Judges 5:1-11 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,… I. THE GROUNDS OF THANKFULNESS which Deborah thought she and the whole nation had. 1. She insists, first, upon the cheerful willingness of the people, their ready alacrity in obeying the call of the Lord their God, when by her voice He summoned them to arms. Oh! that there were such a heart in each one of us! Spiritual readiness is the attitude and the grace of angels. God desires, and will have, from us all, hearty service. Whether as regards our substance or our time, our talents or our affections, the Word declares, "God loveth a cheerful giver." 2. Deborah notices gratefully the interference of God Himself in behalf of the nation. What could Israel, in their enslaved and enfeebled state, have done against Jabin's nine hundred chariots? Of what avail would have been the willingness of the people or the valour of the chiefs if the Lord had provided no succours? But the Lord had provided them. And like mercies have been vouchsafed to us with regard to our personal and individual conflicts with sin and Satan. Satan is especially called the "prince of the power of the air "; what would the rude implements of earthly warfare avail against such an antagonist? No; God puts the spiritual against the spiritual; He brings the arms of an invisible providence to bear upon the spiritual fortunes of a child of God, and to keep him from falling. Angels are ministering to us whilst we sleep; the elements are combining for our good, even when we know not the very existence of evil; and never till we are beyond the reach of evil and sin shall we know how the Lord "fought" for our souls "from heaven," or how "the stars in their courses fought against Sisera." 3. Deborah finds matter of thankfulness in the peaceful and happy state of the country contrasted with its condition under the oppressions of Jabin; and to this part of Deborah's song I entreat your special attention. Her picture of two countries, or at least of the same country under two different governments, will be found to have such an astonishing parallel that I hope every heart amongst us will be lifted up to God with silent thankfulness. Observe, then, first, Deborah speaks of a country where all trade was stopped: "In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied." The great public thoroughfares were all closed; the caravans could no longer convey their merchandise from city to city; the merchants found their occupation gone. Then, secondly, she says that in this country travelling had become unsafe: "The travellers walked through byways." The complete lawlessness of the people and the bold effrontery of the robber made those who had occasion to travel seek the most lonely and unfrequented byways. Every step they took was taken with fear; they saw death or danger at every turn. Then, thirdly, she says that there was no tilling of the ground: "The inhabitants of the villages ceased." The constant incursions of lawless hordes had driven the villagers from their peaceful employments; the cessation of commerce throughout the land had closed the market for their grain; whilst for the sake of personal safety the poor villagers were obliged to leave their humble abodes and take refuge in walled and fenced cities. Fourthly, she says that there was no administration of justice. The "people of the Lord" could not "go down to the gates" — "the gates" signifying, as you are aware, in the Jewish language, the courts of justice. In the eighth verse she gives the reason why all judicial proceedings were suspended: "Then was war in the gates." The courts of justice resounded with the noise of arms; the gravity of the judge was merged in the zeal of the soldier; the magistrates had lost all dignity and the people all respect for law. Lastly, she says that no dependence could be placed on the military strength of the country: "Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?" All energy was now gone; all public spirit had decayed; anarchy and misrule held sovereign away, and order and good government were banished from the land. I need not stay to tell you where this awful picture of national misery and misrule has but a too faithful counterpart. I pass on to another picture, which, God be praised, hath its counterpart also. "What is the state of our country now?" asks Deborah. "Why, our nobles ride secure on white asses; our judges, without fear, sit in judgment at the gates, undisturbed by the noise of archers in the places of drawing water; and the people, as they walk by the way, rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord. Now all is peaceful among us; our ships ride upon the sea; our caravans throng the highways; our villages revive amid the busy industry of pruning-hook and ploughshare; and now all that remains for us is to testify, by a song of thankfulness, our gratitude to God." Neither should there be lost upon us Deborah's invitation to different classes of society to join in this song of gratitude. First, you will perceive, she calls upon the noble and the wealthy: "'Speak, ye that ride on white asses.' Who gave you your wealth? Who has preserved to you your wealth? To whom alone is the praise due that your substance has not been wrested from you by bands of marauders; that you have not been driven from your country by the insecurity of property; that, under the protecting shadow of equal laws, you can now lie down with safety, none making you afraid?" Then, secondly, she speaks to magistrates and judges. "'Speak, ye that sit in judgment.' Who has preserved your office in all its reverence? Who has continued your lives in all their sacredness? Who has kept your authority in all the respect in which the people hold it?" Then, thirdly, she addresses herself to those who are engaged in the ordinary occupations of life. "'Speak, ye that walk by the way'; following your peaceful employments without fear of the public robber, without dread of lawless assemblages, reposing under your own vine and your own fig-tree; rehearse the wonderful works of God. Yes, 'high and low, rich and poor,' rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even His righteous acts towards the inhabitants of the villages of Israel." And have we no part to bear in Deborah's song? Oh! shall there be a British heart cold or British tongue dumb while we think of our signal, eminent — I might almost say solitarily enjoyed blessings? "Awake, awake," England; "awake, awake, utter a song." Let us, while we bewail her sins and confess her pride, mourn over her luxurious living when thousands are starving for the bread of life — let us also bless God for His mercies to this our land. Let us bless Him that blood hath not yet stained our streets; that our ears tingle not with the sound of artillery; that the file and the hammer are yet heard in our shops; and that our churches are still open, where we may praise and worship God. II. SOME CAUSES OF SORROW AND STERN REBUKE. The Lord's cause had triumphed, as triumph it ever will, whether we "come to the help of the Lord" or not. Still the names of those shall be told up who come to the Lord's help, in order that it may be seen who are to be shutout from the triumph, who are to have no part in the joy, who are to have no mention in God's book of remembrance, save to their dishonour and their shame. 1. First, some are noticed reprehensibly by Deborah because of the contentions and strifes among them: "For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart." Oh! take ye good heed; for if at this moment you are cherishing an unkind feeling towards any human being, you are cherishing that which is an eternal foe to godliness; you are cherishing that which may drive the Spirit of God from your souls; you are cherishing that which in your dying hour will cause you bitter searchings of heart. 2. But another sin which Deborah notices, as excluding the parties who had committed it from all part in Israel's triumph, is the sin of slothfulness — the love of ease, an unwillingness to endure the hardships and encounter the difficulties of the Christian life: "Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks?" Are there not many who never make a sacrifice, never impose on themselves any form of restraint, who are conscious of nothing worthy of the name of effort, whose life is one of gilded, cushioned, luxurious ease, without one struggle or one act of self-denial? 3. But another occasion of unfaithfulness to the Lord's cause is an absorbing interest in worldly engagements: "Dan remained in ships," and "Asher continued on the sea-shore." Oh! be not deceived by that refined artifice of Satan which tempts you to persist in the pursuit of that which he persuades you is lawful. Heaven has fixed its own law of preferences, has determined which of two interests shall be sacrificed if an occasion arise in which we must sacrifice one. What amount of "corn and wine and oil" will compensate us for the loss of the "light of God's countenance"? What emergency or extremity in our domestic affairs could ever supersede that imperative law, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you"? 4. There is one more excluding sin mentioned by Deborah, the sin of religious indifference — the sin of a Gallio-like, uncaring, unthinking spirit — the sin of a Loadicean lukewarmness about the things of God. "Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof." Why? For any positive sin which they had committed? For any great scandal which they had brought on the Lord's name and cause? No, but "because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty." It seems as if God were speaking from the thick cloud to each one amongst us, and asking, not "What have you left undone?" but "What have you done?" — done for God, done for eternity, done for "the help of the Lord against the mighty"? And think not to escape with the plea that opportunity is wanting for thus serving God. I tell you that every relation in life affords scope for this pious activity. As masters, you may counsel; as parents, you may teach; as friends, you may speak "a word in season"; as rich, you may give of your substance to promote good works; as poor, you may promote benevolent objects by daily and earnest prayer. But if in none of these ways you are conscious of helping the Lord, if neither by your counsel, nor by your encouragement, nor by your example, nor by your prayers, you come to the Lord's help, then are you included among "the inhabitants of Meroz," and the curse of Meroz abides upon your souls. (D. Moore, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,WEB: Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying, |
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