The Bride’s Crowning Beauties [2026.03.15 Evening Sermon in Song of Songs 7:1–9a]

The Lord delights in His church as the place where His elect have safety and growth.

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Who Can Endure His Wrath? [2026.03.15 Morning Sermon in Nahum 1:1–6]

Though YHWH is slow to anger, it is not from inability to judge, nor unwillingness. And, He tells us about His wrath, so we will respond rightly to it by faith, as if we had already seen it by sight—by fleeing to Jesus from the wrath to come.

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Partaking of Christ Himself [2026.03.15 Sabbath School lesson in WCF 27.1.3—Hopewell 101]

The sacraments signify Christ and His benefits, as evidenced in 1Cor 10–11, by the Spirit's instruction that, when we come to the Lord's Supper, it should be Christ Himself of Whom we come to partake.

(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The lesson centers on the theological significance of sacraments as divine signs and seals of the covenant of grace, emphasizing that they point not to human institutions or rituals, but directly to Christ and His redemptive work. Ultimately, the sacraments are presented as multidimensional invitations to remember Christ’s past work, experience His present presence, and anticipate His future return, all within the context of a living, unified body.

The Bride's Crowning Beauties [Family Worship lesson in Song of Songs 7:1–9a]

How much does Jesus adore and enjoy the church? Song of Songs 7:1–9a prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord Jesus is captivated with delight in His bride. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The devotional presents the church as the beloved bride of Christ, emphasizing her beauty in the divine actions and spiritual qualities that reflect His grace. It unfolds a theological vision where the church’s feet—her godly actions—are celebrated as beautiful footprints of divine workmanship, the work of Christ’s own skillful hand. Her nourishing ministry, depicted through wine and wheat, reflects the means of grace through which Christ sustains His people, while her watchful purity, likened to ivory and royal towers, underscores the importance of spiritual vigilance and doctrinal integrity. The devotional culminates in the bride’s adorning beauty—her godly character, modesty, and worship—portrayed as surpassing earthly splendor, with her hair like purple and her stature like Mount Carmel, signifying her royal identity and spiritual fullness. Ultimately, Christ goes to great lengths to delight not only in the church’s works but especially in her worship, where her breath is like apples and her speech like fine wine, affirming that true worship is the highest expression of her love and the greatest delight to her Bridegroom.

2026.03.17 Hopewell @Home ▫ Song of Songs 7:1–9a

Read Song of Songs 7:1–9a

Questions from the Scripture text: What does the Bridegroom praise (Song of Songs 7:1a)? What does He call her (verse 1b)? What does He praise in verse 1c–d? In what way? What two things does He praise in Song of Songs 7:2? In what manner? And what, in Song of Songs 7:3? In what manner? What does He praise in Song of Songs 7:4a? How? And in verse 4b–c? How? And in verse 4d–e? How? What does He praise in Song of Songs 7:5? In what manner? How does He summarize His praise in Song of Songs 7:6-7? And how does He describe His desire to delight in her (Song of Songs 7:8-9)? 

How much does Jesus adore and enjoy the church? Song of Songs 7:1–9a prepares us for the opening portion of public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord Jesus is captivated with delight in His bride. 

Not only have His expressions praise of her, and desire for her, not diminished, but now we see that they have even greatly increased. She had praised Him from head to toe in Song of Songs 5:10–15, and now He literally mirrors it, praising her from feet to head in Song of Songs 7:1–5. 

It is this composite that is the main force of the passage, but without becoming creative, we are to learn from some of the details of His adoration and affection. 

Living by grace, Song of Songs 7:1. The feet and thighs are an obvious place to start, because He has just described her as dancing “the dance of the two camps.” Indeed, the word in Song of Songs 7:1a is more literally “steps,” and the curving in verse 1c may well refer to motion rather than shape (the word for “jewels” only appears in the singular elsewhere, and the plural here may also imply motion). The bride is lovely not only in herself, but especially in her actions. And we see two more beauties in these actions: her status (prince’s daughter, verse 1b) and their source (the work of the hands of a skillful workman, verse 1d). Her beauty is not her own; it comes by her royal (re!)birth, and it comes as the skillful work of Another. How beautiful is the work of the Spirit in those who are God’s children.

Means of grace, Song of Songs 7:2-3. Song of Songs 7:3 reprises Song of Songs 4:5, lacking that the twins feed among the lilies. But, taken with Song of Songs 7:3, the bride’s beauty in provision is much richer than nourishment. There is the wine for refreshment and celebration, and the wheat for energy and strength. And not just wine, but mixed/spiced wine (Song of Songs 7:2a–b). And not just wheat, but heaps of it, and adorned with lilies (verse 2c–d). She is equipped for all that the saints need, and she is beautiful in her provision of it. Of course, as with the wine and bread of the Lord’s Supper, the point is not the means of grace, but the Lord of grace Himself.

Guarded by grace, Song of Songs 7:4. He praises her preciousness and purity (white) by the ornamental tower of ivory in Song of Songs 7:4a. The purity and peace of her eyes has been communicated by the figure of a dove before, and the pools by the gate in verse 4b–c convey the same idea. The nose is another tower, keeping vigilant watch in the direction of Damascus (verse 4d–e). The implication is diligence against enemies, especially the greatest enemy of sin. Taken altogether, the images of verse 4 focus upon her purity and peace, maintained by watchfulness. 

Adorned by grace, Song of Songs 7:5. Finally, the description arrives at her head and her hair. This part of her adornment has been compared twice to a flock of goats, must recently in Song of Songs 6:5. And on those occasions, we have noted that the true adornment represented here is modesty and good works (cf. 1 Timothy 2:9–10), and a gentle and quiet spirit (cf. 1 Peter 3:3–4). In this case, there is greatness and glory of this adornment, as indicated by the mountain and the purple. 

Delighted in by the Groom, Song of Songs 7:6-9. The last thing He says about her tresses is that a king is held captive by them (Song of Songs 7:5c), and now the section concludes by His demonstrating that she has indeed captured His heart. He summarizes her as “fair and pleasant,” bringing together words that He has already used to describe her, but the image of the palm tree is brand new. He zooms out to take her in as a whole. The palm is tall, straight, and slender. Exalted dignity. And there is a focus here on the breasts, that by which she would nourish their children. The image is not meant to be physical or sensual, as he switches from twin gazelle babies to clusters of dates and clusters of grapes. The abundance of her provision for the saints is sweet to Him like dessert. He puts forth great effort (“taking hold of its branches” (Song of Songs 7:8b) means a climb to the top of the tree) to take delight in her ministry of teaching and praise—her breath (verse 8d) and her palate (Song of Songs 7:9a).  

As the Bride, and members of her, it should be our delight to be delightful to Christ. God give us to live godly, attend upon His means in the church, be spiritually watchful, and adorned with modesty, gentleness, and good works.

What acts of obedience and service do you do, unto the delight of Jesus? What use do you make of the means of His grace? How do you maintain watchfulness for purity and peace? How is your life adorned by humility and gentleness?

Sample prayer:  Lord, come and delight in Your bride. Delight in her feet, her movements that are the result of Your own skillful work. Delight in the nourishment that she provides—the pure milk of the Word, and the bread and wine of fellowship with Christ. Delight in her purity, like ivory, and her peacefulness like pools. Delight in her nourishing her offspring, and enjoy the sweets of her mouth. We are amazed that You, the all-glorious King would take such delight in us. Come, by Your Spirit, and make us to take delight in delighting You, we ask in Your Name, AMEN!

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

The Mercy of Discipline [2026.03.11 Midweek Sermon in Proverbs 22:10–16]

God blesses His discipline and instruction unto our deliverance from folly.

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God's Elect, in and for Christ [Children's Catechism 44—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 44—especially explaining how the Covenant of Grace flows out of God’s love for His Son, and those whom He has loved in Him.

Q44. Whom did Christ represent in the covenant of grace? His elect people. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: The lesson centers on Christ's role as the representative of His elect people within the covenant of grace. Drawing from Isaiah, Hebrews, and Ephesians, it underscores that Christ’s 'offspring' are not biological but the redeemed community chosen by God before the foundation of the world, united to Him, Who is the last Adam.

What to Do with the Word [Family Worship lesson in Proverbs 22:17–21]

What should we do with God’s Word? Proverbs 22:17–21 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we should attend to God’s Word as the means by which He makes us to know Him as everything to us.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary of the transcript of the audio: This passage presents a divine call to intentional, holistic engagement with God’s Word, framing the reception of Scripture as a physical, emotional, and spiritual discipline. It instructs believers to incline their ears, apply their hearts, and internalize God’s word so deeply that it governs their core—shaping thought, emotion, will, and action. The ultimate purpose is not merely personal transformation but the ability to confidently and truthfully speak God’s word to others, rooted in a deep trust in YHWH.

2026.03.16 Hopewell @Home ▫ Proverbs 22:17–21

Read Proverbs 22:17–21

Questions from the Scripture text: To what must the proverbial son incline his ear (Proverbs 22:17a)? To do what to these words? And to do what with his heart (verse 17b)? Where should he keep these words (Proverbs 22:18a)? What will this be like for him? How many of them must be fixed where (verse 18b)? Where will these words direct his trust (Proverbs 22:19a)? What has his proverbial father done (verse 19b)? Whom does he emphasize has been the recipient of the instruction? What else has he done, than speak (Proverbs 22:20a)? What sort of things has he written? Of what two types of excellent things (verse 20b)? In order to make him know what about the words of truth (Proverbs 22:21a)? So that he may do what with such words (verse 21b)? To whom (verse 21c)? 

What should we do with God’s Word? Proverbs 22:17–21 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we should attend to God’s Word as the means by which He makes us to know Him as everything to us.

We come now from the large, middle section (Proverbs 10:1–22:16) of the book of Proverbs into five more collections of sayings, with which Solomon concludes the book. In Proverbs 22:20, where NKJ has translated “excellent,” the word is literally “thirty,” identifying this as the first of the thirty sayings in this (Proverbs 22:17–24:22) collection. There will be ten sayings about wealth (Proverbs 22:22–23:11), nine about the safety in being an obedient son (Proverbs 23:12–24:2), five about the establishing of strength that will persevere through distress (Proverbs 24:3–12), and five that warn against joining the wicked in their self-destruction (Proverbs 24:13–22).

This first saying, then, introduces them all, by telling the proverbial son what to do with these sayings, and why.

Ear, heart, belly, lips, Proverbs 22:17-18. These two verses are an anatomy lesson. A godly son, a son of God, should take His Word (especially through his earthly father) into every part of who he is. The way the Word comes to be at the core of your soul (heart, Proverbs 22:17b) and body (belly, Proverbs 22:18a, more literally translated) is through your ear (Proverbs 22:17a). Not all hearing is listening, however. We need to hear with the inclined ear—aiming ourselves at, and giving ourselves to, the Word of God. And we know that the Word has filled us, when it is established/prepared as what always flows from our lips (Proverbs 22:18b).

So that you may trust, Proverbs 22:19a. That your confidence may be in YHWH. If we are becoming wise, by the words of the wise (Proverbs 22:17a, cf. Ecclesiastes 12:11), then we will not puff up with confidence in ourselves, but rather be grounded upon confidence in YHWH. The fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom. And growing in wisdom is the process of having YHWH be everything to you. Your confidence. Your purpose. Your standard. Your joy.

So that you may teach, Proverbs 22:19-21. The proverbial father in Proverbs 22:19b has singled out this proverbial son: “you—indeed you.” Why? Because he is to be one to whom others send for words of truth. He is to be one by whose ministry others come to have God’s Word fill every part of who they are, soul and body. He is to be one by whose ministry others come to have YHWH as their everything.

He is receiving “thirty sayings of counsels and knowledge” (Proverbs 22:20), to cause him to know the genuineness of the words of truth (Proverbs 22:21a). From this personal knowledge, personal experience, of the words of truth, he himself will be the answerer (verse 21b). He himself will become the teacher. Sons and daughters are fathers and mothers in training. Sons are husbands in training, and may be magistrates, elders, or ministers in training. They must come to have personal knowledge, personal experience of God’s Word.

Who is teaching you the words of the one Shepherd? How are you listening to, and applying, those words? How is YHWH using them to make Himself everything to you? Whom are you teaching? What is your goal for them?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for the words of the wise. Thank You for Scripture. Thank You for the ministry of Your Spirit. Thank You for those whom Your Spirit has used to train us up in the words of Scripture. Give us to have our confidence in You. Make Yourself everything to us. And be pleased to use us to do the same with Your words for others, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP119N “Your Word’s a Lamp to Guide My Feet” or TPH173 “Almighty God, Your Word Is Cast”

2026.03.15 Lord's Day Livestreams (live at 10:10a, 11:10a, and 3p)

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