2025.12.31 Midweek Meeting Livestream (live at 6:30p)

To tune in for the Prayer Meeting, we recommend that you visit the livestream page.

2025.12.31 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 26:16–19

Read Deuteronomy 26:16–19

Questions from the Scripture text: To what time does Moses refer in Deuteronomy 26:16? Who commands whom to do what? Therefore, in what manner must they obey? When had the people proclaimed what about Whom in Deuteronomy 26:17? What did they proclaim that they would do? Who proclaimed what about whom in Deuteronomy 26:18? Who had promised this? What would they do as this treasured people? For what three purposes would He do what (Deuteronomy 26:19)? And for what fourth purpose?

What is it to be in covenant with God? Deuteronomy 26:16–19 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God, and His covenant people, proclaim their treasuring one another by His giving them His law and their keeping it.  

Throughout the section covering the ten commandments, the focus has been on the future, when they come into the land that YHWH their God is giving them. Now that Moses has finished that exposition, God’s prophet demands a response from the hearers in front of him in that place, at that time: “This day” (v16), “Today” (v17), “today” (v18).

When God’s Word addresses you about what He demands of you, or promises you, for the future, it requires a response to Him and His Word right at that time.

The Lord has initiated this covenant relationship, this special bond, that He has forged, joining Israel to Himself. Their part is “to observe these statutes and judgments” (v16)—not merely as terms and conditions of a contract, but as an expression of their identity as the people who are devoted to Him: “with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Dear Christian, don’t listen to those who tell you that the Old Testament was a religion of works, and the New Testament is a religion of the heart. There is no such distinction in the Bible. True religion has always been a religion of divinely redeemed hearts that show forth in works. Let all of your obedience be “with all your heart and with all your soul,” because those ways are His, and those statutes are His, and those commandments are His, and those judgments are His, coming to you in a voice that is His (v17)—note that although it was Moses’s voice that sounded in their ears, he affirms that it was God’s voice that they were to hear, and to which they were to respond.

We proclaim YHWH our God (v17), when we obey His voice (v17) with all our heart and all our soul (v16).

And when He does give us to hear His voice, in the preaching of His Word, let us not miss what an expression this is of His love. Just as they had proclaimed YHWH to be their God (v17), so also He was proclaiming them to be His treasured people (v18) by giving them His commandments.

Having His Word sets His people high above all nations (v19) for praise, for name, and for honor (v19, cf. Jer 13:11, 33:9). What a marvelous privilege, that the Lord would consecrate them as the holy people by whom He would glorify Himself!

This is exactly what the Lord continues to say about His church, having grafted in saints from all the nations: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1Pet 2:9–10).

We proclaim Him to be our God by obeying Him with all our heart and soul, and He declares us to be His treasured people by giving us His Word to keep. 

In what circumstances does God give you His Word to keep? To what extent are you keeping it with all your heart and all your soul? How much thought do you give to His treasuring you, and what difference does this make for you?

Sample prayer:  Lord, forgive us for failing to proclaim that You are our God. We have obeyed half-heartedly, and sometimes, we have disobeyed altogether. Forgive us for failing to receive Your Word as an expression of Your love to us. Forgive us, and help us, so that our lives will proclaim Your praises, Who have called us out of darkness and into Your marvelous light, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP73C “Yet Constantly I Am with You” or TPH174 “The Ten Commandments”

Love that Will Not Let Him Go [Family Worship lesson in Song of Songs 3:1–5]

What must Christians always seek and cling to? Song of Songs 3:1–5 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christians must be continually active in seeking and clinging to Christ and the experiential knowledge of His love. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio. This passage portrays the soul’s journey from spiritual dormancy to active pursuit and intimate restoration with Christ, using the bride’s night-time search as a metaphor for the believer’s experience of divine absence. The imagery of night and the solitary bed signifies a season of spiritual lethargy, where passive longing fails to yield connection; only when the soul resolves to rise and actively engage the means of grace—through the church, its watchmen, and the Word—is seeking effective. Though initial efforts may not bring immediate relief, the Holy Spirit uses the preaching of the Word to confront and awaken the heart, leading to recovering personal experience of Christ's love. The believer is then called, not only to cling to Christ, but to bring others into that restored fellowship, warning against anything that might disrupt the intimacy of divine communion. Ultimately, the passage calls for continual spiritual vigilance, active faith, and a heart committed to pursuing the nearness of God through faithful practice and repentant humility.

2025.12.30 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 3:1–5

Read Song of Songs 3:1–5

Questions from the Scripture text: What time was it (Song of Songs 3:1a)? Where was she? What was she doing? With what results (verse 1b)? What does she resolve and do (Song of Songs 3:2a–d)? With what result (verse 2e)? Who finds whom (Song of Songs 3:3a)? What does she ask them (verse 3c)? When does she finally find Him (Song of Songs 3:4a–b)? What does she do then (verse 4c)? To where/whom does she bring Him (verse 4d–e)? Whom does she address (Song of Songs 3:5a)? By what (verse 5b)? Not to do what (verse 5c–d)? 

What must Christians always seek and cling to? Song of Songs 3:1–5 prepares us for the opening portion of the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christians must be continually active in seeking and clinging to Christ and the experiential knowledge of His love. 

Song of Songs 3:1–5 a similar situation to Song of Songs 2:8–17. In this case, the distance between her and the Bridegroom, is described especially according to her experience, rather than what Christ is like, and what He is doing when He seems distant.

“By night” (Song of Songs 3:1) signifies spiritual darkness, a nighttime of the soul. Then she says, “on my bed,” instead of “our bed” (cf. Song of Songs 1:16). She is alone. And in this case, the bed does not indicate rest, but inactivity. There is a spiritually dull, spiritually lazy manner of seeking: “By night, on my bed, I sought the One I love. I sought Him, but I did not find Him.” One may still be a Christian—His identity to her is “the One Whom I love”—but get spiritually lazy, not actually making use of His means, not actually exercising his soul. There is a sort of “seeking” that is just a kind of wishing that we would know and feel the closeness of Christ, but not doing any of the things which have the promise of His blessing and His drawing near to us.

The Christian life must be more than wishful thinking. There is a passiveness and laziness that Christians fall into, that is being identified here, and that the Lord is going to take her out of.

She proceeds to say, “I will rise now, and go about the city” (Song of Songs 3:2). We learn in Song of Songs 3:3 that the city is the church (a common image and theme—Jerusalem, Zion—throughout the Bible), since it is patrolled by the watchmen. The watchmen are the ones who, in the more agrarian countryside imagery of the previous passage, have been charged with catching the little foxes (cf. Song of Songs 2:15). 

So, it is with respect to the church that she says, "I will rise now and go about the city." She does not just rise and go about the city. She purposes to do so first. She resolves to do so first. This is something that we need: the grace of the Holy Spirit to work in us when we have been spiritually lazy, to remind us again from His Word, what He has given us in His church—and to give us the force of will to do something about that. The streets and the squares, here, are His own ways in His church, His own ordinances. And we need the Holy Spirit to bring us to a decision that we will immediately and resolutely avail ourselves of the ministry, the preaching, the sacraments, the praying, the discipline, the fellowship of the church. From His side, He had said “rise, and come away” (Song of Songs 1:10, Song of Songs 1:13). Now, in her experience, the Holy Spirit gives her the resolve, “I will rise now” (Song of Songs 3:2a) “and go” (verse 2b). 

But there is need not only resolve, but perseverance. She does not find Him immediately (Song of Songs 3:2e). Spiritual darkness and illness may not dissipate quickly for the backslider. He may have to persevere in Christ’s means before he finds Him, before things are well with him spiritually, and he regains his assurance. 

She has risen from her bed; she has started to participate in the worship of the church and the discipleship of the church, the fellowship of the church, the means of grace, the ordinances of Christ; and yet, she has not immediately found spiritual relief. Her heart has not been relieved of the guilt she has felt. Christ does not seem near to her. She is struggling to know the smile of God in the Lord Jesus again. Her assurance remains shaken, intermitted. 

Even her resolve to seek is by His grace, but note what makes the ultimate difference: “The watchmen who go about the city found me” (Song of Songs 3:3). The Lord may use any of His means, or even none of them, but it is especially His preached Word which He has honored as the means by which it is He Who finds us. What a mercy from Him it is, when His preachers find us. And, He gives us to have shepherds as preachers, so that we may engage privately, when found by the Word, as she does “Have you seen the one I love?” (verse 3c). 

Still, it is a little after her interaction with the watchmen (Song of Songs 3:4a) that she actually finds Him (verse 4b). We must not be satisfied merely to be back in the practice of Christianity, until we are back in lived fellowship with Christ. And, once things are well with us spiritually, we must continue to receive grace to cling to Him (verse 4c). The Christian life is never to be passive or complacent; there ought always only be seeking Christ or clinging to Christ. This is something that the genuine believer wishes to share with the whole church, the mother within whom the Lord gives us spiritual birth (verse 4d–e; cf. Psalm 87:4–6, Revelation 12:14–17). 

Finally, in addition to the resolve and the perseverance, the seeking and the clinging, there is the necessity of watching against those things that would drive Christ from us again (Song of Songs 3:5, cf. Revelation 2–3). Spiritual wellness is recovered with difficulty and laboriously maintained. The knowing of the love of Christ is precious. It is not worth stirring it up or awakening it, and seeing it run off like a startled gazelle or doe. 

Resolve. Seek. Persevere. Find. Cling. Corporately. Watching against all sin.

What is your current experience of Christ’s love? How are you responding to that? Where do you get the resolve to?

Sample prayer:  Father, we pray that You would give us repentance of sin, renewal in faithfulness, and consistency in spiritual practice and Christian habits of the heart and mind, in Jesus's Name, Amen!

Suggested songs: ARP42A “As Pants the Deer” or TPH425 “How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place”

Why We Must Have Grace [Family Worship lesson in Proverbs 20:9–11]

Why do we need the King’s grace so badly? Proverbs 20:9–11 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that, in ourselves, we are hopelessly sinful. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The devotional confronts the human condition with sobering truth: no one can purify his own heart, and all violate God’s perfect standard. Even the smallest sins are abominations to Yahweh. Our condition, evident even in children whose actions reflect their sinful hearts, demands divine grace, not self-effort. Yet, God’s grace is not only available but actively at work, even in children, transforming hearts and producing what is pure and right. Thus, the urgent need is for the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ, through which believers are justified and sanctified, prepared to stand before the King of Kings whose wrath is inevitable and just.

2025.12.29 Hopewell @Home ▫ Proverbs 20:9–11

Read Proverbs 20:9–11

Questions from the Scripture text: What hypothetical question does Proverbs 20:9 ask? What is the implied answer—how many have clean hearts or are pure from sin? What two things does Proverbs 20:10 talk about? How are they alike—what are they unto the Lord? Who is known by what (Proverbs 20:11a)? What about those deeds (verse 11b)?

Why do we need the King’s grace so badly? Proverbs 20:9–11 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that, in ourselves, we are hopelessly sinful.  

We’ve just heard that a good/godly king scatters all evil with his eyes. This should turn us against our own evil, especially when we remember that the King of kings does this ultimately and eternally.

But this must turn us to God’s grace. Because no one can cleanse his own heart (Proverbs 20:9a). You cannot, by your own resolve or efforts, become that righteous man who walks in blamelessness (Proverbs 20:7a). That will not achieve purity (Proverbs 20:9b) in the only eyes that ultimately matter (Proverbs 20:10b). 

We must remember how rigorous and exacting is God’s purity and justice. He hates even the slightest variance in weights and measures (Proverbs 20:10a). Men might take for granted that a little creative bookkeeping is to be expected, but there are no small sins to YHWH—only abominations. So the standard is too high for us.

And we are too corrupt for it. The word translated “deeds” in Proverbs 20:11a implies wickedness. When we see our children acting in ways that are deceitful, quarrelsome, obstinate, rebellious, or selfish, we are seeing that they came into this world dead in sin, because they are ours. We long to see them loving and doing what is pure because it is pure, and what is right because it is right, because we know that when this comes about, it was not we or they that did this. 

Oh, dear reader, your and my bad behavior show what we are in ourselves. But God, by His grace, is a King Who doesn’t just reward the man that is a diligent (Proverbs 20:4), discerning (Proverbs 20:5) peacemaker (Proverbs 20:3), but makes such men. In the gospel, God offers you not just the atonement of Christ, but likeness to Christ, and all in union with Christ. That which you desperately need, God abundantly provides in His Son, by His Spirit. So, let this passage drive you to that desperation, and therefore that provision.

Who can’t clean your heart? Who can? Why is this so needful for you? How will the fruit of grace show?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we cannot cleanse our hearts, but even sins that seem small to men are abominations to You. We have been like this from our youth, so we look to You for grace to make us new altogether, to count us perfectly righteous in Christ, and to produce purity and righteousness in us.

Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH433 “Amazing Grace”

2025.12.28 Lord's Day Livestreams (live at 10:10a, 11:10a, and 3p)

To tune in for the Lord's Day streams, we recommend that you visit the livestream page.

2025.12.27 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 26:26–29

Read Matthew 26:26–29

Questions from the Scripture text: What were they doing (v26)? Who took what? What three things did He do with it? To whom does He give it? What two things does He tell them to do with it? Why? What does He take in v27? What two things does He do? Whom does He tell to do what? What does He call the cup (v28)? What does His blood seal? For whom is it shed? To do what? What does He say that He will not do (v29)? Until when? How will He drink it? With whom? Where?

What was Jesus doing at the end of the last Passover? Matthew 26:26–29 looks forward to the morning sermon in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Jesus was establishing a meal in which He feeds us by faith, and (by faith!) confirms us in covenant with God and forgiveness of sins.

A new meal. Toward the end of the Passover meal, after the ritual portion is over, and they are eating freely, the Lord Jesus establishes a new ceremony. This is implied in v29, where He speaks of a new way of kingdom-drinking. Luke records that He explicitly said “do this in remembrance of Me,” while serving the bread. And 1Cor records that He said this with both elements. 

Christ’s actions with the bread. First, “Jesus took bread” (v26). He selected it. He prepared it. He took to Himself a body in Mary’s womb. And He appoints for His church a sacramental meal. There is intention and initiative here. Jesus prepares for our provision.

“Jesus… blessed” it (v26). Luke and Paul use the language of giving thanks, here. He does both with the bread, and likewise both with the cup. To that which Christ has provided, Christ Himself adds His blessing. This is the case with all His means, and especially so with the Supper that He has provided for His disciples, since He emphasizes it as an example of His blessing attending His provision.

“Jesus… broke and gave” it (v26). Jesus Himself distributes that which He has provided and blessed. This is very personal; each disciple’s piece is specifically broken for him by Christ. The believer’s particular portion is intended for him by Christ. Just as with preaching, this is not diminished when He makes use of His servant to break and give. This is one of the reasons why it is important to be scrupulous about having only His ordained servants break and give the bread, just as only His ordained servants preaching.

What Christ says to do with the bread. The supper is both, a provision of Christ, and a command of Christ. He commands His disciples to take, to receive. This includes recognition of Christ’s provision, receptiveness to Christ’s provision, and appropriation of Christ’s provision. And, He tells them that in doing so, they receive His body. There are two demonstrative pronouns that might have been used here—one indicating especially the bread, the other indicating the action of receiving. This is the latter. It is especially in receiving the bread, and eating it, that they receive Christ (obviously, Christ Himself, being there in the flesh, was not telling them that the bread was becoming His flesh). He is telling them that, as they receive the bread and eat it, they are receiving and feeding upon His body—receiving the benefits of Christ, and His true and full humanity.

Christ’s actions with the cup. Jesus takes the cup, indicating the same preparation and provision. Jesus gives thanks for the cup, the same action as the blessing and giving thanks with the bread. And Jesus gave it to them. The manner is implied by the word behind “shed” (v28), which more literally means “poured.” Lk 22:17 also implies this with the language of “divide” (distribute/separate). As with the bread, each disciple’s portion is specifically intended unto Him by Christ.

What Christ says to do with the cup. “Drink from it, all of you” (v27). The believer’s own portion/participation in Christ’s blood is emphasized by His adding “all of you.” Again, the wine is not becoming blood, and the blood of Christ was not even spilled until the next day. But, the Lord Jesus was already communicating to each disciple, even as they all (“all of you”!) took together, that each one has his own, personal participation in the new covenant. This blood both consecrates the church unto God in the new covenant (v28a) and remits the sins of those who receive Christ Himself by faith (v28b). When you take the Lord’s Supper, as a member of His church, the Lord Jesus drives home both to you: you are bound to God in covenant now, in your part in His church; and, His blood was poured out for the forgiveness of your sins.

Looking forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Jesus presented the disciples’ drinking of the cup as something they were to do without Him, in anticipation of once again doing so with Him. 1Cor 11:26 emphasizes the same thing by the phrase “till He comes.” The supper looks backward to the death in which His blood was poured out, and upward to glory, where He is all of our life, and the One in Whom we are bound to God and consecrated unto Him. But it also looks forward joyously to the day when Christ once again joins us at the table to partake with us. We each have our portion from Him, but ultimately, we partake with Him in His portion. 

Do you take the supper? Why or why not? What has Jesus done for you? What does He want you to do at the table?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for Your provision in Your Supper. For, You have provided Yourself for us and to us. So, make us to receive by faith, we ask in Your Name, AMEN!

 Suggested Songs: ARP116B “I Still Believed” or TPH201 “Twas on That Night”

2025.12.26 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 3:1–5

Read Song of Songs 3:1–5

Questions from the Scripture text: What time was it (v1a)? Where was she? What was she doing? With what results (v1b)? What does she resolve and do (v2a–d)? With what result (v2e)? Who finds whom (v3a)? What does she ask them (v3c)? When does she finally find Him (v4a–b)? What does she do then (v4c)? To where/whom does she bring Him (v4d–e)? Whom does she address (v5a)? By what (v5b)? Not to do what (v5c–d)? 

What must Christians always seek and cling to? Song of Songs 3:1–5 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christians must be continually active in seeking and clinging to Christ and the experiential knowledge of His love. 

v1–5 a similar situation to 2:8–17. In this case, the distance between her and the Bridegroom, is described especially according to her experience, rather than what Christ is like, and what He is doing when He seems distant.

“By night” (v1) signifies spiritual darkness, a nighttime of the soul. Then she says, “on my bed,” instead of “our bed” (cf. 1:16). She is alone. And in this case, the bed does not indicate rest, but inactivity. There is a spiritually dull, spiritually lazy manner of seeking: “By night, on my bed, I sought the One I love. I sought Him, but I did not find Him.” One may still be a Christian—His identity to her is “the One Whom I love”—but get spiritually lazy, not actually making use of His means, not actually exercising his soul. There is a sort of “seeking” that is just a kind of wishing that we would know and feel the closeness of Christ, but not doing any of the things which have the promise of His blessing and His drawing near to us.

The Christian life must be more than wishful thinking. There is a passiveness and laziness that Christians fall into, that is being identified here, and that the Lord is going to take her out of.

She proceeds to say, “I will rise now, and go about the city” (v2). We learn in v3 that the city is the church (a common image and theme—Jerusalem, Zion—throughout the Bible), since it is patrolled by the watchmen. The watchmen are the ones who, in the more agrarian countryside imagery of the previous passage, have been charged with catching the little foxes (cf. 2:15). 

So, it is with respect to the church that she says, "I will rise now and go about the city." She does not just rise and go about the city. She purposes to do so first. She resolves to do so first. This is something that we need: the grace of the Holy Spirit to work in us when we have been spiritually lazy, to remind us again from His Word, what He has given us in His church—and to give us the force of will to do something about that. The streets and the squares, here, are His own ways in His church, His own ordinances. And we need the Holy Spirit to bring us to a decision that we will immediately and resolutely avail ourselves of the ministry, the preaching, the sacraments, the praying, the discipline, the fellowship of the church. From His side, He had said “rise, and come away” (1:10, 13). Now, in her experience, the Holy Spirit gives her the resolve, “I will rise now” (v2a) “and go” (v2b). 

But there is need not only resolve, but perseverance. She does not find Him immediately (v2e). Spiritual darkness and illness may not dissipate quickly for the backslider. He may have to persevere in Christ’s means before he finds Him, before things are well with him spiritually, and he regains his assurance. 

She has risen from her bed; she has started to participate in the worship of the church and the discipleship of the church, the fellowship of the church, the means of grace, the ordinances of Christ; and yet, she has not immediately found spiritual relief. Her heart has not been relieved of the guilt she has felt. Christ does not seem near to her. She is struggling to know the smile of God in the Lord Jesus again. Her assurance remains shaken, intermitted. 

Even her resolve to seek is by His grace, but note what makes the ultimate difference: “The watchmen who go about the city found me” (v3). The Lord may use any of His means, or even none of them, but it is especially His preached Word which He has honored as the means by which it is He Who finds us. What a mercy from Him it is, when His preachers find us. And, He gives us to have shepherds as preachers, so that we may engage privately, when found by the Word, as she does “Have you seen the one I love?” (v3c). 

Still, it is a little after her interaction with the watchmen (v4a) that she actually finds Him (v4b). We must not be satisfied merely to be back in the practice of Christianity, until we are back in lived fellowship with Christ. And, once things are well with us spiritually, we must continue to receive grace to cling to Him (v4c). The Christian life is never to be passive or complacent; there ought always only be seeking Christ or clinging to Christ. This is something that the genuine believer wishes to share with the whole church, the mother within whom the Lord gives us spiritual birth (v4d–e; cf. Ps 87:4–6, Rev 12:14–17). 

Finally, in addition to the resolve and the perseverance, the seeking and the clinging, there is the necessity of watching against those things that would drive Christ from us again (v5, cf. Rev. 2–3). Spiritual wellness is recovered with difficulty and laboriously maintained. The knowing of the love of Christ is precious. It is not worth stirring it up or awakening it, and seeing it run off like a startled gazelle or doe. 

Resolve. Seek. Persevere. Find. Cling. Corporately. Watching against all sin.

What is your current experience of Christ’s love? How are you responding to that? Where do you get the resolve to?

Sample prayer: Father, we pray that You would give us repentance of sin, renewal in faithfulness, and consistency in spiritual practice and Christian habits of the heart and mind, in Jesus's Name, Amen!

Suggested songs: ARP42A “As Pants the Deer” or TPH425 “How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place” 

Our Most Important Ability [Family Worship lesson in Ecclesiastes 9:13–18]

What abilities should we be developing and using? Ecclesiastes 9:13–18 prepares us for the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that all of our abilities are a stewardship from God, but the most important of these is wisdom. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: the devotional presents the supremacy of wisdom over strength, highlighting how divine wisdom—though often overlooked or forgotten—holds greater value than military might or worldly power. It illustrates this through the story of a poor, wise man who saves a city yet is ignored afterward, underscoring humanity’s tendency to despise quiet, humble wisdom while elevating the loud and foolish. Pastor emphasizes that true wisdom, rooted in the fear of the Lord and drawn from Scripture, is the highest of all God-given gifts and must be sought diligently in personal and corporate worship. It warns that even the most carefully built good can be undone by a single act of sin or folly, urging believers to value wise, gentle speech over boastful noise, and to live with humility, accountability, and reverence for God’s sovereign providence.

2025.12.25 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ecclesiastes 9:13–18

Read Ecclesiastes 9:13–18

Questions from the Scripture text: What has Solomon seen, where (v13)? How did it seem to him? What had there been (v14)? Who came against it? in what way? But who was found in it (v15)? And what did he do, how? But what happened to him? What did this cause Solomon to say about wisdom (v16a–b)? But what still happens to a poor man’s wisdom (v16c–d)? What words, spoken in what manner, should be heard (v17a)? Instead of what (v17b)? What is better than what else (v18a)? But who does what in v18b?

What abilities should we be developing and using? Ecclesiastes 9:13–18 prepares us for the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these six verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that all of our abilities are a stewardship from God, but the most important of these is wisdom. 

v16b relates v13–18 back to v11c–d. We must diligently employ all that the Lord has given us (v10), without trusting in it (v11–12), but there is also a hierarchy among the abilities and capacities that God gives us.  “Wisdom is better than strength.”

Solomon illustrates this from his own experience (v13), telling about the wisdom of one wise man, that delivered a doomed city (v14–15), similar to how the wise woman delivered the city of Abel in 2Sam 20:16–22.

But we need passages like this one to remind us of the value of wisdom, because in our fallen world, people value riches and power more than wisdom. So, Solomon takes note (v16c) of how the wise man was forgotten because he was poor (v15c).

Just as we have learned recently about the weightiness of words, in the fact that God Himself has regard for the words of the poor (cf. Deu 24:13, 15), so now v17 urges us to pay attention to even the quiet words of the wise. Because the wise are modest, it will often be the case that their words are quiet, while the fool’s are loud (v17b). But we are to be more impressed with wisdom than with shouting, or earthly power, or even weapons of war (v18a).

Speed (v11b), strength (v11c), understanding (v11e), and skill (v11f) are gifts from God that must be stewarded and developed. But it is most important to develop wisdom. “Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1Tim 4:8). 

Wisdom does good to those around us, in imitation of God, even if they don’t appreciate it or remember it. But, we don’t exercise it for men to notice, or even because we trust in it, but because it honors the Lord for us to employ it, and to do others good by it. 

So, as we have repeatedly heard from Proverbs, the Scriptures urge us to pursue, get, and employ wisdom. The passage closes by reminding us that failure to do so means to live in that sinfulness (i.e. apart from the fear of the Lord) that can singlehandedly unravel much good, done by many wise people, over a long period of time.

The Lord give us to listen to His Word, and the wise words of those quiet ones who are full of His Word.

Who are some quiet, wise ones, to whose words you should be giving attention? How else are you working on growing and employing wisdom? To whom are you doing good by your wisdom? To Whom does his passage turn you, when your wisdom goes unnoticed or unremembered by others?

Sample prayer:  Lord, forgive us for when we have been the shouting fools, for when we have been the ones who destroyed much good, for when we have trusted in any of our abilities, or prioritized any of them above wisdom. We are exposed by this passage, but we thank You for Christ. His righteousness and wisdom have been perfect, and have been our own righteousness, and our own wisdom, through union with Him. Please make us to be more and more like Him, in these things, through our fellowship with Him, we ask in His name. Amen.

Suggested songs: ARP1 “How Blessed the Man” or TPH131B “Not Haughty Is My Heart”

2025.12.24 Midweek Meeting Livestream (live at 6:30p)

To tune in for the Prayer Meeting, we recommend that you visit the livestream page.

The Contented, Generous Heart [Family Worship lesson in Deuteronomy 24:17–26:15]

What is at the heart of the tenth commandment? Deuteronomy 24:17–26:15 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these forty verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the heart is the heart of the tenth commandment. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: the devotional presents a comprehensive exposition of the Tenth Commandment’s call to contentment, gratitude, and justice, rooted in Israel’s identity as redeemed slaves and sustained by God’s covenant faithfulness. Central to this teaching is the recurring call to care for the vulnerable—strangers, widows, and fatherless—while maintaining integrity in justice, honesty, and personal conduct, all reflecting a heart that esteems others as made in God’s image. The law’s applications—from refusing to exploit laborers and maintaining honest weights to preserving dignity in punishment and honoring marital duty—reveal that true generosity flows from a transformed heart that trusts God’s provision and rejects covetousness. Gratitude and generosity are not mere duties but expressions of identity and worship, pointing forward to Christ’s self-emptying love. Ultimately, the law reveals that holiness is not fragmented but holistic, demanding a life of thankfulness that mirrors God’s character.

2025.12.24 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 24:17–26:15

Read Deuteronomy 24:17–26:19

Questions from the Scripture text: Whose rights do v17–18 safeguard? And whose provision do v19–22 safeguard? How? Whose rights are safeguarded in 25:1–3? And whose provision in v4 (cf. 1Cor 9:9–10)? And whose provision in v5–10? In what way? How do v11–12 deal with the attack on the man’s dignity and progeny? What does YHWH say about the form of injustice in v13–16? How had the Amalekites taken advantage of Israel (v17–18)? Whom did they not fear? What must Israel do to them (v19, cf. Ex 17:14)? What is the opposite of coveting, in 26:1–15? When should they begin tithing (v1–2)? What are they to declare in v3? What are they to confess about their worthiness, and God’s grace to them (v4–5)? And what are they to confess about their weakness and God’s grace (v6–8)? And what are they to confess about God’s generosity (v9–10)? How are they to enjoy His generosity (v11)? In what year is there a special tithe for whom (v12)? Unto Whom is this tithing ultimately done (v13)? Along with what other reverence (v14)? Seeking what from Him (v15)? 

What is at the heart of the tenth commandment? Deuteronomy 24:17–26:15 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these forty verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the heart is the heart of the tenth commandment.  

There is some overlap here, of the sections of Deuteronomy treating the ninth and tenth commandments. The first few passages of the tenth commandment material touch justice and courts of law, and therefore the importance of bearing true witness. But the rest of the material is so diverse that the diversity itself is part of the point: contentment before God, and consideration of others as much as ourselves, is essential to every part of the godly life or society.

This was one of the reasons for giving the nation of Israel its beginning in slavery in Egypt (24:18, 22). It taught them that they are to be as considerate of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, as much as of themselves (v17, 19, 20, 21). Even the convicted criminal’s dignity was to be given consideration during sentencing (25:1–3). 

There is a sense in which v4 brings out the true nature of the tenth commandment. It isn’t about the rights and dignity of oxen (though it does establish a principle that has application to workmen, cf. 1Cor 9:6–14). It’s about the farmer’s contentment in God’s goodness to him. This contentment is what frees him to have regard for his animal, as it serves him.

This contentment is what enables a man to trust what comes of his own estate unto the Lord, as he produces an heir for his dead brother (v5–6). And a man who does not trust the Lord this way humiliates himself in Israel (v7–10). If a woman is so lost to all decency, as well as disregarding the ability of a man to produce offspring, that she commits the offense in v11, she is to receive the severe and just penalty in v12. 

Of course, the tenth commandment is very closely related to the eighth and the ninth. Behind the wickedness of using a lying weight (v13–14, ninth commandment) to steal (eighth) is covetousness in the heart (tenth). This is what makes it a great unrighteousness, and an abomination to YHWH (v16).

The wickedness of discontentment/covetousness is embodied in the Amalekites, who were so fearless and shameless of God, that they picked off the weakest of Israel  (v17–18). YHWH hates this and condemns Amalek to complete annihilation (v19; cf. Ex 17:14, 1Sam 15:1–3). 

26:1–15 instill the principles of contentment and gratitude by means of the tithe. The bulk of the instruction about these tithes consists of the confession of God’s generosity in v5–10, and prayer for God’s blessing in v13–15. This passage forms an inclusio (bookend) with 24:17–22 by means of the third-year tithe for the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow (26:11, 13). 

The tenth commandment is all about the heart: a heart of contentment toward God, and a heart that values another man’s property, rights, and dignity unto him just as much as one’s own. Often, it is in our failure to have regard for our neighbor that we discover our own discontentment before God. 

How have you seen God’s generosity to you? How does your own giving reflect contentment and gratitude unto God? Who are the poor or disadvantaged for whose comfort and dignity you have regard? How are you showing that regard? In what way do you have special regard for future generations?

Sample prayer:  Lord, forgive us for how we have held so tightly to the things of this world. It has shown our lack of trust in You—our lack of gratitude and contentment. Our covetousness has led to disregarding the comfort and dignity of others, so that our sin against them has exposed our greater sin against You. But Christ, Who was rich, became poor for our sakes. Forgive us, through His shed blood, and count Him as our righteousness, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP15 “Within Your Tent, Who Will Reside” or TPH174 “The Ten Commandments”

The First Tempter [Children's Catechism 32 Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 32—especially explaining how Satan deceived the woman, tempting both her and the man.

Q32. Who tempted them to this sin? The devil tempted Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) The lesson emphasizes that, while the serpent deceived Eve, Adam was not deceived and thus bore greater culpability due to his passive failure to lead and protect his wife spiritually. It highlights the importance of male responsibility in spiritual instruction, drawing from Genesis 2–3 and 1 Timothy 2 to argue that Adam’s failure to actively guard his wife from deception—despite being present—constitutes a grave dereliction of duty. The passages underscore the divine order of creation and leadership, where Adam was given the covenant, and thus bears primary responsibility for teaching and guarding the household. Ultimately, the Fall is a cautionary example to affirm the necessity of male leadership in the church and family, rooted in divine design and order.

Love that Leaps Mountains [Family Worship lesson in Song of Songs 2:8–17]

What can help a backslider? Song of Songs 2:8–17 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord powerfully and eagerly overcomes His bride’s separation from Him. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The passage presents a portrait of Christ’s unwavering faithfulness amid the believer’s experience of spiritual distance, using the imagery of a Beloved Who, though seemingly hidden, is actively pursuing and restoring His bride. Central to the message is the assurance that Christ’s voice—revealed through Scripture, preaching, and the work of His church—is the primary means by which He overcomes every obstacle. Despite the believer’s perceived unworthiness or failure, Christ continues to call her 'My love, My fair one, My dove,' affirming her beauty and value in His eyes, not by her condition, but by His grace. The call to 'rise and come away' is both a command and a promise, rooted in Christ’s sovereign power to revive and restore, transforming the most barren season into springtime of renewal. The passage culminates in a heartfelt prayer for Christ to remain ever-present, overcoming all barriers until the final day when shadows flee and His presence is fully experienced.

2025.12.23 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 2:8–17

Read Song of Songs 2:8–17

Questions from the Scripture text: Whose voice does she hear (Song of Songs 2:8a)? What is He doing (verse 8b)? In what manner (Song of Songs 2:8-9a)? Who is able to see whom (Song of Songs 2:9b–d)? Whose speech does she recall in Song of Songs 2:10-15? What does He call her (Song of Songs 2:10, Song of Songs 2:13, Song of Songs 2:14)? What does He tell her to do (Song of Songs 2:10, Song of Songs 2:13)? What are the current conditions (Song of Songs 2:11-13)? How does He overcome her shyness (Song of Songs 2:14)? What does the Bridegroom tell others to do (Song of Songs 2:15a)? Even which ones (verse 15b)? What has the bride realized in Song of Songs 2:16? Whom does she ask to fulfill the truth that she has learned (Song of Songs 2:17, cf. Song of Songs 2:8-9)? 

What can help a backslider? Song of Songs 2:8–17 prepares us for the opening portion of the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord powerfully and eagerly overcomes His bride’s separation from Him. 

The situation in these verses is very different from the situation in the passage immediately preceding it. The bridegroom and the bride had been in close fellowship. Here, He seems distant. And this is the experience of Christians in this world. We go through seasons of backsliding or of coldness towards Him, or where it seems that He is hidden or invisible or obscured.

Happily, the bulk of the passage is on what the Bridegroom is doing and what the Bridegroom is saying, so that we may know that, however inconsistent our behavior towards Jesus is, and however inconsistent our experience of the Lord Jesus is, the Lord Jesus's behavior towards us, and thoughts and affections towards us, are perfectly consistent and wonderful. 

Note then at the beginning of the passage, how the Lord makes himself known to us consistently, continually, especially by his voice. The way that she observes him leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills, overcoming the obstacles between him and her, between her and him, and coming to her is by means of his voice: “The voice of my beloved!” 

What this means for us is that, whereas we know that we always need to be hearing the voice of the Lord Jesus, especially we need it, when Christ seems distant, when Christ seems invisible to us. It is then that we most need to read our Bibles, and especially sit under faithful preaching.

Look at Who is the one doing all of the moving here (Song of Songs 2:8-9). The difficulty is in us and in our circumstances. But the solution is not in us. We have a responsibility (Song of Songs 2:10-13). We need to listen to Him and do what He says. But we see that the effectiveness of it is not by means of our rising and coming away. The effectiveness of overcoming the distance between us and Jesus is by His coming. “Behold, He comes!” And look at the way He comes. He has hills and mountains in the way, but it is not difficult for Him to overcome them. Look at His ability and even eagerness and delight. So the Lord Jesus is the One who overcomes especially by means of His voice.

And the next thing we see in Song of Songs 2:10-13 is the content of what he says. It is one thing for the Lord Jesus to call His bride fair and beautiful, or my love, or my dove, when things are well between her and Him. It is a much more amazing thing for the backslidden convert to hear the Lord Jesus still saying, "you are beautiful to Me with the beauty that I have given you."

Notice, also, what He tells her to do, "rise up and come" (Song of Songs 2:10, Song of Songs 2:13). His voice gave you life, made you alive from the dead, resurrected you, so that being alive for the first time, you were able to believe in Him. Now, if His voice said, "Rise and come," then, and you arose and were able to come, like Lazarus, then, mustn't it also be powerful enough to work when you're spiritually ill, asleep, or even in the spiritual equivalent of a coma? 

Furthermore, the Lord Jesus isn't just working in you and upon you. He is the sovereign Lord God over heaven and earth. And He says that He is overruling all of those things to take them from having a deadening effect like winter to the invigorating and reviving effect of spring. 

"The winter is past. The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth. The time of singing has come. The voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs. The vines with the tender grapes give a good smell." The word picture being used here is one you are familiar with. When you go outside in the spring and everything is alive and everything is warming and everything is sweet and everything is fresh, it seems like every animal, every bird, every plant, every tree is crying out to you to be alive and invigorated and refreshed.

The last thing to overcome is our shyness, our skittishness about how He might think of us. We are hiding, skittish, like a dove that, as soon as you take a step in its direction, flies away and tucks itself into a nook or a cranny to hide. He says, "Let me see your face. Let me hear your voice. Your voice is sweet. Your face is lovely." The loveliness of our praying, and the loveliness of our praising, was never dependent upon how well we were doing spiritually. The repentant believer should know that she has a beauty that is derived from Him in His own eyes. He counts her face lovely. He counts her voice sweet. He finds pleasure in her praying and her praising.

The Lord has His ministers, His elders, whom He has given charge of being under shepherds and governors in His church for her protection from those who are spiritually dangerous, especially in the church. The phrase "catch us the foxes" contains a plural masculine verb. Foxes and wolves are two images that are used for false teachers and those who are deceptive, and then also persecutors. Even the little foxes. Every theological error causes us to misunderstand God, hinders us, hinders our faith in Christ, hinders the fruitfulness of our faith in Christ.

And she, having now recounted his words, returns to speaking herself. She affirms what she had said before: "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine; He feeds among the lilies." Now remember, "lily" here is a name for believers. Jesus has always been faithfully feeding His people. That theological truth (Song of Songs 2:16) gets turned over into prayer (Song of Songs 2:17).  We take the truth that He teaches us in the Bible and immediately turn that over into prayer: “Until the second coming, Lord, be that gazelle or young stag, and always be overcoming the mountains of division between me and You. Never let anything come between us. Overcome everything in me and everything in our circumstance. And raise me up and make me also to come to You.”

When has the Lord seemed distant or hidden from you? What was He doing at that time? How does He overcome the obstacles between you and Him? What does He tell you to do? What will make them effective?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we thank You for this song. We thank You for how it turns our attention, in times of spiritual difficulty, away from ourselves and toward You. We pray that, just as You are constantly and continuously faithful, You would make Yourself known to us by Your voice, that summons us to renewed faithfulness. We thank You and praise You that Your voice, which resurrected us into spiritual life in the first place, has the power and the life to renew us in faithfulness in our walk with You. And, we pray that You would bring us into a new springtime in our relationship with You. Grant this, we pray, to each of us, in Jesus's Name. Amen.

Suggested songs: ARP130 “Lord, From the Depths to You I Cried” or TPH425 “How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place”

Royally Wise [Family Worship lesson in Proverbs 20:2–8]

How does wise authority bless us? Proverbs 20:2–8 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that wise authorities motivate us to be wise. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audiot: the devotional emphasizes that wise authority—whether civil, familial, or spiritual—functions as a divine instrument to turn people from folly to wisdom, exemplified by the certainty of a king’s judgment, which mirrors God’s perfect justice. Examples of this transformation are the rejection of quarrelsomeness, the cultivation of peacemaking, the avoidance of laziness, and the discernment of one’s own heart. Pastor underscores that true faithfulness and righteousness are rare, rooted in God’s grace, and that the ultimate model of wisdom is Christ, Who alone embodies perfect integrity, faithfulness, and authority. As a result, believers are called to live with humility, diligence, and peace, knowing that their lives are under the sovereign rule of the King of Kings.

2025.12.22 Hopewell @Home ▫ Proverbs 20:2–8

Read Proverbs 20:2–8

Questions from the Scripture text: Whose wrath is like what (Proverbs 20:2a)? What does who do to himself (verse 2b)? What is honorable for a man to do (Proverbs 20:3a)? Who is compared to whom (verse 3b)? Why does the lazy man claim he’s not plowing (Proverbs 20:4a)? What will he do, when (verse 4b)? What is there in a man’s heart (Proverbs 20:5a)? What is it like? Who will do what (verse 5b)? What will most men do (Proverbs 20:6a)? Who is hard to find (verse 6b)? How does the righteous man walk (Proverbs 20:7a)? Who are happy (verse 7b)? Where does a king sit (Proverbs 20:8a)? What does he scatter (verse 8b)? With what?

How does wise authority bless us? Proverbs 20:2–8 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that wise authorities motivate us to be wise.  

Solomon has been teaching us the needfulness of discipline. Now he turns, and by the bookends (Proverbs 20:2, Proverbs 20:8) of this next section, we see that the subject is the king, the needfulness and usefulness of having a good civil magistrate. We are helped against folly by the inevitability of the king's wrath (Proverbs 20:2). The king scatters all evil with his eyes (Proverbs 20:8). Between these two bookends, we have a comparison between folly and wisdom. 

The first part of that folly is being quarrelsome (Proverbs 20:3b). Those who diffuse quarrels (verse 3a) will be called sons of God (cf. Matthew 5:9). 

A second sort of folly, from which good authority turns us, is laziness (Proverbs 20:4a). Not only does the fool beg, but he still has nothing (verse 4b). He doesn’t image God, or imitate Christ (cf. John 5:17), and he is a drain upon the society of the king.

A third sort of fool is the plotter or the conniver. We need the mirror (James 1:23) and scalpel (Hebrews 4:12) of the Word to reveal the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. We need the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We must be skilled to discern our own hearts, if we are going to be able to help others (cf. Matthew 7:5), especially as authorities (Proverbs 20:8). 

Sadly, most men do not do this; they credit themselves with being as good as God (Proverbs 20:6a), when faithful men are actually very few. These faithful walk blamelessly (Proverbs 20:7a), and are blessings not only to themselves but to generations (verse 7b). Which is why, wise authority is so needful (Proverbs 20:8a), and why wise authorities weed out all evil from their domains (verse 8b).

What authorities in your life are helping you to be wise? Over whom do you have authority, or do you hope to one day? How are you pursuing wisdom for them? How does Christ’s authority motivate you to be wise? 

Sample prayer:  Lord, we pray that You would draw out of our hearts the fleshly counsel that is there, so that we may be quarrel stoppers, diligent, discerning, and humble. Give us good authorities, under Christ's ultimate authority, we ask in His Name. Amen!

Suggested songs: ARP1 “How Blessed the Man” or TPH72A “O God, Your Judgments Give the King”

2025.12.14 Lord's Day Livestreams (live at 10:10a, 11:10a, and 3p)

To tune in for the Lord's Day streams, we recommend that you visit the livestream page.

Betrayal Prophesied [Family Worship lesson in Matthew 26:14–25]

What do we learn about Jesus’s betrayal? Matthew 26:14–25 looks forward to the morning sermon in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twelve verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we are to see treachery, sovereignty, obedience, and sinfulness, as we consider Jesus’s betrayal. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: This devotional centers on the prophesied betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, revealing profound truths about divine sovereignty, human treachery, and Christ’s willing obedience. The betrayal is marked by deep treachery, as one of Jesus’s closest disciples, part of His household and family, conspires against Him, highlighting the gravity of apostasy within the covenant community. Yet Jesus affirms that His death is not a tragic accident but the fulfillment of Scripture, demonstrating God’s sovereign plan and Christ’s intentional obedience to the Father’s will. The scene also exposes the brazen nature of sin, as Judas, having heard Jesus’s solemn warning and even the curse upon the betrayer, still proceeds with his betrayal, revealing the deceptive and self-justifying character of unrepentant evil. Ultimately, the passage calls believers to profound self-examination, humility, and reliance on Christ’s righteousness, recognizing that only through His grace can we be cleansed from our capacity for such betrayal and made obedient like Him.

2025.12.20 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 26:14–25

Read Matthew 26:14–25

Questions from the Scripture text: One of whom is acting (v14)? Which one? To whom did he go? What does he want to know about what they are willing to do (v15)? What does he propose to do? What do they weigh out to him? What does he begin to do (v16)? What day is it in v17? Who come to Whom? What do they ask Him? Where does He say to go (v18)? Whom are they to find? What are they to say to him? How does this go (v19)? What time is it in v20? What does Jesus do with whom? What are they doing in v21? About whom does Jesus speak? What will one of them do? How do they respond (v22)? What do each of them begin to do? What does Jesus now add about the betrayer (v23)? Who is going to die (v24)? According to what? But what does He say about the betrayer—what would have been better for that man? Who speaks in v25? What is he literally in the process of doing? What does he “ask”? How does Jesus answer? 

What do we learn about Jesus’s betrayal? Matthew 26:14–25 looks forward to the morning sermon in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twelve verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we are to see treachery, sovereignty, obedience, and sinfulness, as we consider Jesus’s betrayal.

Treachery. The Jews could attack Jesus, but only a disciple could betray Him. He is “one of the twelve” (v14), who should have been serving Him (v17, 19), and counted as His own household with whom He would keep the Passover (v18). He was “one of you” (v21). He was one “who dipped his hand with Me in the dish” (v23). The passage emphasizes the treachery. The closer we are to Christ, whether spiritually, or even just covenantally, the more grievous are our sins against Him. There are ways that only professing believers can sin against Him.

Sovereignty. In the midst of all of this, Jesus performs an “unnecessary” miracle with respect to the location for their Passover (v18–19). Its purpose is to emphasize His sovereignty over His own betrayal. He Himself does that by referring to the Scriptures (v24) that He has given by His Spirit (cf. 1Pet 1:11). The Jews may be conspiring, and Judas betraying, but Jesus is sovereign over it all. No one takes His life from Him; He has authority to lay it down (cf. Jn 10:18). Jesus’s death must be an intentional act of God, in order for it to atone and save.

Obedience. Even while emphasizing His sovereignty over His betrayal, with respect to His divinity, Jesus also emphasizes His obedience in His betrayal, with respect to His humanity. He “goes just as it is written of Him” (v24). He is intentionally, resolutely going to do what the Scriptures say. We must marvel at this obedience, and rejoice that it is reckoned unto our righteousness through faith in Him. 

Sinfulness. We see the deceitfulness and brazenness of sin. The disciples realize that sin is deceitful, and that Jesus knows their susceptibility to it better than they do (v22). But it is also brazen. Right after hearing Jesus’s curse upon the betrayer (v24), Judas pretends that he is just like the rest of them (v25), even while he is actively looking for his chance to betray Him (v16). His sinfulness has no fear and no shame. How deceitful, fearless, and shameless is sin!

How are your sins against Jesus more treacherous than sins of those who don’t know Him, or identify with Him? What situations do you most need to remember that Christ is sovereign over? How is Christ’s obedience important to you? For what, in your life, is it especially an example to you? How is your sin deceitful? About what sins do you most need to fear more or feel more shame?

Sample prayer: Father, we thank You that what You have willed to give for the life of the world is Your Son; and that He has willingly given Himself; and that Your Spirit gladly applies His salvation to us. And, we pray for the grace of Your Holy Spirit to do this to us and in us, even by making use of Your Word, and this time that we have just spent in it. For we ask it in Jesus's name. Amen.

 Suggested Songs: ARP2 “Why Do Gentile Nations Rage” or TPH98A “O Sing a New Song to the Lord”

Love that Leaps Mountains [Family Worship lesson in Song of Songs 2:8–17]

What can help a backslider? Song of Songs 2:8–17 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord powerfully and eagerly overcomes His bride’s separation from Him. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The passage presents a portrait of Christ’s unwavering faithfulness amid the believer’s experience of spiritual distance, using the imagery of a Beloved Who, though seemingly hidden, is actively pursuing and restoring His bride. Central to the message is the assurance that Christ’s voice—revealed through Scripture, preaching, and the work of His church—is the primary means by which He overcomes every obstacle. Despite the believer’s perceived unworthiness or failure, Christ continues to call her 'My love, My fair one, My dove,' affirming her beauty and value in His eyes, not by her condition, but by His grace. The call to 'rise and come away' is both a command and a promise, rooted in Christ’s sovereign power to revive and restore, transforming the most barren season into springtime of renewal. The passage culminates in a heartfelt prayer for Christ to remain ever-present, overcoming all barriers until the final day when shadows flee and His presence is fully experienced.

2025.12.19 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 2:8–17

Read Song of Songs 2:8–17

Questions from the Scripture text: Whose voice does she hear (v8a)? What is He doing (v8b)? In what manner (v8c–9a)? Who is able to see whom (v9b–d)? Whose speech does she recall in v10–15? What does He call her (v10, 13, 14)? What does He tell her to do (v10, 13)? What are the current conditions (v11–13)? How does He overcome her shyness (v14)? What does the Bridegroom tell others to do (v15a)? Even which ones (v15b)? What has the bride realized in v16? Whom does she ask to fulfill the truth that she has learned (v17, cf. v8–9)? 

What can help a backslider? Song of Songs 2:8–17 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord powerfully and eagerly overcomes His bride’s separation from Him. 

The situation in these verses is very different from the situation in the passage immediately preceding it. The bridegroom and the bride had been in close fellowship. Here, He seems distant. And this is the experience of Christians in this world. We go through seasons of backsliding or of coldness towards Him, or where it seems that He is hidden or invisible or obscured.

Happily, the bulk of the passage is on what the Bridegroom is doing and what the Bridegroom is saying, so that we may know that, however inconsistent our behavior towards Jesus is, and however inconsistent our experience of the Lord Jesus is, the Lord Jesus's behavior towards us, and thoughts and affections towards us, are perfectly consistent and wonderful. 

Note then at the beginning of the passage, how the Lord makes himself known to us consistently, continually, especially by his voice. The way that she observes him leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills, overcoming the obstacles between him and her, between her and him, and coming to her is by means of his voice: “The voice of my beloved!” 

What this means for us is that, whereas we know that we always need to be hearing the voice of the Lord Jesus, especially we need it, when Christ seems distant, when Christ seems invisible to us. It is then that we most need to read our Bibles, and especially sit under faithful preaching.

Look at Who is the one doing all of the moving here (v8–9). The difficulty is in us and in our circumstances. But the solution is not in us. We have a responsibility (v10–13). We need to listen to Him and do what He says. But we see that the effectiveness of it is not by means of our rising and coming away. The effectiveness of overcoming the distance between us and Jesus is by His coming. “Behold, He comes!” And look at the way He comes. He has hills and mountains in the way, but it is not difficult for Him to overcome them. Look at His ability and even eagerness and delight. So the Lord Jesus is the One who overcomes especially by means of His voice.

And the next thing we see in v10–13 is the content of what he says. It is one thing for the Lord Jesus to call His bride fair and beautiful, or my love, or my dove, when things are well between her and Him. It is a much more amazing thing for the backslidden convert to hear the Lord Jesus still saying, "you are beautiful to Me with the beauty that I have given you."

Notice, also, what He tells her to do, "rise up and come" (v10, 13). His voice gave you life, made you alive from the dead, resurrected you, so that being alive for the first time, you were able to believe in Him. Now, if His voice said, "Rise and come," then, and you arose and were able to come, like Lazarus, then, mustn't it also be powerful enough to work when you're spiritually ill, asleep, or even in the spiritual equivalent of a coma? 

Furthermore, the Lord Jesus isn't just working in you and upon you. He is the sovereign Lord God over heaven and earth. And He says that He is overruling all of those things to take them from having a deadening effect like winter to the invigorating and reviving effect of spring. 

"The winter is past. The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth. The time of singing has come. The voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs. The vines with the tender grapes give a good smell." The word picture being used here is one you are familiar with. When you go outside in the spring and everything is alive and everything is warming and everything is sweet and everything is fresh, it seems like every animal, every bird, every plant, every tree is crying out to you to be alive and invigorated and refreshed.

The last thing to overcome is our shyness, our skittishness about how He might think of us. We are hiding, skittish, like a dove that, as soon as you take a step in its direction, flies away and tucks itself into a nook or a cranny to hide. He says, "Let me see your face. Let me hear your voice. Your voice is sweet. Your face is lovely." The loveliness of our praying, and the loveliness of our praising, was never dependent upon how well we were doing spiritually. The repentant believer should know that she has a beauty that is derived from Him in His own eyes. He counts her face lovely. He counts her voice sweet. He finds pleasure in her praying and her praising.

The Lord has His ministers, His elders, whom He has given charge of being under shepherds and governors in His church for her protection from those who are spiritually dangerous, especially in the church. The phrase "catch us the foxes" contains a plural masculine verb. Foxes and wolves are two images that are used for false teachers and those who are deceptive, and then also persecutors. Even the little foxes. Every theological error causes us to misunderstand God, hinders us, hinders our faith in Christ, hinders the fruitfulness of our faith in Christ.

And she, having now recounted his words, returns to speaking herself. She affirms what she had said before: "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine; He feeds among the lilies." Now remember, "lily" here is a name for believers. Jesus has always been faithfully feeding His people. That theological truth (v16) gets turned over into prayer (v17).  We take the truth that He teaches us in the Bible and immediately turn that over into prayer: “Until the second coming, Lord, be that gazelle or young stag, and always be overcoming the mountains of division between me and You. Never let anything come between us. Overcome everything in me and everything in our circumstance. And raise me up and make me also to come to You.”

When has the Lord seemed distant or hidden from you? What was He doing at that time? How does He overcome the obstacles between you and Him? What does He tell you to do? What will make them effective?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we thank You for this song. We thank You for how it turns our attention, in times of spiritual difficulty, away from ourselves and toward You. We pray that, just as You are constantly and continuously faithful, You would make Yourself known to us by Your voice, that summons us to renewed faithfulness. We thank You and praise You that Your voice, which resurrected us into spiritual life in the first place, has the power and the life to renew us in faithfulness in our walk with You. And, we pray that You would bring us into a new springtime in our relationship with You. Grant this, we pray, to each of us, in Jesus's Name. Amen.

Suggested songs: ARP130 “Lord, From the Depths to You I Cried” or TPH425 “How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place” 

The Sin by Which We Fell [Children's Catechism 31 Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 31—especially explaining how we fell by Adam’s eating the forbidden fruit. Q31. What was the sin of our first parents? Eating the forbidden fruit. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The lesson unpacks the profound theological significance of Adam's transgression, emphasizing that their fall was a catastrophic breach of the covenant of works It highlights that Adam’s sin was more severe because he knowingly and willfully rebelled against God’s design, failing in his role as head of the family and covenant representative. All humanity was personally and legally represented in him, so that every person inherits a sinful nature and fallen estate due to his transgression. Rooted in 1 Timothy 2:14, the lesson reveals how the fall was both a personal act of rebellion and a corporate event with eternal consequences, making the need for redemption through Christ both urgent and deeply personal.

2025.12.18 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ecclesiastes 9:10–12

Read Ecclesiastes 9:10–12

Questions from the Scripture text: What might our hand find (Ecclesiastes 9:10)? In what manner should we do it? Why—what four things are not employed where? What does Solomon return and do in Ecclesiastes 9:11a? Who doesn’t necessarily win the race (verse 11b)? Who does not necessarily win the battle (verse 11c)? Who does not necessarily obtain provision (verse 11d)? Who does not necessarily accumulate wealth (verse 11e)? Who does not necessarily gain favor (verse 11f)? What two things happen to whom in verse 11g? What doesn’t a man know (Ecclesiastes 9:12a)? In what two ways (verse 12b and 12c) are who caught, at what time (verse 12d)? How does it come upon them (verse 12e)?

How must we live? Ecclesiastes 9:10–12 prepares us for the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we must live in devotion unto, and dependence upon, the Lord. 

God’s providence gives you your life (cf. Ecclesiastes 9:9), the time and place at which you live (cf. Acts 17:26), and the occupations into which you come (Ecclesiastes 9:10a). Therefore, you must do everything with diligence and zeal as unto the Lord (verse 10b; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:17, Colossians 3:23). 

Two things, in this passage, are helps unto this diligence and zeal: what you do know, and what you do not know. You do know that you are about to go to your grave (Ecclesiastes 9:10c). There, the usefulness of your labor, technique/device, knowledge, and wisdom, will have expired. So, use them before their (and your!) expiration date. Since you do not know when that expiration date is (Ecclesiastes 9:12a), you need to use all that God gives you, diligently and zealously, now! Otherwise, you will find that, like a fish or a bird that thought you were going to get something that you desired (verse 12b–c), you will be snapped up in your falsely blissful ignorance (verse 12e) at what seems to you like an evil time (verse 12d).

To use language from later in the book, if you do not, right now, remember the Lord in everything that you do (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:1a), then the days to come will be difficult/evil for you, indeed (cf. verse 12:1b).

But not only must you be devoted to the Lord in all that you do, you must also be dependent upon the Lord in all that you do. As you use what speed He has given you, you must not trust your speed (Ecclesiastes 9:11b, cf. 2 Samuel 2:18–23). As you use what strength He has given you, you must not trust your strength (Ecclesiastes 9:11c, cf. Judges 16). As you use what wisdom, understanding, and skill He has given you, you must not trust your wisdom, understanding, or skill (Ecclesiastes 9:11d, e, f). Solomon himself is one of the greatest examples of how poor one’s behavior and outcomes may be, despite maximizing all of these. 

Ultimately, we must remember that the Lord’s sovereign providence is determining every outcome (Ecclesiastes 9:11g). So, the most effective attribute on man’s part is the fear of the Lord. It is He Who has given us all of our abilities, capacities, possessions, and opportunities. So, fearing Him translates into employing them all, zealously, for His glory. But fearing Him also necessarily means not trusting any of these, or presuming upon any particular earthly outcome. Our joy must ultimately be in Him, and only secondarily in what He enables us to do, or whatever temporal outcomes He grants us.

What have your hands found to do in the providence of God? What abilities, capacities, possessions, and opportunities has He given you? To what extent are you employing them? How can you tell, from your life, what you are trusting in as you do so?

Sample prayer:  Lord, forgive us for how we have not done all things heartily, as unto You, or for the glory of Christ. We have often wasted time, ability, possessions, or opportunity. And then, forgive us, also, for when we have used what You have given us, but with the idea that we would obtain the outcome by how well we did. Give us to live in the fear of the Lord, both in how devoted our lives are, and also in how dependent our lives are. We thank You that Christ always did this perfectly. For His sake, please both forgive us, and make us to be like unto Him, by His Spirit, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP23B “The Lord’s My Shepherd” or TPH131B “Not Haughty Is My Heart”

2025.12.17 Midweek Meeting Livestream (live at 6:30p)

To tune in for the Prayer Meeting, we recommend that you visit the livestream page.

2025.12.17 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 24:8–16

Read Deuteronomy 24:8–16

Questions from the Scripture text: What might happen to them (Deuteronomy 24:8)? Who will teach them what they must do? To whom else had it happened (Deuteronomy 24:9, cf. Numbers 12)? What might they do (Deuteronomy 24:10)? What mustn’t they do to their brother? What must they do (Deuteronomy 24:11)? In what case must they not do what (Deuteronomy 24:12)? With what result (Deuteronomy 24:13)? What mustn’t they do to whom (Deuteronomy 24:14)? Of what ethnicities? What must they do daily (Deuteronomy 24:15)? Lest what should happen? Who must not be put to death for what (Deuteronomy 24:16)?

How important is our use of the tongue? Deuteronomy 24:8–16 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that in the tongue is the power of life and death.  

Deuteronomy 24:8-9 seem to intrude upon the flow of the text. Also, the priestly procedures referenced (cf. Leviticus 11–15) were rigorous. Thankfully, the Spirit’s reference to Miriam helps us understand the placement here. She was struck with leprosy for slandering Moses (cf. Numbers 12:2). This is a reminder of how seriously the Lord takes tongue sins.

Deuteronomy 24:10-15 remind us that the words of the poor are no less valuable for their poverty. They are to be taken weightily without violating their privacy to secure a pledge, or even retaining the pledge in any way that injures them. In taking their words weightily, we follow the Lord, Who listens to them whether thy bless (Deuteronomy 24:13) or curse (Deuteronomy 24:15).

Finally, Deuteronomy 24:16 reminds us of what is at stake in legal testimony (which is the context of the 9th commandment). The penalty is often death, and must be applied justly, only to him who is guilty. Speech is a great responsibility (cf. Proverbs 18:21). We must use it in service and obedience to God.

Against what authorities are you tempted to sin with your tongue? Whose words are you tempted to treat as unimportant? In what circumstances do you give testimony about others? How seriously do you take it?

Sample prayer:  Lord, forgive us for our carelessness with our tongues. Forgive us for speaking ill of those in authority. And forgive us for treating the words of others as unimportant. Forgive us for being careless about our testimony about others. Forgive us, and grant that we would use out mouths in service and obedience to You, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP15 “Within Your Tent, Who Will Reside” or TPH174 “The Ten Commandments” 

2025.12.16 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 2:3–7

Read Song of Songs 2:3–7

Questions from the Scripture text: To what does the bride compare the Beloved (Song of Songs 2:3a)? Among what else? Among whom is He (verse 3b)? Where did she sit down (verse 3c)? With what experience? What did He provide her (verse 3d)? How did she find it (verse 3d)? Where did He bring her (Song of Songs 2:4a)? What did He fly over her (verse 4b)? What two things does she ask the daughters of Jerusalem to do (Song of Songs 2:5a–b)? With what two items? Why (verse 5c)? Whom does she find sustaining her in what way (Song of Songs 2:6)? Whom does she charge (Song of Songs 2:7a)? By what (verse 7b)? Not to what (verse 7c)? Until when (verse 7d)?

What can steady us under the overwhelming love of Christ? Song of Songs 2:3–7 prepares us for the opening portion of the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christ Himself sustains believers in the overwhelming experience of His love. 

As in Song of Songs 1:16–17, the bride once again commends her Beloved, both in Himself (“Like an apple tree,” Song of Songs 2:3a) and in her experience of Him (“in His shade with great delight,” verse 3c … and “His fruit was sweet to my taste,” verse 3d). 

And just as, before, the scene changed from His pasture (Song of Songs 1:7–8) to His table (Song of Songs 1:12); so, here also, it changes from under the apple tree (Song of Songs 2:3) to His house of wine (Song of Songs 2:4, more literally translated). He is her shade, her protection from the scorching sun of her own sin and guilt (Song of Songs 2:3c). And, while under His protection, she finds Him dropping sweet fruit (verse 3d). He Himself (“He brought me,” Song of Songs 2:4a) is how she came under His protection and provision. And, He brought her by display of His love. She knows where she belongs, because she is His beloved, and He flew that flag to summon her there (verse 4b). 

This love is literally overwhelming. In Song of Songs 2:5, she needs reviving. The plural verbs indicate that she is asking the daughters of Jerusalem, but the raisin cakes (verse 5a) come from the same place as the house of wine, and the apples (verse 5b) come from the apple tree. In other words, as she faints from the immensity of His love (verse 5c), she asks the church to revive and refresh her with that which comes from the Beloved. 

The wonderful thing about having the church revive you with the fruit of Christ is that you find that it is Christ Himself Who is reviving you. This is her realization in Song of Songs 2:6. She is not merely sustained by that which is of Christ; she is sustained by Christ Himself. His own left hand under her head (verse 6a), His own right hand embracing her (verse 6b). Isn’t this a wonderful realization, dear Christian? When you are overwhelmed by the experience of His love, and He steadies you under it with the sound theology of Who He is and what He has done, it is He Himself, Who is upholding you. As she comes-to from her swoon, she finds herself in the arms of Him Who caught her. What a beautiful image for when our spiritual emotions are fortified by sound doctrine in the church!

And genuine experience of His true, spiritual love comes only from Him, in His way. If we try to stir it up, or awaken it ourselves (Song of Songs 2:7c), it is like the gazelle or doe of the field (verse 7b), it runs away before we have begun to lay hold of it. It can only come on its own, proper, terms (verse 7d; the feminine verb indicates that it is love itself which is pleased to do the stirring up). Genuine experience of Christ’s true love does not come by our stirring it up, but from Him, by His Word, by which also He steadies and strengthens us under it.

Believers are steadied in the overwhelming love of Christ by the theological reality of their union with Him.

When have you been overwhelmed by Christ’s love? By what sturdy doctrines has He held you up under that love?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for making us to know Your reviving, sweet love. Uphold us by Your grace, we ask in Your Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP45AB “My Heart Is Greatly Stirred” or TPH425 “How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place”

2025.12.15 Hopewell @Home ▫ Proverbs 19:24–20:1

Read Proverbs 19:24–20:1

Questions from the Scripture text: What sort of man does what to his hand (Proverbs 19:24a)? Then, what doesn’t he do (verse 24b)? What action, with whom, has what result in Proverbs 19:25a? And what action, with whom else, has what result in verse 25b? What does the son in Proverbs 19:26 do? With what result? What might the son in Proverbs 19:27 stop doing? With what result? What kind of witness does what in Proverbs 19:28a? Whose mouth does what in verse 28b? What is prepared, for whom, in Proverbs 19:29a? And what, for whom, in verse 29b? What do win and strong drink do to whom (Proverbs 20:1)?

What happens without discipline and instruction? Proverbs 19:24–20:1 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these seven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that, without discipline and heeded instruction, a fool comes to harm himself, his household, and his society.  

While the one who fears the Lord abides in satisfaction (Proverbs 19:23b), the lazy man is not benefited by the availability of food. He even loses his hand, which comes to be hidden in the bowl (Proverbs 19:24). 

For the one who is a scoffer out of ignorance (Proverbs 19:25a), it is not yet too late. By flogging, he may gain awareness of his danger. And the one who has understanding can benefit even from just a word of rebuke (verse 25b). 

Apart from this effect of discipline, however, things get worse. In Proverbs 19:26, the laziness of the son has taken its full effect. He is described as plundering (more literal than “mistreats”) his father and chasing his mother. The idea is that the unchecked fool does harm to more than himself.

As with Proverbs 19:20, Proverbs 19:27 inserts  word directly to the son: always continue to listen to instruction, lest you end up on the path being described in the rest of this passage.

In Proverbs 19:28–20:1, the circle of harm broadens past the household into the society. The breakdown of justice (Proverbs 19:28a) and proliferation of crimes (verse 28b) comes to necessitate public civil punishment (Proverbs 19:29), and the chaos and destruction of one who loses all self-control, in this case, accelerated by drunkenness (Proverbs 20:1). 

How fools, and others, will suffer, if the fool is suffered to be foolish! How necessary is parental discipline, and the son’s receptiveness to it! 

How receptive are you to instruction? Whom are you responsible for discipling and instructing? 

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for warning us about the harm that our folly may do to ourselves and others. Forgive us our sins, and give us soft and repentant hearts. Make us a blessing to ourselves and to others through Christ, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP7B “God Is My Shield” or TPH141 “O LORD, to You I Call” 

2025.12.14 Lord's Day Livestreams (live at 10:10a, 11:10a, and 3p)

To tune in for the Lord's Day streams, we recommend that you visit the livestream page.

True, Overwhelming Love [Family Worship lesson in Song of Songs 2:3–7]

What can steady us under the overwhelming love of Christ? Song of Songs 2:3–7 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christ Himself sustains believers in the overwhelming experience of His love. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The Song of Songs 2:3–7 presents a rich theological portrait of Christ as the ultimate source of spiritual beauty, refreshment, and safety, depicted through vivid imagery of an apple tree in the woods, a sheltering shade, and a banquet of wine. The bride’s experience of Christ’s love is both deeply personal and profoundly restorative—she finds delight in His protection, sweetness in His provision, and overwhelming joy in His presence, which sustains her even when she is spiritually overwhelmed. Her plea for the daughters of Jerusalem to sustain her with raisins and apples symbolizes the need for the church to nourish one another with the truth of Christ, not merely emotional experiences, for it is through the reality that sound doctrine describes that Christ Himself catches and upholds the believer. The passage warns against seeking religious affections apart from the solid foundation of Christ’s identity and work, emphasizing that genuine intimacy with Him requires both theological truth and personal union through faith. Ultimately, the devotional calls believers to rest in Christ, not in fleeting emotional highs, but in the enduring reality of Him and that union with Him into which He Himself brings us.

2025.12.12 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 2:3–7

Read Song of Songs 2:3–7

Questions from the Scripture text: To what does the bride compare the Beloved (v3a)? Among what else? Among whom is He (v3b)? Where did she sit down (v3c)? With what experience? What did He provide her (v3d)? How did she find it (v3d)? Where did He bring her (v4a)? What did He fly over her (v4b)? What two things does she ask the daughters of Jerusalem to do (v5a–b)? With what two items? Why (v5c)? Whom does she find sustaining her in what way (v6)? Whom does she charge (v7a)? By what (v7b)? Not to what (v7c)? Until when (v7d)?

What can steady us under the overwhelming love of Christ? Song of Songs 2:3–7 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christ Himself sustains believers in the overwhelming experience of His love. 

As in 1:16–17, the bride once again commends her Beloved, both in Himself (“Like an apple tree,” v3a) and in her experience of Him (“in His shade with great delight,” v3c … and “His fruit was sweet to my taste,” v3d). 

And just as, before, the scene changed from His pasture (1:7–8) to His table (v12); so, here also, it changes from under the apple tree (v3) to His house of wine (v4, more literally translated). He is her shade, her protection from the scorching sun of her own sin and guilt (v3c). And, while under His protection, she finds Him dropping sweet fruit (v3d). He Himself (“He brought me,” v4a) is how she came under His protection and provision. And, He brought her by display of His love. She knows where she belongs, because she is His beloved, and He flew that flag to summon her there (v4b). 

This love is literally overwhelming. In v5, she needs reviving. The plural verbs indicate that she is asking the daughters of Jerusalem, but the raisin cakes (v5a) come from the same place as the house of wine, and the apples (v5b) come from the apple tree. In other words, as she faints from the immensity of His love (5c), she asks the church to revive and refresh her with that which comes from the Beloved. 

The wonderful thing about having the church revive you with the fruit of Christ is that you find that it is Christ Himself Who is reviving you. This is her realization in v6. She is not merely sustained by that which is of Christ; she is sustained by Christ Himself. His own left hand under her head (v6a), His own right hand embracing her (v6b). Isn’t this a wonderful realization, dear Christian? When you are overwhelmed by the experience of His love, and He steadies you under it with the sound theology of Who He is and what He has done, it is He Himself, Who is upholding you. As she comes-to from her swoon, she finds herself in the arms of Him Who caught her. What a beautiful image for when our spiritual emotions are fortified by sound doctrine in the church!

And genuine experience of His true, spiritual love comes only from Him, in His way. If we try to stir it up, or awaken it ourselves (v7c), it is like the gazelle or doe of the field (v7b), it runs away before we have begun to lay hold of it. It can only come on its own, proper, terms (v7d; the feminine verb indicates that it is love itself which is pleased to do the stirring up). Genuine experience of Christ’s true love does not come by our stirring it up, but from Him, by His Word, by which also He steadies and strengthens us under it.

Believers are steadied in the overwhelming love of Christ by the theological reality of their union with Him.

When have you been overwhelmed by Christ’s love? By what sturdy doctrines has He held you up under that love?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for making us to know Your reviving, sweet love. Uphold us by Your grace, we ask in Your Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP45AB “My Heart Is Greatly Stirred” or TPH425 “How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place”