The Heralds of Victory

Psalm 68. So we read—I want to read the same section this morning from verse 11 through verse 19. This morning we were here, and for those who don’t know, we’re going through the texts of Messiah—Handel’s Messiah. And it’s been a journey for us over the last number of Decembers.

And so we come to—looked at Psalm 68, verse 18 this morning. We are looking at verse 11. I won’t say much in relation to Handel’s treatment of verse 11, but no doubt those who’ve listened to Messiah, it immediately comes to mind. It’s definitely one of the more memorable ones—that it’s the bursting forth of the choir: The Lord gave the word, great was the company of those that published it. So that will be our text for this evening. And it will impress upon every believer here the importance of participating in the spoils of Christ’s victory by publishing what He has done—the call upon every believer to enter into the spoils of our Savior’s finished work by sharing it with the world.

So let’s read from verse 11. Psalm 68, verse 11. God’s Word says,

the Lord gave the Word. Great was the company of those that published it. Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil. Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon. The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan. Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loatheth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. Amen.

Ending the reading there. This, beloved, is the word of the eternal God, which you are to receive, believe, and obey. And the people of God said, amen.

Let’s pray.

Lord, give to us thy word tonight. We do rejoice in it. We think of that word that came to those shepherds, and what a life-changing encounter—and for the privilege given to them to go and see that, born that day in the city of David, was a Savior, Christ the Lord. We pray that as they found joy in going and seeing and telling, that we too would enter into the same privilege: to rejoice in the King, to share in His spoils, and to publish to a perishing world this great life-changing message.

Shut us in with thyself, Lord. Give a word in season to us all. Meet with us, that we might go away—not because of anything that man has done—but able to say that God met with me tonight. God had a word for me. Hear us now, we pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.

We noted this morning that this psalm begins with the language of the prayer of Moses as the ark would move in the wilderness. As it would make its way—the desire was that, “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.” And so, as it would move the ark, every time it would be taken from its location and moved along, this was the prayer. This was the desire—the longing that God’s presence leading His people would lead to victory wherever they would go.

And the aspiration, as it’s reflected here in this psalm at the very beginning, culminates with the nations showing their submission to the Lord, and even bringing tribute. Look at verse 29, just as an example: “Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.” Because you’ve set up your place there, and your presence is there. Kings will bring their presents, bring their tribute, in recognition of your authority. They will bring that and, as it were, lay it at your feet in recognition that you are the ultimate sovereign.

This, of course, was their hope and their desire—longing to see the entire nation submit to the rule and reign of the eternal God. And while this setting is, of course, in the historic occasion of the ark being placed back where it belonged, at the same time it depicts for us this great hope that arrives with the coming of the Messiah—that with His arrival, with God’s presence dwelling in and reflected in His Son, and the worship then that should be rendered to Him, and by His victory on behalf of His people, there should be the kings of the earth coming and bringing their tributes and paying homage to the One that is worthy.

Now, as the Lord then governs in His kingship, He is going to conquer in various ways. Some He will claim in judgment, such as you have expressed in verse 21: “God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.” He’s going to deal with His enemies who will, in their reluctance to submit, He will finally deal with them—ultimately deal with them—in His own way.

But also there are those who are brought to submission in grace. Look at verse 31: “Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.” There’s going to be evidence of the rule of this King stretching across the lands—across every land in the world.

Now, we get little glimpses of this right from the beginning of our Savior’s birth. And when we see, of course, in Matthew 2, the kings—the wise men—making their way, we see, of course, even as the gospel age unfolds, the apostles going to preach the word, and the various believers spreading out here and there, again there being this reaching out into other lands. You can’t read of Ethiopia stretching out her hands unto God without thinking of the Ethiopian eunuch. And just look—choosing very carefully particular evidence of the gospel spreading. He’s not telling everything. He can’t quantify or detail everything. But he does, under inspiration, choose those things that reflect the hope of the people of God as is found even in the Old Testament.

Will there ever come a day when God will cause the Ethiopian to bow before Him? Yes. Now, I don’t claim to understand the full extent to which we will see the submission of the nations in the gospel age. And of course, some will debate that, and that’s fine for them to debate. And I don’t know, but I’ll say this: I am not about to limit what God might do even yet.

It would be very easy for us to look at where we are today and read everything in the context of modernity, and not remember that the land on which we stand once did not have the gospel. Do not remember that parts of Europe were completely devoid of the gospel—that other nations could be listed that had no influence of the truth. And yet today—though it not span the entire coast and engulf every citizen of their land—yet the gospel is there. Worship is offered. The church gathers. Evangelism is going on.

And if we understand that this has happened in the last two thousand years, and there may yet be time before the Lord returns—we don’t know. It may come very quickly. It may be yet more delayed than we imagine. But whatever the case, to keep in mind—I was going to say the possibility, but more than that—even the hope that the gospel might triumph in ways that still humble us into adoration and worship of this King. Why not? Is there good scriptural reason to say it cannot happen? I can’t find it.

I know people, they’ll say, “Things will wax worse and worse.” And I say, Where’s that in God’s Word? It’s not there. Evil men will wax worse and worse. The opposition is there for sure, but not things—not generally. It’s not there. There is not a general negativity in the New Testament in which we are to take on the spirit and say, “Things are just going to fall apart.”

Now, will there be rising opposition against the Lord and His people getting worse as we approach the time of His return? No doubt. But none of that requires us to conclude that the church is just holding on, waiting for His coming, without any expectation of seeing His victory in the salvation of multitudes. I don’t see it. And when I read the Psalms and the expectation that was there, and when I see the apostles in the New Testament church, I don’t see them hunkering down and thinking, “I just need to hold on here.” I see them going forward in the authority of the King—bringing that word despite opposition—and saying to the world, “Regardless of who your king is in this world, there is another King. Bow before Him. Submit.” And nothing has changed from that day to this. We still are to go, and in that going have a sense of expectation—a sense of hope.

Now, one of the instruments that God uses in this whole work is the communication of His word. So verse 11: “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” In the setting here, the word that the Lord gave is that authoritative report that is coming to the people, showing that the battle has turned, it has been won, the enemy has been defeated, and the outcome is now settled. He gives the word—victory is secure. And so they are then to turn and publish this, this great word. And this reflects the gospel age.

But Jennings, who gave, of course, the libretto—the text for Handel to put the music to—understood this. And understood then, in the context of the depiction of Christ in His rule and reign, after His work upon the earth is complete, he puts in this text. Here—verse 18 comes before: He’s ascended on high, He’s there occupying a throne. And following that—the giving of gifts to His church—there is this flow reflected in the very same psalm: “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.”

And I love it. I love it because of the hope that is there. God has given a word, and then there’s this explosion of testimony concerning what He has accomplished.

This is the work, then, of the church—that there is to be this embracing of our calling. And so I’ve reminded you before, at this time of the year, there is an opportunity. People are a little more accepting. And I say it again: next week is an event. We don’t have events very regularly here. We just have the Lord’s Day. But on next Lord’s Day you will have opportunity to invite people. And I say to you, the message tonight comes very timely. It comes at a moment where you have a last number of days to actually execute on what He would have you do: sharing His word, publishing the good news, and inviting others to come and hear about what He has done.

Tonight we’re considering the heralds of Christ’s victory—the heralds of Christ’s victory. I have just two main thoughts here to consider with you.

First of all, that a powerful mandate is given. There’s a powerful mandate given: “The Lord gave the word.” This is expressed in such a way to signify a sense of royal decree—that this word is coming forth with power. It’s not inert. It’s not there just to hang there. It is to cause there to be a response—backed by the authority of the One who has given it.

As we think about this, this word, first of all, issues from the King. It issues from the King: “The Lord gave the word.” The Lord—this One who is authoritative, self-existent, covenant-keeping; the One who rides upon the heavens; whose very presence makes the earth to shake and the heavens to drop—that’s expressed here. Verse 4: “Sing unto God, sing praises to his name.” Look at verse 8: “The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God.” Even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God—the God of Israel. So this is the One—He’s giving forth His word. And so the word comes not from some mere human origin, but from God Himself. It issues from the presence of God—God in His holy habitation, says verse 5. So He issues forth His word. He sends forth His word.

This word that caused the world to come into existence—that sustains the very world—is issued now forth in expression of victory and accomplishment. The battle is won, the enemy has been routed, and the spoil is ready to be divided. Verse 12: “Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.” This is what we’re entering into because of what He has accomplished.

And this is seen then in the New Testament age in which the Lord has accomplished this work, and He gives forth this word. The word—that’s what He calls us to be. When He says that ye are my witnesses, He is expressing our position. Our position is to testify—to share the good news—to publish abroad what it is that has been done.

And, beloved, that’s our calling. That’s our privilege—your privilege—that you get to live in an era in which the work has been accomplished, and it just needs to be shared. You go back before the Lord Jesus came, and there were those who were anticipating and hoping and longing and seeing the promises and holding on to those promises and anticipating His arrival and all that might come as a result of that. But you live post that. The work has been done.

And if Simeon and Anna can be filled with joy and gladness and express great hope upon seeing the infant child—how much more should it not be true of the people of God living after the cross and after the empty tomb and after the ascension into heaven? Not have their hearts filled with gladness and their lungs filled with air to speak forth that this has been done?

The Lord has given a word—a word of His victory—and we are to go forth and publish it. Let the world know all about it. “All power,” Matthew 28, “is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach your disciple all nations.” No limits. No holding back. No territory has a right to say the Lord Jesus has no interest here. Every territory of the world—wherever you find yourself—you have the privilege, the right, to go to disciple.

And, of course, the calling then upon disciples to be baptized—“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

So upon this great sense of the ark being in their possession and making its way to Zion again, there would be this word: we have the ark. It’s being brought back to its rightful place. And there’s a sense of victory, a sense of joy, a sense of celebration, and the word is out—this has happened.

But as I said this morning, that word is the finished work of Christ. That word that we are to publish is what has been accomplished by our King. And He wants that word to go out and to be celebrated.

So, as would be expected in those days when the king had accomplished a great victory, it was not to go unnoticed. It was to be celebrated, and everyone was to know about it. And that’s the same thing in Jesus Christ and what He has done. It is a victory. We’re not waiting for the victory. The victory has been procured.

He has taken on our nature. He has obeyed the law and fulfilled everything required of the Mediator. He has gone to the cross and borne our sins on His own body on the tree. He has faced death. He has passed through death. He has left the tomb. And the victory then belongs to Him. And He gives the word: It’s accomplished. The work is done. The shout of victory must follow.

So then you, as a Christian—and we’ll get to present this a little more in just a moment—are part of the great company. And you’re to then embrace this victory so much so that it naturally flows from you; that you’re to constantly be in the celebration of what He has done for sinners; to go out into the world as someone glad, rejoicing in, praising what the Lord has done.

I love just reading it the other day in Acts 8 with the persecution of Saul. And the believers begin to spread out. And you think, Oh, what a sad thing this is—that they’re being persecuted and so on. And as they go, then we’re told that Luke just hones in on one of those areas. He hones in on Samaria. And how Philip was one of those that went to Samaria. And he goes to Samaria, and he begins to preach the gospel in Samaria.

And then it tells us, upon his preaching of the gospel, there was great joy in that city. They entered into it. It wasn’t that Philip went there forlorn and sad and depressed and discouraged and feeling like this is a hopeless endeavor. Philip went in there with a heart filled with joy, and in the communication of the gospel imparted the joy of the gospel—so that the city, as it repented and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, entered into that joy. There was great joy in that city.

I mean, that should delight your heart. Look at the state of our cities. Why? Because they reject the word. What they need then is to be reminded over and over and over again of the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You never speak this gospel on your own authority. It’s the Lord that gave the word. It’s the Lord that says, “Publish my victory.” It’s the Lord that commands, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel—preach the good news to every creature,” Mark 16. He wants it to go out.

The Lord gave the word. The work is done. Now go into all the world. Don’t hold back. Go everywhere preaching the word. So you don’t speak on your own authority. The Lord has given the word, and you go and you speak wherever you can.

The word—just to clarify—is concerning the conquest. It’s not just the word issued from the King; it is concerning the conquest. The focus of the word is the conquest itself. It’s the fact that the work has been done. And specifically, that in the Lord Jesus Christ there is One that has dealt with man’s problem: “The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent.” And so this great enemy and problem of man—fallen in his sin and facing eternal judgment—that problem has been addressed by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And through His obedience and death, He has gotten for us this victory and salvation.

And we go then, as I say, to go and tell of this conquest—that He is not, even now as we tell about Him, it’s not about a king who’s gone and now He’s at rest, He’s retired. But He is enthroned—continuing on His work, encouraging His church, prompting His people, sending them forth.

As we thought of verse 18 this morning—that He has led captivity captive and received gifts for men—you think about that. I mean, this is still the ongoing work. That in His victory of dealing with His enemies, that has to be worked out in time—where we see all those who oppose Him being brought to submit to Him. And this is His—this is His prayer, Psalm 2: He’s looking for the heathen for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. That’s His longing. He’s looking for that. Our Lord Jesus anticipates that. That’s His aspiration—putting His arms around the world and claiming it.

And so we go to speak of this conquest—this One who has bruised the serpent’s head and spoiled principalities and powers and purchased all spiritual blessings in heavenly places for His people.

The psalm shows this deliverance and anticipation of great victory. The King has conquered. He has obtained pardon. He has obtained righteousness. He is able to grant adoption and eternal life for all who believe. The hope of the sinner in this world is in this word from the King—the word concerning His conquest.

And before I move on, should you be here tonight and not in Christ, I want you to realize that this is the word for you tonight. The word of Christ’s conquest is your hope. You face eternity. You’re going to die. We will all die. And after death, what? We will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. We will give account of ourselves to God.

And if we stand naked and alone, on our own, without the gospel—without the perfect righteousness and obedience of Christ—without the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins—we have no argument. We are lost, condemned, under judgment, to be punished forever.

And the word—the word that comes to you tonight—hear me—the word is: it need not be that way. The King has won a victory—a victory for you—a victory that you can enjoy. Listen: it is for you, so that you can leave here this very night in the assurance that what Jesus Christ did, He did for me. What He has accomplished, I can enjoy the benefits of. You just have to believe. You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You confess your sin. You stop your wild career of rebellion against God. You stop doing your own thing and living according to your own ways, and you come and bow before Him.

What does it say of the Ethiopians? That they stretch out their hands unto God. That’s you—stretching out your hands to God—looking for His deliverance, crying out for His help. And if you cry out for His help, He will help. He will save. He will pardon. He will forgive. He will receive. And He’ll give you a new life.

The conquest then is one that communicates hope. The King has said there’s a warrant of pardon that will be issued to all who believe. Pardon—if you believe.

So I want you to think about that. The Lord gave the word. He’s given it tonight. He has commanded all men everywhere to repent. Commanded—all men everywhere. That means there’s no one here that can escape the implications of that text: all men everywhere—including in Greenville, South Carolina; including here at 1207 Haywood Road at this very moment in time. He commands: all men everywhere, repent. Turn from your sin. Believe on the Son. And with that, you will enjoy eternal life.

You may wonder, Can He really save me? What kind of question is that? Of course. You wonder about the problem of your sin, and you think that the fact that you’re such a sinner is a problem to Him. Can He really deal with someone as sinful as me? And I say, He specializes in sinners just like you. Specializes. It’s His specialty.

Can He really save me, as sinful as I’ve been? I say, Yes. That’s His specialty—saving a sinner like you. Just ask the people here. With all of our sins, He has pardoned us, forgiven us. Oh, it’s a great thing.

So—a powerful mandate is given. It’s the King, the sovereign King, who has given a word—a word of victory.

But then, secondly, there’s a proclaiming army commissioned—a proclaiming army commissioned. “Great was the company of those that published it.” Company—the idea is that of an army or a host, a great number of people. And the verb published is in the feminine participle form. So it’s literally referring to women—the women who published it—the women who proclaimed this news.

Now you say, Well, that’s strange. But no, it’s not. This is exactly in keeping with the context. In a time of victory, the men go out to the battle and they return home, and the women—they come out to sing. That’s what you have in Exodus 15, after the great deliverance when they cross the Red Sea and Miriam begins a song. She’s leading the way and rejoicing in the victory. This is what the women rejoiced to do when they saw the victory. The same happens in 1 Samuel 18.

So those who never lifted a sword—never entered into the battle—are called to lift up their voices, to spread the news of the victory, to enjoy even the spoils of that same victory.

That’s a wonderful picture of the church—the Bride of Christ. The Bride of Christ is called to the same privilege. The Lord gave the word. That victory—a poem that is to be published and communicated—has nothing to do with any of us. You didn’t do anything. I didn’t do anything. There’s nothing we did—men and women—nothing.

He tread the winepress alone. I know how that comes into focus as He approaches the cross, when even His nearest friends all forsook Him and fled. He’s on His own. He looked for comforters and found none. No one. Left alone.

So He wages this battle on His own—facing the problem of sin, death, the opposition of the enemy—and He takes all that responsibility, and on His own He enters into that warfare and wins. And we didn’t do anything. Nothing.

And so the depiction here of verse 11: the Lord gives the word—that word of victory, that word of what has been accomplished—and the company of those that publish it who didn’t do anything—that’s us: recognizing her King, bowing before the One who went out there for her benefit to win the battle for her.

So I want to just focus on a couple of things about this army that is commissioned here.

First, the powerlessness of this army—the powerlessness of the… Just to bed that in: the church has no power. We didn’t plan the campaign. We didn’t pay the price. We didn’t do anything—none of that. Christ on His own. And yet, we who benefit from it get to proclaim it. Indeed, that’s our job. That’s our responsibility. Those who benefit are to publish it.

So when Paul speaks of the weakness of our frame, and yet how we get to disseminate the gospel, in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 7—“We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” It’s not about us, but we communicate it. These earthen vessels—these clay pots—get to communicate this glorious victory. And what the Lord does is, He uses the weak to confound the mighty—1 Corinthians 1. He takes that which is nothing to dismantle, to destroy, to humble that which thinks it’s something.

You think of the resurrection. The last people we would imagine would be publishing the resurrection—telling people what has been done—would be the women. And yet they’re the first heralds—the first ones to go in their amazement: He has risen.

It depicts the frailty of the church in her work—despised, powerless—nothing grand, nothing glorious, and yet called to proclaim something wonderful. And so this is our calling—the church, the company—called to publish.

Though we have no power—though we didn’t go in the battle, we didn’t win the victory, we didn’t do anything—we get to publish it. We get to share. And yet we have no power in ourselves. Even in the publishing of it, how weak we are. We are encouraged to seek the help of the Holy Spirit—that the Holy Spirit has been given to us that we might bear witness more faithfully.

Isn’t it an awful thing that we are, in one sense—a horrifying thing—to think that we are so frail that we cannot even be left on our own to publish the word? That we need the Holy Spirit to open our mouths?

There’s a correlation there when you read in the book of Acts with the boldness of the people of God and the giving of the Holy Spirit. It’s what makes the difference. It’s what transforms Peter and the others who are fearful—who’d flee for their lives—who run from the Lord Jesus and try to find an escape. And Peter standing there, being challenged, “Are you not one of them—one of His disciples?” and he denies, over and over again.

A matter of days later, he’s standing there at the front, heading up the way, preaching the gospel before thousands—fearless. What made the difference? The Holy Spirit. The finished work of Christ and the Holy Spirit. The knowledge of the resurrection and the coming down of the Spirit. That’s what made the difference. And it’s the same for us. In our going forth, we have no power—but we are to keep in mind that He has risen from the dead, the Holy Spirit will empower me, and then go forward. We have no power ourselves. None. None at all.

It’s just—we’re the bride. We are the women who gather around those who fought the battle. So this is her calling.

Now, I don’t want anyone to go away thinking, Well, since this is in the feminine, does that not say that women can be preachers? No. No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t suggest that at all. It’s just the context. It’s just the context of women rejoicing and singing over the winning of the battle. That’s the history. It doesn’t change the fact that there are men ordained to the preaching of the word. They’re the ones alone who can occupy certain offices to preach the word of God.

But I want you to think about this. The women, in the victory of the Lord as it’s depicted here—when you think of the historical context of the ark coming up—I want you to realize that the women did leave their homes. They left whatever they were doing, if they were so able. They would leave it all to go and enter into that. They weren’t so tied to the kitchen that they couldn’t go out onto the streets to sing their songs.

I think some people think that the woman should never leave the house. No. They can go out there and rejoice. And the same is true then of the application in terms of the gospel—that when you read the word of God, all are to preach the word, all are to share the word, all will be used. It’s not for nothing that the women are the first to say, He’s risen.

So again, if you’re here and you have a tendency, Well, I’m a woman, I’m not really called to any kind of evangelism—it may not look like some forms of male evangelism, but you still have a place to evangelize, to speak, to bear witness, to tell the world.

I remember being greatly humbled as a relatively new believer, and as zealous as I was—telling people all the time about the Lord—I remember being so humbled by the way in which my own mother managed to share the gospel in her place of work and winning souls.

For years she’s been involved in… her work has been palliative care—end-of-life care—in which the body that she works for, they come in and they give—they’re a charity, so they don’t have the means to do this for everyone—but for those who are the select few who have the privilege, they are able to come in and be in the home, allow that person to pass away within the confines of their own home, providing all the care that they need to the family and to the one who’s sick.

And you get the opportunity to be there at a very vulnerable moment. I remember being so humbled at my mom’s ability to just speak a word, and the souls that have been won to Christ by her testimony and her witness.

The company called to publish it is the church—all. Though they be weak and frail, though they see no strength in themselves, we are all called to publish this word.

When Spurgeon was asked about whether or not the heathen who haven’t heard the gospel—whether or not they would be saved—his response, in his usual wit: “It is more a question with me whether we who have the gospel and fail to give it to those who have not can be saved.”

See, that concern was right in front of him. Spurgeon couldn’t be everywhere. No Christian can be everywhere. And so, recognizing that concern, there are people here who have the gospel, but they never share the gospel. Can such be saved? Oh, I know there’s an edge to that. It cuts.

The response is not to begin doubting your salvation. The response is to join the crowd, publishing the message. Get out there. It is not great abilities God uses so much as it is submission and obedience.

How can you be ashamed of good news? I know—they don’t want to hear it. Okay. But does that change anything? It’s good news.

There was a time I didn’t want to hear it. I’m glad people still shared it with me.

The people you work with, and you live beside, and within your family—they may not want to hear it, and you may need to be very tactful. I am all for tact. There’s a place for tact. Wise as serpents, harmless as doves. There’s a place for it. There are ways more effective, given certain personalities, to communicate this message and this good news. But one way or another, this is the calling.

As weak as we are—“Great was the company.” In other words, the number—the number was great. In other words, don’t think I can accomplish on my own what we can all accomplish together. Great was the company. In other words, the more, the better. Everyone involved.

But also—the privileges of this army. Not just its powerlessness, but its privilege. And it’s a privilege.

Why were the women in Israel so eager to join in song and publish the victory of the king? Because they enjoyed it. His victory was their victory. They were able to enter into the benefits of it. And as you see in verse 12, they get to see the spoil divided: “She that tarried at home divided the spoil.” It had nothing to do with the victory at all, and yet gets to enjoy the spoils of it.

Well, that is true of us as well. We have a privilege. It is to share this great message—to sense the unsearchable riches of Christ within our soul; the gladness of pardon and forgiveness; the wonder of adoption; the expectation of glory—and to share this: that no matter who you are, this can be your story too. No matter where you’re from. So don’t hold it back.

And of course, if you were there and you were tasting of the spoils of war, and you really understood the significance of the victory won, the more you understood the significance of the victory, the more likely you were to really rejoice.

Like, there may be some young woman there who don’t have the history—they don’t know that past history—like some of the children crossing the Red Sea, young girls there. Maybe they were joining in on song, but they didn’t have the memory. But there were women there in their fifties and sixties who’d lived that life in bondage and slavery to the Egyptians. They’d lost their children to that tyrant. And when they saw his chariots wash up on the shore of the Red Sea, they filled their lungs with air and they rejoiced. Won a victory. Oh, it was personal. They felt it.

And when Christians understand—when you can almost smell the sulfur of hell in your nostrils, realizing that that’s where you should have been, and now you’re not going there—then you sing. Then you publish. That’s a sense of wonder, isn’t it?

The army that understands its privileges—or rather, the women that understand their privileges—this host that published, this company that published—they understand their privilege. They are the ones who sing most heartily.

Now, we’ve often reflected upon those lepers in Samaria when they discovered the abandoned camp of the Syrians. And everyone’s inside, starving. And they go out there and they see everything’s just been left. All the spoils are there, and they begin to enjoy it all. Having stuffed themselves to the gills, have this thought: you know, we should probably go and tell everyone about this. We do not well if we hold our peace. And so they go.

I mean, that’s to be you. That’s to be you. It can’t be a well thing. It can’t be a good thing for me to hold my peace. How can it? Look at these riches: forgiveness of sins, adoption into the family of God—no hell, heaven. We don’t understand. We really don’t understand.

Do we really hear from the Lord?

I know time is rushing on, but please—just for a moment—turn with me to Ezekiel 33. And I may tie things up just with some of the things, the implication here of this text. Ezekiel 33. I was reading this not that long ago. Oh, it may have been a month or two ago. And I don’t know how many times I’ve read through Ezekiel, but I had never noticed this before. At least it had never struck me.

So Ezekiel 33—we’ll read from verse 30. See what the Lord says to the prophet here:

Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

The call to evangelize and preach the gospel does not come from me. It comes from your Master. It comes from your Savior. It comes from the One who assumed your nature and took your guilt and embraced your sin and died on your behalf, and rose for your hope. It’s His word, where He says, publish it.

And we hear it, but we don’t do it. And whether it’s the prophet, the preacher, or whether it’s the Lord Himself, it’s like being entertained with someone with a beautiful voice and great on an instrument, and we listen to it—then we go away and do your own thing. That’s tragic.

Your privilege is to publish. Publish. So get out there, and in your simple way—in your humble way—according to the opportunities given to you, get out there and publish it. The Lord gave the word. The victory is secure. Great was the company of them that published it. All of you—every last one of us—can do this. It’s just a matter of whether or not we wish to obey.

So will we obey? Even just saying, “Hey, we have a service on Sunday. If I come and pick you up at such and such a time, would you come along?” Get them onto the word. Share it yourself. Pray with them. But point them to the Lamb, and tell them of the victory, and share with them: your sins can be forgiven. That’s the good news.

Let’s bow together in prayer.

Henry Martyn said that the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of missions. How could it be anything but that? That’s the mission, isn’t it? The Son of God came into this world—and His people, they publish it.

If you’re here tonight and you’re not saved, know that the Lord has given the word of victory. And He says to you tonight: enter into my victory. Have your sins forgiven. Be reconciled to God. Become a child of God tonight. If you need any help, I’d be glad to open God’s Word with you.

Lord, bless thy word. Help us to take this to heart. I pray for every single one of us. Give someone—unexpectedly—give someone to share this victorious message with this week. I pray that every one of us would have someone in mind also that we can invite to worship and gather with us next Lord’s Day. Help us, Lord, in this. Give us thy Spirit, lead us by thy hand, and encourage us in obedience to thy commands. We pray that thy hand would be upon us.

Encourage us, keep us, and let there be that joy of the Lord, which is our strength, flowing out of us. This is what David longed for: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”

Bless our time of fellowship tonight. Empower us to live for thee this week. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit be the portion of all thy people now and evermore. Amen.