Verse 27 of chapter 12, we have
this dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. And they sought out
the Levites out of all their places to bring them to Jerusalem
to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgiving and with
singing, with cymbals, with psalteries which are lyres and harps. And the sons of the singers gathered
themselves together, both out of the plain country and round
about Jerusalem, and from the village of Netapati. and then
they come. In verse 30, the priests and
the Levites purified themselves and purified the people and the
gates and the wall. And we looked at that last week,
that whole process of purification, taking that water of purification,
the waters of separation in Numbers 19.9. And then we have this wonderful
picture of these two companies of people, maybe not all of them
on the wall but certainly the leaders on the wall and the crowd
following around, thousands upon thousands of people, and they
circumnavigate Jerusalem. They walk around a wall, and
as we've seen so often throughout our journeys through Nehemiah,
that the walls typify God and His covenant. He's gathering
His people to Himself. He's separating His people. He's
protecting His people. And we have this great celebration. And they give thanks in verse
38, and they give thanks in verse 40, And in verse 42, and the
singers sang loud. Jezrahiah their overseer. So they were led and they were
led to sing aloud. Also that day they offered great
sacrifices and rejoiced. And then this great statement,
for God had made them rejoice with great joy. Their wives also
and the children rejoiced so that the joy of Jerusalem was
heard even afar off. As when they laid the foundation
of the temple in Ezra 3.15, 3.13, I beg your pardon. There was
this joy, this sound was heard afar off. And at that time were some appointed
over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the first
fruits and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields
of the city the portions of the law for the priests and the Levites,
for Judah, and I think that's a representation of all of God's
people, but probably also a representation of that land in which Jerusalem
was situated, for the priests and for the Levites that waited.
And both the singers and the porters kept the ward, or they
performed the service of their God, and performed the service
of purification according to the commandment of David and
of Solomon his son. For in the days of David and
Asaph of old, there were chief of singers and songs of praise
and thanksgiving unto God. And all Israel in the days of
Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave portions of the
singers and the porters, every day his portion, and they sanctified
holy things, these tithes. They set them apart unto the
Levites, that tribe that was to look after the sanctuary,
and the Levites sanctified them, these tithes, unto the children
of Israel, unto that priestly family. And here we have this wonderful,
wonderful culmination. What began for Nehemiah with
tears and weeping and distress in Babylon is now a celebration
with God's people. And so I just wanted to look
at a few aspects of this celebration, this worship, this dedication,
just the nature of this worship, the holy joy in the holy city,
that joy that comes from God gathering his people. and God
bringing joy to them. And then in those last few verses
that we read we see that God actually creates a mutually dependent
community, a community that rejoices, a community that supports each
other. The people support the Levites, the Levites give to
the priests, and then because of that They have this service
of purification and this service of praise and thanksgiving unto
God. They all need each other. And so in Chapter 11 we have
a description of this city. It's the holy city. And all of these, all of these
of course are just emblematic, aren't they? of the great gathering
of God's people. They point forward all of this
sacrifice, all of this purification, all of this work in this city
is just butter pointing forward to that great day of the Lord
Jesus, that great day of His incarnation, that great day of
His sacrifice, that great day of His resurrection, that great
day of Pentecost, that great day of gathering these people
together. They're brought again on that
day of Pentecost from all of those nations that we read about
in Acts chapter 2. And all of it is a picture, brothers
and sisters, of that great gathering that all of this pictures, all
of this is a picture of eternity. It's a picture of God's people
gathered around Him, gathered to worship Him forever and ever. And as we looked at last week,
there is this wonderful picture of purification. The Levites
purified themselves. The Lord Jesus, as we looked
last week, He purified Himself. As I keep reminding you, isn't
it wonderful to think of how extraordinarily the detail of
His testing was. Tested by Satan in the desert. A man in flesh like us tested
and proving victorious. Tested by the law of God. Imagine the detail that they
went into to try and find one tiny little thing. In John Chapter
8, the Lord Jesus says to these people, He says, Can you convict
me of one sin? Just extraordinary statement
and they had been searching and searching and searching and he
was testing them and they were testing him. Not one, not one
sin, not one sin in thought and word and deed. The righteousness of our Lord
Jesus, the righteousness which is our righteousness, is a tested,
proven righteousness. They could find no fault in Him.
Pilate could find no fault in Him, and he defeated Satan. They cannot find any fault in
Him. He has nothing in me, said the
Lord Jesus of Satan. And so this purification ceremony
is a purification, as we looked at last week, that's to do with
death, isn't it? That Numbers 19 sacrifice is
a sacrifice of those who've touched death, and we have touched death. And this purification, this purification
is the reason for thanksgiving, isn't it? God says to them, you
rejoice, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Thanksgiving. Just look at it. In verse 8 there's
thanksgiving and in verse 24 they give thanks. In verse 27
there's gladness and thanksgiving. In verse 38 they gave thanks. In verse 40 they give thanks. In verse 43 there is great joy
and in verse 46. The ongoing work of this great
day is that there would be ongoing praise and thanksgiving to God. And they sang. What wonderful
singing it was. This singing, this rejoicing,
this singing of these psalms. Remarkable to think of how they
sang triumphantly. I'd just like to read you some
of them. No doubt there are many, many others that you can think
of that they sang. I lift up my eyes to the hills,
where does my help come from? Let's just read some of them
that I've just been looking at with joy today. Psalm 43. Judge me, O God, and plead my
cause against an ungodly nation. O deliver me from the deceitful
and unjust man. For Thou art the God of my strength. Why dost Thou cast me off? Why
do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? O send
out Thy light and Thy truth. Let them lead me. Let your light and your truth
lead me. Let them bring me unto thy holy
hill and to thy tabernacles. Then I will go unto the altar
of God. Unto, just listen to these words,
unto God my exceeding joy. So this joy of Jerusalem was
heard afar off. I will go unto the altar of God,
unto God my exceeding joy. Yea, upon the harp will I praise
thee, O God my God. Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? Why art thou disquieted within
me? Hope in God, for I shall yet
praise Him who is the health of my countenance and my God."
On and on through the psalms they sang and sang and sang. Psalm 4. Hear me when I call,
O God of my righteousness. Thou hast enlarged me when I
was in distress. Have mercy upon me and hear my
prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will
you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love vanity
and seek after leasing, which means emptiness and worthlessness? But know that the Lord has set
apart him that is godly unto himself. The Lord will hear when
I call unto him. Stand in awe and sin not. Commune
with your own heart upon your bed and be still. Offer the sacrifices
of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord. There be many
that say, who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the
light of thy countenance upon us. Look upon us. Shine your
face upon us, as number six says. Thou hast put gladness in my
heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. The people of this world love
the increase of their goods, but God's children have a gladness
that God puts in their hearts more than they can ever have.
I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for Thou, Lord, only,
makest me dwell in safety." He's brought them to this workplace,
he's gathered them to his temple, he's gathered them to himself,
he's revealed his character, his covenant-keeping, promise-keeping
character. and He's separated them and He's
protected them. And now He's made them to sing
with joy. And that joy is a joy that's
heard afar off. It's extraordinary, isn't it?
That God has ordained that the joy of His people, the joy of
His people Rejoicing in the Lord will be
heard by all this world. It's a sobering thought, isn't
it, to think that when God's people are rejoicing in that
great day, the other people will see and hear our rejoicing and
see the perfect justice and the reason for that rejoicing. Turn
with me just briefly to Psalm 126. You'll see that these things
are promised. These are the songs of decrees.
Those beautiful psalms that they sang as they mounted those steps,
came up to Jerusalem or went up into the temple courts. They
sang these psalms. And one of them in Psalm 26 is,
When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, when He turned
again the captivity of Zion. We were like them, that dream. It seemed so unreal, it seemed
like a dream. Then was our mouth filled with
laughter and our tongue with singing. Then said they among
the heathen, the Lord has done great things for them. which is what the heathen around
Jerusalem said in Nehemiah chapter 6. They saw that this work had
been done and they had to acknowledge that this was the work of God. It was more than the work of
man. It was a standing, living miracle
before them. And they saw it, just like these
people in Psalm 26. They say, Among the heathen, the heathen
say, the Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has
done great things for us, say God's people, whereof we are
glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord. as the streams in the south,
that desert land, the Negev, down towards Sinai, that streams
will flow in that desert land. How often our lives seem like
a desert. Streams will flow in that south
land. They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy. he that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed." We know what that precious seed is. That
precious seed is that seed that we are born of, isn't it? They
that go forth and weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. But tears and pain are not the
end of the story for God's people. They'll go forth with weeping,
but they will have that weeping turned into rejoicing. God's people are caused by God
to be a rejoicing people in the midst of the trials, in the midst
of the captivity that we find ourselves in so often. That captivity
that we've been released from, that captivity in a sense that
we feel under the burden of our flesh, that sin, that comes upon
us and entangles us. There is a captivity that God
releases His people from. Psalm 100 says, Make a joyful
noise unto the Lord, all ye lambs. Serve the Lord with gladness,
and come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the
Lord He is God, and that it is He that has made us, and not
we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep
of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving
and into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless
His name because For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting,
and his truth endureth to all generations. You see, such is
the miracle of God's gathering His people. Such is the miracle
of Him surrounding them. Such is the miracle of Him bringing
His word with conviction to them so that they are aware of their
sin. Such is the miracle of Him saying in His word of promise,
Your sins have been taken away. You are a purified people in
a purified city. As Psalm 126 verse 1 says, we
were like them that dreamed. To dream, it almost seems like
it's too much to contemplate. But it's a dream that is a reality. There's a holy joy in that city,
and there's a holy joy that is conveyed to the world. They will see God's people rejoicing. I don't know about the geography,
but the remarkable and very convicting story in Luke chapter 16 of the
rich man and Lazarus, it's not a parable. It talks about a certain
man, a certain rich man that people of that time would have
known. And Lazarus is a named man. God's children are all named. But somehow in the midst of the
rejoicing of that beggar who now is in Abraham's bosom, the
people who by their sin, by their wicked
rebellion, by the reprobation of God which is just and justice
upon them. They will hear of the joy of
the singing of the saints of Jerusalem. It will be heard afar
off. And because of this war, There
is that wonderful thing, isn't it, that wonderful promise in
that story in Luke 16, that there is this gulf, this vast gulf,
the gulf between those who would not hear Moses and the prophets,
who would not hear what God says. There's a gulf fixed, and none
can travel from there to Abraham's bosom. And wonderfully, brothers
and sisters in the Lord, none who are in Abraham's bosom can
ever get to that other place of torment. The wall separates,
the wall protects, the wall creates worship, the wall creates joy
that God brings in Jerusalem, and the wall creates a situation
where those who are on the outside are made to know that God has
built the city, God has defended the city, and God has caused
there to be rejoicing in the city, and they hear it. on the
outside, they hear the praises of God for what He has done. There's a holy joy, there's a
holy worship in a holy city and it's God's work. It can only
come about by sacrifice. The dedication, the purification
requires sacrifice. You cannot purify and you cannot
purify God's place without there being a sacrifice. Isn't it wonderful
when you think about this situation, the grotesqueness of the sin
that caused these people to go there, the sin that continued
on. Isn't it wonderful to think that
God has made a provision for sin. God has made a provision
for grotesque and horrible sin. For those who know themselves
sinners and have seen but a glimpse of the depths of their sin, it's
wonderful to think that there is There is this wonderful provision
for the falls, the fall, the falls and the falling of God's
children. They're purified. They're caused
to give thanks. They're caused to rejoice because
God makes them joy. And this joy is a joy that comes
because God has gathered them together. The whole business
of God gathering his people in church is just unbelievably significant
in the eyes of God. You read about it in Ephesians
1 and Ephesians 3. This, the church, is the place
where God has promised to gather His people together, to reveal
His Son, and the place where He has determined to get glory
for His Son. It's a picture of the church
in this world, surrounded by enemies, a small band amongst
a great big world. But in these verses at the end
we see, in verse 44, that Judah rejoiced. These people, there
was an appointed and an ordered way of worship and honouring
God. An ongoing sense that now set
in place in this city and in this land was provision for ongoing
sacrifice. You see in verse 45, both the
singers and the porters performed the service of their God and
performed the service of purification. This was not just something that
was to happen once, it was to continue on. And as I said earlier
on, it's a mutually dependent community. See, all these offerings
in verse 44, for the first fruits and for the tithes, to gather
them out of the fields and the city, they weren't a tax which
was a burden. For Judah rejoiced to pay the
tithes in this day. and there were singers and songs
of praise and thanksgiving unto God. And all Israel, all Israel
in the days of Zerubbabel, in the days of Nehemiah, gave portions
of the singers and the porter, every day his portion. There
was a provision. for God, of God, to provide this
portion, to provide these tithes. to provide these ties that this
community could continue to worship, that this service of praise,
this service of purification could continue night and day,
never stop. The temple never stopped being
a place where praise was offered to God, 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week. There was there in that temple
provision, sacrifice. So the Lord Jesus lives to intercede
for us always, continually. There's never a millisecond of
our lives where the Lord Jesus isn't presenting before the throne
of God those wounds in His hands, that wound in His side. and presenting
His people to His Father in Him, perfect and holy and spotless
and blameless, purified people, purified, protected, preserved. purified, protected, preserved,
to worship and to rejoice, and for that joy to be heard afar
often. Let's pray.