Our text tonight will be found in Judges chapter 5. I don't have one particular verse that I want to highlight. Rather, I want to draw three things from this chapter. I think you'll acknowledge that this is a difficult chapter. Difficult to find one particular verse to focus our thoughts on. And of course, it is, in some sense, going over what we looked at two weeks ago, where we looked at this battle that ultimately brought about the destruction of Caesarea. who was the captain of the host of the king of Canaan, Jabin, the king of Canaan. And following the defeat of Sisera, the people of Israel then rose up against Jabin, king of Canaan, and they destroyed him. And as our chapter we read tonight tells us, that the land had rest for 40 years following this time of battle. Now, we might find these things unpleasant. There's a lot of blood, a lot of gore, a lot of violence that's before us. But we have to realize here that God's people were cruelly treated for a considerable amount of time. And yes, of course, it was their own fault, as we shall see. They had committed idolatry again, and the Lord, because He is their God and because they are His people, He will not tolerate that, and He will act, and that's exactly what happened. My friends, we must realize that after this terrible battle here, and death, and bloodshed, and gore, and lots of violence, yet there was 40 years of peace for the people of God. And as a result, Deborah, who was a prophetess, who was a judge at that time in Israel, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, She writes a song. She wants to mark this great event, this wonderful deliverance, and she has written a song, and it has been recorded here for us. And as we do believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is useful and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto good works. And therefore, if this piece of scripture was not in the Bible for us, in some sense, we would be deficient. And therefore, we need what has been recorded here for us. And looking for the Lord's blessing, I do want to draw three things from this chapter, three things that I trust will be for your edification. And the first thing we might notice from this chapter 5 of Judges, first thing surely that does shine forth from it is that the people of God are to praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Verse two, praise you the Lord for the avenging of Israel when the people willingly offered themselves. They were under dire straits. They were severely provoked and cruelly treated by their enemies. The song gives us fresh glimpses of life in Israel at that time, things that are not recorded for us in chapter 4. For instance there, we would notice in verses 6 and 7, Where we read, in the days of Shamgar, the son of Einath, in the days of Jeol, the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways. What does that mean, the highways were unoccupied? They were unoccupied because it was not safe to travel. There were so many bandits and hooligans around that it was totally unsafe to travel from one place to another place. And the travelers walked through byways. They had to go by the side roads. or roads that were not the main roads. They had to take different routes, not the normal routes, to get from A to B. Such was the place that they were living in at that particular time. And verse 7, the inhabitants of the villages ceased. They ceased in Israel. Village life, in some sense, came to an end. People were frightened to go out of their doors. because God's people were under severe persecution and they were being cruelly treated by the Canaanites. The inhabitants of the villages ceased. They ceased in Israel until that I, Deborah, arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. And this is always one of the consequences of idolatry. This is what happens. Where you have ungodliness, you will have unrighteousness. The two are linked together. There are many modern thinkers who try to tell us that we can have righteous living without godliness. In other words, if we remove God from the equation, if God is no longer part of our national life, then we can still have morality, and we can still have righteous behavior. Nothing is far from the truth. When godliness is replaced, and idolatry is put in its place, something else will happen and something else will automatically follow. And it is unrighteous living. And that's what happened here. And just so happens last week when I was laid aside. I'm sure you would have seen it and heard it yourself. I hope I'm not misquoting it, but I do believe that Govan Hill was mentioned in the news. There's been a spate of muggings, and they were interviewing some elderly folk at some kind of police event. And the people there were saying almost to a person, they were frightened to go out of their houses. They were frightened to walk down this particular street where they would normally go from A to B. They were frightened to do it because of the muggings that were going on. Now, of course, that can happen anywhere, but this is a direct consequence that where we have ungodliness, therefore we will have behavior termed unrighteousness. And that's what it was like for the people of Israel at that time, and they suffered considerably. They were living in desperate and in violent times. We've already mentioned they were involved in idolatry. Verse 8 will tell you, they chose new gods. This is where we can attribute all their ills to. The people had the Lord their God as their God. They had Jehovah. He had entered into a covenant with them. He had taken them out of Egypt and done so many wonderful things for them and preserved them and ultimately brought them into the promised land. And he had taken seven nations out of that land in order that God's people might go in there. And they had been settled. And once they had been settled and once they had been prosperous, They began on occasions to hanker after other gods. They choose new gods. We're also told here that life was such that they had no weapons to defend themselves. Again at verse 8, to the end there, was there a shield or spear seen among 50,000 in Israel? Let us remind ourselves we're looking here at poetry, we're looking here at a song. This is not a narrative, but this is what this is telling us. Was there a shield or spear seen among 50,000 in Israel? The answer is no. Israel had no weapon to defend themselves. They were bereft of any kind of weapon that they could turn against their enemies. That's the kind of time they were living in, violent times, idolatrous times, times when they couldn't fight against their enemies. They were completely under the thralldom of the Canaanites, and they were cruel people who hated the people of God, and they would take every opportunity to harass them and to subject them to violence. Well, of course, friends, we have here, I hope I have in some sense outlined to you how pathetically low the people had got and how desperate was their situation. But as we look at their plight, and as we see how pathetic their actions had brought them down to, friends, we are to see something else here. And that's why I have the first heading. We are to praise the Lord because the Lord intervened. He did something about it. They indeed may be pathetic. Because of their own sinfulness, because of their actions, they brought themselves low, but the Lord indeed moved and worked That's what we're meant to see. In verse 5, Deborah, the mountains melted from before the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel. What is all that about? Well, friends, we do believe that Deborah in her song here is liking what God did to what God did at Mount Sinai when He came and He gave the law to the people. Before they entered into the promised land, He entered into covenant with them. And this same God who at Mount Sinai was there in the thunder and in the lightning and the terrible natural events that happened at that time, Deborah was likening what God did on this occasion with what He had done years before, reminding them that the same God who had delivered them out of Egypt and the same God who had taken them into the Promised Land was that same God who had gone out to fight their enemies for them on this particular occasion. That's what He wants them to understand. And their salvation was completely and entirely because of the faithfulness of their God. And that's, friends, where I get my first heading. This is what should have been the result. They should have praised the living God. Here was a song that Deborah was going to teach to the people that they might realize they have so much to be thankful and so much to be grateful to their God, that despite the violence and despite all that happened, it should cause the people of God to raise their voices and praise the Lord for what He's done for His people on another glorious occasion. That's the point. To praise the Lord. Well, this happened, obviously, thousands of years ago. We're living in a different world, are we not? Yes, in some sense, we are living in a different world. That is true. Circumstances are different. Oh, do we not have still a glorious reason or reasons to raise our voices and praise our great God? As you look at the deliverances that God brings, and He's brought many a deliverance for His people throughout the Old Testament and indeed throughout church history, has He not delivered His people? And as we look at these deliverances, and as we see God moving and working in terrible ways, are we not to be encouraged and see that all of these deliverances point to that great and that ultimate deliverance? When the Lord Jesus Christ shall come, and when his enemy shall be made his footstool, when he shall come in the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess." Depending on how you interpret prophecy, and of course, there are different interpretations But I'm firmly of the belief, friends, that when the Lord Jesus Christ shall return, there will be terrible times for the people of God, terrible times. And it will only be the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ comes to deliver His people that will save His people. And this is what the situation we find here. The people were brought low, and they cried out unto God. And this reminds us, friends, that one day, one day, yes, it's a day set in God's calendar. It has been decreed. It will certainly come to pass. There'll be a terrible day, a day when the Lord shall return with all his holy ones, and all the enemies of God, all of them, shall be brought low. No, let's be clear. They shall be destroyed, utterly destroyed. Verse 31, so let all thine enemies perish, O Lord. You know, today, friends, as Christians, if we are Christians tonight, We are to pray for our enemies. We are. The Scriptures would teach us that. The Lord Jesus Christ would teach us that. He cried over Jerusalem. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that stonest the prophets, how often I would have gathered thee under my wings. And he cries out for them for the unbelief of the scribes and the Pharisees. And that's the heart of the Savior. And that's the kind of heart that we're to have. We're to cry out for those who are our enemies. But the day will come, friends, when those who are our enemies, and they are the enemies of the Lord, shall ultimately perish. Ultimately. And maybe there are some here this night who have not made their peace with God. And you're still an enemy of the Lord. It's time, friends, to lay down your opposition. It's time to see how futile it is to fight against the living God. These people here were brought low, couldn't save themselves, helpless, pathetic, and God rescued them. And Deborah wrote this song to praise the Lord. Is this not something that we can take on board for ourselves, in common with all mankind? Were we not in sin? Were we not lost? Were we not perishing? Were we not without God and without hope in this world? Is that not an accurate picture of all mankind? Is that not the world that the Lord Jesus Christ came to? When He was born in Bethlehem, when the Son of God became the Son of Man, when He took upon Himself our form and our nature, when He so humbled Himself, that He came to this world to seek and to save that which was lost, that who in no sense could save themselves, who were under the thralldom and the control and the dictate of their sins and their lusts and their passions. And did not the Lord Jesus Christ in some real sense, yes, a real sense, did He not make a fool of our enemies on Calvary's tree? Can it not be said that in some real sense, there as He was on the cross, as His life was ebbing out of Him, can we not see that Apollyon, Can we not see the evil ones somehow gloating over this? Here's the Son of God on the cross, about to expire, about to die, about to go into the tomb, and he thought he had the victory. But the third day he rose. Death could not hold Jesus Christ. He went into the tomb. The tomb was sealed. Make it as safe as you can, did not Caesar say. But no sealed tomb could entomb the Lord Jesus Christ. The third day He rose, and He rose, friends. Is this not a triumphant call to the people of God? He has risen. He has destroyed our enemies. He has brought a wonderful salvation, a wonderful deliverance. Is this not a picture? Is this not a type of what Christ has done? The people couldn't help themselves. God had to move. God had to work. And so he did, and brought a wonderful deliverance. We read it two weeks ago. Maybe we forgot, but Cicero had 900 chariots of iron. And Barak was asked to go with 10,000 against Cicero's 900 chariots of iron. You may well think, well, 10,000 against 900 chariots of iron, you might well think the odds look quite good. But these chariots of iron, friend, were in modern terms, they were weapons of mass destruction. They would be able to annihilate and obliterate so many more of the people. They would have sharp weapons coming out of the side of them. They would be able to chop up individuals. Oh, I know it's bloody, I know it's gory, but that's the way it was. That's the way it was. And just because 10,000 went against 900 with iron chariots, we are not to think that in any sense the battle was fair. They only won because the Lord took control. We do believe that Barak was told to go up a certain mountain, and Sisera was drawn out then to the plain. beside a river. And the people of Israel were up on the mountain. Here was Sisera down below on the plain, looking forward to taking on the enemy and destroying them. We're led to believe, friends, if you look at both these chapters, if you look at the text there, God sent a storm. A tremendous rainstorm came so that the river overflowed its banks. And then Deborah cries out, now's the time. The Lord has delivered them into their hands. Why? Because the ground became so muddy that the chariots couldn't operate properly. And we know from our reading last time that Sisera had to vacate his chariot. He had to run. He had to leave his prized possession behind, his killing machine behind, because it was swamped in the mud. And this was all brought about by God. God fighting on their behalf. And God brought about this wonderful deliverance. Oh, friends, it reminds me of the cross. It reminds me of what Jesus Christ did there. We were powerless, couldn't do anything, but Jesus did. And because of him, he has brought about a wonderful deliverance. My heading is, praise the Lord. This, friends, caused them to raise their voices and praise God. Here we have a temporal deliverance. For 40 years there was peace, yet they found it in themselves to praise the Lord. How much more should the people of God be praising their God for the wonderful eternal deliverance that the Lord Jesus Christ has wrought? Friends, we should not be silent. We should open up our mouths. We should proclaim the wonder and the glory of our God. Our God indeed should be one who takes up our thoughts and our emotions so that we express our great love and devotion to Him for what He has done. What's wrong with you, Christian? Why are you not opening your mouth? Why are you not declaring the unsearchable riches of Christ and declaring His praises? I don't want to speak out of turn, and please understand me and listen to me here. I've been looking and assessing our singing in recent days, and this is no reflection on our current presenter that we've had tonight or today, or at any other time. It's not a reflection on our presenter. But I have to say, it feels here, from where I am, that our praise is dead. Friends, our God is worthy of praise. We need to consider ourselves. Others may not join with us, but surely we can make a joyful noise to the Lord. Have we forgotten His goodness to us? Have we in any sense slighted the wonderful and glorious deliverance that Jesus has wrought for us? Can we not say and raise our voices, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want? I'll be happy to be taken aside if you think I'm wrong. But friends, we need to consider ourselves. Have we fallen out of love with God? Have we forgotten what He has done? Do we think so little of this salvation? Does it not thrill us? Does it not thrill us that the Son of God should do so much for us. Deborah wrote this song to praise God. Why? Because they were under fierce bondage, terrible tyranny and oppression. If we understand our theology correct, our tyranny And our oppression was every bit as much painful as theirs. And the salvation that Christ has freely wrought for us is far beyond any kind of temporal deliverance. Let us then, therefore, praise our God. Let us examine ourselves. Let us be ones who acknowledge our dependency. And let us express our gratitude to God, seeing that he saw us lost. And such was our lostness, friends. Such was our lostness that we delighted in sin. There was nothing in us that cried out to God to send His Son. You know, this is what sin is like. It is so deceitful that we love, we love sin, we love something that will ultimately bring about our damnation, our eternal damnation. It not only brings us physical death, it not only has brought us spiritual death, but sin ultimately will bring eternal death, to be eternally separated from God forever and ever. And such is the hole that sin has on us, that by nature we don't want to be delivered. We don't want the salvation that Christ brings. And therefore, if you are here tonight and you're here as one who is truly a son of God, that you have been brought to this glorious relationship It is something that has been done in some sense despite you. Oh, I know you were made willing in the day of His power. I know that God does nothing against our will. I know that. But once upon a time, you wanted nothing to do with Christ. You wanted nothing to do with His salvation. You saw no beauty in Him. nothing that you would desire in Him. The eyes of your understanding had to be opened. God had to work in you and change you so that you saw something of the vileness of sin, and you were prepared to embrace Christ as He was offered to you in the gospel. Should this not cause you then to praise God? If they had a reason, and they did, to praise God, how many more reasons have you got, Christian? You have no reason to keep your mouth closed. You have every reason to sing, to praise Him. And of course, we're not just talking about singing, friends. We're talking about praising Him in all aspects of our lives. We can praise the Lord when we're in our work, to speak a word in season to a work colleague or someone we meet on the train or the bus or the plane or whatever. Someone we meet out in the street someone in our family. We're praising the Lord when we are extolling him and magnifying him. There is, in our very real sense, it is true to say that we cannot magnify God. God is glorious. He is that whether we magnify him or not. But surely we want others to recognize His glory. Therefore, let us praise the Lord for what He has done, for this wonderful salvation, for this great hope that is before us, that hope that is sure and steadfast. And that hope, Christian, that you will know in all its fullness. Oh, at the moment all you have is the hope in seed form, but one day it shall all come to completion. It will all be completely realized. You will have all the ages of eternity, if that is a correct expression, to praise the Lord. I'm sorry, my time's finished, and we'll end there. Amen. May God bless His word to us. Let us pray together.