2026.03.06 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 6:4–13

Read Song of Songs 6:4–13

Questions from the Scripture text: Whom does the Bridegroom address (Song of Songs 6:4a)? What does He say about her beauty? What does He say about her loveliness (verse 4b)? About her awesomeness (verse 4c)? What request does He make in Song of Songs 6:5a? Why (verse 5b)? What does He complement in verse 5c–d? In what manner? What does He complement in Song of Songs 6:6? In what manner? What does He complement in Song of Songs 6:7? In what manner? To whom does He compare her (Song of Songs 6:8)? What does He call her in Song of Songs 6:9a? How do verse 9b–d describe her uniqueness? Who sees her in verse 9e? What do they call her (verse 9f)? Who see her in verse 9g? What do they do (verse 9h)? What question does Song of Songs 6:10 ask? What four things does verse 10 note about her? Where has He gone (Song of Songs 6:11a)? To see what three things (verse 11b–d)? What happened to His soul (Song of Songs 6:12b–c)? How suddenly (verse 12a)? What does He quadruply urge (Song of Songs 6:13a–b)? To whom (verse 13a)? For what purpose (verse 13b)? What does He say is to be seen in the Shulamite (verse 13c–d)? 

Why does the Bridegroom now address the bride with such affection? Song of Songs 6:4–13 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 Bridegroom is assuring the bride that she, and their relationship, have been fully restored. 

Full restoration of affection and praise (Song of Songs 6:4-7). Things had gone quite ill with the bride’s relation to her Bridegroom in Song of Songs 5:2–3. How will things be, now that they are reunited? We find that the Bridegroom speaks directly to her, not about her, and that His address is one of fully restored affection. 

He addresses her as “My love” (Song of Songs 6:4a), using a feminine form of the same word translated “friend” in Song of Songs 5:16. She is His. And she is correct about His love to her; she is His love. 

He affirms that she is both delightful and dignified. Her delightfulness is communicated both by the word translated “beautiful” (Song of Songs 6:4a) and the one translated “lovely” (verse 4b), as well as the name “Tirzah,” which means “pleasant.” Her dignity is admired metaphorically as Tirzah (frequently a royal city in the north) and even Jerusalem (not only a royal city in the south, but the place where God has made His Name to dwell on the earth). This is further emphasized by “awesome as a bannered one.” Although the word “army” isn’t actually used, the word-picture is there with the hosts paraded out, their shining armor glistening, banners unfurled. 

He affirms that she is as beautiful to Him as she has ever been. His love for her is as great as He Himself is, so that it is “His equal,” as it were, in Song of Songs 6:5a–b. The description of her adornment (verse 5c–d), her capacity for feeding in purity and fullness (Song of Songs 6:6), and her humility and affection (Song of Songs 6:7), is taken, almost word for word, from parts of Song of Songs 4:1–3. When a believer, or a church, has been backslidden and restored, there may be some fear or question of whether things “can ever be the same” again, between them and the Lord. Here, He affirms that her beauty to Him is just as it was then.

Full restoration of union and glory (Song of Songs 6:8-10). She had called Him the “chief among ten thousand” (cf. Song of Songs 5:10). He now affirms that even if there were available the greatest queens (Song of Songs 6:8a) and concubines (verse 8b), even all of the virgins in the world (verse 8c), He would have eyes and heart only for her. The church is the Lord’s special focus in all of creation and providence (cf. WCF 5.7), and in Song of Songs 6:9a–d, He hammers this home with the repetition of the word “one.”

They are so united that, just as the church has this view of Christ, so also the church comes to value the church in this same way (Song of Songs 6:9c–d). Those who are elevated to spiritual royalty must also come to this same opinion of her (verse 9e–h). This is implied by the use of the question in Song of Songs 6:10. The moon has a derivative beauty from the sun (verse 10b), and the sun has particularly given its clarity and brilliance to her (verse 10c). The darkness of night (cf. Song of Songs 3:1, Song of Songs 5:2) has been thoroughly vanquished, so that she now shines like the morning (Song of Songs 6:10a). And those who see all of this about her, and her relationship with Bridegroom, must come to be impressed with her (verse 10d) in the same way that He is (cf. Song of Songs 6:4c). 

His desire to enjoy His bride (Song of Songs 6:11-13). Finally, although NKJ sees a change in speaker here, that is not indicated by the grammar of the original, and there is not a good reason literarily or theologically to think that is the case. The Bridegroom continues, now, to reassure her of how it has come to be that He so delights in her and urges others to do so as well. Though He was hidden to her, He was always giving close attention to His garden, even when she was not particularly fruitful. So, even when there were only nuts (seeds, Song of Songs 6:11a), He was looking for the first shoots (“verdure,” verse 11b), eagerly awaiting the budding (verse 11c) and blooming and fruiting (verse 11d).

And such is His desire for her that the very beginnings of her spiritual recovery sent Him flying to her as on chariots (Song of Songs 6:12). How ready the Lord Jesus is to communicate His fellowship to the church! Further, He urges her to do the same—a double doubling of the command to return, so that she might be enjoyed by Him (Song of Songs 6:13a–b) and all who are like minded to Him. As He turns to the multitude with a second question (verse 13c, cf. Song of Songs 6:10), He explains that the church is not only the most glorious thing in this world, but that her glory is actually other-worldly. “Mahanaim” (Song of Songs 6:13d) was a name that Jacob gave to a place where he was permitted to perceive God’s camp overlaying his own (cf. Genesis 32:1–2). In the church, we see an intersection of heaven and earth. How very much Christ desires to enjoy her, and if our hearts are conformed to His, we will have the desire to know that fellowship as well!

When have you been restored from backsliding? When has your church? How are these expressions of Christ’s restored affection helpful to you in such a situation? How does your desire to know the church’s fellowship with Christ match His own desire for her fellowship?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we thank You for calling Your church Your love, and for praising her beauty to You, and her preciousness to You. Come, speak affectionately to Your bride, and make her to know Your full delight in her. Grant that all might have their hearts and minds conformed to yours, so that they will see and love Your beauty in Your bride, we ask in Your Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP45B “Daughter, Incline Your Ear” or TPH403 “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken” 

True Riches [2026.03.04 Midweek Sermon in Proverbs 22:1–9]

What is truly valuable is to be known by God and have good favor from Him.

(click here to DOWNLOAD video/mp3/pdf files of this sermon)

A Heavy Message of Comfort [Family Worship lesson in Nahum 1:1]

What sort of book is Nahum? Nahum 1:1 prepares us for the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In this verse of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Nahum is divine Scripture that hangs the weight of certain judgment around the neck of Nineveh, and all the enemies of God. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The book of Nahum delivers a solemn and weighty prophecy against Nineveh, portraying God’s inevitable judgment on evil. Though Nineveh had previously repented in the days of Jonah, Nahum reveals that its sin has now reached a point of no return. The prophecy, given as a vision and later inscribed in Scripture, underscores that God’s word is the ultimate authority for faith and life. The name Nahum, meaning 'comfort,' highlights the deep solace found in God’s certain destruction of evil. The prophet’s obscure origin emphasizes that true significance lies in divine appointment and faithful service. Ultimately, the message calls believers to take sin seriously, flee to Christ, and find lasting peace in the certainty of God’s righteous judgment.

2026.03.05 Hopewell @Home ▫ Nahum 1:1

Read Nahum 1:1

Questions from the Scripture text: What is the first thing that this little book calls itself? Against whom is this burden? What else does the burden call itself? What does it say are the contents of this book? Who had this vision? Where was he from? 

What sort of book is Nahum? Nahum 1:1 prepares us for the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In this verse of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Nahum is divine Scripture that hangs the weight of certain judgment around the neck of Nineveh, and all the enemies of God. 

Nahum is another (cf. Jonah) three-chapter book dealing exclusively with one pagan city. That there is one of these in Scripture is surprising. That there are two sends the message that we should pay close attention. Whereas Jonah proclaimed the free offer of the gospel, and God’s care to all His creatures, and especially for sinful men, Nahum comes later, as a warning of what comes if we do not cling to God in repentance and faith.  

The burden. Instantly, we feel the heaviness of the message. “Heavy” (“burden”) is the first word in the book. This warning is not being used to bring Nineveh mercy via repentance. It is tying a massive weight around Nineveh’s neck, which will surely sink it. And your sin will do so to you, too, dear reader, lower than the grave, if you do not take its warning and turn to God in repentance from sin and faith in Christ.

This introduction also tells us something about the way in which God is revealing this weighty Word.

The burden begins as a “vision.” That is to say, it is something that He shows to Nahum that he could not have seen in any other way. While unbelievers suppose Nahum has to have been written later, in order for the book to be aware of the doom of Nineveh, internal evidence puts the date between 663 and 654 b.c. “No Amon” is another name for Egypt’s Thebes, which fell in 663. But Egypt recovered Thebes in 654, so the comparison in Nahum 3:8–10, which implies that Egypt is still seen as unable to help Thebes, places the book before that date. What that means is that, at the time of writing, Nineveh is currently at the height of its military dominance and financial affluence. Its inevitable, horrific destruction wouldn’t make any earthly sense at the time, and certainly no one could have foreseen its downfall from there. But God gives a vision; He gives Nahum to see what no one could, apart from divine revelation. 

But the burden continues as “the book.” It is written down for our instruction (cf. Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11). The Lord has breathed out, by causing to be written down, whatever we need to be furnished for every good work (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16–17). The God Who can effortlessly give visions, Who could have spoken to us immediately by His Spirit, has chosen to give us a book (cf. Revelation 22:18–19). The Lord has given you His Word in Holy Scripture, dear reader. But He commits His Word to writing so that we might be the more sure, and consider it with the seriousness due unto the very Word of God.

Comforting destruction. Considering the nature of the book, it may seem odd, at first, that the name of its author is, literally, “comforting.” But, Assyria had conquered the northern kingdom and has ruthlessly oppressed Judah for the better part of a century. God’s judgment is sure, just, and complete against all evil. The inevitability and completeness of Nineveh’s judgment is truly a great comfort to the people of God. God’s judgment is certain. Every evil will be fully repaid. And, for those whose sins have been atoned for by Christ, that is a great comfort.

Lasting significance. I would love to draw some help for making use of the book from the fact that Nahum is “the Elkoshite.” But we simply don’t know what to make of it. Elkosh is almost certainly a place, not a person or family. But, our best guesses at the location are either a city in Galilee, according to the early church, or southwest of Jerusalem, according to recent archaeology. For us, the lesson may just be that God knows, but we don’t. God saves, and employs, those who are insignificant to the world. Great Nineveh is going to be destroyed, but unknown Nahum, from unknown Elkosh, is redeemed and lastingly useful. May the Lord bless to us this little, heavy book, dear reader.

How have you responded to God’s warnings of the judgment due to your sin? What use do you make of the written Word of God? How do you take comfort from the doctrine of God’s sure and full judgment? 

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for giving us to know, from Your Word, what we could not have known in any other way. And thank You for giving us Your Word in writing, that we might be sure of it and treat it with all the weightiness of Your Word. Forgive us for taking Your Word too lightly. Forgive us, especially, for how lightly we have taken the warnings of Your Word. Finally, Lord, we thank You for the comfort of knowing that You will fully repay all evil. Forgive us for how we have not taken that comfort to heart, and have unnecessarily feared the wicked, or desired to take vengeance into our own hands. Thank You that You have atoned for our sin in Christ. For His sake, forgive us, and make us to be like Him, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP7B “God Is My Shield” or TPH385 “The Lord Will Come and Not Be Slow” 

2026.03.04 Midweek Meeting Livestream (live at 6:30p)

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

Leading in Believing [Family Worship lesson in Deuteronomy 31:1–8]

How must a man lead the people of God? Deuteronomy 31:1–8 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eight verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that those who lead the people of God must do so as those who are trusting in the Lord, and leading others in trusting in Him. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The devotional emphasizes that while Moses’ departure and Joshua’s appointment mark a transition in earthly leadership, the people’s hope must remain fixed on God alone. The repeated command to be strong and of good courage is not mere encouragement but a divine mandate grounded in God’s faithfulness, calling each generation to trust Him rather than fear, even in the face of daunting challenges. Pastor underscores that every leader—whether in family, church, or nation—must first be a believer-in-chief, relying not on personal ability but on God’s sustaining presence. Ultimately, the call is to live by faith in Christ, the true Leader and Deliverer, who promises to be with His people always, empowering them to fulfill their God-given duties with courage and obedience.

2026.03.04 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 31:1–8

Read Deuteronomy 31:1–8

Questions from the Scripture text: Who spoke to whom (Deuteronomy 31:1)? What did he say about his age (Deuteronomy 31:2)? And his ability? And what has YHWH said to him? Who does cross over before them (Deuteronomy 31:3)? What will He do? So that they can do what? Who else crosses before them? What is the example of what YHWH will do to the nations of the land (Deuteronomy 31:4)? What must they do with those whom YHWH gives over to them (Deuteronomy 31:5)? What does Deuteronomy 31:6 command? Why must they? What will YHWH do? What will YHWH not do? Whom does Moses call in Deuteronomy 31:7? In whose sight? What does he command him? For what task? What does Moses call the land? What will Joshua cause them to do with the land? What promise does Moses make to him in Deuteronomy 31:8—what will YHWH do with Joshua? What won’t He do? What mustn’t Joshua do? 

How must a man lead the people of God? Deuteronomy 31:1–8 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eight verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that those who lead the people of God must do so as those who are trusting in the Lord, and leading others in trusting in Him.  

The Lord is our hope and our help, but He uses means—especially particular men. In this passage, there is a transition from Moses’s leadership to Joshua’s leadership, before the eyes of Israel. But, in the most important way, there is no transition at all. It is still YHWH Who goes before them, YHWH Who will be with them, and YHWH Who will not leave or forsake them.

The Lord has marvelously sustained Moses to lead them. He is functioning marvelously for a 120 year old (cf. Deuteronomy 34:7), but the Lord is not preparing him to lead the military campaign in the promised land (Deuteronomy 31:2). He is preparing Joshua to do that (Deuteronomy 31:3, Deuteronomy 31:8). Just as YHWH used Moses, so now He will use Joshua. Just as He destroyed and dispossessed Sihon and Og (Deuteronomy 31:4), so will He do to the nations of Canaan (Deuteronomy 31:3). This, He does in marriages through husbands, in families through dads, and in congregations through ministers and elders. 

The parallels between Deuteronomy 31:6 and Deuteronomy 31:7-8 show us the nature of leading (and following) as one who follows YHWH. 

YHWH Himself will cross over before Israel (Deuteronomy 31:3) and YHWH is the One Who goes before them (Deuteronomy 31:8). YHWH will go with Israel (Deuteronomy 31:6), and YHWH will be with Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:8). 

YHWH will not leave nor forsake Israel (Deuteronomy 31:6), and YHWH will not leave nor forsake Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Israel is to be strong and of good courage(Deuteronomy 31:6); Joshua is to be strong and of good courage (Deuteronomy 31:7). 

Israel is to obey every commandment (Deuteronomy 31:5), and Joshua must go, as he is now being commanded (Deuteronomy 31:7). Israel must not fear or be afraid (Deuteronomy 31:6, in contrast to what they did at the report of the spies), and Joshua must not fear nor be dismayed (Deuteronomy 31:8). 

The implication is plain: those by whom YHWH leads His people must do so by being the lead believers—the lead trusters in the Lord and obeyers of the Lord. They must not lead like it depends upon them, and those whom they lead must not put their trust in them. Leaders are to be “believers-in-chief” above those whom they lead.

Whom are you leading, or by whom are you being led? Whom are you/they counting on to make things turn out well? How can you tell whether you are trusting in the Lord, or whether you are trusting in the man whom the Lord is using?

Sample prayer: Lord, forgive us for when we are afraid or dismayed. This shows that we forget that You go before us, and we forget that You are with us. And forgive us for when we trust in the man that You use to lead us, when we should be trusting in You Yourself. But, give us to trust in Christ, by Whom You lead us, because He is one God, with You and with the Spirit, forever. So, we ask this in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP7B “God Is My Shield” or TPH433 “Amazing Grace” 

Where Jesus Makes Himself Known [Family Worship lesson in Song of Songs 6:1–3]

Where can we find Christ? Song of Songs 6:1–3 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that it is Christ Who finds us, in His church, by His ordained means of grace. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: Song of Songs 6:1–3 emphasizes that the church—described as the bride and the garden of spices—is both the place and the means by which Christ is sought, known, and enjoyed. The church is where He feeds His flock and gathers His lilies. This vision calls the church to prioritize Christ-centered teaching and mutual edification as marks of true spiritual vitality.

2026.03.03 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 6:1–3

Read  Song of Songs 6:1–3

Questions from the Scripture text: What do the Daughters of Jerusalem ask the bride (Song of Songs 6:1a, c)? What do they call her (verse 1b)? Why do they ask (verse 1d)? Where does the bride say that He has gone (Song of Songs 6:2a)? What is there (verse 2b)? What does He intend to do there (verse 2c–d)? What does she conclude about herself (Song of Songs 6:3a)? And about Him (verse 3b)? What does she ultimately conclude that He is doing, where (verse 3c)? 

Where can we find Christ? Song of Songs 6:1–3 prepares us for the opening portion of public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that it is Christ Who finds us, in His church, by His ordained means of grace. 

One of the great things that believers can do for the church is ask her to tell them about Christ Himself (cf. Song of Songs 5:9). Now, in these three verses, we see a second: ask the church where/how Christ is to be found. True church members desire to find Him themselves (“that we may seek Him with you,” Song of Songs 6:1d). And true church members desire for the church, corporately, to find Him. So, one of their great services to themselves and to her is to ask, “Where has your Beloved gone?” (verse 1a) or “Where has your Beloved turned aside?” (verse 1c). In answering these questions, the church herself finds her beloved.

It turns out to be vital that these church members continue to have this view of the bride: “fairest among women” (Song of Songs 6:1b). For, when the church answers the question of where Christ is to be found, the answer is… the church! “My Beloved has gone to His garden.” Now, not everything that is called the church is automatically a place where Christ is found. Rather, when the church is producing Christlikeness (“beds of spices”), and devoted to the means of His grace by which He feeds them (“feeding [His flock]”), that the congregations (“gardens”) as His church (“His garden.”) 

When the church has not been well or done well, the answer is not to turn to something else. The parachurch inclination is opposite the way of the Lord. The solution is not to work outside the church, but the reformation and revival of the church itself. This is where Christ will be found.

And what is He doing there? Gathering lilies. This language of gathering (Song of Songs 6:2d) is used of Christ’s collecting believers to Himself (cf. Matthew 23:37, John 11:52). What does Jesus do in His garden? He eats, He enjoys, He invites current friends/beloved to do the same (cf. Song of Songs 5:1); and, He gathers lilies. Notice that this is done not just in “His garden” (singular, Song of Songs 6:2a), but “in the gardens” (plural, verse 2c). The church is not merely some nebulous association of all believers in the world; it is found especially in particular congregations. Jesus walks among the lampstands. If this was true of the church at the time of the Song, how much more in the age of the gospel!

What a wonderful cure this was for the bride, in this Song! In the four short lines of Song of Songs 6:2, as she answered the daughters, she becomes the means of her own rediscovery of her Beloved. What a blessed ministry the church has, where, in order to do good to her members, she is the means of her own revival.

And this is her conclusion: “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved’s is mine” (Song of Songs 6:3a–b). Her “veil” (cf. Song of Songs 5:7) is restored. She has recovered her confidence in their marriage bond, her certainty in His love. She knows Him, again, as she has before: as the One Who feeds His flock among the lilies. Among those whom He is gathering to Himself.

Dear Christian, dear church, this is where Christ gives you to know Him with confidence: as the One Who has betrothed you to Himself, the One Who feeds His flock in His church—the One Who gathers His elect to Himself, by His means, in His church. Let us come to Him, in His church, in His means, where we will find this altogether lovely One! Or rather… it is there that He has ordained to find us.

How have you sought, from your own congregation, to know where Christ can be found? How have you sought to be provided with those things in which He can be found? How have you availed yourself of the means of His grace in your congregation? What has been your experience of Christ in those means?

Sample prayer:  Lord, You are our Beloved. Give to our congregation to teach us where to find You. And give to our congregation to look for You in the means of grace, so that we may seek You together. Make us to know that we are Yours. Make us to know that You are ours. Feed Your flock here, and gather Your elect to Yourself. Make us to know and see You, again, our altogether lovely One, we ask in Your Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP34B “I Will at All Times Bless the LORD” or TPH87A “Zion, Founded on the Mountains”

The Covenant that Only Condemns Us [Children's Catechism 42—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 42—especially explaining how the Covenant of Works can only kill us; for salvation, we need Christ, and His Covenant of Grace.

Q42. Why can none be saved through the covenant of works? Because all have broken it, and are condemned by it. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)