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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God for our call to worship you can turn to Psalm 87 Psalm 87 I'll begin reading in verse one a Psalm of the sons of Kora a song his foundation is in the Holy mountains the lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob glorious things are spoken of you oh city of God sa La I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know me behold oh philistia entire with Ethiopia this one was born there and of Zion it will be said this one and that one were born in her and the most high himself shall establish her the Lord will record when he registers the peoples this one was born there say la both the singers and the players on instruments say all my Springs are in you amen we'll please turn to Psalm 72a Psalm 72a as in Alpha and we'll sing stanzas 5 to8 so on the right side of the page 72a will'll stand as we sing stanzas 5 to8 have no s we will sing the glor precious he s because their is preious in she before him may pray for and blesss all the through his glorious [Music] in the and the and the grasses of the field in the ground his for as long as shall may we bless all the Lord Our God the god of is for he alone Wonder in glor and be his glorious to all et the [Music] glor let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for the opportunity to gather again on this Lord's Day evening to approach the great and glorious God Of Heaven and Earth we acknowledge your handiwork in the created order we see the skies we see the mountains we see the beauty and it certainly does declare the righteousness and the glory and the magesty of our God as well we acknowledge your wisdom and your power and your goodness and Providence we know that you govern all your creatures and all their actions and that ultimately For Your Glory and for the good of those who love you to those who are the called according to your purpose and as well God we see and stand in in amazement at your grace and your mercy revealed to us in the Gospel of our Salvation we praise you that the word became flesh and dwelt among us we thank you for his life of obedience we thank you for that death as a substitute and an atoning sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection again the third day we look forward to his return again in glory to judge the living and the dead and we thank you that you have prepared us to meet him when he comes we ask you would bless this time as we gather together tonight we pray that as we come to the father through the Son and the spirit God would be all in all in this place we ask that you would encourage us and build us up in our Most Holy Faith and as well God we pray that you would awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins cause the new birth tonight cause there to be Faith directed to the Lord Jesus Christ for so great a Salvation do forgive us now for all of our sin all of our remaining corruption we thank you that we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous we pray for cleansing in that precious blood even now we pray for further Conformity To His Image by the power and the presence of the holy spirit that you may enable us by your grace to live in a manner that is consistent with our gospel calling as well our father we pray for your blessing upon all of the the families and the individuals in this local body we thank you that we have a church that we can worship together we thank you for your many mercies to us over these many years and we just give glory to you for your preservation we ask that you would bless those who are struggling physically we pray God that you would look with favor upon the favors as on Tuesday They will receive news concerning a Brother's diagnosis we just pray for all of these things we pray that you would Grant wisdom to the family you would Grant protection to Ted and watch over Wilma as well also God we pray for your blessing upon Charles and Esther that they would get treatment there in Alberta that they would have wisdom concerning the future that you would just open doors in Providence for them Lord God and may you give them good health as well we are mindful of the situation that continues in Myanmar the fact that they still have many children in the Orange Grove that need to be removed to safety we just pray God that you would undertake there we pray that you would afford safety to these little ones that they would be able to to to be uh removed from that that place of imminent danger and God for that nation is a whole we pray there would be a ceasefire we pray that there would be a an end to this conflict we pray that there would be some stability and order that your gospel would go forth in that part of the world we thank you as well for our our our Brethren throughout this world we thank you for the Saints in Honduras we thank you for the brethren in Elder and also in kumu and God we praise you that we are a part of a much larger ho and we thank specifically tonight as well of the the persecuted church as we were reminded this morning we have many benefits and many blessings here in this country and we know God that there are many that do not have a similar situation we pray for those in China those specifically in jail those who are being harassed by the the civil government there for the cause of Jesus Christ may you continue to embolden and Empower those Brothers cause them to continue to lift up their voice like a trumpet to cry aloud and spare not concerning the glory of Jesus Christ we pray for the nation of Cuba and we ask God that you would bless the pastors there bless the Brethren there bless the Seminary we pray that they would have what they need on a on a regular basis so that they can Minister the word and in those difficult circumstances we pray that many would come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and God please be merciful to this nation we know that these are wicked days in which we live there is unlawfulness and and ungodliness and a gross departure from the scriptures we see it specifically in the sixth and seventh Commandments certainly that first table of the law is not only forgotten it's rejected outright and we just pray God that in your wrath you would remember Mercy that you would send forth your glorious gospel in this land in each and every Province amongst all the people here and that you would save a great multitude be glorified we pray tonight as we worship you and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen you can turn with me again in your hym books to Psalm 11 11b as in bravo we'll stand as we sing together [Music] is you sa like to your way bless with their and [Music] their [Music] the all [Music] rightous be sure the Lord in hisle in heaven and over his with his alling he is highest and [Music] there to in his his soul the away ter PR all are this foring [Applause] [Music] for by gra will on his will you can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 31 for our scripture reading this evening Deuteronomy chapter 31 so Moses is getting ready to depart from the nation of Israel and ultimately the Earth and so he is putting in place succession in reference to the people of God maintaining Covenant faithfulness to God such that they can dwell in the land of promise and not be dispos possessed so beginning in chapter 31 at verse 1 then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel and he said to them I am 120 years old today I can no longer go out and come in also the Lord has said to me you shall not cross over this Jordan the Lord your God himself crosses over before you he will destroy these nations from before you and you shall dispossess them Joshua himself crosses over before you just as the Lord has said and the Lord will do to them as he did to sihon and OG the kings of the amorites and their land when he destroyed them the Lord will give them over to you that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you be strong and of good courage do not fear nor be afraid of them for the Lord your God he is the one who goes with you he will not leave you nor forsake you then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel be strong and of good courage for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them and you shall cause them to inherit it and the Lord he is the one who goes before you he will be with you he will not leave you nor forsake you do not fear nor be dismayed so Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi Who Bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and to all the Elders of Israel and Moses commanded them saying at the end of every seven years at the appointed time in the year of release at the Feast of Tabernacles when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which he chooses you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing gather the people together men and women and little ones and the stranger who is within your Gates that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law and that their children who have not known it may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess then the Lord said to Moses behold the days approach when you must die call Joshua and present yourselves in the Tabernacle of meeting that I may inaugurate him so Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the Tabernacle of meeting now the Lord appeared at the Tabernacle in a pillar of cloud and the pillar of clouds stood above the door of the Tabernacle and the Lord said to Moses behold you will rest with with your fathers and this people will rise and play the Harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land where they go to be among them and they will forsake me and break my Covenant which I have made with them then my anger shall be aroused against them in that day and I will forsake them and I will hide my face from them and they shall be devoured and many evils and troubles shall befall them so that they will say in that day have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us us and I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil which they have done in that they have turned to other gods now therefore write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the children of Israel put it in their mouths that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel when I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey of which I swore to their fathers and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat then they will turn to other gods and serve them and they will provoke voke me and break my Covenant then it shall be when many evils and troubles have come upon them that this song will testify against them as a witness for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants for I know the inclination of their behavior today even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them therefore Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the children of Israel then he inaugurated Joshua the son of nun and said be strong and of good courage for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them and I will be with you so it was when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book when they were finished that Moses commanded the Levites Who Bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord saying take this book of the law and put it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God that it may be there as a witness against you for I know your rebellion in your stiff neck if today while I am yet alive with you you have been rebellious against the Lord then how much more after my death gather to me all the Elders of your tribes and your officers that I may speak these words in their hearing and call Heaven and Earth to witness against them for I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you and evil will befall you in the latter days because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands amen well as we have had cause to reflect several times times as we read through the book of Deuteronomy it's a series of exhortations by Moses on the plains of Moab to that generation of Israelites that would go into the land and remember God is not caught off guard when we turn past this uh book of the Bible God prophesies or rather tells through Moses and tells to Moses that the people are going to defect they're going to break Covenant they're going to reap the Covenant curses that he outlines there in Deuteronomy CH 28 again there's purposes and re reasons behind that old Covenant situation one of them specifically was to point forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the New Covenant that would be inaugurated through him he would be the Joshua that would ultimately save his people from their sins now Joshua the son of nun does a pretty good job when we get to that book of the Bible the conquest is looked at very favorably Israel goes into the land they do what God commands them to do for the most part but they do leave Canaanites in the land by the time you get to the Book of Judges you see nothing but a downward spiral and you see a very negative approach with reference to the conquest they didn't dispossess the Canaanites and they themselves became like the Canaanites and therefore were ultimately exiled from the land again all of that to tutor them all of that to hedge them in all of that to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the fullness of time when he would take to himself our Humanity to live for us to die for us and to rise again for us and to bring that Covenant of Grace wherein it's not a conditional thing on our part do this and live no it's by God's grace in the provision of the Savior that when we look to Jesus we live now that doesn't mean we can live any way we want the normative law uh uh use of the law is still binding upon us but that Covenant of Grace is unbreakable it is founded upon what Jesus Christ has done for Christ The Covenant or the Covenant of Grace for us is basically the Covenant of Works kept for us Us by our Lord Jesus Christ so when we read these things we ought to think in light of that blessed reality that the Lord Jesus comes to do what Israel of old didn't do or could not do and what Adam before them wasn't able to do either well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you that you have everything under absolute Sovereign control to the minutest detail we thank you that in your purpose and in your plan you made a covenant with Israel that was a preparatory thing that it was an anticipatory thing and we thank you that we live in those days that were prophesied of old with reference to the coming of your son we praise you that he kept that law for us that he died in our stead and that he was raised again the third day I pray that you would bless and encourage us with this reality and help us to live in light of these things in a manner that is consistent with our high calling and we ask this through Christ Our Lord amen well for our final hymn before the preaching you can turn to 172 172 we'll stand as we sing together e e e e e e e we can turn back in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chap 12 chapter 12 we'll read specifically verses 29-32 this is part two the regulative principle of worship so several weeks ago we looked at the regulation of the church's Worship in 1 Timothy 3:14 to16 Paul writes to Timothy so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God which is the Church of the Living God the pillar and ground of the truth so I thought it would be good for us to back back up look at the old Covenant and as we look at several passages with reference to the Divine appointment of worship we need to ask ourselves the question why in light of the unchanging nature of God did the church ever think it was okay to substitute things to add things or take away things with reference to corporate worship so beginning in chap 12 at verse 29 when the Lord your God cuts off from before you the Nations which you go to dispossess and you displace them and dwell in their land take heed to yourself that you are not ens snared to follow them after they are destroyed before uh from before you and that you do not inquire after their gods saying how did these nations serve their gods I also will do likewise you shall not Worship the Lord your God in that way for every Abomination to the Lord which he hates they have done to their gods for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods whatever I command you be careful to observe it you shall not add to to it nor take away from it amen well let us pray Our Father we thank you for the written word we pray now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gave us that word and we ask God that the Incarnate Word our Lord Jesus Christ would be glorified that you would give us his mind as we consider worship as we consider life and conduct in the house of God which is the Church of the Living God the pillar and ground of the truth may we do what we do Here For Your Glory for your honor for your praise may you bless what we do here for the Salvation of Sinners for the the edification and the sanctification of your Saints and do do forgive us now for all sin and transgression and guide us by the Holy Spirit we pray in jesus' name amen well we want to look at two things tonight the div uh first the Divine appointment of worship and then secondly the covenantal context of worship so just by way of review we're sort of halfway through the Divine appointment of worship so I looked at last week the books of Exodus and Leviticus remember the 10 Commandments the first two Commandments are our duty to God in terms of worship so the first commandment specifies the object of our worship you shall have no other gods before me or no other gods besides me other words Yahweh is the living and true God Father Son and Holy Spirit and we to worship him and him alone the second commandment describes the manner in which we worship the true God we're not supposed to try and and and make images to picture him we're not supposed to try to encapsulate him or domesticate him or or treat him like one of the Gods of the Heathen so the first two Commandments are foundational with reference to worship we need the proper object the true and living God and we need the proper manner What He commands Us in his word we then considered what we refer to in the reformed tradition as the three-fold division of the law when we look at the Ten Commandments we put those in the category of moral law they're unchanging they're for all men everywhere whatever Covenant you live in whatever time you live in whether you're Jew Gentile wherever you are whoever you are whatever you are you are subject to God's moral law but when we read through the Old Testament we see also uh further categorizations or divisions of law you see what's called ceremonial law those things that speak specifically to the worship instituted by God for the nation of Israel in the old Covenant and then you have judicial law in the old Covenant that was to govern the people of God when they went into the land of promise it provided for them civil polity it provided for them principles of Justice by which they did Society to one uh with one another now our confession of Faith underscores the fact that moral law continues there's been no change again it's trans covenantal whether you're old Covenant or New Covenant The Ten Commandments are binding we don't ever have the right to commit adultery we don't ever have the right to substitute the true and living God we don't ever have the right to engage in Murder all those things reflect the very nature and being of God but with reference to ceremonial law it has been fulfilled in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Our confession says that it had prefigurement or it foreshadowed the coming of the Savior so much of what you see in Old Covenant worship was typological it pointed forward to the Son of God who had come to save his people from their sin our confession says concerning the judicial law it has expired with the Commonwealth of Israel but there is a general Equity principle principle that still is lasting to today so that three-fold division it's not something imposed upon the scripture but it is something exegetically arrived at through a study of scripture you can turn to the Book of Exodus specifically at chapter 20 Exodus chapter 20 where we see moral law specifically in verses 1 to 17 The Ten Commandments turn over to chapter 21 211 to 239 is what is called judicial law notice in 211 now these are the judgments which you shall shall set before them you've got laws concerning slaves you've got laws on homicide laws on bodily injuries laws on property damage laws that regulate Society again the judicial law of Moses it is the application of the moral law to matters in civil society and then in chapter 25 all the way to chapter 40 we have instructions concerning worship or what we call ceremonial law we have uh the instructions given in terms of the construction of the Tabernacle and as well the uh identification and the uh uh Furnishing for the priesthood and then you see toward the end of the book of Exodus the actual construction of the Tabernacle and then you see God's glory filled the Tabernacle in Exodus chapter 40 but even Moses himself could not enter because of the glory of God Moses is sinful man he can't just wander into the presence of the glory of God that sets the stage for the Book of Leviticus to resolve that tension how do people get into the presence of God they do so through sacrifice they do so through atonement they do so through a bloody knife and a smoking Altar and that is precisely what the book Book of Leviticus outlines youve got laws uh detailing sacrifice you've got laws describing the priesthood and in chapter nine the priests offer up a sacrifice the Lord's fire comes down from heaven and consumes it and the people Rejoice chapter 10 you've got the sons of Aaron naab and Abu they offer up strange fire fire comes down again from the Lord but it doesn't consume the sacrifice it consumes naab and Abu in other words you're not supposed to offer up profane fire you're supposed to follow God's ordinances you're supposed to follow God's Commandments and then the passage that we read in Deuteronomy 12 specifically dress addresses this issue in chapter 12 at verse 29 you have an occasion when the Lord your God cut you off from before uh uh I'm sorry when the Lord your God cuts off from before you the Nations which you go to dispossess and you displace them and dwell in their land that's the occasion you need to think about what God is about to tell you here there is then a warning verse 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ens snared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you and that you do not inquire after their God saying how did these nations serve their gods I also will do likewise there is a command in verse 31 you shall not Worship the Lord your God in that way for every Abomination to the Lord which he hates they have done to their gods for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods and then the corrective notice in verse 32 whatever I command you be careful to observe it you shall not add to it nor take away from it so this regulative principle of worship far from being a straight jacket and limiting them in terms of innovation and creativity protects them from Idol idolatry it protects them from aping the the Nations around them and following the gods of the Heathen up to the point where they offer their children a sacrifices probably to molok as I said before molok was a statue with outstretched arms and the worshipper would come with their little baby and throw it up into the arms of molak but he couldn't catch it so they'd fall in the fire that was at the base of the idol such that they would engage in child sacrifice so the regulative principle of worship is a corrective it's a help it's a it's a means by which we stay faithful or remain faithful to our great God now I want to look at the emphasis in Chronicles on the worship of God and again I think the main point that I want to convey here is that they worshiped according to command they worshiped according to Divine appointment they were not Innovative they were not creative they were not expressing themselves but rather they were obedient to the written word of the living and true God as it was mediated to them by Moses so and again I asked the question why in the New Covenant do we think we can do whatever we want why do we think it's okay to to move the pulpit and put an easy chair up in the front why do we think it's okay to have entertainment or bands why do we think it's okay to turn the worship of the Living God in public worship into a rock concert why do we think that's okay the same God who is a consuming fire mandates the way of worship in the old Covenant and the same God who is a consuming fire mandates the way of worship in the New Covenant in fact that particular statement is found in Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29 it shows the consistency of our unchanging God the reason we don't engage in idolatry the reason we don't depart from true worship is our God is a consuming fire he didn't relax that he didn't lessen that in the New Covenant he doesn't say well you know just go ahead and do whatever it is that that pleases you just do whatever it is that everybody else in the society around you was doing just Co-op the pagans and their particular ways that they entertain themselves and bring that into the church because that's the way that Christ has chosen to advance his cause that is simply incorrect we are regulated by God's word to Worship in the manner in which God commands now with reference to the book of Chronicles 1 and 2 Chronicles it functions as history and theology it functions as history and theology It ultimately is a review of God's people beginning with Adam in 1st Chronicles 1:1 to the end of the Exile in Babylon in 2 Chronicles 361 15-23 Jewish tradition tells us that most likely Ezra was the chronicler and I think that's a pretty good pretty good suggestion there as well the emphasis is not upon the divided Kingdom I mean it's there for sure but the emphasis in Chronicles is upon the Jew uh the the kingdom of Judah it's about the davidic Kings it's those who came from David's line and as well you see along the way an emphasis on the worship of God Among the people of God other words if we ask the question how did the old Covenant people of God worship God the book of Chronicles answers that for us in a whole host of ways so several passages that we ought to appreciate first turn to 1 Chronicles chap 6 at verse 31 1 Chronicles chap 6 at verse 31 this is when they were still utilizing the Tabernacle they had not built bu the temple yet in in uh Jerusalem and the Tabernacle was the place where they worshiped God so notice in 1st Chronicles 6 specifically at verse 31 now these are the men whom David as we go through this look at the word appointed appointed again it wasn't you know I just kind of feel like I'm led by the spirit to do these things no these are the men interestingly whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the Lord after the ark came came to rest there they uh they were ministering with music before the dwelling place of the Tabernacle of meeting until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem and they served in their office according to their order again it's not half haard it's not Innovation it's not creation but they are doing what they are supposed to do by God's grace notice as well in verse 48 well look look at verse 33 and these are the ones who ministered with their sons of the sons of Co of the co coites were heeman the singer the son of Joel the son of Samuel and then it mentions all these particular names and you often times see them in the Psalms of David you see them in the superscription that that introduces the psalm you see Heman referenced in Psalm 88 remember Dr REM renahan preached that hemon means faithful you'll see the sons of Cora referred to you'll see the various persons in the Book of Psalms they were appointed for the service of the tab tacle and then Temple so you see that verses 33 3942 some some familiar names that you'll see also in this altar but then as well look at verse 48 in 1 Chronicles 6 and their Brethren the Levites were appointed to every kind of service of the Tabernacle of the house of God verse 49 but Aaron and his sons offered sacrifices on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense for all the work of the most holy place and to make atonement for Israel according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded Divine appointment command by God not left up to the creativity or the innovation of men notice as well the I I mentioned the Psalms that these men appear in Psalm 73 to 83 Psalm 88 Psalm 89 and then notice in 1st Chronicles 15 1 Chronicles 15 again just getting a bird's eyee view into the worship of old Covenant Israel at the time of uh of the Kings 1 Chronicles 15 specifically at verses 11-6 David successfully brings the ark to Jerusalem which is accompanied with singing and the use of musical instruments so notice in first Chronicles 15 at: 11 and David called for zadok and abiathar the priests and for the Levites for Uriel asiah Joel shemiah elel and aminadab he said to them you are the heads of the father's houses of the of the Levites sanctify yourselves you and your brethren that you may bring up the Ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it for because you did not do it the first time the Lord Our God broke out against us because we did not consult him about the proper order so the priests and the Levites Sanctified themselves to bring up the Ark of the Lord God of Israel and the children of the Levites bore the Ark of God on their shoulders by its bows as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their Brethren to be the singers accompanied by instruments of Music stringed instruments Harps and symbols by raising the voice with resounding Joy again they didn't just say you know what the pagans worship their gods with these instruments why don't we do that too no it was commanded by God to David to build these particular instruments to utilize in the corporate worship of God most high notice as well in 1st Chronicles chap 16 specifically at verse 4 and he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the Lord to commemorate to thank and to praise the Lord God of Israel before we proceed have you ever considered that there was a class of men in the old Covenant whose job was to praise God this is what you are supposed to do as your vocation as your life calling whether it be M musician whether it be priest whatever the specific detail is there was a class of men set apart to worship God Brethren I don't know that we have as great an articulated vision of corporate worship as the Bible presents to us Psalm 872 the lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the Dwelling Places of Jacob there is something unique about corporate worship again he doesn't hate families he doesn't hate individuals but he puts a premium on the people of God Gathering Together on the day of God to glorify and praise His awesome name worship is very important in scripture this is what Man was created for the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever so back to verse 4 he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the Lord to commemorate to thank and to praise the Lord God of Israel Asaf the chief and next to him Zechariah then JL sh shamiro jahel maiah Eliah bah and OED Edom JL with stringed instruments and harps but Asaf made music with symbols bah and Je jehaziel uh the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the Ark of the Covenant uh the of the Covenant of God and then notice in verse 7 on that day David first delivered this Psalm into the hand of Asaf and his Brethren to thank the lord and basically what happens here is the piecing together of three Psalm segments Psalms 96 105 and 106 but look at what verse 7 indicates on that day David first delivered this Psalm into the hand of Asaf think about the superscription in the Psalms that you see a lot to the Chief musician a Psalm of David so David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit composes the Psalms and then gives the Psalms to the choir director or to the chief musician and then that man is appointed then to lead the people of God in the recitation and in the chanting and in the singing of those psalms in praise to God to commemorate to thank and to celebrate his goodness and his kindness to them notice in 1st Chronicles 2 3 at: 5 1 Chronicles 23 at verse 5 4,000 were Gatekeepers and 4,000 praise the Lord with musical instruments which I made said David for giving praise and again it's not that David was out meditating and thought you know this is probably the best conceivable way to worship Yahweh it was given him by God God gave him this God commanded him this and therefore David set in order this worship appar atus to bring glory to the Lord notice in 1 Chronicles 25 1 Chronicles 25 specifically at verses 2-7 verse two of the sons of Asaf zachar Joseph nethaniah and AAR AA or ashela the sons of Asaf were under the direction of Asaf who prophesied according to the order of the king it's not willy-nilly it's not well can I get a volunteer can I grab somebody that doesn't have anything else to do we get somebody that just feels LED they're appointed by the king they're appointed under the choir director and under the chief musician notice dropping down to verse 5 all these were the were the sons of hemon the king seer in the words of God to exalt his horn for God gave hemon 14 sons and three daughters all these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord with symbols stringed instruments and harps for the service of the house of God Asaf jedian and Heman were under the the authority of the king so the number of them with their Brethren who were instructed in the songs of the Lord all who were skillful was 288 you say well we don't have a king this isn't a monarchy yeah we do David was typological of him David's greater son the king the Lord Jesus Christ other words we ask King Jesus how we're supposed to Worship in New Covenant Life we don't leave it up to the choir directors of the musicians of our age we ask the king and the King according to the New Testament documents has revealed his will in mind for the church it's our job to Simply mind those things out which really isn't tough and then be obedient to it notice in 1 Chronicles 28 1 Chronicles CH 28 specifically at verses 11 to13 11-13 then David gave his son Solomon this is after the the the the the Divine Authority rather behind Temple worship then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule its houses its treasuries its upper chambers its inner Chambers and the place of the mercy seat and the plans for all that he had by the spirit of the Courts of the house of the Lord of all the chambers all around of the treasuries of the house of God and of the treasuries for the dedicated things also for the division of the priests and the Levites for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord and for all the articles of service in the house of the Lord this preparation for what's going to happen in terms of Solomon building the Temple to God most high moving from that temporary Tabernacle that accompanied the children of Israel while they were vagabonds and Wanderers in the in the wilderness to now they've come to power they they've got Jerusalem David centralizes political and religious power there and then Solomon is going to build the temple there look at verse 19 in the same chapter there it says all this said David the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me all the works of these plans not one shred of any evidence whatsoever that David was just led by the spirit now he was obviously but he was governed by the spirit it wasn't left up to him to innovate it wasn't up to him to a the Nations around them it was up to him to obey what the spirit revealed to him in terms of corporate Worship in the old Covenant 2 Chronicles chap 5 2 Chronicles CH 5 the temple is built the ark is brought in Solomon is the King Solomon oversees worship and in chapter 5 specifically at verse 11 and it came to pass when the priests came out of the most holy place for all the priests who were present had Sanctified themselves without keeping to their divisions and the Levites who are the singers all those of Asaf and Heman and jedian with their sons and their Brethren stood at the East End of the altar clothed in white linen having symbols stringed instruments and harps and with them 120 priests sounding with trumpets indeed it came to pass when the trumpeters and singers were as one to make one sound to be heard and praising and thanking the lord and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and the and symbols and instruments of music and praised the Lord saying for he is good for his Mercy endures forever again you see that in Psalms 106 and 107 that the house the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud so that the priest could not continue ministering because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God then Solomon spoke the Lord said he would dwell in the dark cloud I have surely built you an exalted house and a place for you to dwell in forever we see Divine institution of corporate worship and here Divine approbation of that corporate worship by the presence of God most high I mention often that when we look to the Book of Revelation in chapter one where do we see Jesus he's in the midst of the lampstands what does that indicate it indicates his approval of the Divine worship that those churches engage yet he doesn't condemn them because they have you know celebrated their own individuality and and fashioned a a worship service that looked like the pagans around them he does condemn them for certain things but he doesn't condemn them for their public worship Christ is in the midst of the lampstand they are worshiping him and that is his approval or approbation and then turn to 2 Chronicles 29 2 Chronicles 29 as we might expect not everything always went well amongst the kings of Judah there were those high points though and one of them was Hezekiah what do you think Hezekiah was responsible before certainly a whole host of things but reform in worship was certainly a part of it notice in 2 Chronicles specifically at chapter 29: 25 to30 2925 and he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with symbols with stringed instruments and with Harps according to the Commandment of David notice that the Commandment of David not whatever you feel like whatever the Heathen do whatever those people are doing that seems to work over there for ash seems to be a hit with baale seems to be great for Moa no no you do what David commanded because David received it from from God most high of GAD the king seir and of Nathan the prophet for thus was the Commandment of the Lord by His prophets the Levites stood with the instruments of David and the priests with the trumpets then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the Altar and when the burnt offering began the song of the Lord also began with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel so all the assemble worship uh uh assembly worshiped the singers sang and the trumpeters sounded all this continued until the burnt offering was finished and when they had finished offering the king and all who were present with him bowed and worship moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaf the sear not with words they came up with they took the script they were obedient they sang the words of David and of Asaf The Seer so they sang Praises with gladness and they bowed their heads and they worshiped so this Reformation under Hezekiah brought back uh reform in the life of public worship it is a blessed thing it is presented as a net gain as a positive two other emphases I want to look at in terms of the book of Chron books of Chronicles we've got Divine appointment behind worship but this emphasis on obedience to the Lord I I hope you didn't miss that tried to stress it every time it's in 1st Chronicles 6:49 you see it in 2 Chronicles 23:18 2 Chronicles 31:20 and 21 uh 2 Chronicles 354 they obeyed God they obeyed God so again the argument is simple in the New Covenant we have the New Covenant documents in the New Testament we need to obey God we don't need to leave the script we don't need to get creative we simply need to be obedient to What the Lord Has commanded the other emphases I want to draw out is the extravagance of the house of the Lord if you've ever read the books of Exodus and 2 Samuel I'm sorry uh yeah uh Second Kings uh yeah Second Kings sorry if you've ever read that in these parallel passages here in Chronicles you'll notice they didn't spare any expense with reference to the house of God they they didn't cheap out they didn't you know shop the deals at Walmart when it came to the hinges they they spent money and sometimes in this new covenant setting we can sort of be like those Disciples of Jesus well why why this extravagance why this waste why would why would we allow this woman to take this expensive costly perfume and dump it on the feet of the Savior we we could sell it and we could we could give that to the poor the argument isn't let's neglect the poor the argument isn't it's not a waste to dump precious oil on the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ that is a good thing Brethren God is worthy of not our cheapest not the most but he is worthy of greatness and in you when you when you read the passages associated with the temple I think that comes out in Spades look at 1 Chronicles chap 22 1 Chronicles well go back to 2 Samuel 7 got to get it in its context 2 Samuel chapter 7 2 Samuel 7 is the davidic Covenant God tells David that he's going to make a dynasty out of him and that out of his seed one a son of God will build a house for god notice in 2 Samuel 7 at: 1 now it came to pass when the King was dwelling in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around that the king said to na Nathan the prophet see now I I dwell in a house of Cedar but the Ark of God dwells inside T curtains notice David doesn't have anybody nagging him well you know we got to give everything to the poor and again I'm not minimizing that we should give to the poor we should absolutely positively give to the poor but we ought not to to take away from the Lord God most high so David has been very much victorious in battle David has shed blood in fact this is why David was not going to build the house of God because he was a man of war he had blood on his hands that is not an ethical statement it's not a a judgment oh because you're a you're a man of war you don't have the nobility to build the house of God no he was a man of war he's got blood on his hands he's out killing Philistines and securing the kingdom he didn't have time to build the house for the Lord but he provides the context a Peaceable environment free from the enemies and now Solomon his son can come to the plate and swing the bat and build the temple for the Lord so David understands this I I've secured the kingdom everything's going pretty well I'm dwelling now in a house of Cedar and and God's still in a tent you see what's driving his impetus here he wants to build a house for God he wants God to have at least least a house of Cedar like David himself has and on the heels of that God basically says no you're not going to do it your son is going to do it but ultimately a son that comes from you is going to build my house for me Matthew 16 blessed are you or uh uh who do men say that I the son of man am you are the Christ the son of the Living God what does Jesus say you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church a Son of God who builds a house for God 2 Samuel 7 is fulfilled by our lord Jesus ultimately but you see the impetus behind David he's musing on the reality that God dwells in a tent while he's in a house of Cedar so turn to 1 Chronicles 22 1 Chronicles CH 22 specifically at verse 5 now David said Solomon my son is Young and inexperienced and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent famous and glorious throughout all countries I will now make preparations for it so David made abundant preparations before his death the time that David lived it was very common place for people that had Gods to build houses for their gods remember that scene when the Ark of the Covenant is seized in battle by the Philistines and the Philistines Trot it back into their Hometown and they put it in the temple of deeon that was a statement Brethren that was a statement of utter victory we beat Yahweh on the field of battle so now we're going to put that Ark of the Covenant in the temple of deeon to show the supremacy of deeon well we know how that story ends don't we they go in to check on deeon and he had fallen down they pick him back up and they go in the next day to check on deeon and what happened he had fallen down in bits and pieces of him had fallen off so what do the Philistines say get this Ark of the Covenant out of here we don't want it anymore in other words when these people built these houses for their gods the quality of workmanship the the materials put into it said something about their God this is why David says what David says now my argument is not we need to tear this building down and get gold hinges that that's not where I'm going please understand the idea is is that God is glorious Solomon my son is Young and inexperienced and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent 2 Chronicles chap 2 2 Chronicles chap 2 won't read the whole section but it's very important for us to understand what's happening in 2 Chronicles chap 2 verse one then Solomon determined to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal house for himself Solomon selected 70,000 men to Bear burdens 880,000 to quarry stone in the mountains and 3,600 to oversee them then Solomon sent to hyam King of Ty saying as you have dealt with David my father and sent him Cedars to build himself a house to dwell in so deal with me behold I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God to dedicate it to him to burn before him sweet incense for the continual showbread for the burnt offerings mourning and evening on the sabbaths on the new moons and on the set feasts of the Lord Our God this is an ordinance forever to Israel and the temple which I build will be great notice for our God is greater than all gods we're not going to cheap out we're not going to find a group of unemployed guys outside a Home Depot and say come on let's let's build this together and notice as well he's appealing to a pagan King what does that indicate he wants craftsmanship he wants excellent work just like Bates alel and and and and uh uh Hol H abah that were chosen to be the builders or Artisans with reference to the Tabernacle you get the best guys filled with the spirit so that they can engage in this particular task why verse 5 tells us the temple which I build will be great for our God is greater than all gods so in terms of divine appointment of worship in the Old Testament you see in the books of Exodus and Leviticus you see that command in Deuteronomy and then you see this emphasis in the book of Chronicles books of Chronicles and not just Chronicles you see it in 1 and 2 Samuel 1 and 2 Kings chronicler just does seem to make that very specific and conspicuous in terms of the the Divine appointment behind public worship so again I would suggest to you that when we get to the New Covenant and we're going to going to set forth some some particular ideas concerning New Covenant and positive law and all that sort of thing I don't want to introduce that now I think this is a sufficient place to stop uh I just do want to conclude with with one particular application of the material at this point I would suggest with reference to the blessedness of corporate worship I had mentioned men this at least by in in passing that I'm not sure that we contemplate or Ponder as we ought that's not you know you terrible wretches I you know I'm here to confess it myself that this isn't always the way I think through public worship and I i' like to think I get better at this and I want to encourage you as well corporate Worship in scripture is a Most Blessed thing and and it's a Most Blessed thing even when we don't feel it we're typically the kinds of people or at least some of us are the kinds of people that judge Things based on feeling well the Bible tells us certain things positively factually whether we feel it or not for instance when Jesus tells men about private prayer he says when when you go into your closet and pray your father who sees in secret will reward you openly huh notice he doesn't say when you go in there and you really feel your father you really get that warm fuzzy then you'll know that you're going to be rewarded in secret no he doesn't do that we believe by faith by the objective Revelation propositional Revelation that we receive in Scripture that when we go into the closet to pray God's there it's not contingent upon or dependent upon or reflected always in our feelings and I'm not saying it's always bad to come out feeling God or feeling good about God that that's okay the argument is simple if God says something we believe it whether it brings feelings or or not and when it comes to public worship I realize sometimes the preaching can be too long preaching can be too loud preaching can be too confusing the singing can be a bit you know what we don't expect or what we don't want or you know I happen to love it I'm not you know not not the preaching so much but the singing I think is great that's a constant report I get from people that visit here wow the singing is good there whether you you don't like the particular choices or not that the the singing objectively is good I had texted Doug when we got the new roof is that going to affect the singing I don't want it to affect the singing that go it's still got to be good I think he said when it hails we'll probably probably he hear the hail a bit more with that new roof but but we don't always get the feeling sometimes our minds are divided sometimes in the midst of worship we're prone to wander prone to leave the god that we love that there is that reality that doesn't change the objectivity of God's written Revelation so I would just suggest a couple of thoughts relative to the blessedness of corporate worship Psalm 12 2 Psalm 122 you can turn there just a few and we'll be done for Psalm 122 David's approach to the Lord's Day David's approach to the Lord's Day verse one a song of a sense of David and this group of song uh Psalms called a song called the songs of a sense were were simply that as the pilgrims were journeying to Jerusalem to engage in corporate worship they would sing Psalms of Praise on that Journey so when you see that little superscription and as Dr renahan pointed out and I think I've tried to before as well those superscriptions are Divine uh divinely inspired words of scripture if you have a new King James under Psalm 122 you have italicized a title says the joy of going to the house of the Lord that's supplied by the translators that's just put there to help you with some kind of an idea of what's what but that superscription which means it's letters that are a bit smaller that's verse one in the Hebrew Bible so a song of as sense of David notice his attitude I was glad when they said to me let us go into the house of the Lord our feet have been standing within your Gates oh Jerusalem I think that's interesting for two particular reasons first it indicates something about David it indicates something about his heart and soul commitment to the god of Heaven and Earth on the Lord's day he wants to go to the house of the Lord and he wants to worship and he wants to in such a way that it provokes gladness from him other words he wakes up in the morning and he doesn't roll over and say oh I got to go to the house of the Lord no he's glad but notice as well the effect of David upon those around him as king he was able to inculcate a principle among those who said to him let us go to the house of the Lord in other words it wasn't drudgery it was happiness it was gladness it was joyfulness if we wake up on a Sunday morning and everything in us mitigates against going to the house of the Lord we ought to repent we ought to ask the Lord to to forgive us and to heal us and to help us and to cause us to want to go into the public place to worship him to gather around to praise His holy name I would suggest secondly we see something of the practice of the early Church in Acts chapter 2 Acts chapter 2 remember it's Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost the spirit of God comes in power makes known the glory of Jesus at the right hand of God most high we've got the people according to verse 37 say men and Brethren what shall we do Peter gives the ex exhortation in verse 38 repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit for the promise is to you and to your your children and to all who are far off as many as the Lord Our God will call so that's the sermon Peter preaches he exhorts them believe on the Lord Jesus verse 40 and with many other words he testified and exhorted them saying be saved from this perverse generation then those who gladly received his word were baptized and that day about 3,000 Souls were added to them now notice in verses 42 and following and they continued steadfastly not haphazardly not once in a while not when they felt like it not because they had to but they continued steadfastly notice in the apostles Doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers other words it was a simple Approach To Worship the thing that is different between the old and the new covenants is what we call positive law more on that God willing next Sunday night positive law is something commanded by God for a temporary purpose in the old Covenant it regulated the worship of God's people it regulated Sabbath day the moral principle of Sabbath is one day s under positive law in the old Covenant was Saturday positive law in the New Covenant Sunday positive law in the New Covenant is still standing it's still there but it's not the priesthood it's not the Tabernacle it's not the temple it's not the sacrifice it is rather the things that we see specified in the New Testament documents things like this they continued steadfastly in the apostles Doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers then fear Came Upon every soul and Many Wonders and signs were done through the apostles now all who believed were together and had all things in common and sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need so continuing daily with one Accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily those who are being saved notice that connection you you do what you're supposed to do in the life and context of the church and you experience the blessing of God upon the life of the church it's beautiful notice as well third by way of the blessedness of corporate worship the book of Hebrews Hebrews chapter 10 Hebrews chapter 10 he comes to get very practical after having uh set forth Christ as superior to the prophets superior to the angel Superior to Moses Superior to Joshua superior to the old Covenant priesthood superior to the Tabernacle itself and Temple Jesus is the Fulfillment of those things so he sets forth the glory of Jesus Christ and the superior it of Jesus Christ and his Covenant he specifies that specifically in verses SE chapters 7 and 8 he then highlights that Priestly work again in chapters 9 and 10 up to verse 19 then he gets practical notice therefore Brethren having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a New and Living Way which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh and having a high priest over the house of God let us draw near with true with a true heart and full Assurance of Faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience in our body washed with pure water let us hold fast the confession of Our Hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching see the emphasis there come to the house of God do what you're given the free access to do draw near with a true heart and full Assurance of Faith verse 23 let us hold fast the confession of Our Hope verse 24 let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works faith hope love that Pauline Triad this is an indicator and an evidence that Paul wrote Hebrews he has that emphasis throughout his Epistles on faith hope and love you see it right here and then turn over to Hebrews chapter 12 for the final text the glory involved in co uh co uh New Covenant corporate worship notice in Hebrews chapter 12 specifically at verse 18 here's a contrast between Mount Si and Mount Zion mount Zion in the New Covenant is seen as the church the people of God the true Israel of god notice the contrast set forth Verse 18 for you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire and to Blackness and darkness and Tempest remember that sin I see is seen in Exodus chapter 19 you you didn't approach the mountain you didn't just come wandering up the mountain no the the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore for they could not endure what was commanded and if so much as a beast touches the mountain it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow and so terrifying was the sight that Moses said I I'm exceedingly afraid and trembling that was old Covenant Sinai worship again it's good it's blessed provided you did what you were supposed to do and obeyed God it was a a good thing I mean fear and trembling isn't bad in the presence of the most holy one then notice the contrast he sets up with Mount Zion he's talking about the church and again it's not predicated here on if you feel it as long as you feel it as long as it resonates with your heart and soul then this is true this is true you need to get your heart and soul to resonate with this you need to understand that Christ the lord walks in the midst of the lampstand he says you have come to Mount Zion and the City of the Living God the heavenly Jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels to the general assembly and Church of the first born who are registered in heaven to God the judge of all to the spirits of just men made perfect to Jes Jus the mediator of the New Covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel and then he gives this exhortation or a warning he says see then that you do not refuse him who speaks for if they did not Escape who refused him who spoke on Earth how uh much more shall we not Escape if we turn away from him who speaks from Heaven whose voice then shook the Earth but now he is Promised saying yet once more I shake not only the Earth but also heaven now this yet once more indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken as of things that are made that the things which cannot be shaken May remain I actually think that has to do with the transition between old Covenant and New Covenant worship therefore verse 28 since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken let us have Grace by which we may serve God note that next word acceptably who defines what acceptable worship is not the worshipper CU he's going to pick everything contrary to the Holiness of God as I mentioned last week you don't let your child pick out dinner because he's going to glut himself on sugar and garbage no acceptable is God's acceptability by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire the blessedness of corporate worship whether we feel it or sense it or not my encouragement is is to understand what is revealed in scripture concerning corporate worship and adjust our mindset and adjust our expectations and adjust our ex uh our desire for these things in light of God's revealed word well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for this emphasis on the Divine appointment and worship I pray that you would guide us and lead us and direct us as a church that we may be obedient to the scripture and in that we'd find great blessing and great joy in times of Celebration to the god of Heaven and Earth even father Son and Holy Spirit and we pray this in Jesus name amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation