I invite you to turn in your copies of God's Word to Nehemiah chapter 12. Nehemiah chapter 12. Last week we looked at Nehemiah chapter 10, and we saw there an instruction for this returned remnant, this people in exile, to live with heavenly-minded perspective. They made a covenant before the Lord, repenting of their past sins and seeking obedience before the Lord. And there were several things that they were emphasizing, particular struggles they had in the past with marrying those who were unequally yoked, with failing to tithe and neglecting the house of the Lord, and failing to observe the Sabbath and the Sabbath feasts. All of those things orient God's people in the Old Testament to have a heavenly perspective, to place their trust in the Lord. In chapter 11, which we are skipping over, there is a long list of names of those who are being chosen to repopulate the city of Jerusalem. And in chapter 11, just a quick summary, God's people there, I think the thrust of that message is God's people are demonstrating, once again, a heavenly perspective, trusting the Lord. Apparently, the city of Jerusalem would have been a difficult place to live at this time. People had been established outside of the city in their own homes. When they had returned, they had established out of the city that was unprotected. And so there was a call for sacrifice, a denying self of earthly comforts and going and living in that city that it would be able to be rebuilt. They trusted that God had prepared a city better for them. And so they lived that out by willingly going. And verse two of chapter 11 says that, the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem. They trusted his faithfulness. So we turn now to Nehemiah chapter 12, and we are going to read this and consider what it means to respond with joy to successful circumstances. So turn your attention now to the reading of God's word. Nehemiah chapter 12, we will be reading through to verse 43. These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel, the son of Sheetal and Jeshua. Zariah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Amariah, Maluk, Hattush, Shekiniah, Rahum, Merimoth, Ido, Ginnathoy, Abijah, Mijamin, Maadaiah, Bilgah, Sheemiah, Joarib, These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua. And the Levites, Jeshua, Benuim, Kadmiel, Jerebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. and Bakbukiah, and Uni, and their brothers stood opposite them in their service. And Jeshua was the father of Joachim, Joachim the father of Elisheb, Elisheb the father of Joedah, Joedah the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jadua. And in the days of Joachim were priests, heads of fathers' houses, of Sariah, Mariah, of Jeremiah, Hananiah, of Ezra, Meshulam, of Amariah, Jehonoan, of Malachi, Jonathan, of Shebaniah, Joseph, of Harim, Adna, of Marios, Helki, of Ido, of Zechariah, of Ginnathan, of Meshulam, of Abijah, of Zichri, of Miniman, of Moadiah, of Piltai, of Bilga, of Shemua, of Shemaiah, Jehoanathan, of Jorib, Mataniah, of Jediah, Uzziah, of Silai, Kalai, of Amok, of Eber, of Hilkiah, Hashabiah, of Jediah, Nathaniel. In the days of Elishab, Joida, Johanan, and Jeduah, the Levites were recorded as heads of the fathers' houses. So too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers' houses were written in the book of Chronicles until the days of Johanan, the son of Eliashiv, and the chief of the Levites, Hashebiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua, the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, to praise and to give thanks according to the commandment of David, the man of God, watch by watch. Mattaniah, Bakpukiah, Obadiah, Meshulam, Talmon, and Hakub were gatekeepers, standing guard at the storehouses of the gates. These were in the days of Joachim, the son of Jeshua, son of Jezodach, and in the days of Nehemiah, the governor, and of Ezra, the priest and scribe. And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought the Levites in all their places to bring them to Jerusalem, to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgiving, and with singing. with cymbals, harps, and lyres. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Ataphathites, also from Beth-Gilgal, and from the region of Geba, Asmaveth. For the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south from the wall to the Dung Gate, and after them went Hoashiah and half of the leaders of Judah, and Azariah, Ezra, Meshulam, Judah, Benjamin, Jemiah, and Jeremiah. And certain of the priests' sons with trumpets, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mataniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zechariah, son of Asaph, and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Meliah, Goliath, Mai, Nithanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God. And as with the scribe went before them, At the fountain gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, as the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the water gate on the east. The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the tower of the ovens, to the broad wall, and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the gate of Yeshanna, and by the fish gate, and the tower of Henanel, and the tower of the hundred, to the sheep gate, and they came to a halt at the gate of the guard. So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half the officials with me. And the priests, Eliakim, Maasei, Minamin, Micaiah, Elianai, Zechariah, and Hanani, with trumpets, and Maasei, Jemiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehonan, Micaiah, Elam, and Ezer, And the singers sang with Jezariah as their leader. And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. The women and the children also rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away." Thus ends the reading of the word of the Lord. Let's go before our father and ask that he would bless our time meditating upon these words. Father, we do thank you for your word. We thank you that you preserved a record of your faithfulness to your people. We thank you for how these words attest to who you are. We pray that you would help us to understand rightly what you would have us understand, that we would know you better by spending time meditating upon these words, that we would know better what you call us to as your people. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we have here a list and an account of what happened once the people finally dedicate the finished wall to the Lord. We've been reading Nehemiah. Nehemiah set out to secure the city of Jerusalem against shame, against a shameful state. If you remember all the way back to that first report, the people were in a shameful state. Nehemiah wanted to restore a wall, he wanted to restore a people. We're coming near to the end of this book, to the account of Nehemiah's work, and we get to see this celebration, this great procession and day of thanksgiving and joy for what the Lord has done. The wall is finished. It was quite an accomplishment. And these people had every excuse to give up, to not believe in the faithfulness of the Lord, to seek to make a way for themselves. And yet, with faithful leadership of Nehemiah, with their own faithful response to the Lord by His work in them, they succeeded in finishing the wall. The wall was complete. As we think about that, and we've been thinking about that for the last few chapters, but here is the dedication. And what stands out to me is that the celebration, the focus, is not some self-congratulatory event. The event itself is all focused on God. Amazingly, in God's mercy and His sovereignty, He actually preserves the name of some of the households involved. honors those who are obedient, but they themselves serve the Lord. The focus is on God and giving thanks to Him, bringing offerings before them. They did not turn inward at the accomplishment that has happened. What I want us to think about tonight as we think about this chapter is that there's an encouragement for us as well. As we seek to be obedient, as we seek to be faithful to God, when we have success in that, when we are obedient to God, do not let your good works turn your thoughts inward. Do not raise yourself up on a pedestal, but let your works lead to worship. Let your works lead to worship. Our first sub-point is that we are to demonstrate faith in God's saving work despite our good works. Demonstrate faith in God's saving work despite our good works. Verses 1-26. emphasize the priests and the Levites. We have here a record that spans this whole period of time after the exile. We see the preservation of that office, that those that come from that line have a right to lead. The office has been preserved. There is an emphasis on the priestly work and the Levitical work. What that emphasizes for us, looking back, is a proclamation that God's people need atonement. The wall has been built, but they are not now free to live how they want. They are not home free in the eyes of the Lord. They need atonement for their sin. You might think about this Sunday school this morning as we think about even when Christ came, there was an expectation that there would be temporal relief, that the Son of David, this Messiah, would bring about a kingdom that would overthrow the Roman Empire and they would have worldly comforts, worldly peace. You can think about as these remnants coming out of exile, What is emphasized by the structure of this chapter and what is emphasized by the leadership of this celebration is that they need an office that mediates between them and God. They had no misconception that now that they were secure by a wall that they had built that they could somehow forsake God and their need for God. The completed wall does not mean that they no longer need security. The restoration is finished with the wall but their restoration still depends upon a mediator. They need atonement, they need redemption because of their sin and God is faithful in preserving and providing a means of atonement and reconciliation for his people. The call to be holy, to live as a holy people hinges on this work of the Lord and his provision of a sacrifice or the sacrifices at this time that point forward to the final sacrifice of Christ. We can think back to the way that Moses spoke of what the nation was being formed to be or to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. As this remnant returns to a newer Jerusalem, not the new Jerusalem, they are picturing and understanding that they desire to be a kingdom of priests, a people set apart, holy, as a witness to the nations, a holy nation. They did not mistake their works and accomplishment for autonomous success. They didn't let their works lead them to self-sufficiency, to humanism. The finishing of the wall causes them to thank and praise the Lord and seek purification and atonement. In verse 30, we see that the Levites were purifying themselves and the people and the gate and the wall. And then the climax of this procession moves to the coming to the temple and offering great sacrifices. There's a very clear understanding that the people still needed restoration with God. They needed to maintain obedience before God and they needed to find communion with him through his prescribed means, which at this time was the sacrificial and ceremonial system. We're moving towards verses 44, chapter 12, verses 44 through the end of the book. which ends on a bit of a low note. Come next week to hear more about that. But it ends on a bit of a low note and it demonstrates so clearly that this city is not yet fully holy. There's still problems. They give thanks for more than just a finished wall. They give thanks for redemption. That God is still in a relationship with him. That he desires to be their God and they his people. And they demonstrate that by seeking purification, ceremonial purification and offering sacrifices. Building the wall was a good work. Nehemiah's leadership was a good work. He was faithful and obedient to the Lord. They did good. But it did not come from the people themselves and they knew it. They needed the Lord. They needed to maintain right worship. They needed to depend upon Him. It was the Lord who caused them to rejoice with great joy, not themselves. Nehemiah clearly, so often as he was stirring up the people, says, The hand of the Lord is upon us. Respond with obedience because the hand of the Lord is upon us. It's the Lord's work. So do not let your works lead to idolatry or self-sufficiency. Let works lead to worship. Our second sub-point for this evening is be led in thanks and joy. Again, notice how thanks and joy gives the right perspective for what has happened. They don't complain. They're not thinking about how much is still lacking. They don't whine. They don't grow proud or greedy. They worship. Worship, right worship, worship in spirit and in truth, orients our heart posture before the Lord. It removes those temptations to be discontent or to be content in our own righteousness. It finds rest in the Lord. And the people were led in this. If you look to verse 43, there's something in the phrasing there that God had made them rejoice. God had made them rejoice with great joy. This could, of course, be understood as God was the reason for their joy. Because of who God is, because of what He had done, it had made them rejoice. They had to be joyful. Look what the Lord had done. And I think that's right. That's good. This was His work. He had done it. But also, I think it's a summary of the immediate context of what we've just read. that the Lord had led them in rejoicing through this procession of these officers of the function of the Levites and the priests as they have these choirs that surround the city. The Lord had made them rejoice because they had leadership leading them in thanksgiving and joy. The leaders were leading them to sing with thanks and celebration, and they recognize that that's the Lord's doing, to anoint leaders with that role. And isn't that what the church is supposed to do, and what the church often is? Church leadership has a holy calling. The church leaders are meant to preserve the right worship of the Lord, and they're meant to lead the church in worship. Whether we feel like it or not, as individuals, when we gather together, our perspectives are reoriented to be thankful and joyful. No matter what you bring with you when you come into worship, as you hear the encouraging sounds of those around you praising the Lord, as you go before the Lord in prayer, as you sit under God's Word, your perspective is reoriented. You remember the faithfulness of the Lord. You remember and are given joy when we worship. We are feasting on the means of grace, God's graciousness towards us, and that works joy in us. That enlivens the spirit in our work. We are made to rejoice when we gather for public worship. Corporate worship with the call to worship, the reminder of God's faithfulness from His Word, all of these things, corporate singing, that lifts our spirits and it helps us to be aware of the true realities of this life, the seen and the unseen realities of God's faithfulness and His presence among us. It gives us that taste of heaven, that reminder of our true citizenship, the fullness of what we have in Christ. Don't neglect that grace. We need to be reoriented, to be reminded, to be stirred up, to be joyful, and have attitudes of thanksgiving. The worship service that we read here in Nehemiah really is a culmination of a whole century of work. Think back to Ezra and the desire for the people to be restored, to be reformed in their worship of the Lord. And we think of Nehemiah and his work, and it all was pointing to and orients a present thankfulness to God and a future hope of the consummation of His promises. We must remind ourselves, we must be reminded that just like our righteousness, so too our spiritual joy does not come from ourselves. Our spiritual joy is not something that we can just create. Be joyful and just create it. You can't manufacture that apart from relationship with Christ. It is an alien joy coming from somewhere else. It comes from our communion with God and it is only made possible through the propitiation of Jesus Christ. We need the Lord's work in our lives to be joyful. And if you are lacking joy, go to the source. Fellowship with Christ. Seek the blessings of the covenant of grace. Be in the word and in prayer. Live like you believe that Jesus is divine and you are the branches. Jesus tells us that only by remaining in Him will we find joy. He says, these things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. Abide in Christ. You are in Christ. And we can nurture our joy, we can restore our joy, not by doing anything in ourselves, but by going to Christ. in his word and in prayer. And when you are not struggling to have happiness, when the successes of this life give you a carefree attitude, does that lead you to joy in the Lord? Do your accomplishments and the pleasures of this life, does that lead you to worship? When you're in a time of success, when you're in a time of thanksgiving, does it lead you to the Lord? Do you remember to give thanks, to give glory to the Lord, both in your thoughts and in your words and in your deeds? Don't be embarrassed when you experience successes, even small successes, to pause and thank the Lord. Maybe silently, but even better, out loud. As we'll see in our third point, our joy ought to be heard. Our joy ought to be heard. Be a joyful witness. Our section that we read this evening concludes, the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. So we think about what was happening here, and there's a theme, if you notice it, in the content of their worship. It's no small thing that the songs that were heard and proclaimed over the land were sung according to the commandment of David. Verse 24, and with the musical instruments of David. Verse 36, and by the stairs of the city of David, above the house of David. As this remnant returned from exile, worships the Lord, they recall David in their worship, and it demonstrates a continued hope for God's eventual fulfillment to the promises made to David. Their hope wasn't that the wall was finished. Their hope was that the Lord would be true to His promises to Abraham, to David, to the promises of the past, that a Messiah would come, that the nations would hear and believe These worshipers were proclaiming not just that Cyrus's decree had been accomplished or that the wall had been finished, but they were proclaiming that this was just another step along the way to Christ. And we didn't know the exact nature of that fulfillment. They didn't have all the details, but they clearly were looking back and trusting in God's covenant promises. Central to that redemptive plan, to the promises of Abraham and to Moses, to David, was that God's people would be a blessing to the nations. There is a missional significance to the action and the content of their worship. They are bearing witness to the God who delivers a people who do not deserve to be delivered. They're bearing witness to a God who preserves His people despite their faithlessness. They're bearing witness to God. They're not grieving, for the joy of the Lord is their strength. Brothers and sisters, do not grieve. The joy of the Lord is your strength. When we consider the work that the Lord has done in us, His promises in Scripture and the blessing of being beneficiaries of His covenant promises, we ought to be joyful and thankful. And it ought to be evident to those around us. It ought to be witnessed. It ought to be heard far away. Too often, the Reformed church is perceived, and maybe rightly so, to be struggling in the area of joy. deficient in spiritual joy. Two weeks ago I said in a morning sermon that we ought not to be only known as the psalm singers, but we ought to be known as the psalm singers and those who seek reconciliation with one another. And tonight we have another reminder of what is required of us in our regulative principle of worship, that we're to be psalm singers and we're to be joyful psalm singers. That is prescribed for us. Be joyful. Be joyful and be a witness in your joy. May our worship be joyful. May our entire lives be a witness to others because of the joy we have in Christ. As you consider going out from here, as you consider your callings for children, you are called to be joyful. And that would be an encouragement to Those you interact with, whether it's on the playground, on your homes, to your parents, be joyful. Those of us that are going to work through our work, we are to be a witness. And though our work and our workplaces can be disappointing, difficult, discouraging, frustrating, we can respond to all of those challenges with thanksgiving and joy. When you do that, you are a witness to the Lord, and your work benefits from that. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to have joy. As you have joy in the response to difficulty, you promote a workplace that has a culture of human flourishing, of teamwork, of common good, of productivity. It is good. These requirements and encouragements and fruit of the Spirit's work in us are not just happenstance, but they bring about change in our lives, in our callings. If your joy is in the Lord, you can respond to life's difficulties with joy, to sickness, to trials, to discouragements. You can respond with joy, and that is a witness. joy in the Lord, joy so powerful that it can be experienced even during trials, as James says, and at all times, as Paul says in Philippians. Let the successes we experience in life lead to worship. Let us be led in joy and thanks by gathering for public worship. And let us be a joyful witness. Let's pray to that end. Father in heaven, We confess that too often we have an earthly perspective, where the successes of this life do not lead us to worship you, but lead us to worship the things of this life in ourselves. We confess that too often the discouragements of this life are not responded to by joy found in you, but we grow weary and discouraged, and we grow frustrated, and we respond in sin. Father, we need your help. that our hearts would be made more and more joyful. Help us to respond in this life to both the successes and the hard times with joy and thanksgiving. Do that in us, Father, we pray. In the name of Jesus, Amen.