Sing, O ye heavens
A song about redemption
The text is a magnificent call to heaven and earth to join in singing the glories of redemption.
I. IN WHAT PARTICULARS REDEMPTION CALLS FOR A SONG. Redemption calls for a song when we remember--
1. Its Author. “The Lord hath done it.” “The Lord hath redeemed Jacob.” Herein is indeed a marvel of grace, demanding the highest anthems ransomed lips can raise. What could man have been to Him? What shadow of an obligation was there on His part to put forth the slightest effort to save a single one? The Lord hath done it alone. With whom took He counsel in this matter? Who paid part-price with Him? Redemption is no work of the many; it is God’s own in plan and execution.
2. Its cost (1 Peter 1:18-19).
3. Its completeness. Christ hath so gloriously completed the work of redemption that nothing can possibly be added to it. Unlike the atonement made by the Aaronic priesthood, it lasts for ever.
4. Its comprehensiveness. It will take eternity to reveal all. If we are Christ’s, then have we been redeemed from the hand of Satan. From the guilt of sin. With the guilt, away goes the power of sin. We are also redeemed from the consequences of sin. From the power of death Hosea 13:14). Christ hath redeemed the bodies of His saints for the glories of the resurrection morn.
5. The chiefest cause for song is redemption “being” that in which God has been pleased to glorify Himself the most. “The Lord hath glorified Himself in Israel.” All the attributes of God are most gloriously to be seen in redemption work.
II. WHO THOSE ARE WHO SHOULD SING THE SONG.
1. Heaven! “Sing, O ye heavens,” and well you may, for redemption has shed a fresh lustre on your glories. The highest joy the angels can have, is that which arises from seeing their King glorified. Behold also the redeemed in heaven! Listen to their song, sweeter even than an angel’s, “Unto Him that loved us.” All heaven unites in this redemption song.
2. Let the ransomed on earth take their part. “Shout, ye lower parts of the earth.” Behold your serfdom gone--your bonds broken--your chains snapped--your sins forgiven--your heaven secured, and then sing.
3. Surely who that have loved ones that have been redeemed should join us in the song.
4. The trembling sinner has good cause to join his voice with ours. “The Lord hath done it.” If done, then there can be no necessity for any addition of thine. (A. G. Brown.)
Praise to God for redemption:
I. WHAT IS IMPORTED IN GOD’S REDEEMING JACOB.
1. That He pays a ransom for our souls.
2. That He rescues us from captivity.
3. That He takes vengeance on our enemies.
4. That He puts us in possession of our inheritance.
II. HOW GOD IS GLORIFIED, WHEN MAN IS REDEEMED.
1. His infinite wisdom was displayed.
2. His power was illustrated.
3. His grace was shown.
4. His truth was vindicated.
III. THE PRAISE WHICH OUGHT TO BE ASCRIBED UNTO GOD ON ACCOUNT OF REDEMPTION. The language of the text has a certain grandeur and beauty. Two things seem to be expressed in it.
1. Let every creature rejoice in the event.
2. Let all express their joy in every form.
“Sing,” “shout,” “break forth into singing.” Praise Him with the heart. Let “all that is within you bless His holy name.” Praise Him with the lips. “Speak of the glory of His kingdom, and talk of His power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts.” Praise Him with your life. “Ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” Praise Him in private. “Is anyone merry? Let him sing psalms.” Praise Him in public. “O sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the saints.” (E. Brown.)
The joy of redemption
There are three redemptions which may well make all hearts rejoice.
I. REDEMPTION BY BLOOD.
II. REDEMPTION BY POWER. Conversion and regeneration. What sort of people are those whom Christ saves? Some were the very worst of the worst. Think of what these souls are saved from, and of what they are saved to. Some are saved in the teeth of ten thousand obstacles.
III. REDEMPTION IN PERFECTION. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The song of songs:
I. LET US SURVEY THE SCENE. “I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins.” So, going forth and returning to their God beneath that clear sky, from which the Sun of Righteousness shone down with beams of love, the forgiven people were filled with rejoicing, and by the mouth of the prophet they cried aloud, “Sing, O heaven, clouds veil thee no longer; shout, ye lower parts of the earth, which have been refreshed with fertilising showers; shout, O ye forest trees, whose every bough has been hung with diamond drops; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel.” Thus the scenery of the text is helpful to the full understanding of it. Read the two verses together, and their beauty is seen. When did the joyous event take place which we are bidden to celebrate with song?
1. We may consider it as virtually accomplished in the eternal counsels of God, for our Lord is “the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.”
2. The clouds were actually removed when the atonement was presented.
3. The text also receives an actual fulfilment to each one of God’s people in the moment when the eye of faith is first turned to the crucified Saviour.
4. This also comes true not only at first, but frequently during the Christian life; for there are times when our unbelief makes new clouds, and threatens new storms.
5. The text will obtain its best fulfilment at the day of the Lord’s appearing,--that day around which our chief hopes must ever centre.
II. LET US CONTEMPLATE THE GLORIOUS SUBJECT FOR JOY. The great subject of joy is redemption--the redemption of God’s Israel.
1. This is a stupendous work.
2. Of redemption by price and by power we are bidden to sing, a redemption so pre-eminently desirable that we can never sufficiently value it.
3. The very centre and emphasis of the song seems to me to lie in this: “The Lord hath done it.” Whatever God does is the subject of joy to all pure beings.
4. It is sweet to reflect that redemption is an accomplished fact. It is not “The Lord will do it,” but “The Lord hath done it.”
5. We may lay peculiar force upon the word, the Lord hath “done” it, for He has finished the work.
6. A very important part of the song, however, lies in the fact that what God has done glorifies Himself.
III. LET US LISTEN TO THE SONG. The angels sing, for they have deep sympathy with the redemption of man; the redeemed in glory sing, for they have been the recipients of this mighty mercy; the material heavens themselves also ring with the sweet music, and every star takes up the refrain, and with sun and moon praise the Most High. Descending from heave, the song charms the lower earth, and the prophet calls upon materialism to share in the joy; mountains and valleys, forests and trees, are charged to join the song. Why should they not? This round earth of ours has been o’ershadowed by the curse through sin; she has yet to be unswathed of all the mists which iniquity has cast upon her (Romans 8:20-21).
IV. LET US JOIN IN THIS SONG. Consider how we sing this song. We sing it when by faith we see the grand truth that Jesus Christ took His people’s sin upon Him, and so redeemed them. You will be still better able to sing this if you every day realise the blessings of redemption and pardon, by drawing near to God, using the privilege of prayer, trusting the Lord for everything, enjoying sonship, and communing with your heavenly Father. (C. H.Spurgeon.)