" The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the --heathen, and ---sing--- praises unto thy name. " - Psalm 18:46-49
"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the --harps-- of God.
And they ----sing----- the ---song--- of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, 'Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.' " - Rev 15:3
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The Star Wars franchise has captivated children and adults for many many years .... the fortunes of Anakin Skywalker and his extended family, in a galaxy far far far away, bringing us back, to the magical days when we thrilled to the words.. "once upon a time....".
Coupled with the story are the stirring opening flourishes of John Williams' theme, and the music of the scenes we have come to know.. the Imperial march, the Love theme, the Ewoks... the music is as iconic as the movie !
There is another "Star Wars" that is actually a little more real than that... the fortunes and saga of the LORD as Father, Son, Spirit, being played out across a cosmic backdrop of free will and righteousness, sin and redemption, love for a creation that despises its creator, and chooses to follow its own foolish heart.
And this story is set to song as well! In fact, there are songs that are both recorded, and prophesied ! The prophetic songs are a very interesting topic indeed, and that will be our study this week.
The all time hits -- the Song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb. The most popular topic for songwriting is Love... (and rejection and abandonment... but they are related) .. and the theme for songs in Heaven is praise for the one who created everything we see and experience, and recognition of the truth & correctness of His ways... (our mission in life is to learn that second theme and apply it).
There are other songs, that praise God to the "heathen"/"gentiles"... don't be offended, it just means, "people who do not know about Him, yet".
David sings prophetically of singing praises to the LORD among the Gentiles. And this is echoed in the book of Hebrews and Romans as well. Singing = actualized prophecy in the New Testament. Who would have thunk it....
The Apostle Paul in Romans:
" Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the ------truth of God-------, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and -----sing unto thy name.
[ Paul referencing Psalm 18, our first text. Please also notice the emphasis on the --truth of God-- , we will come back to this later]
And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. [[ Deut 32:43 ]]
And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. [[ Psalm 117:1]]
And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. [[Isa 11:10]]
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. " - Rom 15:8-13
The Book of Hebrews:
" But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, 'I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the --"ekklesia" (NT reference to Hebrew Psalm- translated church/saints/called out ones) -- will I sing praise unto thee. ' " - Heb 2:9-12
Why would Christs singing, or Davids singing to Heathens be a theological topic?
Because Paul and the author of the book of Hebrews (some say the same), are trying to convince the children of Israel that Christ WAS the person they were looking for--------- and HE was going to reach out to those that did not yet know the LIVING GOD who lives IN TRUTH / ACTUALLY.
Here is Isaiah...
Isa 65:14 Behold, my servants shall ----sing---- for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by ---another ---name: That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the ---God of truth---; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the ----God of truth-----; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. " : Isaiah 65:14-19
Who is the God of truth that the people in the NEW HEAVENS and NEW EARTH are swearing by?
The word in Hebrew is "Elohim Amen".
Here is Christ introducing Himself in the book of Revelation --
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the ---Amen----, the ----faithful---- and ---true--- witness, the beginning of the creation of God; " - Rev 3:14
" And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called --Faithful and True--, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. " - Rev 19:11
It is Jesus, and it is no surprise that people that have come out of the Great Tribulation, and not bowed down to the systems of this world, the beast and all that hell could throw at them are praising Him. (Our second text this week)
He who was with the LORD when everything was created, at the beginning ... who is the TRUE GOD and not the Beast that desires to be worshipped !
Speaking of beginnings -- if you are interested, check out the growing buzz on the Internet that says the Big Bang theory has some serious explaining to do to explain the perfectly smooth and well formed galaxies we are seeing through the James Webb Telescope.
These galaxies should be in the early stages of formation and be all lumpy and misshapen (because the universe has expanded since the light reached us) ... but THEY ARE NOT!
It seems that the further out we look, the more of the same we see.... interesting, interesting... it means everything was either all created immediately at once, or has always existed for much longer than we can conceive. ?
But we digress...
We hope you can see how singing and music is bound up with redemption, from Moses to the Church.
The truth of music and song points us to the author of all truth and beauty, and His Character, where He Himself sings, over us, and about us, WITH US, in the MIDST of US!
Hallelujah!!