I have been thinking recently of singing. It must make our Father’s heart glad when He sees His children have joy, and that they have a song in their heart. I was thinking about singing and it is one of the things that will continue when we are in Heaven, when by the grace of God, we get there. One of the reasons why I chose that hymn was because we will be singing a song around the Throne.
I was thinking about John on the lonely isle of Patmos, that he had been given a special revelation and he shared with us the things that he saw in Heaven, but he also told us about the things that he heard in Heaven. He heard the song that the redeemed were singing – ten thousand times ten thousand and thousand of thousands it tells us, singing; singing about the Lamb; singing about the Lamb of God.
I stopped singing while you were singing that hymn and listened in while you were singing that hymn. I was thinking about how special it will be on that eternal morning to become part of that heavenly orchestra, when all of the redeemed will be thankful for God’s power. All that had been redeemed from the earth will be there, to sing about the lamb. I was thinking of John being on the earth, yet being in the Spirit heard what was being sung in Heaven, and I’d like to think that today that even while we were singing; even while we are gathered here, that up in Heaven, our singing is coming straight from our hearts; it is registered in Heaven. It will be a thrill and a comfort, I believe, to our Father as He sees it coming from our hearts.
I was thinking, too, of the records we have in the Scriptures about special songs; how singing had a special part in the Old Testament worship of the people. When David came into the kingdom, and the Ark of the Tabernacle came into the Temple, the people responded from their hearts, and the Lord is wanting us now to respond with a new song as we come to His Throne. I’ve been making a study about the psalms; I’ve been trying to read them through and I’ve got up to Psalm 81. Many of those psalms are addressed to the chief musician, and we heard at our convention last year about God being the Chief Musician because no-one can produce the harmony that our Father can.
I was thinking of Jesus, His Son, who was in perfect harmony with His Father and His Father’s will; His Father’s mind. He is the chief Musician who has come from God to us, and He wants us to know salvation because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I was thinking about the Chief Musician; about Him being our music teacher. I was thinking about Jesus coming into the world; living in this world, and He’s planned for us the joy of Heaven; the melody of Heaven coming into this life; something that we can understand. Something that we can enjoy; something that we can learn. We can learn now; we can practice now the song that will be sung around the Throne.
I looked into Psalm 81 and was thinking about something for our Meeting today, and it says, “Sing aloud unto God our King, make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the Timbrel, the pleasant Harp with the Psaltery. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.” That’s today, a solemn feast day, and thinking of coming before Him with joy, I was noticing about the instruments that are mentioned, and really, I don’t know a lot about music but nevertheless I have enjoyed the study. I was thinking about these instruments and I noticed that in one place where it tells of the order of the Levites, it speaks about the musical instruments of God. I just wondered today if we could be like that; like musical instruments of God.
I feel that everyone who has been praying about these Meetings are in Spirit and in harmony. I enjoyed what was spoken in prayer about being in harmony. I’m sure we have all been praying that our instruments will be in tune so that we can get the best from the Meeting today; being in harmony with Heaven and in tune with one another. I don’t know about them all, but the Psaltery and the Harp are stringed instruments, and we know that they often need to be brought into tune. They have strings and sometimes the string might be a little too tight and it has to be released a little; adjusted, and some might be too slack and need tightening a little. I’m sure that that is what God is wanting to do for us today.
Jesus always struck the correct note and was always in tune with His Father; bowing to the will of Heaven; the will of God, and He is wanting to do something for us that we might be in tune, so there would be no wrong note struck. That’s the Harp and the Psaltery, but then it speaks about the Timbrel. I don’t know a lot about that instrument, but I did hear something about the Cymbals. Very nice what I heard about the Cymbal which is a message for us all. I checked up in the dictionary and the encyclopedia and it said, “When they are played skillfully, they give a ringing note.” A ringing note; not just clashed together, but with a little sliding movement they produce this ringing note, and I was thinking about that. The Lord wants there to be a ring of Truth; a ring of Joy; a ring of Sincerity, ringing out from our lives as His instruments. I thought about the two that they could represent the Ministry; not clashing but producing that ring that will harmonize. Not only the Ministry but in the home between husbands and wives, and also in the Fellowship, ringing out from our lives harmony and that which speaks of God; that which can speak to others. Today we would like to be all in tune again, wouldn’t we? With Heaven; with Jesus and we want our great music teacher to help us; all this company to be blended as one.
We read about the Trumpet too, that it gives a clear note. I heard a very special little story up in Mildura. Somebody’s living testimony, and we heard about one of our young friends; a young man, because of his work, had to associate with some of the other young folk in the town. They felt that he was at a disadvantage by not going to the night-life; the nightclubs. They tried and tried to draw him in; they did their very best to draw him in. On one occasion, he took one of them to the door of a nightclub and said, “I’m going home now.” I’m just not sure if I’ve got it quite right, but here they were at the door and this girl said, “Why can’t you come in? Why don’t you come in? Give me one good reason why you can’t come in.” He said (he sounded the Trumpet) and he said, “If I went in that door, I would leave God outside the door and Satan would be lying there,” and he went home. He wasn’t ashamed to speak out; declare and to speak about his faith and why he wasn’t caught up with what these others were caught up with. A little later, this girl there in that nightclub, she looked around and she saw that it was true and thought, “Satan is lying here.” A little later, the story goes, she listened to the Gospel and today she is rejoicing in salvation because someone gave a clear note; someone sounded a clear note.
Perhaps that could help us today to keep our little instrument in God’s hands; in harmony with Heaven. Keep in touch with Heaven and look to Jesus and He’ll be able to keep us in tune so that we will be able to sound out that note which will bring honor to Him and glory to Him. The Lord would like us to have a song of thankfulness in our hearts; a new song that He would like us to keep in His hands, we’ll keep on practicing, won’t we? So one day on that blessed shore, we’ll be singing redemption’s song, and it will all blend in; no discordant note but all in harmony; all in tune. Giving praise to the one who made it all possible.
Just one last thought. Thinking of Jesus, and the night when He had that last Meeting with His disciples before they stepped out into the dark, and He knew what was ahead; before His arrest; before He went on to Calvary. They sang a hymn; Jesus and the eleven – one was missing. I thought about that little Special Meeting, and we don’t know the hymn that was sung, but perhaps one day in eternity we will know, and it would have been a comfort to the Saviour as He went on to face what was in the Father’s will for Him. I was thinking of the Hymn in the upper room; it centered around that little company singing the song of the Lamb. In the background of it all was Calvary. There was Jesus in the upper room, but in Heaven around the Throne is a greater picture, and Calvary in the background. I’m sure the Lord would never forget; and we will never forget through all eternity the reason why we are able to stand; because He walked the path to Calvary, unflinchingly. I hope this will touch our hearts and bring us in to tune with Him. Amen.