The Song of Victory. Isaiah 14:1-7 Psalm 40:1-5, 8-10 Revelation 14:1-16, 15:1-4

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Barbara Harper
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1 The Song of Victory Isaiah 14:1-7 Psalm 40:1-5, 8-10 Revelation 14:1-16, 15:1-4 February 12, 2017 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany - Witness Season Dr. Edwin Gray Hurley Susan Sontag said, What is important now is to recover our senses. We must learn to see more, hear more, feel more. St. John s Revelation helps us do this in spades, as it presents the contrast between the chaos of Babylon, code for Rome, and the harmony of Heaven, code for the Lord God Almighty and Jesus the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world who yet has won the victory. Victory in Jesus! In this wild surrealistic poetic portrayal of the battle between good, evil, God and Satan, we are assured of the ultimate victory that has already been won by Jesus on the Cross, the victory that will someday become visible to all. Reverend says, Every eye shall see him, everyone who pierced him; i Here is a word of encouragement for today, as we move through the battles with evil, and the foretaste of victory of the Lamb, which we face. All the while we hear singing. Choruses of praise to the Living God and the Lamb that cycle throughout the book- these choruses are the key to understanding the book of Revelation. No matter what God s people face, they are singing! There was so much speculation last week about Lady Gaga and what she would sing at the Super Bowl. Would she go political? Would she stay above the fray? As it turned out, she literally began high above the fray, on top of the stadium in Houston singing God Bless America and This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land, before cascading down to the field where she sang a medley of her hit songs, Born This Way, Poker Face, The Edge of Glory. Music has such power to shape, energize and rekindle a people. We hear much singing in Revelation. Though the early church was experiencing persecution, nothing could stop their singing. Throughout the Bible, God s people sing. Songs are everywhere. Moses sings. Miriam sings. Deborah sings. David sings. Mary sings. Angels sing. Jesus and his disciples sing. Paul and Silas sing. When persons of faith become aware of who God is and what he does, they sing. ii We hear this singing in the scripture readings today: The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. says Isaiah (14:7) He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God, says the Psalm (40:3) They sing a new song before the throne They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty! says the Revelation (14:3, 15:3) As you allow the torrent of images to roll across your consciousness in this writing to give you hope and encouragement, see how the music continues and uplifts. Let s do this - looking of 3 key emphases in this passage.

2 2 I The First call of God s people is to ENGAGE. We hear the song of the 144,000 who ENGAGE in singing, full throated, voices uplifted, offering songs of praise. This 144,000 number is symbolic, not literal. All the numbers in Revelation by the way are symbolic. We have to learn to let the text speak to us in a poetic not mathematic way. This number symbolizes the fullness of God s people, completion, perfection, 12 x 12 perhaps, for the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 disciples - 144,000 connected with God s old people Israel and God s new people the Church. Now they sing something fresh and new. They sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. (And note this) No one could learn that song except the hundred forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. iii Only God s people can sing God s song from their heart! We are blessed at South Highland with incredible musicians, choir singers, handbell players and instrumentalists. You musicians share your gifts of singing, leading us all in our own singing in amazing ways. We sing better because you sing! When God s people gather, there is singing. Dr. Copeland has a remarkable gift of drawing out the best in our singers. Some of you say, Well I just cannot sing. Dr. Copeland pulls music out of you, and suddenly, you who have gone across over the rail and given it a try, discover you really can sing, you really are blending notes and harmonies in ways you never imagined possible. You really are among the 144,000! During the Second World War when Adolph Hitler had co-opted the churches of Germany and the European countries the Nazis occupied, they set severe restrictions on what could be said and sung in Christian worship services. Great preachers like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller were expelled from their pulpits. Did you know - Martin Niemoller preached here once as our Inspirational preacher? In occupied Holland, the Netherlands though, Reformed Congregations there continued to sing the Psalms, those ancient texts from the Bible which express praise and lament, thanks and anger. The Nazis thought these simply harmless ancient ritual texts. Many of the worshippers, however said, These Psalms were our lifeline. These Psalms sustained us through our suffering. For these songs, without mentioning Hitler by name, gave us a way to declare our higher loyalty to God, and our refusal to worship, any lesser god. As the Barmen Declaration, one of our Presbyterian Confessions, written during that time for the Confessing Church in Germany declares, We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church were permitted to abandon the form of its message and order to its own pleasure or to changes in prevailing ideological and political convictions. iv The singing John experiences in heaven offers this life-giving refreshment, like the sound of many waters, to sustain the weary believers of his day. As Doug Webster notes, Praise songs drown out the deceiver s propaganda and remind us that the church is first and foremost, a worshipping community where life centers on the Word of

3 3 God. Music is inspired by the God who sings. Melody, harmony, rhythm, and love are not human inventions. The early church confessed Christ in song. v It s still happening today! Where would our worship be without the music of God s people? Now there s new reason for you to come this afternoon and be uplifted as Jamie McLemore breaks forth on the Ensley Highland organ in the chapel! It will be glorious! When in our music God is glorified, And adoration leaves no room for pride, It is as though the whole creation cried, Alleluia! vi II First, ENGAGE through singing. Then second, ENDURE through the Gospel. Hear and heed the Good News! In our text three angels proclaim an eternal gospel. They have a story to tell. The pulpit symbolizes the important center of our worship, proclaiming and hearing the Word of God. The Gospel calls us out of ourselves away from self-focus; The Gospel gives us concern and compassion for the least, the lost, the loveless and the will to do something about their situation In our reading the angels proclaim this eternal gospel while flying across mid heaven. Here is a message that is moving about, not limited to 11:00 on Sunday morning, one place or time, a message to every nation and tribe and language and people. This is what we lift up in our Witness Season, the worldwide relevance of this Gospel, God s Good News that breaks down walls, transcends national borders, God s redeeming grace that loves and cares and welcomes and calls. God s call to turn around, repent! Answering that call, we turn away from our sin and selfishness. We turn gratefully to God to receive what he offers. Then we have eyes to see these sisters and brothers in the Congo, India, Honduras, Syria, Lebanon, and Mozambique. We see and respond. This proclamation, this Good News, reaches us in many situations in our lives, always with what we need to ENDURE, to make it through whatever we are facing. Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus. vii Not a one of us will escape some challenge, some setback, some temptation to yield our lives to other lords and loyalties. Some of us are facing immense challenges this very day. I met many courageous Christians in Syria and Lebanon, who daily are facing life and death dangers, who have been forced to flee from their homes and towns and churches, yet who remain faithful to their Lord. I take courage from their examples; they remind me - whatever we face, our God is able to hold us, to keep us, to sustain us. ENDURE, hold fast to the faith of Jesus and to this eternal Gospel.

4 4 III First ENGAGE - Sing a new song to the Lord. Second ENDURE - hold fast to the eternal gospel. For third, the END is coming; the glorious triumphal END for God s people. The decisive judging END for those who persist in evil. Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. viii Evil is running loose across the Roman Empire and across our world today. But John is shown the coming time of harvest. Then I looked, and there was a white cloud and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand! Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe. So the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth and the earth was reaped. ix Revelation shows us, as does the whole of Scripture, that there is a God in heaven who is sovereign, who is still in charge of this earth, and who will one day bring judgment on all living things. One day he will right all that is wrong. One day evil will be utterly defeated, and there will come this glorious completion. Throughout Revelation we think it is coming now in a particular passage. Yet, there comes a delay, and another battle must be fought. It s like that with what we experience. The promise is sure. The END will be glorious. But it is delayed. Meanwhile hold on. I take comfort knowing judgment remains in good hands, God s hands, not mine! St. John is shown an END coming to all that is evil, therefore take heart. As Longfellow s poem puts it, And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said: "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead; nor doth he sleep! The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men!" x John s kaleidoscopic vision calls us to keep on keeping on. ENGAGE sing the song! ENDURE hold to the eternal word! Trust the END will come of all that is evil and the vindication of all that is good, The Kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ! And He shall reign forever! Following this Lamb, trusting this Lord

5 5 you and I - ordinary believers in our ordinary lives can live aware, awake, alive to this larger brighter more glorious reality, the Kingdom of Our Lord and of His Christ, that is even now at work in us and among us. Sing the song! Cling to the Word! Trust the judge. What is important now is to recover our senses. We must learn to see more, hear more, feel more. In our worship services we always begin with singing and we always end with singing. In our text today, John begins with singing and ends with singing. And so shall we. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, King of the nations! Lord, who will not fear and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your judgments have been revealed. So be it! Even so Come Lord Jesus! Amen! Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. i Rev. 1:7 ii Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder, p.66 iii Rev. 14:3 iv Book of Confessions PCUSA, The Theological Declaration of Barmen, p. 311 v Douglas Webster, Follow the Lamb, p.213 vi The Presbyterian Hymnal, When in Our Music God Is Glorified, p.264 vii Rev. 14:12 viii Rev. 14:7 ix Rev. 14:14-16 x Henry Wordsworth Longfellow, The Bells of Christmas Day.

Revelation 14:1-20 Preparation for the Last Plagues of the Great Tribulation. The Lamb and the 144,000. The Proclamations of Three Angels

Revelation 14:1-20 Preparation for the Last Plagues of the Great Tribulation The Lamb and the 144,000 1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and fortyfour