2025.05.07 Hopewell @Home ▫ Hosea 11:12–13:14

Read Hosea 11:12–13:14

Questions from the Scripture text: What have the northern kingdom done to the Lord (Hosea 11:12a–b)? But what is the south doing (verse 12c–d)? What does Ephraim feed upon and pursue (Hosea 12:1a–b)? In what does he increase (verse 1c)? With whom do they do trade (verse 1d–e)? But against whom does YHWH also bring a charge (Hosea 12:2a)? Who are they acting like (Hosea 12:2-4a)? But how has God dealt with him (Hosea 12:4-5)? How does this give hope for the present (Hosea 12:6)? But what are they acting like (Hosea 12:7)? And what do they think about their actions (Hosea 12:8)? What does YHWH say that He will do (Hosea 12:9)? What has He already done (Hosea 12:10)? What will He do to their false worship (Hosea 12:11)? Through what has the Lord taken care of Israel (Hosea 12:12)? And through whom (Hosea 12:13)? But what has Israel still done to Him (Hosea 12:14)? What attitude had what results (Hosea 13:1a–b)? But what action had what opposite result (verse 1c)? Now what are they doing (Hosea 13:2)? With what result for them (Hosea 13:3)? What has the Lord been to them, for how long (Hosea 13:4a–b)? What has He resolved about this relationship (verse 4c–d)? When did He bring them to know Him (Hosea 13:5)? What happened under more comfortable conditions (Hosea 13:6)? Therefore, how will He del with them (Hosea 13:7-8)? What help will they have in their distress (Hosea 13:9)? Who will YHWH be to them (Hosea 13:10)? What is the implied answer to the rhetorical questions in v10? Why did He give them a king (Hosea 13:11)? Why did He take him away? How ingrained (Hosea 13:12a) and complete (verse 12b) is Ephraim’s sin? How difficult will his judgment be upon him (Hosea 13:13a)? What does verse 13b call him? What has he done during his “childbirth” (verse 13c)? What will keep them from dying (Hosea 13:14a–b)? Who will actually die (verse 14c–e)?

Why did Ephraim need God Himself to commit Himself to being their Savior? Hosea 11:12–13:14 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twenty-nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that those who are subject to original sin can only be saved by God Himself.

The sinful nature to which we are enslaved. Ephraim’s decline into treachery against the Lord (Hosea 11:12a–b) went ahead of Judah’s (verse 12c–d). Rather than turn to the Lord in repentance, they turned to those who are great objects of God’s wrath in history (Hosea 12:1). But Judah was not far behind (Hosea 12:2-3). The problem with all people is their sinful nature; they sin because they’re sinners. And this was true of Israel; they continue to have the nature of their father (Hosea 12:3), which nature presented itself fully in his children (Hosea 12:7-8). Dear reader, you sinned in your first father Adam. And unless you come into the Lord Jesus as your new Adam, you will be trapped in that original, sinful nature forever.

The divine nature that is the hope of sinners. But just as man stays true to his nature, God is always gloriously true to His. He was merciful to the heel-grabber from the beginning (Hosea 12:3-4), He continued to show them mercy throughout their history (Hosea 12:9-10), and this unchanging God (Hosea 12:5) continues to be their merciful hope a millennium later (Hosea 12:6). From beginning to end of your covenant with Him, the Lord is your hope. From beginning to end of your spiritual life, the Lord is your hope. 

The severe chastening that serious mercy provides. Now, God’s mercy is pursuing a very specific objective: eliminate their idolatry (Hosea 12:11). His providence had prospered Jacob in Laban’s house (Hosea 12:12, cf. Genesis 31:12–16). His providence had redeemed them by the hand of Moses (Hosea 12:13). Yet, against all this grace, Israel continued to sin—provoking the current, severe chastening of the exile (Hosea 12:14). 

Lowliness before God (Hosea 13:1a) exalts a people (verse 1b). But the pride to sin freely (verse 1c) puts a sinner on the path to more and more impudent sin (Hosea 13:2). Their faithfulness is like vapor, chaff, and smoke (Hosea 13:3). But the Lord’s faithfulness… the LORD’s FAITHFULNESS!!!... that endures forever! He is the One Who made Himself their covenant God (Hosea 13:4a–b), and He is resolved that His faithfulness will overcome their unfaithfulness so that they love (verse 4c) and trust in (verse 4d) Him alone. Indeed, the early days of their history with Him, in the wilderness, were a forty year case-study in the former overcoming the latter (Hosea 13:5-6). 

So, in His loving and redeeming resolve, severe mercy is now called for (Hosea 13:7-8). He will destroy them with such a destruction that leaves them with no illusion of being able to turn anywhere else or to anyone else (Hosea 13:9-10). All of God’s dealings with them—both His giving them a king (Hosea 13:11a), and His taking from them a king (verse 11b)—have been chastenings to disabuse them of their sin. They (and we) need continual help against our sin, because on the one hand, our sin is bound up in us (Hosea 13:12a, cf. Proverbs 22:15), and on the other hand, we keep on storing it up against ourselves (Hosea 13:12b, cf. Romans 2:5). Let your sin go, dear reader. Put it away. So long as you cling to your sin, either God will condemn you to it forever, or He will put you through whatever severity of chastening is necessary to free you from your sin.

The divine resolve that secures spiritual resurrection. Spiritually, Ephraim is still in the birth canal, putting everyone through great pain and danger of death itself (Hosea 13:13). But death itself, spiritual and physical, are no obstacle for the living God; He will redeem them (Hosea 13:14a–b). He will be the death of death (verse 14c–d) and give death no quarter (verse 14e). O what hope is yours, when the Lord is Your hope! If you are in Christ, nothing, not even death itself, can separate you from the love of God, or keep Him from conforming you to the image of His Son.

When you look back on severe trials in your life, what does this passage teach you about what the Lord was doing then? What are the most severe things that you are going through? What sin might you still be clinging to? What habits of heart or mind do you have in place for remembering God’s mercy, power, and faithfulness?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we confess that we sinned in our first father and fell with him, just as Ephraim continued to demonstrate Jacob’s nature a thousand years later. We have sinned against You and needed the severest of chastenings. But, we’re so thankful that You have committed Your faithfulness and power, in Your mercy, to giving us life with You forever. Continue forgiving us for Christ’s sake, and conforming us to Christ’s character, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

 Suggested Songs: ARP130 “Lord, from the Depths, to You I Cried” or TPH434 “A Debtor to Mercy Alone" 

Cure for Despair [Family Worship lesson in Psalm 143]

What is the purpose of crushing trial in believers’ lives? Psalm 143 looks forward to the opening portion of morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twelve verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that crushing trials throw believers upon the Lord Himself and His mercy. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.05.06 Hopewell @Home ▫ Psalm 143

Read Psalm 143

Questions from the Scripture text: Whose Psalm is this (superscript)? What does Psalm 143:1a–b call this Psalm? And what does it ask God to do with it? And, once heard, then what (verse 1c–d)? According to what two attributes of His? What does the psalmist plead with God not to do (Psalm 143:2a)? Why does he need this (verse 2b)? Who has done what to him (Psalm 143:3)? With what result (Psalm 143:4)? What does he remember (Psalm 143:5a)? What does he do, as he remembers (verse 5b–c)? How do these meditations induce him to respond to his current situation (Psalm 143:6)? Why is his plea so urgent (Psalm 143:7a–b)? Whom will he be like, if the Lord hides His face from him (verse 7c–d)? What does he want to hear (Psalm 143:8a)? When? Why (verse 8b)? What does he wish to know (verse 8c)? Why (verse 8d)? What does he ask the Lord to do in Psalm 143:9? And what does he ask Him to do in Psalm 143:10a? Why (verse 10b)? And what does he ask Him to do in v10d? Why (verse 10c)? And what does he ask Him to do in Psalm 143:11a? Why? And what does he ask Him to do in verse 11b? Why? What does he ask Him to do to his enemies (Psalm 143:12a–b)? Why (verse 12c)? 

What is the purpose of crushing trial in believers’ lives? Psalm 143 looks forward to the opening portion of morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twelve verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that crushing trials throw believers upon the Lord Himself and His mercy.  

Crushing circumstances. Believers experiences may be literally crushing and overwhelming. Here, David has had his life “crushed to the ground […] like those who have been long dead” (Psalm 143:3). His spirit is overwhelmed (Psalm 143:4a), his heart is distressed (verse 4b), and indeed his spirit fails (Psalm 143:7b). Dear reader, do not be surprised when the fiery trial comes upon you, and when you are overwhelmed by it. If this were not to be expected, your Lord would not have given you psalms like this to help you in them.

The cure of faith. What is the cure for a heart under such circumstances? To turn the mind and heart from the circumstances to the Lord Himself. Remember Him, and therefore remember the days of old (Psalm 143:5a), because before the mountains were brought forth, YHWH has been God from everlasting (cf. Psalm 90:2), and all of creation and providence have been the works of His hands (Psalm 143:5b–c). It is so easy to get obsessed with our circumstances; we need to lift our eyes/hearts/thoughts from them to the Lord. He has given us set times for doing so, and taught us to take this meditation upon Him into the rest of our life as well. What is your habit of meditation upon the Lord? How much you will need it to be robust, when the overwhelming days come!

The object of faith. But remembering Him is more than just remembering theological facts. It is remembering a Person, reaching out for Him with your whole self (hands and soul, Psalm 143:6), desiring the favorable lifting of His face to us (Psalm 143:7c) and the sound of His steadfast love (Psalm 143:8). David doesn’t just ask YHWH to provide a shelter; he asks Him Himself to be the shelter (Psalm 143:9). Eternal life is a personal relationship: to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent (cf. John 17:3). 

The activity of faith. Finding the Lord as our shelter puts all our hope in Him, but it doesn’t mean inactivity or passivity. Notice that trusting in Him and lifting the soul up to Him in Psalm 143:8b, d surround the request for Him to make David know the way in which he should walk. Taking shelter in Him (Psalm 143:9b) involves learning from Him to do His will (Psalm 143:10a) and being led by His Spirit in the land of uprightness (verse 10c–d). When it comes to the distress of a situation, or where your hope is within it, you must indeed “let go, and let God.” But you must never think of this as justifying a lack of study, diligence, or zeal. Biblical faith is active and vigorous. 

The hope of faith: mercy not merit. If David is (or we are) to find refuge in Him, it will have to be by way of mercy, not merit. David asks Him to do it for His own Name’s sake (Psalm 143:11), and even to avenge him out of mercy (Psalm 143:12), because David knows that no one has the righteousness by which to merit good reward from God (Psalm 143:2). Our hearts can import the certainties of Psalm 130 into the prayer of Psalm 143:2. We cry to Him from the depths, for mercy, because with Him is forgiveness that He may be feared. The assurance that He is a forgiving God is the hope of those who long for Him. Even that longing has come by grace, and that grace will surely attain its desire.

What crushing circumstances have you been in? How prepared for such circumstances would you be, based upon your current habits of drawing near to the Lord and meditating upon Him? How do trust and activity currently go together in your walk with the Lord? What might it look like for your heart to rest more upon mercy than merit?

Sample prayer:  Lord, for Your Name’s sake revive us, and lead us in the land of uprightness. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. So, grant unto us to remember the days of old, and to meditate upon all Your works and the work of Your hands. Creation and providence show forth Your praise. Fill our minds and hearts with that praise. Come to us in Your mercy, and shine Your face upon us in Christ, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP143A “O Lord, My Spirit Fails” or TPH130A “Lord, from the Depths to You I Cry!” 

Reaching the Chief End [Children's Catechism 144—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 144—especially explaining how the righteous will glorify God perfectly and enjoy God fully.

Q144. What will become of the righteous? They shall be taken to heaven. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Deception of Fools [Family Worship lesson in Proverbs 14:8–15]

What can a fool know? Proverbs 14:8–15 looks backward to the sermon in last week’s midweek meeting. In these eight verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the fool is helplessly susceptible to deception. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.05.05 Hopewell @Home ▫ Proverbs 14:8–15

Proverbs 14:8–15

Questions from the Scripture text: What does the prudent understand (Proverbs 14:8a)? But what does the fool’s folly do to him and others (verse 8b)? What does the fool make light of (Proverbs 14:9a)? But what do the upright seek from the Lord (verse 9b)? What does the heart know (Proverbs 14:10a)? What doesn’t a stranger knows (verse 10b)? What comes of the house of the wicked (Proverbs 14:11a)? And of the tent of the upright (verse 11b)? And what comes of the way of the self-deceived (Proverbs 14:12)? What may the laughing or playing heart actually be experiencing (Proverbs 14:13)? With what will the backslider in heart be filled (Proverbs 14:14a)? With what will a good man be satisfied (verse 14b)? Who are easily deceived, and how (Proverbs 14:15a)? Who are protected from this, and how (verse 15b)?

What can a fool know? Proverbs 14:8–15 looks backward to the sermon in last week’s midweek meeting. In these eight verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the fool is helplessly susceptible to deception.  

The theme of this section is deception, and the areas in which this deception occurs make up another chiastic structure. Gullibility (Proverbs 14:8, Proverbs 14:15); the Deceptive Destructiveness of sin (Proverbs 14:9, Proverbs 14:14); the Deceptive Surface VS the Heart Reality (Proverbs 14:10, Proverbs 14:13); and, the Deceptiveness of Comfort and Stability (Proverbs 14:11, Proverbs 14:12).

Gullibility (Proverbs 14:8, Proverbs 14:15). If the fool is arrogant enough to reject the knowledge of God, he can surely deceive himself about everything. Knowing the Lord, the wise can begin to know himself (Proverbs 14:8a, Proverbs 14:15b), but the fool’s folly deceives him even about himself (Proverbs 14:8b). He is gullible about himself, and he is gullible about whatever he hears (Proverbs 14:15a). What do you really know? If you don’t know God, then you don’t ultimately know yourself or anything else. 

Deceptive Destructiveness of Sin (Proverbs 14:9, Proverbs 14:14).  A fool makes light of his guilty (Proverbs 14:9a). He acts as if God’s righteous justice will not fill him up exactly and fully (Proverbs 14:14a). But the upright hopes, not that he will be good enough to escape destruction, but for grace from this same God (Proverbs 14:9b). And that grace will fully satisfy him (Proverbs 14:14b). Do you act as if you could safely sin? Or do you look for God to be gracious to you and to satisfy you?

Deceptive Surface vs Heart Reality (Proverbs 14:10, Proverbs 14:13). It is important to remember that we do not truly know what’s going on in others’ hearts. We do not know their sorrow (Proverbs 14:10a), and cannot fully enter into their joy (verse 10b). We are even often deceived by our own hearts. We may be laughing and playing, but it may be a mask for sorrow and grief (Proverbs 14:13). We don’t know others’ hearts, and we cannot fully trust even our own heart. But we can know and trust the Lord, Who has trustworthily revealed “His heart” to us in Scripture! True wisdom begins with His heart, not ours.

Deceptiveness of Comfort and Stability (Proverbs 14:11, Proverbs 14:12). Note the difference between “house” in Proverbs 14:11a and “tent” in verse 11b. Often, the unbeliever’s apparent comfort and stability makes his way “seem right” to him (Proverbs 14:12a). But, if it is not the Lord’s way, then it can only have one end: death (verse 12b). We must not think that we are doing well, or that we will end well, simply because we are enjoying earthly comfort and stability (cf. Romans 2:3–5). We must not judge by appearances, but by righteous judgment.

In what ways might you be trusting your own heart instead of trusting the Lord in His Word? What voices from yourself, or from the world, have you been tempted to listen to in a way that casts doubt on the Lord’s Word in Scripture?

Sample prayer:  Lord, You have spoken clearly in Your Word, and You make Your world reliable for us. But, we are so easily deceived by others, and even by our own wicked hearts. So, grant to us the ministry of Your Spirit, that by His light unto our minds, Your Word would form everything that we think, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP45B “Daughter, Incline Your  Ear” or TPH400 “Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me”

2025.05.04 Lord's Day Livestreams

Click below for the:

May 4 Prayer Meeting Folder

Matthew 18:12–20 sermon outline

3p song selections & Deut 4:41–49 sermon outline

We urge you to assemble physically, if possible, with a true congregation of Christ's church. For those of our own congregation who may be providentially hindered, we are grateful to be able to provide this service.

IF you are unable to get the stream to work, or simply wish to save on data, you can listen in simply by calling 712.432.3410 and entering 70150 at the prompt.

Each week we livestream the Lord's Day (Sabbath School, Morning Public Worship, and p.m. Singing and Sermon) and Midweek Meeting (sermon and prayer). For notifications when Hopewell is streaming live, install the CHURCHONE APP on your [Apple], [Android], or [Kindle] device, and enter hopewellarp for your broadcaster.

2025.05.03 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 18:12–20

Read Matthew 18:12–20

Questions from the Scripture text: How does Jesus encourage their thoughtfulness at the beginning of Matthew 18:12? What does the hypothetical man, about whom He asks, have? How many? What does one of them do? And what does the man do? What outcome does Matthew 18:13 posit? How does the man respond to finding it? How great, comparatively, is this joy? What does the Father not will (Matthew 18:14, cf. 2 Peter 3:9)? What form of sheep straying does Matthew 18:15 now consider—what might a brother do? What form of seeking is to be done in this case—what is a believer to do with this offending brother? In whose presence? What might the brother do? And if the brother does hear you, what happy outcome does that mean? But if the brother will not hear, what is to be done then (Matthew 18:16)? How has the rescue mission changed—for what time of circumstance are the one or two more now present? And if the offending brother does not listen to these two or three, whom are they to tell (Matthew 18:17)? And if he is not brought to repentance by the church, what is to be done with him? What does Jesus say about this determination on the part of the church (Matthew 18:18, cf. Matthew 16:19)? How is this agreement in judgment, between heaven and earth, accomplished (Matthew 18:20)? In what other activity is Jesus there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:19)?

What happens when our brother sins against us? Matthew 18:12–20 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that when our brother sins against us, it is a call to go on a search-and-rescue mission.  

We have just heard that angels, and the Lord Jesus Himself, are committed to His little ones’ complete holiness, that they might enter heaven. 

So far, we have thought about how this demands that we be most careful not to cause our brother to sin. But, our brother also is a sinner. What happens when he sins?

When the brother sins, and it isn’t a public sin, or the sort that causes others to stumble… when he sins against you, it is time to do the same thing as the shepherd in Matthew 18:12-14: go on a rescue mission. Recover the brother!

To view our brother’s sin against us as a rescue mission, we must have proper attitudes toward ourself and toward him. With respect to ourselves, we must kill pride, foster humility, and refuse all bitterness. With respect to our brother, we must set aside all hostility, enmity, or vengefulness. If he has sinned against us, he is in that dreadful condition of the one who has stumbled; he is the strayed sheep. Not only must he continue to be dear to us, but his precarious situation should elicit our sympathy. 

This view of self, brother, and duty is central to “following Matthew 18.” And the key to it is what we saw already in the first eleven verses: to hold to the incomparable greatness of Christ above all else. His incomparable greatness frees us from pride, because we are before Him. And it frees us from bitterness, because He is our portion. And, as we have already seen in Matthew 18:5, the incomparable greatness of Christ is the key to properly valuing our brother, with whom Christ has identified Himself.

When we come to our brother in such a spirit, we may have good hope that the gentle answer will turn away wrath (cf. Proverbs 15:1). And we may have even better hope that we are participating in the stray-sheep-seeking work of our Shepherd. We come in that spirit, in part, by coming between self and him alone (Matthew 18:15). We wish to give him every advantage that we can for repenting. But, we will not be alone with our brother. What is true in Matthew 18:20 is true in Matthew 18:15. Christ will be with us, using us to seek our brother, and we will rejoice with the triune God (cf. Matthew 18:14), when he is recovered!

Sadly, not everyone that we call “brother” due to their membership in the visible church will turn out to be a brother savingly and spiritually. Not every plant in the field is wheat (cf. Matthew 13:24–43). Not every fish in the net is good (cf. Matthew 13:47–50). Although the entire field is precious for the sake of the treasure in it, not all of the field is treasure (cf. Matthew 13:44). And, therefore, not every offending brother with whom we speak will hear us and be recovered (Matthew 18:16). 

At this point, the help that is brought in Matthew 18:16 anticipates church trial in Matthew 18:17. Christ’s statement in Matthew 18:18 ties the judicial authority of “the church” in Matthew 18:17 to the preaching authority of the apostles in Matthew 16:15–19. The keys of the kingdom include not only the preaching that opens it to the elect, but also the church discipline that closes it against the reprobate. The same verb tenses in Matthew 18:18, as in Matthew 16:19, remind us that in both cases, the spiritual reality has been determined in heaven, before being effected on earth by the power in the ministry of the church officer. Church discipline is a weighty thing because of the heavenly reality behind the earthly exercise and verdict. This unity between heaven and earth is the same thing that makes prayer “powerful” (Matthew 18:19). The Lord is as present (Matthew 18:20) in the judgment of church discipline as He is in hearing and answering prayer. 

So, when our brother sins against us, let us not lose sight of the greatness of Christ in that moment. For, we will respond rightly to His greatness by enlisting in His divine search-and-rescue mission for our brother!

When have you been sinned against? When do you continue to be sinned against? What would it look like, in your heart, to consider this an assignment to go on a divine rescue mission? What would it look like in your actions?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for seeking and saving us who were lost. Grant that we would rejoice to join with You in Your work of gathering in Your elect, and that we would join with You in rejoicing whenever they are recovered through Christ, in Whose Name we ask it, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH141 “O Lord, to You I Call”

2025.05.02 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 4:41–49

Read Deuteronomy 4:41–49

Questions from the Scripture text: Who set apart what (Deuteronomy 4:41)? Where? For whom to flee there (Deuteronomy 4:42)? Who has done what? Unto what end? Which three cities for which three people (Deuteronomy 4:43)? What did Moses set before whom (Deuteronomy 4:44)? What three ways does he describe this law (Deuteronomy 4:45)? Who spoke them? To whom? When? Where (Deuteronomy 4:46)? Whose land had it been? What had Moses and the children of Israel done to him? What did they do to this land (Deuteronomy 4:47)? And who else’s land? Where (Deuteronomy 4:47-49)?

What difference does the location of Deuteronomy make? Deuteronomy 4:41–49 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the location of Deuteronomy reminds us that this law comes in the context of the covenant of grace.  

Geography is very significant to this second giving of the law (deutero-nomy). 

As Moses preaches this exposition of the ten commandments, he does so in the context of them being a covenant document, governing the relationship between Israel and the Lord in the land. 

But they are already partially in the land. Half of the cities of refuge have been set up (Deuteronomy 4:41-42, cf. Numbers 35:9–34), and 2.5 tribes are settled (Deuteronomy 4:43). 

They have already been given victory over people in the land (Deuteronomy 4:46), and they already possess a significant portion of the land (Deuteronomy 4:47-49). The mention of Pisgah at the end reminds us that they are “in sight” of the land across the Jordan. This is the mountain from which Moses would see the land (cf. Deuteronomy 3:27). 

So the law that is set before the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:44) is being presented in the context of God having already kept up His end of the covenant. He is already their Deliverer. He has already begun to give them their inheritance, to give them victory, to provide for them what they need for a just and righteous society. And His law is another provision of “testimonies, statutes, and judgments.”

This helps us see that this is not a covenant of works. In the dynamics of God’s relationship with Israel, as both visible church and nation, there is chastening/curse that comes with unfaithfulness, and blessing that comes with faithfulness. But the law itself is given as a gift from a generous and gracious God, in the context of His having already delivered, and as part of His bringing them into the fullness of His salvation. This is an interaction between God and the visible church (as well as an interaction between God and a nation), within the context of the covenant of grace.

Now, if this was true for Israel, isn’t it all the more so true for you, dear believer? Whether in connection with your own life, your household’s, your church’s, or your nation’s, doesn’t the law of God come to you in the context of grace already extended to you? You know that none of your obedience can ever earn for you anything that Christ has not already earned for you. And His instruction is, unto us, a great kindness in and of itself. And any obedience that we render is only done in and through the Lord Jesus.

What a gift His law is! And, behold what goodness you are already responding to!

What use are you making of God’s law in your own life? What use does your household make of it? What has He already done for you? How do you go about viewing His law as a gift and blessing? 

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for saving us and being our good, gracious, and covenant God. And thank You for giving us Your good law within the context of that covenant. Grant unto us grace to receive it as a kindness, and grant us grace to be able to follow it and enjoy Your blessing in doing so, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP119M “O How I Love Your Law!” or TPH174 “The Ten Commandments” 

2025.05.01 Hopewell @Home ▫ Revelation 11:15–19

Read Revelation 11:15–19

Questions from the Scripture text: Which angel sounded in Revelation 11:15? What were there in response? Where? About what did they speak? What had happened o these kingdoms—Whose had they become? What would He do? For how long? Who respond to this in Revelation 11:16? Where were they sitting? Upon what did they fall? What did they do? To Whom? What did they begin by giving in Revelation 11:17? What do they call Him? What has He done? What had the nations done (Revelation 11:18a, cf. Psalm 2:1)? And how did God respond to them (Revelation 11:18a, e; cf. Psalm 2:5, Psalm 2:9, Psalm 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9)? And to His saints (Revelation 11:18c–d, cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 1:10)? Then what was opened (Revelation 11:19)? Where? What was seen in it? What phenomena accompanied this sight?

What will the last day be like? Revelation 11:15–19 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the last day will be a day of rejoicing, worship, and praise for believers, and a day of wrath and destruction for unbelievers.

This brief passage on the seventh trumpet gives us a summary of world history since the fall, and shows us that Psalm 2 is a cliff’s-notes version of the book of Revelation. That Psalm shows history from the split-screen perspectives of heaven and earth, with the nations raging against God, and God speaking in wrath, as He gives the kingdom of this world to His Son. The applications are for unbelievers to hurry and repent and trust in Christ before the day of His wrath, and for believers to be confident that “blessed are all who trust in Him.” This is precisely the point of the book of Revelation.

We have seen six trumpets blast their alarm that the last day will come. The alarm of the seventh is the point at which it is too late, for it is the arrival of that day itself. The many, crescendoing sounds that indicate the approaching end now climax in this trumpet and the “loud voices” of Revelation 11:15. 

The Greek text that the Lord has preserved in His church throughout the millennia uses the singular: kingdom. On the last day, the kingdom of this world, where Satan has provoked men to rage against the authority of God and Christ (cf. Psalm 2:1), will have become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (cf. Psalm 2:2, Psalm 2:6). 

For believers, this is a day of rejoicing, (Revelation 11:15), worship (Revelation 11:16), and praise (Revelation 11:17). The Lord is coming to be admired among those who believe in Him. We prepare for that day by admiring Him now—and more and more so, as His Spirit conforms us to Christ and His own delight in God’s glory.

It will be a day of rejoicing. We can already rejoice in hope, now. But what a relief, and release, and sustained and glorious thrill, it will be in the last day, when we hear the thunderous announcement in Revelation 11:15!

It will be a day of worship. The twenty-four elders lead and represent the church throughout the ages. They fall on their faces and worship God. When Habakkuk learned only of God’s plans for Babylon, he responded with astonished worship: “Are You not from everlasting, O YHWH, my God, my Holy One?!” This is similar but intensified. The completion of God’s work in history brings His power and faithfulness and goodness and justice into clear, ultimate view. And His people fall on their races in worship (Revelation 11:16).

It will be a day of praise and thanksgiving. They thank God for reigning (Revelation 11:17). When you are His, praise for His power is tied to thanksgiving, because His power is your profit. 

For unbelievers, it is a day of wrath and destruction. When the Lord returns to be admired among all those who believe (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:10), He takes vengeance, and begins pouring out everlasting wrath, upon those who have refused to know Him or respond to the gospel (Revelation 11:18, cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9). 

For all, it is a day of revelation. With all assembled for judgment, God opens His temple, so that all may now view what the Lord’s focus has been in all of history: the keeping of His covenant. The covenant is not just a series of agreements that God has made with men through the ages. It goes back into God Himself, a compact of salvation from eternity, in which the Father pledges a people and kingdom to His Son, and the Son pledges to redeem them unto the Father, in fellowship with the Spirit. The appearance of “the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (Revelation 11:19, majority text) reminds us of that eternal, divine agreement into which Jesus’s prayer in John 17 gives us such an intimate glimpse.

It is God’s commitment to save His people unto His glory that is behind all of His mighty (lightnings, noises, thunderings, earthquakes, hail, in Revelation 11:19) acts throughout the history of the world! And what God has sworn Himself to, within Himself, must surely be accomplished. When the day of its ultimate accomplishment comes, surely we will rejoice, and worship, and praise! Until then, we must heed the blasts of the trumpets that announce its impending arrival. Let all kiss the Son before His wrath is kindled but a little, and let those who trust in Him be sure and glad of their blessedness.

In what circumstances do you need to remember the reality of the Lord’s present reigning, and the certainty of the defeat of all competing powers? What delight do you take in admiring the Lord now? How is this preparing you for perfect and eternal blessedness?

Sample prayer:  We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One Who is and Who was and Who is to come, because You are taking Your great power and reigning. Forgive us for when we have desired and attempted to bend all things to our own wills. And forgive us for when we have trembled before the nations as they rage, and the kingdoms and peoples, as they plot in vain. Give us to submit ourselves cheerfully to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to live in great confidence in Him, which we ask in His Name!

 Suggested songs: ARP2 “Why Do Gentile Nations Rage” or TPH389 “Great God, What Do I See and Hear”