex,

Psalm 67.

God, be merciful

and bless us,

shine upon us

with your face,

that the earth

may know your actions

and all lands

your saving grace.

O God,

may the peoples

praise you,

may all peoples

sing your praise,

for you judge

the nations justly,

ruling over

every race.

May they sing

with joy and gladness,

may they all rejoice

as one.

O God,

may the peoples

praise you

as they all unite

in song.

Then the land

will yield its harvest,

God will pour

his gifts abroad.

God,

our God,

will surely bless us,

all the earth

will fear

our God.

These verses,

God,

be merciful

and bless us.

God,

be merciful

and bless us,

shine upon us

with your face,

that the earth

may know your actions

and the lands

your saving grace.

O God,

may the peoples

praise you,

may all blem

us sing your praise,

for you judge

the nations justly,

ruling over

every race.

May they sing

with joy and gladness,

may they all rejoice

as one.

O God,

may the peoples

praise you,

may the peoples

praise you,

may they all unite

in song.

May they all unite

in song.

Then the land

will yield its harvest,

God will pour

his gifts abroad.

God,

our God,

will surely

bless us,

all the earth

will fear

our God.

I'll go to the main door again

after the benediction.

Now may the grace

of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God the Father,

and the communion

of the Holy Spirit

be with you now

and always.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.