Judg 5:1-3, Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying, "That the leaders led in Israel, That the people volunteered, Bless the Lord! "Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers! I — to the Lord, I will sing, I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. 
We are deep in our consideration of the fact that The Lord delights in the songs of His people’s praise and worship. We are seeing this through the entirety of the Bible as we look at many of the songs of the saints of both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Music and the melody of singing is one of the creative gifts that The Lord has instilled within humanity. It is with the means of song that we have been blessed with the opportunity and the ability to bring forth those sounds which will enable us to more fully express our inner sense of awe and wonder unto Our Creator. Music touches our hearts and beings in ways that would never otherwise be part of our heart’s expression. Songs evoke that sense of declaring the Glory of God in the Highest, in joining our hearts and voices with those of the angelic hosts and all of creation!
We now pick up the admonition to sing forth unto the Lord with the account of the singing of God’s praises that was expressed by the Children of Israel in 2 Chron 20:18-29. It was the means of encouraging one another with the truth that Jehovah would prove Himself mighty and glorious despite the seemingly overwhelming odds that were surrounding His people. Please turn to this so that we can join our hearts with the voice of the People of God expressed in the stanzas of His praise and His worship and the adoration of His glory.
2 Chron 20:18-29, And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God, and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed." And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." And when they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely, and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found much among them, including goods, garments, and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much. Then on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore they have named that place "The Valley of Beracah" until today. And every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord. And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.  
 	Note how the People of the Lord went forth into this battle with the musicians and with singing of praise and worship unto Jehovah. God proved Himself gloriously victorious through no means of the army of the Children of Israel, but through the self-destruction of the forces that were arrayed against Jerusalem. 
The people found the corpses of the enemy and looted them, returning to Jerusalem in triumphant splendor. Again, they did so with singing and with instruments of joy and praise and shouting to the glory of God Most High. Music went before the people as they were prepared to see the victory of the Lord. Then, the chorus of triumphant rejoicing in the Lord also accompanied their wondrous and miraculous return in the power of the Hand of God. This was in evidence in the complete and utter annihilation of that combined army which had been gathered to destroy Judah.
	This is something that we need to stop and consider for a moment in our own lives. How often have we faced those seemingly overwhelming and unstoppable situations and dire circumstances and unfathomable trials and tribulations in our lives? From the times that we were in school, into our young adulthood, through our fertile marriages, and the births of our children and the death of our loved ones, we have seen and experienced so many events that could be labeled catastrophic. 
Please take to heart and understand the fact that life is not easy, and it never was designed to be that way. We have needed the Lord from the very beginning throughout every stage of our walk on this earth. He is our vital supply of all that is necessary to sojourn through this brief physical life in the joy and the peace and the glory of our ever deepening relationship with Him. 
As we have done so, how often do we find ourselves singing unto the Lord from the tears of our anguish to the splendor of our utmost victories? Everything needs to be seen in the power of His Hand ruling and overruling in the every detail, from the smallest injury, to the grandest triumph! His songs of worship and adoration are to spring forth in the every moment of our sojourn here on earth. It is to accompany us as we cry out in despair and it is to characterize us as we return from the war of life with all the spoils that He has lavished upon us! 
Above all, our hearts and our songs of praise and worship are to be in constant rejoicing in the declaration of His miraculous triumph over the most powerful weapon of sin, death! His resurrection life is our eternal triumph over anything that this world could ever thrust upon us! Let our voices proclaim, in the most melodious manner of our heart’s resounding ability that Our God Reigns, now and evermore!
Consider what Job heard from God in Job 38:1-11. Please open to it. This was the response of the Lord to Job as God declared His delight in the songs of all His created beings. We are heartened by the fact that even the morning stars sing together with joy and adoration unto the Lord. We also become so awestruck by the fact that God, Himself, proclaims that He will not allow anything to go beyond the boundaries that He establishes. It matters not what those forces are, from physical disasters and events to the course of the onslaught of man against man, nation versus nation, and pandemic after pandemic. Everything is bound by the Hand of God and can go no further than He will allow!
Job 38:1-11, Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, "Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? "Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? "On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? "Or who enclosed the sea with doors, When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it, And I set a bolt and doors, And I said, 'Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop'? 
	We now turn to the glorious compositions of the Psalmist. The Book of Psalms is admittedly one of the books of the Bible that contains multitudes upon multitudes of songs of praise and adoration unto God. When we read through the Psalms, we find many of those songs that we used to sing, and some which we still sing. There is a plethora of praise and worship verses to fill our souls and our minds with the goodness and the grace and the mercy and the faithfulness and the magnitude of the power of God to those who know Him, who love Him and who rely upon Him as our everything! 
	First, please open to the 3rd Psalm as we join our hearts in this passage filled with all the wonderment and awesome magnificence of our Lord God Almighty. It is a song that should reverberate from within us, resulting in the manifest glory of God to which we offer our entire essence. As much as we are oppressed by all the forces of this age, we have our safety and our security and our salvation set in the Lord God Almighty!
Ps 3, O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah. But Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying to the Lord with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For Thou hast smitten all my enemies on the cheek; Thou hast shattered the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord; Thy blessing be upon Thy people! 
Next, consider Ps 8. It is filled with the chorus of the glory of the Lord that wells up in our hearts as we delight ourselves in the majesty and the magnificence of Our God, Our Creator, and Our Savior.  
Ps 8, O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth, Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens! From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength, Because of Thine adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, And dost crown him with glory and majesty! Thou dost make him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth! 
We are so very familiar with the declarations and the exhortations of the Lord in the songs of His praise. Ps 19 is one of those passages that just wells up the glory of God as His creation bursts forth in the proclamation that He is to be exalted and praised and honored and worshiped and adored! His Word is to be treasured as the gift of His Sovereignty to us, the people who are nourished and sustained by it in the course of our ever so brief walk on this earth.
Ps 19, The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Thy servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. 
In Ps 20, we are once again encouraged in the saving power and might of our Omnipotent and Righteous and Holy Lord God Almighty. As much as this age may try to oppress and to annihilate the testimony of God in His people, He is our surety of support and strength and help in every time of need! 
Ps 20, May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! May He send you help from the sanctuary, And support you from Zion! May He remember all your meal offerings, And find your burnt offering acceptable! Selah. May He grant you your heart's desire, And fulfill all your counsel! We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven, With the saving strength of His right hand. Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God. They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stood upright. Save, O Lord; May the King answer us in the day we call. 
	We could go on and on and on in the songs of the Sovereignty and the Splendor and the Salvation of Adonai, Our Lord and Our God. However, let us now jump to the end of the Book of Psalms, to a couple more of those stanzas which summarize the point of our bursting forth in the praise and the adoration and the honor of Jehovah with the melodies of our hearts and our beings. 
Please turn to Ps 148. This chorus details His mighty hand in operation in the creation of all that is in place. Therefore all of creation, fully including all of us, is once again commanded to praise the Lord with every fiber of the God created essence that fills the universe.
Ps 148, Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps; Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; Mountains and all hills; Fruit trees and all cedars; Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and winged fowl; Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; Both young men and virgins; Old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven. And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for all His godly ones; Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the Lord! 
We close this morning with Ps 150. What a joy to consider the manifest glory of God on high in all His majesty as He works to bring forth His eternal plan in all that He has created. We are to praise Him with every fiber of our being!
Ps 150, Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! Amen!
    	Within all these exclamations of the manifest and detailed working of God is the echoing refrain of all those saints of old whom we have traced to this point. It is laden with the richness of Who God is and what He has done and will do for those who belong to Him and who seek Him and who obey Him and who reverence Him and who find their joy and their trust in Him! He is faithful! He is just! He is Omnipotent! He is Omniscient!  And He is Omnipresent through the every course of our walk on this earth as His Chosen people, a people who are to be fully to His glory! 
That praise and honor and testimony of Our Lord and Savior, will be further expressed in the call to song and worship as we enter the New Testament, when, Lord willing, we next continue our consideration of this passage. I am not sure when that will be exactly. Whatever the timing, it is imperative that we beseech the Lord to well up within us, His people the tremendous reality that songs of praise and worship must be on flowing forth from the lips of all God’s people! He is to be adored and cherished and praised for Who He is and all that He has done, is doing, and will eternally accomplish for the sake of His Glory Alone! So be it!
Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying, "That the leaders led in Israel, That the people volunteered, Bless the Lord! "Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers! I — to the Lord, I will sing, I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. Amen!

	This morning’s benediction is Ps 22:27+28, All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations will worship before Thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's, And He rules over the nations. Amen.