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[0:00] But we're going to turn now to our reading from God's Word for this morning. If you don't have a Bible with you, we have visitor Bibles scattered around, so the welcome team! Have Bibles in their hands, so if you'd like one, just give them a nod.

[0:16] And we're in Judges chapter 5 this morning, page 203, if you're using one of the visitor Bibles. Judges chapter 5. I'm reading the whole chapter, Judges 5, and beginning there at verse 1.

[0:44] Then sang Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, on that day, that the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord.

[1:00] Hear, O kings, give ear, O princes. To the Lord I will sing. I'll make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel. Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped.

[1:17] Yes, the clouds dropped water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, even Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel. In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath.

[1:30] In the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned and travelers kept to the byways. The villagers ceased in Israel. They ceased to be until I arose. I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.

[1:43] When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among 40,000 in Israel, my heart goes out to the commanders of Israel, who offered themselves willingly among the people.

[1:58] Bless the Lord. Tell of it, ye who ride on white donkeys, who sit on rich carpets, and ye who walk by the way to the sound of musicians at the watering places.

[2:11] There, they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel. Then down to the gates march the people of the Lord.

[2:22] Awake, awake, Deborah. Awake, awake. Break out in song. Arise, Barak. Lead away your captives, O son of Abanoam. Then down march the remnant of the noble.

[2:35] The people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty. From Ephraim, their roots, they marched down into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen.

[2:46] From Machir, marched down the commanders. And from Zebulun, those who bear the lieutenant's staff. The princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak.

[2:58] Into the valley they rushed at his heels. Among the clans of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds to hear the whistling for the flocks?

[3:11] Among the clans of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he stay with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings.

[3:26] Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death. Now Thali too on the heights of the field. The kings came. They fought. Then fought the kings of Canaan by Tanak, by the waters of Megiddo.

[3:41] They got no spoils of silver. From heaven, the stars fought. From their courses, they fought against the Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away.

[3:52] The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might. Then loud beat the horses' hoofs with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.

[4:03] Curse, Meros, says the angel of the Lord. Curse its inhabitants thoroughly, because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to help of the Lord against the mighty. Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Canaanite.

[4:20] Of tent-dwelling women most blessed. He asked water, and she gave him milk. She brought him curds and a noble's bowl. She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workman's mallet.

[4:34] She struck Sisera. She crushed his head. She shattered and pierced his temple. Between her feet, he sank. He fell.

[4:45] He lay still. Between her feet, he sank. He fell. Where he sank, there he fell dead. Out of the window, she peered.

[4:55] The mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice. Why is his chariot so long and coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots? Her wisest princess's answer.

[5:06] Indeed, she answers herself. Have they not found and divided the spoil? A womb or two for every man? Spoil of dyed materials for Sisera. Spoil of dyed materials embroidered.

[5:19] Two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as a spoil. So may all your enemies perish, O God. But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.

[5:34] And the land had rest for 40 years. Amen. And my God bless his word this morning.

[5:46] Well, good morning. And do open your Bibles once again to Judges chapter 5. Now, it may have passed some people by, but the World Cup is on at present.

[6:02] And with such a festival of football, one thing that we get to see and hear regularly is the impassioned singing of various nations supporting their football teams.

[6:13] And many football chants and songs arise from occasions when their teams or their players have done something incredible.

[6:24] These songs fire up fans and players to chase more victory, more glory. Well, singing didn't really help Northern Ireland make it to the World Cup.

[6:36] But there is power in song. And football fans should neither have a monopoly on wholehearted singing, nor need to serve as the model for it.

[6:48] Of all people, the Christian church has reason to sing. Football fans sing hoping that their team might win. The Lord's people sing because the Lord has won.

[7:03] And because his past victories assure us that he will win. Now, of course, that singing cannot be manufactured. It's no use faking it. The resounding song of the Lord's people praising him for his grace, his salvation, his victory, can only ever come from having tasted of these things.

[7:25] But when they have been tasted, then the joyful singing of them stretches out the victory. It presses it home. And it shapes our expectations for the future.

[7:38] So I'm not going to berate us this morning for our singing. But rather, this passage ought to turn our hearts to song. It ought to fuel a desire to praise God and to long for and look to the day when the song of his final victory will resound.

[7:57] That day is coming. Now, last week, chapter 4, the story of this victory, the story of God's crushing victory over a cruel enemy was told.

[8:08] But this week we have the song. In chapter 4, the Lord spoke through Deborah. He summoned Barak to trust his word to lead the fight. And he used Jael to bring Sisera down.

[8:21] All of this showing us that the Lord calls his people, calls us, to fight under his command. And as we do so, we're assured that he goes before us and he will give us victory.

[8:37] But chapter 5 does more than just retell that victory. It teaches Israel to sing of it. And in so doing, helps us to see more clearly what the Lord has done and who is willing to stand with him and what his victory means for all who love him.

[8:55] And so this song does not merely celebrate a victory. It searches the loyalties and loves of everyone who hears it. And so we see in this passage that the Lord's mighty victories must be sung because they expose rival loves.

[9:11] They summon his people to willing allegiance. And they assure those who love him that they will share his final triumph. And so firstly in verses 1 to 11, this song says, Sing of the Lord who has rescued his people.

[9:27] Sing of the Lord who rescued his people. God's mighty victory restores people, restores his people and must be remembered and retold. Victories are commemorated because they help a people understand the past and face the future.

[9:47] And so immediately after this rescue, Deborah and Barak turn to song. Do you see verse 3? Hear, O kings, give ear, O princes. To the Lord I will sing.

[9:58] I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel. They're going to tell of a wondrous victory and everyone must hear it. Verse 10 summons those who ride on white donkeys, those who sit on rich carpets, those who walk by the way.

[10:15] Tell of it. Tell of this victory. Rich and poor, wherever you are, recount what the Lord has done. How do you feel about singing the Lord's praises?

[10:28] Is it drudgery? Or is it a delight? Well, we know that delight cannot be manufactured.

[10:40] Seeing more clearly the greatness of God's victory, that's what will give us something to sing about. And this particular song of victory has three main sections and each one centers upon a contrast.

[10:55] The contrast in verses 2 to 11 is between the power of the Lord and the predicament of his people. Look at verses 4 and 5. When the Lord marches from Seir and moves out from Edom, the earth trembles.

[11:11] The heavens open and the clouds pour down water. Remember, when the Lord advances, even the mountains quake before him.

[11:23] For those of us who have climbed a mountain, Ben Nevis or something similar, mountains feel vast, immovable, but not before the Lord.

[11:35] When the Lord marches out to fight, his power disturbs the very fabric of creation. Earthquakes, storms, storms. That's the picture painted here.

[11:48] And do you see the note of history in verse 5? Even Sinai quakes before the Lord. This song looks back to the Lord's former acts as reassurance that his victory is no flash in the pan.

[12:02] He's dealt with chariots before. The breath of his mouth caused the sea to swallow up Pharaoh's chariots. So what use will Sisera's be? But Sinai speaks not only of the Lord's power over creation, or indeed even of his previous, just of his previous crushing of enemies.

[12:21] It also speaks of his commitment to his people. At Sinai, the Lord declared the people he had rescued in his might, those he'd rescued from slavery, he declared them to be his treasured possession.

[12:35] A kingdom of priests and a holy nation. It was there at Sinai that he established his covenant with them. And that makes a contrast here, all the more stark and pointed.

[12:49] The great power of God and the trembling of mountains. But what we see here is the people treasured by God before whom mountains quake, well, they've fallen into a grim predicament.

[13:03] Why? Verse 8. Because when new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Israel abandoned the God before whom mountains tremble.

[13:16] And so Israel was left trembling before its enemies. Do you see their plight? Verse 6. The highways were abandoned. Travelers kept to the byways.

[13:29] It's the picture of the lawlessness of life under war or occupation. People keep out of sight because there's new protection from violence. Verse 7.

[13:41] Village life ceased. The land is gripped by dread. With no one leading the fight. No resistance to the tyranny. Forsaking the Lord brought war to their gates.

[13:57] And there was scarcely a weapon to be seen among 40,000 in Israel. That is, until Deborah arose. The Lord in his might raised up Deborah and through her, his word entered into this ruined situation.

[14:13] What was the turning point sorry, that was the turning point because the mighty power of God was brought to bear upon the predicament of his people. The Lord's intervention produces the transformation celebrated in verses 2 and verse 9.

[14:28] Leaders lead. Commanders arise. The people willingly offer themselves to the cause. Do you see what scorning God's word, preferring alternatives to him had brought?

[14:46] Predicament. Israel had forfeited the peace and the protection of life under his gracious rule and had been handed over to the powers that they preferred. And with that, bringing all the lawlessness, all the tyranny.

[15:00] That's the stark contrast. Israel could live under the gracious rule of the mighty God before whom mountains tremble. The one who rescued them.

[15:14] The one who committed to them. Or Israel could abandon him for idols that could never save nor protect. Those idols promised satisfaction and security, but opened their lives to chaos and carnage.

[15:30] And the same remains true, doesn't it? Sin always offers freedom, but it delivers slavery. Every rival to the Lord promises to satisfy and to keep us.

[15:44] But in truth, none can bear the weight of our lives, the weight of our need. But it doesn't have to remain that way. When the Lord sends his word into a ruined situation, his word brings life.

[16:00] Here, it roused leaders, it awakened willing faith, and it sets his people on the course to victory. Perhaps you're here this morning and you are conscious that you've made a very, a terrible mess of things.

[16:18] Perhaps you're here and you're carrying guilt and dread because of how cheaply you sold out the Lord. Well, look at the encouragement here.

[16:31] The Lord raised up Deborah and sent his word into this broken situation and his word got to work. It roused leaders, it summoned a willing people, and it set in motion the Lord's victory.

[16:43] Where God's word is heard and embraced, where sinners cry to him for mercy, verse 11 becomes possible. Do you see it? Verse 11, there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.

[17:03] The villagers who disappeared in verse 7 are now heard praising. Verse 11, the roads reopen, the people gather again, a village life returns, the Lord's mighty victory restores his people.

[17:21] That's why his victory must be remembered and retold. The Lord's people must never again forget who the Lord is. They must never forget what idols bring.

[17:34] And they must never forget what his rescuing power can restore. If only we cry out to him for mercy and heed his gracious word of promise.

[17:46] The disappearance of life can become the delight in the Lord's victory. So sing of the Lord who rescued his people. But secondly, verses 12 to 23, stand with the Lord in his battle.

[18:03] Stand with the Lord in his battle. The Lord summons to war, exposes the difference between willing courage and comfortable preoccupation. The next section of the song is filled with the recurring action of marching down, of getting to the fight and of actually fighting.

[18:22] Verse 11 is the sort of hinge between the sections and look how it ends. Then, down to the gates marched the people of the Lord. Down they marched, verses 13 to 15, down they marched the remnant, the tribes, rushing at Bar-Axials.

[18:40] Verse 19, the enemy kings came to fight. Verse 20, the stars fought. And the contrast in this section is between those who did fight and those who stayed away, preoccupied with other things.

[18:59] Verses 11 to 15, focus on the march to battle. It begins with the leaders whom God raised up. Awake, awake, Deborah. Awake, awake, break out in song. Arise, Barak, lead away the captives.

[19:15] It's a picture of the certainty of victory because this is God's war. And so the people march down against the mighty with these wondrous leaders that God has raised up.

[19:27] Ephraim, Benjamin, Machir, Zebulun, all come, all marching behind Barak. Verse 15 tells us that the princes of Issachar followed Deborah and Issachar rushed into the valley at Barak's heels.

[19:42] Down they marched into the valley. Down they marched to face the 900 chariots, the tanks of the Canaanites on the very ground where the enemy appeared strongest, down into the valley, onto the plains.

[19:56] And notice this. Despite the great conference of the song, despite chapter 4 showing us that this was unmistakably the Lord's battle and that he would win it, despite his sovereign orchestration of every detail, moving Heber and Jael to the right place, the right time, with the right implements to crush Sisera's head as we saw last week, despite all of that, notice what God's sovereign victory does not render unnecessary.

[20:30] The willing participation of His people. You see, it simply will not do to say, let go and let God. It will not do for us to be a church of people who are passive in God's war.

[20:44] It will not do to think it doesn't really matter whether we fight the good fight of faith, whether we evangelize or serve as a whole church. We cannot say, God is sovereign so our friends will come whether we invite them or not and God will build His church whether we serve or not.

[21:03] Yes, God is sovereign and in His sovereignty, one of His appointed means of carrying out His will is the willing participation, the willing faithfulness of His people.

[21:16] You see, His sovereignty does not excuse us from the fight, it girds us up for it. We fight, we serve, we minister, we evangelize not in mere human endeavor, not with our own strength alone, but with the sovereign power and purposes of God carrying us along, bolstering us, giving us confidence.

[21:41] But look at the contrast. All these tribes march down and rush at barracks heels, yet verse 15, Reuben remains among the sheepfolds with great searchings of heart.

[21:57] You see, the battle had not passed Reuben by, they'd heard about it, they'd considered it, they had searched their hearts, the problem was that they'd been found one thing.

[22:09] Verse 16, why did you sit still among the sheepfolds to hear the whistling for the flocks? The summons of the Lord had gone out, but Reuben stayed in the pasture listening to the familiar signs of the shepherds and sheep.

[22:27] They had deep deliberations, but idle feet. Likewise, Gilead remained beyond the Jordan, Dan stayed with their ships, Asher sat still at the coast besides their landings.

[22:49] Sheep, ships, work, trade, home. In some senses, none of these things are wrong in themselves, but when the Lord summoned His people to battle, these ordinary concerns became excuses for staying away.

[23:05] It's the same attitude that appears in Jesus' parable of the great banquet. There, Jesus speaks about a wonderful and gracious invitation to come and taste of the riches of God's kingdom, but those invited refuse to show up because they've got fields to inspect, oxen to test, family matters to attend to, for taking a wife.

[23:32] Again, none of those things are wrong in themselves, but when they become reasons for refusing the gracious summons of the Lord, they reveal where the heart's true loyalty lies.

[23:45] Even with great searchings of heart, those things were but excuses for the tribes that didn't show up. The reasons may have sounded respectable at the time, but in the song of the Lord's victory, they don't add up.

[24:05] there are those who fight and those who do not. But standing with the Lord is never a small or merely passing thing.

[24:16] Do you see verse 19? The kings of Canaan came to fight. They're not going to have any spoil to take away though. They're going to lose because verse 20 tells us from heaven the stars fought.

[24:30] From their courses, they fought against Sisera. What might have looked like a local battle in a Canaanite valley, we actually see here was part of the Lord's cosmic conflict.

[24:44] Earthly kings arrived for war, but heaven itself fought against them. The stars, the heavens, the clouds. You see, there's a great outpouring of rain, and the storm-swollen Kishon River swept the enemy away.

[25:04] The very terrain on which Sisera's chariots appeared invincible because of the heavens became the means of their destruction. His chariots stuck in the mud, all at God's hand.

[25:19] And so standing with the Lord in his warfare is no small thing. It is a matter of eternal significance. It's a cosmic affair. And that's why great praise, verse 18, for Zebulun and Naphtali because they fought risking their lives, risking their lives.

[25:40] But on the flip side, verse 23, curse upon Meraz. Curse Meraz because they did not come to the help of the Lord.

[25:53] the stars fought for the Lord. The river obeyed him, but Meraz was having none of it. Listen to Jesus.

[26:07] He says, for whoever will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it.

[26:19] For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? will the song says to us, do not remain among the sheep folds while the Lord's battle advances.

[26:36] Rather, stand with the Lord in his battle. And thirdly, it says, see the great reversal his victory brings. See the great reversal his victory brings.

[26:48] The Lord turns apparent weakness into blessed victory and apparent strength into bewildered defeat. The cursing of Meroz in verse 23 turns to the blessing of Jael in verse 24.

[27:04] Meroz was expected to help and did not. Jael was the last person anyone expected to help, and she did. She belonged to the household of Haber, who we read in chapter 4 had peace with King Jabin, General Sisera's king.

[27:24] And so hostility towards Jabin and Sisera was not expected from Haber and Jael. That was unexpected, as too was the fact that a victorious warrior would be a woman.

[27:39] Meroz is expected to fight, but did not, and is accursed. Jael fought unexpectedly, and she's blessed. Most blessed of women be Jael. And she stands at the heart of this third contrast.

[27:51] The blessing of Jael and the bewilderment of Sisera's mother. Verses 24 to 27 focus upon Jael. Sisera had entered into her tent.

[28:04] He'd asked for water, but she gave him milk, even better. She brought him curds in a bowl, fit for a new bowl. Each gesture of her hospitality deepened Sisera's sense of safety.

[28:19] The exhausted general believed that he'd find refuge and rest. But then verse 26, she sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workman's mallet.

[28:32] She struck Sisera. She crushed his head. She shattered and pierced his temple. And then the song lingers over his fall.

[28:44] Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still. A bit like those chariots. Between her feet he sank, he fell. Where he sank, there he fell, dead.

[28:56] The great commander who had terrorized Israel is reduced word by word until he lies dead at a woman's feet. Do you notice how carefully the song recounts every detail?

[29:10] The bowl, the peg, the mallet, the blue, the crushing, the fall. We might look at this and wonder at the place of delighting in such violence, such detail about the violence.

[29:25] But remember this is a song of victory. And God's victories for his people give them something to sing about. Listen to Ralph Davis who's really excellent on this chapter.

[29:37] He says that the Lord's deliverance is meant to be enjoyed, savored, cherished, item by item, detail by detail, blue by blue.

[29:49] Someone may think that that is being vicious. It's not. It's being pious. Perhaps many of us in the West, he says, cannot rejoice when God smashes oppressors because we have never been so oppressed or crushed by tyranny.

[30:05] That's why we frequently feel to appreciate texts like this. We can't really understand them from our study chairs or from our padded pews. But Deborah is clear.

[30:19] Blessed be Jael. God's victories give his people something to sing about. And think of what we have to sing about. Think of the wondrous fruit of the one who is king in and over Israel, the Lord Jesus.

[30:36] And think of the fruit of him crushing Satan's head. God's God's God's We don't have some sort of anemic, one-dimensional salvation. Our salvation is not mere meat and potatoes.

[30:49] No, no, it has spice, intrigue, depth. We can sing blue by blue of Christ's perfect obedience, of his cross, of our justification, of our adoption, of our union with him, of the defeat of Satan, of the promise of resurrection, and of the glory of the last day, and on, and on, and on, blue by blue.

[31:13] We can sing ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, blue by blue. The Lord's victory is worth savoring, blessed be Gile.

[31:30] But not so for Cicero's mother. Verses 28 to 30, she peers through the window, waiting, watching for her son. Why is his chariot so long in coming?

[31:43] Where is he? Verse 29, her wisest princesses try to reassure her. She even begins to answer her own questions. Surely he's only delayed because the spoil is taking so long to divide.

[31:57] That's what it is. Yes, they're plundering. Surely there are dyed and embroidered garments for Cicero. Yes, that's it, that's it. He's filling up his wardrobe with plunder. But notice even in her explanation the chilling line.

[32:15] Verse 30, a womb or two for every man. The imagined explanation of his own mother reveals the cruelty of Cicero's works and of his world.

[32:31] Victory meant plunder and women were counted among the spoil. people. She's reasoning with herself. He's delayed because he and his soldiers are busy raping and plundering.

[32:43] A womb or two for every man. Of course, we, the audience, we know what Cicero's mother does not. She's assuming the delay proves the fullness of his victory.

[32:56] In fact, we know it proves the completeness of his defeat. The great plunderer of Israel who makes it his celebration to rape women, well, the great reversal is he falls dead at the feet of a woman.

[33:13] That's the Lord's great reversal. The proud are brought low, the humble are lifted up. Those who afflict the Lord's people are repaid with affliction, while those who have been afflicted receive relief.

[33:27] That's the pattern of how God works, isn't it? And God's victory is always just. His judgments are always righteous. The day is coming when every wicked thing will be answered, where every tyranny that we so detest, that's so crushing to us in this world, every tyranny will be overthrown.

[33:53] man. So see the great reversal of his victory. The woman in the tent is blessed, whilst the mighty commander lies dead.

[34:03] And the mother who was expecting spoil, well, she only gets silence. Deborah sings three great contrasts that flew out of God's victory.

[34:15] glory. But she also sings a glorious conclusion in verse 31 that shows us the purpose of this song. And it is verse 31 that those who sing it might shine with those who love the Lord.

[34:30] Shine with those who love the Lord. The Lord's past victory promises final peace. But it also warns that only those who love him will share it.

[34:43] Deborah concludes her song, So may all your enemies perish, O Lord. Might all who oppose you and your people taste the same defeat.

[34:58] This victory song, then, looks forward to more victories. And in so doing, it makes clear that this victory cannot be the final one. Yes, Sisera's dead, but Israel's deepest problem remains, doesn't it?

[35:15] Look at the very last line of verse 31. And the land had rest forever more. No, the land had rest, but only for 40 years.

[35:28] Deborah and Barak will die. Chapter 2 has already told us what happens when a judge dies. 2.19, the judge dies, the people turn back and become even more corrupt than before.

[35:41] That's the limitation of every deliverance in the book of Judges. The Lord raises up a deliverer, the enemy subdued, the people have rest, but then the cycle begins again, only worse.

[35:54] Israel's problem is not only the enemies around them, but the disloyalty within them. And no temporary judge can cure that. Israel needs more than another temporary judge and another temporary victory.

[36:08] They need a righteous king who can gather God's people, all of them, not only some of the tribes, all of God's people, and keep them faithful, and defeat their enemies, and bring a rest that will never end.

[36:26] And that longing that's in the book of Judges runs through every single judge so that we get to the point where the longing for a king, and it runs through all the kings, including King David, all the way to Jesus, great David's greater son, the ultimate judge, and the victorious king.

[36:47] That is what victory songs do. They recall what has happened to give confidence for what is still to come. It's like the football songs we've began with, except that this victory is not entrusted to an unpredictable team, but it's secured by the unchanging God who reigns over all things.

[37:07] The Lord's victories in history therefore become forties of the final victory he will accomplish through his righteous king. Windows through which we glimpse the certain coming of his kingdom.

[37:21] Every great victory song in scripture, from Moses singing beside the red sea to Deborah here singing. Each of them anticipates the climactic hallelujah of Revelation 19.

[37:34] On that day heaven sings hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just, for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and he has avenged on her the blood of his saints.

[37:52] and once more they cry, hallelujah, the smoke from her goes up forever and ever. The great enemy has fallen, Babylon is judged, everything that would corrupt God's world, everything that would oppose his rule, everything that would shed the blood of his people is finally dealt with.

[38:14] And then on that day, the song of judgment turns into the song of the marriage supper. Hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the almighty reigns.

[38:25] Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory, for the marriage of the lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.

[38:39] Do you see the reversal? Sisera's mother imagined garments being stripped from defeated people and divided as spoil, but at the final victory feast, garments are not torn from victims and handed to plunderers.

[38:53] Fine linen is graciously granted to the lamb's precious bride. Babylon, as the representation of all that is evil, is plundered, and righteous King Jesus, the lamb, clothes his bride.

[39:11] Sisera raped and plundered, Christ presents his bride in splendor. Deborah's song looks forward to the coming of God's kingdom, just as we sang, your kingdom come, the reign of Jesus.

[39:25] Curse ended, death defeated. The Lord's victory here is a pattern and promise of the final victory still to come, but there's a sting in the deal of this song.

[39:40] Verse 31 says, Soon may all your enemies perish, O Lord, but your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might. The ESV has your friends, but it's probably better translated and more pointedly translated, those who love him be like the sun as he rises in his might.

[40:02] What then does it mean to love the Lord? Well, Jesus says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. Moses commanded Israel to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

[40:18] And that love required exclusive allegiance. Listen to what God said to Moses. He said, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, great power for you.

[40:31] You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image. That is a pointed word to a people trapped in a downward spiral of idolatry and spiritual adultery.

[40:52] Think how that would land with those who receive this book. Verse 8 told us that Israel had chosen new gods. That is why war was at the gates.

[41:04] They had loved rivals in the place of the Lord. And so those who receive this book cannot merely read or sing of this victory without asking, do we love the Lord? Or have we placed our love elsewhere?

[41:19] For if Israel persists in loving other gods, if Israel ignores the Lord's discipline and continues in disloyalty, well, Israel may just discover that it stands not among those who shine, but among the enemies who perish.

[41:38] That's the sting. But friends, Deborah sings so that we will not go that way. She exalts the mighty power of the Lord.

[41:51] She summons us to stand with him in his battle. She holds up the blessed victory of Jael, and she directs our hope towards the Lord's ultimate triumph. And she does all of that so that we might love the Lord and shine with all those who love him.

[42:08] Shine like the sun that rises in its might. And then comes the final line. The land had rest for 40 years.

[42:19] Rest, peace, because this song could be sung. Rest, peace, because an enemy of God had perished. And that temporary rest points forward to the lasting rest of God's kingdom.

[42:33] When every enemy has perished and the bride of the Lamb rejoices in his victory, the final peace, the wonders of that great last day belongs not to those who can merely sing the words, but to those who love the victorious Lord of whom they sing.

[42:53] Friends, when we love the Lord, we are given wondrous songs of hallelujah, wondrous songs of victory, a victory that is tasted now, and a victory that stretches out into eternity future.

[43:13] Songs that gird us up, that spur us on. So, may all your enemies perish, O Lord.

[43:26] But may those who love him be like the sun as he rises in his might. Let's pray. Amen. Heavenly Father, we are so aware of our need, so aware of our fickleness.

[43:53] And so we come to you asking for your grace and for your help. Would you spoil for us the things in this world that corrupt our love for you?

[44:04] Amen. And would you grant us afresh to see and savor Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us, all that his victory in the cross has achieved?

[44:19] And in so doing, would you fill our hearts with songs of unceasing praise and fill our lives with unshakable hope for the great day when the final victory song is sung?

[44:31]  Help us, we pray, for we love you and we long to love you more truly. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.