Sermon 1240. The Song of Songs

(No. 1240)

Delivered on Lord's-Day Morning, June 13th, 1875, by

C.H. SPURGEON,

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

"Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains,O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel."— Isaiah 44:23.

NO DOUBT THIS PROPHECY had a fulfillment in the restoration of the captive Jews from Babylon, in the rebuilding of the temple, and the completion of thewalls of Jerusalem. This made the nation rejoice with unspeakable joy, and made them cry, "Sing together, ye waste placesof Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem." This was a fulfillment, but not the fullestaccomplishment of the soul-stirring prophecy before us, a larger blessing was yet to come, to make every word emphatic andto enlarge the area of the joy till all the earth and all the spheres of heaven should take part in it. I shall spend no timeupon the minor meanings of the passage, but speak at once of that redemption, of which all the rest are but types, the redemptionof the true Israel of God by Christ Jesus our Lord. To that redemption the words of our text are preeminently applicable."Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains,O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel."

In considering the text we shall first survey the scenery of the prophecy; secondly, we shall contemplate the exceedingly glorious subject for joy. Having attended to both of these matters, we will for a little while listen to the song; and then, in the last place, if the Spirit of God shall graciously help us, we will join in the universal chorus.

I. LET US SURVEY THE SCENE. The scene of our text is noteworthy. We saw its earthly parallel yesterday. The heavens were overcast,the clouds were dense, the sky was black, the sun was obscured, and albeit it is near Midsummer a chill came over us. Farover head rolled the loud thunder, the dread artillery of heaven pealed forth as in the day of the Lord's battle. We expecteda terrific tempest, and timid hearts began to quail. Who knew where the bolts of heaven might fall, and what mischief theflames of fire might work? The coward's fears were groundless, the storm had gathered for other fields than ours. There fella shower which blessed the earth.

"Down, down they come, those fruitful showers! Those earth-rejoicing drops! A momentary deluge pours, Then thins, decreases, stops. And ere flee dimples on the stream Have circled out of sight, Lo! from the sun a joyous gleam Breaks forth, of amber light."

Then the ever gracious Lord hung out across the heavens his bow of beauty the covenant token, as if to assure us that he wasnot about to destroy the earth with a flood. Anon the swift winds blew, and cloud after cloud disappeared, till as we wentforth to walk beneath the gladsome trees, and amidst the laughing flowers, the thick clouds had gone and above us was theblue serene of heaven. Tempest and bolt of terror were far removed, heaven shone on earth, and earth smiled back on heaven.On such a spiritual scene the prophet fixed his eye, and he pictured it in the verse which precedes my text. A cloud, evena thick cloud of sin shut out the light of God's countenance from his people, and turned its dark side on their upward gazingeyes. Sins and transgressions interposed like a curtain, nay, rather like a wall of brass, between the sinful people and theirGod, so that their prayers could not pass through to him, nor could his favor shine down on them. They cowered down in terror,as they heard the voice of God threatening judgment, and they expected every moment that he would overthrow them in his wrath.Lo instead thereof, the Lord hung out the covenant rainbow, gospel promises were seen, Jesus was set forth as the great atoningsacrifice; and as men looked upon him gleams from the light of God's countenance filled them with hope. Nor did they hopein vain, for anon the Lord fulfilled, as in a moment, the word wherein it is written, "I have blotted out as a thick cloudthy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins." So, going forth and returning to their God beneath that clear sky, from whichthe Sun of Righteousness shone down with beams of love, the forgiven people were filled with rejoicing, and by the mouth ofthe prophet they cried aloud, "Sing, O heaven, clouds veil thee no longer; shout, ye lower parts of the earth, which havebeen refreshed with fertilising showers; shout, O ye forest trees, whose every bough has been hung with diamond drops; forthe Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel." Thus the scenery of the text is helpful to the full understandingof 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? We may consider it as virtually accomplishedin the eternal counsels of God, for our Lord is "the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world." When the covenant was made between the Father andthe Son, and Jesus undertook to die as a substitute for his chosen people, then the cloud was gone and the Lord could lookupon his elect with complacency, as redeemed by their Surety's pledge. Viewing them as guilty, his holy eyes could endurethem, but looking upon them as in Christ Jesus, regarding them through the atonement, he cast their iniquities behind hisback, and was well pleased with them "for his righteousness' sake." At the thought of the covenant "ordered in all thingsand sure" the universe of intelligent beings may well rejoice, for therein man's redemption and God's glory are joined togetherby an eternal decree. On the strength of that covenant multitudes entered heaven before the great Surety had shed his blood;it was therefore a legitimate theme for holy song before the long appointed day had dawned.

The clouds were actually removed when the atonement was presented. In the fullness of time Jesus appeared, and up to the tree carried all the sins of his people. Having all his life long carriedtheir sicknesses and sorrows, he bore the burden of sin to the place of its annihilation, and by his death he made an endof it. Apart from the atonement, the chosen of God, like other men, lay under sin; the black cloud was over all the race,but Jesus took the dense mass of all the transgressions of his people, past, present, and to come, and obliterated the whole,even as a cloud is blotted out from the face of heaven. Jesus took the whole incalculably ponderous load, all charged withtempest as it was, and bore it all upon those shoulders, which must have been crushed to the earth had they not been divine:on the tree he bore that sin and the wrath which was due to it, feeling all its crowded tempests in his own soul, until inthat moment when he had borne all, and ended all, he sent up the victorious shout of "It is finished." Then shone forth theunclouded glory of boundless love; then was gone for ever the threatened storm; then righteousness sprang out of the earth,and peace looked down from heaven, and the reconciled ones might well exclaim, "Sing, O heavens; for the Lord hath done it:shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lordhath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel." Sin was put away, transgression was cast into the depths of the sea,and loud o'er all rang out the jubilant challenge—"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? who is he that condemneth,now that Christ hath died?"

The text also receives an actual fulfillment to each one of God's people in the moment when the eye of faith is first turned to the crucified Savior. I scarcely need to sketch that experience, for, my brethren, you know it well. Oh, the blackness of the darkness above; oh,the horror of the tempest within, in the dreadful hour of conviction of sin, when my weary soul longed for nothingness, thatit might escape from its own hell. Oh the dread of the wrath to come. I saw all God's indignation gathering up to spend itselfupon me, but glory be to God it spent itself elsewhere!

"The tempest's awful voice was heard; O Christ, it broke on thee! Thy open bosom was my ward, It braved the storm for me. Thy form was scarr'd, thy visage marr'd, Now cloudless peace for me."

Well do I remember the day in which I looked to Jews was lightened in a moment; the rain was over and gone, and all was peaceand joy. Oh, that blessed day! I went forth with joy, and was led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills brake forthbefore me into singing, and all the trees of the field did clap their hands. Nor has the joy departed: for me the mountainsstill are singing, and the trees still clap their hands; for still my heart is glad within me at every mention of the preciousname of Jesus, his blood still speaketh peace within my conscience, and his finished sacrifice is still my joy.

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. Though our sin was all forgiven at thevery first, and when we were first washed we were clean every whit, so that we needed not ever afterwards to wash again, exceptto wash our feet, yet unbelief can revive the memories of sin, and defile the conscience with dead works, and so it can createclouds between us and God: nevertheless, when our Lord reveals himself he blotteth out our sins like a cloud, and like a thickcloud our transgressions, and again we return unto him and rejoice in him. We need not come under these returning glooms,and we ought not to do so; but should it happen to us that we come under a cloud, it will be a blessed thing to look up andremember that the Lord can clear the skies in a moment, and turn our dreariest shades into the brightness of the morning.

The text will obtain its best fulfillment, methinks, at the day of the Lord's appearing,—that day around which our chief hopes must ever center. The day will come when the gospel shall have been preached for thelast time, when the chosen of God shall have been all gathered out from among men, and the dispensation shall be fulfilled.Then shall all the saints rise to glory at the call of God. The elect multitude shall be all there, every one according tothe purpose of the Father, every one according to the redemption of the Son, every one according to the calling of the Spirit,all there; upon their faces there shall be no spot nor wrinkle, and on their garments no stain nor defilement, for they arewithout fault before the throne of God. Then as the books are opened, and the transgressions of the ungodly are publishedunder heaven, they shall stand without trembling, for

"Jesus, thy blood and righteousness Their beauty are, their glorious dress; 'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall they lift up their head."

Yes, and we shall be there who have believed in Jesus, every one of us; and with what delight, as we reflect upon our sins, shall wesee the all-covering atonement, the cross which crucified our sins, the sepulcher which swallowed up in an eternal death allour transgressions, the ascension which led captivity captive, and the second coming which gave to us the adoption, to wit,the redemption of our body, and perfected us so that no trace of sin's mischief can be found upon us. No damage shall be sustainedby our humanity; we shall come up out of the furnace of life's trial with not the smell of fire upon us. Though the temptationand the guilt were like a seven times heated furnace, yet, because he, the Son of God, came into the burning furnace withus, we shall live and come forth unscathed, and in the last day our humanity shall have suffered no harm, but shall even bebrighter and better than if it had never fallen. Ah, what notes will be heard; not the sound of cornet, flute, harp, sackbut,psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, as in the days of Babylon's idolatries, but blessed songs of holy adorationshall be heard, to which angels' harmonies shall keep tune, and this shall be the hymn—"Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hathredeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel."

II. We have now reached the second part of our subject, and therefore LET US CONTEMPLATE THE GLORIOUS SUBJECT FOR JOY. Thegreat subject of joy is redemption—the redemption of God's Israel. This is a stupendous work. It was a simple matter for man to sell himself into slavery, but to redeem him was another matter. This is the work, thisis the labor! To redeem man from his iniquity is a work which all the cherubim and seraphim could not have accomplished, awork indeed which all creatureship would have failed to perform. My brethren, our slavery was terrible, and the price of deliverancewas far beyond mountains of silver and gold. The redemption of the soul is precious; "it cannot be valued with the gold ofOphir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall notbe for jewels of fine gold." As there needed a price, so there was needed a power, to redeem; for with a high hand and anoutstretched arm must Israel be brought out of Egypt; and where could such power be found? Neither angel nor archangel possessedit, and as for the sons of man, the insects which dance through a summer's eve are not more feeble. Hopeless is human bondageunless the malice and craft and power of Satan can be matched by love and wisdom and force superior at all points. The pricehas been found, the power has been displayed. Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord has found a ransom! We were not redeemed withcorruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, and that price has effectually set us free.Break forth into singing, ye mountains, for the Lord hath also found the power: his own right hand and his holy arm have gottenhim the victory! He has brought up his people out of the house of bondage and made them free indeed.

Of redemption, redemption by price and by power, we are bidden to sing, a redemption so pre-eminently desirable that we can never sufficiently value it, a redemption which has delivered us from sin, of all slaveries the worst. "Sin shallnot have dominion over you;" Christ has effectually redeemed you from its tyrannic sway. You enjoy also deliverance from thecurse of the law, by Christ's being made a curse for us, as it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Youare blest with deliverance from misery; wherever there is sin misery is sure to follow, but Jesus has borne the penalty foryour sins and turned it aside from you. You are delivered from carking care, and unbelieving anxiety; the peace of God, whichpasseth all understanding, keeps your heart and mind by Jesus Christ. And you are delivered from death and hell. Let thisthought thrill you with delight: in your ear can never ring the doleful sentence, "Depart, ye cursed": for you there is nobottomless pit, no fire which cannot be quenched, no worm which never can die. Christ has delivered you; you are no longerslaves to sin and victims to death, for you are set free from the thraldom of Satan's power, who hath the power of death.He may tempt, but he cannot force; he provoke, but he cannot subdue: Christ has undone the devil's work, has cast him downfrom his throne, and torn up his stronghold; his empire over you is ended, never to be renewed. In you who have believed theLord has set up his throne, and there will he reign for ever. Glory be to God for this. The Lord's redemption is the themeof ceaseless praise, for it is a redemption which brings in its train hope, holiness, and heaven, deliverance from sin, likenessto Christ, and eternal glory with Christ. Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth!

Brethren, the very center and emphasis of the song seems to me to lie in this: "The Lord hath done it." How my heart delights in those five words, "The Lord hath done it!" Look at them for a minute. Whatever God does is the subjectof joy to all pure beings. God in action is the delight of an intelligent universe. When God created the world, the morningstars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. I can well conceive that they kept a more than ordinarily joyousfestival on that Seventh Day, when the Lord "rested and was refreshed." Wondrous expression! If we were perfect, everythingthat God did would cause us to sing, and as he is always acting we should be always singing. Ay, if he smote us, it wouldmake us bless him, if Eve were clean divorced from sin. If salvation were the work of man, our scantiest notes might suffice,for what is man but a worm, a creature that is crushed before the moth? Wherein is he to be accounted of? But when we singof redemption it is the Lord's redemption. He planned it from the beginning, he carried it out in the person of his Son, heapplies it by his Holy Spirit. Salvation is of the Lord. "The Lord hath done it." You who choose may invent a salvation thatis partly by man and partly by God, and you may cry this up much as you please; as for me, I have no desire for any salvationbut that which is all of God, neither is there any other. This one note shall occupy my entire being—"The Lord hath done it:""The Lord hath done it." Every new convert who has newly found peace knows that the Lord has done it; every man who has beenfor years a believer, and has learned his own weakness, will say clearly, "The Lord hath done it;" ay, and the aged Christianjust about to depart is the man to say, "The Lord hath done it." Grace reigns without a rival, the Lord alone is exalted.Sing, O heavens, and be joyful O earth, for redemption is Jehovah's work.

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." If I were sent this morning as a prophet to tell you that theLord would become incarnate, and bleed, and die on Golgotha, I hope that some would believe it; but it may be you would findit difficult to realize it, and as Abraham did to see Christ's day, and be glad; for it is a marvel not to be believed atall except upon divine testimony that God himself should make atonement for injury done to his own moral government. But Ihave to-day to speak of a matter of history—"The Lord hath done it"; he who was the offended one has provided a propitiation;his own deed of transcendent grace has scattered the thick clouds of sin, and poured eternal day upon the darkened earth.Jesus has bled and died, and vanquished sin thereby. Our glorious Samson lay asleep in the Gaza of the tomb, and his foesthought they had him fast for ever; but he awoke before the morning light, and he pulled up the gates of death and hell, postand bar and all, and carried them away, leading captivity captive. He hath done it, our divine deliverer has spoiled deathand the grave for us. "Sing, O ye heavens: shout, ye lower parts of the earth." The Breaker is gone up before us, and ourKing at the head of us; he hath broken up and cleared a pathway straight from the tomb to the throne of God. Glory be to hisname, he has done it.

We may lay peculiar force upon the word, "The Lord hath done it," for he has finished the work. In the matter of the redemption of his people nothing remains to be done. There is no mortgage on the church of God to beultimately discharged, the Lord has made us his unencumbered freehold, and we are his own portion for ever. There is not alittle left of human merit for the sinner to work out for himself, or some little point in which the work of salvation isincomplete; but "The Lord hath done it." No, brethren, even the fringe of the robe of righteousness is all there; you havenot a thread to add to it, it is without seam, and woven from the top throughout, all of one piece. Consummatum est. "It is finished," every type fulfilled, every commandment kept, every sin abolished, the wrath of God and everything thathindered put away. "The Lord hath done it." The heavens sang when Jesus came to do the deed, they woke the silence of thesheepfolds when the heavenly babe was born; how must they sing now that he has finished the work which was committed to him,and perfected for ever all those who were set apart! I cannot speak on such a theme; language is too poor a medium for theexpression of my grateful joy. I wish that we could pause and sing the text—"The Lord hath done it: he hath redeemed Jacob,and glorified himself in Israel."

A very important part of the song, however, lies in the fact that what God has done glorifies himself. Infinite mercy and condescending love reflect glory upon God. What a subject for a Dr. Owen to write upon—the attributesof God as displayed and glorified in redemption. He would need a score of volumes, all crowded with such condensed thoughtas he was wont to give forth. What a chapter should be written on the wisdom of redemption! What another chapter upon the justice of it! How the Lord would not pardon sin without a sacrifice, because he was just, and could not tolerate iniquity. Whatanother chapter, nay, what tomes upon tomes, might be composed upon the love of redemption! The fear would be that our finite minds, in beholding the brightness of one divine attribute, would be sodazzled as to forget the rest. Who can tell us, concerning the atonement, which of its letters best is writ, the wisdom, thejustice, or the grace? In redemption you see all the attributes of God, blended in harmony, shining with benignant radiance,not with the flash and flame of Sinai, but with the soft beams of peace and love from Calvary. God is never so gloriouslyseen as at the cross; no, not even amidst the flaming seraphim do the saints above enjoy such a view of God as when they seehim in the wounds of Jesus, and putting their finger into the print of the nails, exclaim with transport, "My Lord and myGod."

Why, my brethren, the Lord has not only illustrated every one his attributes in the great plan of redemption, but he has beenpleased to show how the goodness of his nature triumphs over all the power of evil. Satan seemed to have gained a great advantageover God when he poisoned our race with his venom; the advantage was but temporary, and it ended in his greater defeat. Littledid he know that by his craft and malice he was preparing a black background for divine love to lay its lovely tints upon,that they might be the more conspicuous. How art thou baffled in thy dark designs, O Lucifer! How art thou vanquished, O thouenemy! How art thou spoiled, O thou spoiler! How art thou led captive, O captivity! Thou thoughtest that man would be thyweak and willing instrument with which to show thy spite against the Most High, but lo, man, whom thou didst disgrace anddishonor, triumphs over thee on God's behalf. The seed of the woman whom thou didst beguile has been wiser than thou; hisbruised heel has been the breaking of thy head; while he hath all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, yea, and thefowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea. The man Christ Jesus is Lordof all, and at his name all creatures bow the knee. Even the devils are subject unto him, and evil is overruled for good.See how the Lord "frustrateth the token of the liars, and maketh diviners mad." Let the Lord be praised for ever and ever.

The Lord has also glorified himself by raising up a race of creatures such as could not have been created by mere power, atleast, so far as we can judge. God has a company of angels to worship him, but they never knew evil, and consequently theirchoice of good is not so marvellous. They are also of an ethereal nature, and are not cumbered with material bodies of fleshand blood. The Lord might have created myriads more of pure spirits like the angels, but he desired to be served and lovedby beings who should be in part material, and yet should be akin to himself: beings who should possess freedom of will andshould know both good and evil, and yet should for ever choose good alone. Behold how such creatures have been produced! Notso much by creation as by redemption. The glorified once plunged deep into sin, but they were, without a violation of theirfree agency, recovered to their allegiance by the love of Jesus, and then lifted up into such a position that in Christ Jesusthey are akin to God himself, so that no order of beings intervenes between them and God; and yet they never will nor canpresume, nor take ambitious advantage of their elevated position. If God were to create free agents, knowing both good andevil, and put them where men will be in heaven, without their undergoing any preparatory process, it would be a dangerousexperiment; but for him to let them know evil to the full, and yet be for ever bound to perfect holiness, because infinitelove sways them with omnipotent obligations of gratitude,—this is to make creatures which bring exceeding glory to their author.These are not merely fashioned on his wheel, but dipped into the blood of his own suffering and indwelt by his own mightypower, and well may they be precious in his sight. "Glory, glory, how the angels sing"; but far louder are the notes of theredeemed. "Glory, glory," thrice and sevenfold told is that which comes from those loud harps of ransomed ones, who have washedtheir robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The Lord hath glorified himself in Israel.

I cannot linger here, though the subject fascinates me, for I have to say somewhat upon the third point, which is,

III. LET US LISTEN TO THE SONG. The angels sing, for they have deep sympathy with the redemption of man, the redeemed in glorysing, 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 heaven, the song charms the lower earth, and the prophet calls upon materialism to share in the joy; mountainsand valleys, forests and trees, are charged to join the song. Why should they not? This round earth of ours has been overshadowedby the curse through sin; she has yet to be unswathed of all the mists which iniquity has cast upon her, for the creaturewas made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him that subjected the same in hope, because the creature itselfalso shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Therefore let creationsing. What mountain is there that has not been defiled with idolatry? Lo, the altars of Chemosh and the high places of Baal!But sing, ye mountains, for the God of the hills is revealed, and has purged you, by the blood of Calvary. What valley isthere which man has not polluted with sin? In the plains, which should have been sacred to peaceful harvests, men have shedthe blood of their fellows in fierce battle, and cities have been builded which have become the strongholds of iniquity. Butsing, ye valleys and ye fruitful plains, for the Lord shall walk through you, and make you as the valley of Barachah, wherethe men of Judah sang, "Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever"; therefore the name of the place was called thevalley of Blessing unto this day. Ye forests, where wild beasts have been invaded by still wilder men, break forth into singing,for no more shall the destroying hand of the Lord be upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and uponall the oaks of Bashan! Ye groves, which have witnessed the cruel rites of bloody worship, sing; for adown your aisles shallnow be heard the holy hymn which chants redeeming love. O ye green trees, under which men have polluted themselves, beneathyour shade shall saintly spirits find retreats prepared for prayer and praise. Break forth into singing, ye mountains! Sing,O Moriah, on whose summit the patriarch drew his knife to slay his son, for the true Isaac has been offered up, God has providedfor himself a lamb! Sing, O Sinai, for the law proclaimed from thy awful summit has now been magnified and rendered honorable!Sing, O Pisgah, for now that Christ has died, from thy peak may be seen a promised land into which the servants of the Lordshall not be denied an entrance! Sing, O Carmel, for the controversy between God and Baal has been decided once for all! Sing,O Hermon, for now the gentle dews of brotherly love shall fall upon and keep not silent, O Gilboa, once accursed, for theSon of David gives thee back thy dew! Sing, O Tabor, for Messiah transfigured has become the image of the future race! Sing,O Olivet, for where Jesus groaned and bled he comes to plant his foot to establish for ever bliss and holiness! The text exhortsthe lower parts of the earth to shout, and well they may, for in the hands of the redeeming Lord are the deep places of theearth. Let the valleys respond to the song of the hills. Shout, O valley of Shaveh, thou that are called the king's vale,for now the great Melchizedek hath brought forth the true bread and wine for the seed of Abraham! Shout, O Eshcol, for thyrichest clusters are outdone by the true vine, which the Lord hath planted! O valley of the Jordan shout, for in thy riverthe Redeemer was baptised! O valley of Baca rejoice, for the Lord Jesus has filled thy pools! O vale of Achor shout, for thouart now a door of hope! O ye wildernesses and solitary places, be glad, for redemption shall make you blossom as the rose!Let every tree in the forest bless the Lord, let each one yield boughs with which to strew the way before the lowly prince.Fruitful trees and all cedars, praise ye the Lord! Adown the fir trees' pillared shade let the soft murmur of praise be heard;and beneath our island's giant oaks let the glorious gospel be proclaimed. Praise ye the Lord ye elms, as peace sports adownyour ancient avenues; praise him ye far-spreading beeches, as beneath your umbrageous boughs the flocks feed in plenty; andyou, ye pines, for ever clad in verdure, join ye the song. Let not a single herb be silent, nor even the hyssop upon the wallbe dumb. I cannot reach "the height of this great argument," nor can any man beside, I ween, unless he were a Milton, andhad a soul inspired at once with loftiest poetry and grace divine.

The meaning of the whole seems to be this, that wherever saints are they ought to praise God for redeeming love, whether theyclimb the Alps or descend into the plains; whether they dwell in the cities or walk in the quietude of the woods. In whateverstate of mind they feel themselves they still should praise redeeming grace and dying love; whether on the mountain top ofcommunion, or in the valley of humiliation; whether lifted up by prosperity or cast down by adversity. They should leave ashining trail of praise behind them in their daily course even as does the vessel when it ploughs the sea.

The text calls upon all classes and conditions of men to praise God for redemption. Ye that are lifted up like mountains,—magistrates,princes, kings, and emperors; and ye who lie beneath like plains, ye who eat bread in the sweat of your faces, ye childrenof poverty and toil, rejoice in redeeming love. Ye who dwell in the midst of sin as in a tangled forest, ye who have transgressedagainst God and plunged into the deep places of vice, be glad, for ye may be restored. All ye of woman born, together praisethe Redeemer of Israel, for he has accomplished the salvation of his people!

IV. LET US JOIN THIS SONG. Mr. Sankey is now behind me, but he cannot sing sweetly enough to set forth to the full the majestyof this song, nor could the choicest choir of singing men and singing women; nay, this task exceeds the reach of the seraphimthemselves. Praise is silenced, O Lord, by the glory of thy love. Yet, brethren, let us give forth such music as we have.

Let us consider how we sing this song. We sing it when by faith we see the grand truth that Jesus Christ took his people'ssin upon him, and so redeemed them. Understanding this fact, which is the heart of the gospel, we begin to sing for joy. Geta grip of that, my brethren, and hold it fast: your hearts will then sing; you cannot help it. Not all the harps of heavencan be more melodious than your song will be when your heart fully understands this fact—that Jesus Christ did actually standin his people's stead, and finished transgression, and brought in everlasting righteousness for them. You will sing it betterstill if the Holy Spirit has applied it to your own soul, so that you can say, "My sins are blotted out like a cloud, andlike a thick cloud my transgressions." "Through Jesus' blood I am clean, I am accepted in the Beloved, I am dear to the heartof God, on me there remaineth now no spot nor wrinkle, for I am cleansed through Jesus Christ." Nothing else can bring forthsuch charming music from any man's mind as a sense of redeeming grace and dying love.

You will be still better able to sing this if you every day realize the blessings of redemption and pardon, by drawing nearto God, using the privilege of prayer, trusting the Lord for everything, enjoying sonship, and communing with your heavenlyFather if you seek to bear the image of the heavenly as truly as you have borne the image of the earthly, if you are fullyconsecrated to the Lord's service, and are borne along by the irresistible current of divine love: oh, if it be so with youbeloved, you will be for ever crying, "Sing, O heavens, for the Lord hath done it."

I think I hear from different parts of the building the lament, "Alas, we cannot sing, for we have not believed in Jesus,and Christ has not put away our sin." Listen a minute, and I have done. Sinner, though you have not this redemption, yet Iwould have you sing about it, for it is precisely what you want. You are slaves to sin, and ought you not to bless God thatthere can be such a thing as redemption? If I had been a slave in the old slave days, even though I had small chance of being redeemed, yet the word redemption wouldhave been a sweet morsel to me, and if I heard of others being redeemed, if I sang at all, I should choose for my theme redemption.So may you, poor soul. Many are redeemed, and are rejoicing in it; why should it not come to you? At any rate, begin to hope.

Rejoice, because salvation is a work done for you by another hand. "The Lord hath done it." A redemption in which you hadto find a part of the price would not make you sing, for you are too poor to contribute a farthing, but the Lord has foundthe whole cost to the utmost penny. If ever you are saved, it must be by power beyond your own, for you are weak as water;be glad, then, that the Lord has done it. If you can ever get that thought into your mind (and I pray the Holy Ghost to putit there), that your salvation was completed on the tree by the Lord Jesus, why, methinks, you will with joy shout forth theRedeemer's praise.

Think again "the Lord hath done it," even he whom you have offended. The God whom you have grieved has condescended to workour your redemption. Ought not this to make your soul say, "Would God it were for me"? and then begin to sing even at thebare possibility of such a thing.

Then, sinner, listen. Your sin can be blotted out. You have tried to remove the stain, but all in vain; that scarlet stainabides, and though you were to wash your hand in the Atlantic till you reddened every wave, that blot would never disappear:no finite power can ever remove the accursed spot. But it can be got out, for the text says he has blotted it out in the caseof others. Why not, then, for you? This disease is not absolutely unto death: it may be cured. O man, those fetters are not,after all, eternal, they may be snapped; the bars in yonder window may be torn out, so that you can escape into liberty. Beginto sing, then! Alas, I know you will not because I bid you, nor at any man's bidding, till grace sets you free. The only thingto make you sing is for you to realize salvation, and oh may you do so at this moment by believing in Jesus. Have done witheverything but Christ, and drop into his arms! Rest in him, trust him, depend upon him, and all is well, and then will youcry aloud, "Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it."

"Come every soul by sin oppressed, There's mercy with the Lord; And he will surely give you rest, By trusting in his word. Only trust him! Only trust him! Only trust him now! He will save you. He will save you. He will save you now."

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON—Isaiah 44.

HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"—96, 203, 428.