‘The musical instruments of David, the man of God.’

These are to be used in the grand service which is about to take place.  Many new musical instruments had been invented since the time of David, and the Jews of the captivity had seen and used these in Babylon and Shushan.  We read, in the Book of Daniel, of the cornet, the flute, the sackbut, the dulcimer; all these instruments were familiar to the Jews of Nehemiah’s day.  But we do not find one of these newly invented instruments in use at this grand service.  They cling to the old instruments, used in the first temple, dear to their hearts as being connected with King David, and as having been used by their fathers before them, ver. 27.

Not only the musicians, but the singers are called together from the valleys round Jerusalem, in which the temple choir had chosen to live, in order that they might go up by turn to lead the temple singing, xii. 29.

When all who were to take part in the service had assembled, there was a great sprinkling.  The priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.

A red heifer (see Num. xix.) was led by one of the priests outside the city.  There she was killed, her blood was caught in a basin, and was sprinkled seven times before the temple.  Then her flesh was burnt outside the city, and the ashes were carefully collected and mixed with water.  This water was put into a number of basins, and the priests and Levites went with it up and down the city, sprinkling it first on themselves, then on the men, women and children in the city, and afterwards on the wall, and the gates, and all that was to be dedicated to God.

All were to be made pure before they could be used in God’s service.  The Great Master cannot use dirty vessels; they are not fit for His use, they cannot do His work.

If you want God to use you in His service, you must first be sprinkled, made pure from all defilement of sin.  Until this has been done you cannot do one single thing to please God; until you have been cleansed, it is impossible for you to work for God.

How, then, can we be cleansed?  How can we be made vessels meet for the Master’s use, fit for the service of God?  Thank God, we have a better way of cleansing than by washing in the ashes of a heifer.

’For if the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:  how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?’ Heb. ix. 13, 14.

The blood must be sprinkled, the conscience must be purged, then begins the service of the living God; all works before that are dead, works of no avail, utterly worthless and good for nothing, in the Master’s estimation.

When all was ready and the purification was complete, the great company of the musicians met in the temple courts.  The blast of the priests’ trumpets was heard on one side, and on the other the sweet melodious songs of the white-robed minstrels.