2025.04.19 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 18:1–11

Read Matthew 18:1–11

Questions from the Scripture text: Who came to Jesus in Matthew 18:1? About what did they ask Him? Whom does Jesus call in response (Matthew 18:2)? Where does He set him? How does the introduction to His statement emphasize its solemnity (Matthew 18:3)? What two things does He say they must do (verse 3)? In order to do what? What, then, is His answer to the question (Matthew 18:4)? What else might someone do to one of these little ones (Matthew 18:6)? Little ones who do what? What would be better for the one who does this? Upon what does Matthew 18:7 pronounce woe? Because of what? What must come? Upon whom else does verse 7 pronounce woe? What does Matthew 18:8 imagine causing you to stumble? What should you do to that hand or foot? Why? What does Matthew 18:9 imagine causing you to stumble? What should you do to that eye? Why? To the consideration of whom does Matthew 18:10 return? What must they see to it that they do not do to them? Whom do they have where? And what do those angels always see? Who has come to save little ones (Matthew 18:11)? What sort, specifically?

Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Matthew 18:1–11 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eleven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Jesus is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and this must shape how we regard others, and all things.  

Become little ones, Matthew 18:1-3. The disciples are understanding that there is a significant disconnect between the powers of this world and the power of the kingdom. Jesus is coming into a very great and kingly glory, and now they want to know how to get the biggest piece of that (Matthew 18:1). But Jesus employs a little child to illustrate (Matthew 18:2) that their thinking is exactly opposite. The word “converted” in Matthew 18:3 isn’t the changing of a new mind, but a word that means to turn or return. 

Become littler in the light of Christ’s greatness, Matthew 18:4-5. The way up is actually the way down. You cannot even enter the kingdom of heaven without returning to that condition in which your smallness, inability, and helplessness are your unquestioned reality. Christ must be all for you. But even within the kingdom, the path to greatness is to keep going down, keep humbling himself (Matthew 18:4). For, in the kingdom, the greatness is all Christ’s. We are to welcome even little ones with the regard that we have for Him Who is the greatness of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:5). 

This is the ultimate answer to their question, isn’t it? The greatest in the kingdom of heaven is Jesus! Our aim should not be to be great, ourselves, but to treat Jesus as great—receiving the least on account of His greatness is treating Him as great. This is why Christians are to outdo one another in showing honor (cf. Romans 12:10b).

Help other little ones treat Jesus as great, Matthew 18:6-7. Rather than focus upon being greater than others, we ought to be focused upon helping one another treat Jesus as great. Prideful jockeying for status in the church is exactly the opposite, and is  way of causing one another to stumble. Jesus denounces this in shocking terms in Matthew 18:6 and pronounces a solemn woe upon it in Matthew 18:7. The world, by which verse 7 means that which is hostile to Christ, would like nothing more than to cause believers to stumble. Jesus pronounces  woe upon it. But, if we cause one another to stumble, then we become just like the world in that regard, and Jesus pronounces a woe upon us when that is the case.

Cut out anything that keeps you from treating Jesus as great, Matthew 18:8-9. Whatever diminishes Christ to us threatens our very soul. We know that it is not the hand or foot or eye that actually causes us to stumble. But there are certainly activities that we do with our hands, and places that we go with our feet, and things that we look upon with our eyes, that should be ruthlessly expunged from out lives. Choosing sin over Christ, and not caring to correct it, is a reliable indicator that we are not in Him at all.

Treat His salvation as great by greatly regarding those whom He is saving, Matthew 18:10-11. Just who do we think that we are, looking down upon Christ’s little ones. Angels do not look down on them! Indeed, each little one has mighty ministering spirits, sent out to serve them (Matthew 18:10, cf. Hebrews 1:14). They know true greatness; they are familiar with God’s own glory in the highest heaven; and, they still don’t despise these little ones. What’s more, infinitely more, is that the Son of Man has regarded them. This Glorious One has so regarded them that, when they were lost, He Himself came to save them. He humbled Himself to come save them! Just who do we think that we are to look down upon them? Let us regard them out of regard for Him, and in imitation of Him!

In what situations have you been tempted to desire to be seen as great? What would it look like for you to be happy to be small in those situations? What would it look like for you to be treating Christ as truly great?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we thank You for the humility of Jesus Christ, Your everlasting and glorious Son. Thank You that, even when He came to be the glorious Son of Man, He humbled Himself further and further until He had given Himself on the cross for us. Please, give us the humility to consider ourselves as little babies, by comparison to His incomparable greatness, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP131 “My Heart Is Not Exalted, Lord” or TPH131B “Not Haughty Is My Heart”

The Greatest Miracle [Family Worship lesson in Deuteronomy 4:11–40]

How are we to know God? Deuteronomy 4:11–40 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these thirty verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we must know, draw near to, and worship God only in the manner in which He Himself has given us to do so.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.04.18 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 4:11–40

Read Deuteronomy 4:11–40

Questions from the Scripture text: Where had they come (Deuteronomy 4:11)? What was the mountain like? Who did what from where (Deuteronomy 4:12)? What did they hear? What did they see? What, specifically, did He declare (Deuteronomy 4:13)? What else did He do with this covenant/commandments? And what did He command Moses to do (Deuteronomy 4:14)? So that the people might do what? Where? To what must they take heed (Deuteronomy 4:15)? Why—what didn’t they see? When? From where did YHWH speak? What would they do, if they do not take heed to themselves (Deuteronomy 4:16)? Of what might they make an image (Deuteronomy 4:16-18)? What else might they serve in worship (Deuteronomy 4:19)? But from Whom are they gifts? In order to serve whom? How are Israel different from the rest of the world—Who brought them out (Deuteronomy 4:20)? From where? To be what? With whom was YHWH angry (Deuteronomy 4:21)? On account of whom? What did He swear? What must Moses do instead (Deuteronomy 4:22)? To what must they take heed (Deuteronomy 4:23)? Lest they do what? By making what? What makes it so urgent that they worship only as He has given (Deuteronomy 4:24, cf. Hebrews 12:29)? Whom will they beget (Deuteronomy 4:25)? Where? By doing what? In Whose sight is this evil? To what does it provoke Him? Whom/what does he call to witness in Deuteronomy 4:26? What will happen to them if they do act corruptly (verse 26)? And what will YHWH do to them (Deuteronomy 4:27)? How many will remain? What will they do there (Deuteronomy 4:28)? Until they do what from there (Deuteronomy 4:29)? What will happen if they seek Him? In what manner? To what point will they be brought (Deuteronomy 4:30)? What will they do in this distress? What is the character of their God (Deuteronomy 4:31)? What will He not do to them? What will He not forget? About what period does Moses now tell them to ask (Deuteronomy 4:32)? Whether what has happened? What is the “great thing” to which he is referring (Deuteronomy 4:33)? And what else (Deuteronomy 4:34)? Why did YHWH do such great things (Deuteronomy 4:35)? What great thing does He repeat in Deuteronomy 4:36? What is another reason that He did these great things (Deuteronomy 4:37)? What new, great thing does this verse mention? What did He do to whom? And what did He do to whom in Deuteronomy 4:38? What two things are they to do with what fact (Deuteronomy 4:39)? How are they to respond to this reality (Deuteronomy 4:40)? With what outcome? 

How are we to know God? Deuteronomy 4:11–40 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these thirty verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we must know, draw near to, and worship God only in the manner in which He Himself has given us to do so.

We really don’t get how glorious a thing it is to hear the Word of God. This passage puts hearing His Word (Deuteronomy 4:11-14, Deuteronomy 4:33, Deuteronomy 4:36) right up there with the greatest signs and wonders against Egypt (Deuteronomy 4:20, Deuteronomy 4:34, Deuteronomy 4:37) and the Amorites (Deuteronomy 4:38). 

Indeed, hearing His Word is the manner in which He has given us to know Him. He did not give them to see any likeness (Deuteronomy 4:12, Deuteronomy 4:15). This is why it is so wicked to worship Him by way of any form that we make (Deuteronomy 4:16-18, Deuteronomy 4:23) or any creature that He has made (Deuteronomy 4:19). To do so is to act corruptly, to do evil to His face, and to provoke Him to anger (Deuteronomy 4:25). 

YHWH has given Himself to us! And YHWH, Himself, therefore is the only One Who can establish how we worship Him or draw near to Him. The living God has saved a people to be His own inheritance (Deuteronomy 4:20). And He is determined that they would come to count Him as their inheritance (Deuteronomy 4:29), seeking Him with all their heart and turning to Him (Deuteronomy 4:30), which He will bring about in mercy (Deuteronomy 4:31). 

The Lord has done this to make them to know Him as the one, true God (Deuteronomy 4:35), because He had set His love upon their fathers (Deuteronomy 4:37). Here is the great thing that God does in covenanted love: He makes a people to know Him Himself as the only true God (Deuteronomy 4:39)! And this is the basis of our obedience (Deuteronomy 4:40): it is a right response not only to the fact that God is the one, true, and living God, but that He has particularly made us to know Him. 

What is at stake in their response to Moses’s sermon is not just good behavior. What is at stake is that they would know, with their whole lives, that YHWH alone is God, and that YHWH had given Himself to be their own covenant God and taken them to be His own covenant people. 

Breaking any of God’s commands violently rejects this glorious reality. But what does so, most of all, is to worship God in any way that He has not commanded. This is why, when He came by way of His Word alone, He presented Himself as a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24). He is committed to the true reality about Himself and how He gives Himself to us. And now that He has given Himself to us in His Son, this is not diminished, but rather intensified (cf. Hebrews 12:28–29)!

What does it mean to you that the Lord, the Creator, has given you to know Him in truth? How does this help you detest any kind of worship that the Lord Himself has not commanded? What are some common examples, today, of uncommanded worship in evangelical churches? What are some examples of it, even in professedly “Reformed” churches?

Sample prayer: Lord, thank You for loving us and determining to bring us to know You in truth. Forgive us for the ways in which we have chosen our imaginings over Your reality, and bring us to repentance in Christ. Through Him, bring us near to Yourself in truth, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP115A “Not Unto Us, Lord” or TPH135 “O Praise the Lord! His Praise Proclaim!”

The Prevailing of Persecuted Preaching [Family Worship lesson in Revelation 11:1–14]

What is the story of the age during which demonic hordes have been permitted to wreak havoc upon the earth? Revelation 11:1–14 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these fourteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the story of this age has not been so much those things that warn about the wrath, but the power of the gospel that urges us to flee the wrath to come.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.04.17 Hopewell @Home ▫ Revelation 11:1–14

Read Revelation 11:1–14

Questions from the Scripture text: What was John given (Revelation 11:1)? To measure what three things? What was he to leave out (Revelation 11:2)? Why? What would the nations do? For how long? To whom would the Angel give His power (Revelation 11:3)? What would they do? For how many days? In what attire? As what are the two witnesses described in Revelation 11:4? Before Whom do they especially stand? Over what is He called “Lord” here? What proceeds from their mouth (Revelation 11:5)? What does it do to their enemies who want to harm them? How sure is this to happen? What powers do they have by their prophesying (Revelation 11:6)? When are these preachers permitted to be killed (Revelation 11:7)? How? Who will gloat over them (Revelation 11:9-10)? Why? According to whose example (Revelation 11:8)? For how long? But what will happen then (Revelation 11:11)? With what effect upon those who see them? What do the prophets hear in Revelation 11:12? From where? What does it say? What do they do? Who sees this? What happens at that time on earth (Revelation 11:13)? And what falls? With what effect on how many? And what effect on the rest? What do they finally do? What does this conclude (Revelation 11:14)? What is now coming quickly? 

What is the story of the age during which demonic hordes have been permitted to wreak havoc upon the earth? Revelation 11:1–14 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these fourteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the story of this age has not been so much those things that warn about the wrath, but the power of the gospel that urges us to flee the wrath to come.

In the face of the demonic hordes of the fifth and sixth trumpets, chapter 10 gave us a heavenly perspective on the power of Christ to reign, and His assignment to His servants to preach. Now, in Revelation 11:1–14, John sees the same thing from the vantage point of the earth. 

There is an emphasis upon measurement here (Revelation 11:1). Everywhere in the New Testament, the new temple of God is the church. By the time that the early church unanimously tells us that Revelation was written, God had used Rome to destroy Herod’s temple. Is God’s establishment on earth destroyed? Not at all! It’s measure is far greater than it had ever been before Christ. This is just as we would expect under the gospel.

God knows the “measurements” of the nations as well (Revelation 11:2), but they are not the focus of the history between the two comings of Christ. They tread God’s holy city—not, now, the earthly Jerusalem of Revelation 11:8, but the true Jerusalem, the church, which the Spirit also calls the Israel of God (cf. Galatians 6:16). The full Israel, including the fullness of the spared remnant and the ingrafting of the remnant from the nations. The time between Christ’s comings is focused upon the gathering in of the fullness of this remnant (cf. Revelation 6:11), not so much upon those who hate them and reject their witness.

The number “two” is very important here. Just as it is used for completeness by the idea of “doubling” in Hosea 10:10 (of the completeness of Israel’s sin) and Isaiah 40:2 (of the completeness of Christ’s atonement), so also it is used here of the completeness of the church’s preaching. Note that the preaching of John (cf. John 10:11) and other specifically sent servants (cf. Romans 10:14–15) is testimony. They are called “witnesses.” This is not witness or testimony about their experience. It is bearing witness to Jesus Christ Himself (cf. 1 John 1:1–3). 

The number “two” is also important here by way of halving. Forty-two months, and on thousand two hundred and sixty days, are both half of seven years. The Lord often highlights how He is shortening days of hardship and grief (cf. Matthew 24:22). In this case, what is being shortened is the church’s persecution (Revelation 11:2), as well as her grief in preaching the gospel to a world in desperate need of repentance (Revelation 11:3). It is useful for gospel-preachers to learn here that, though the mode of our evangelism with respect to Jesus is joy over Him, the mode of our evangelism with respect to the spiritually dead is with grief over them. Warning the dead to flee the wrath to come is something to be done “in sackcloth.” 

The Lord also shortens the days in which the world appears to have defeated the church and her preaching of the gospel. Each preacher is assigned by God  specific length of life, and only when his work is done, is the enemy permitted to send him to glory (Revelation 11:7). This is also true of periods of revival and reformation, which have had a specific length of time, before the world arises in the spirit of Jerusalem (Revelation 11:8) and rejoices (Revelation 11:9-10) over what they think is the demise of the church, and the true faith (what we would call the Reformed faith, since the use of that word in connection with the 16th century revival). But, they are terrified, again, when gospel preaching is revived (Revelation 11:11-12). The Lord shortens the days of darkness that come between these revivals. The time between the comings of Christ centers upon His sovereign work in saving through the preaching of the gospel.

While the nations rage, and reject God and Christ, and rejoice whenever the gospel seems silenced and the church seems dead, they are not the true power of the age. The preaching of the gospel comes with the same power now as in the days of Elijah (Revelation 11:6a) and Moses (verse 6b). It is the preaching of the gospel that shakes the earth (Revelation 11:13a—and heaven, too, cf. Hebrews 12:25–27) and either kills or gives life (Revelation 11:13b).

The first two woes, the fifth and sixth trumpets, have highlighted demonic activity on the earth as a reminder that God’s wrath, Christ’s wrath, is coming. But the interlude in chapters 10–11 have reminded us that the story of this time period is not the activity of those demons, but the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the conquering ministry of the gospel throughout that period (cf. Revelation 6:2)! 

Dear reader, there is a temptation to think that the story of our life and our day is what the powers of hell are doing, or what the powers of the world are doing. But, the story of your life and our day is especially what Christ Himself is doing through His powerful gospel, and how you are responding to it. This ought to bring comfort and conviction, and enable you to “overcome.” This has been the primary applicational response throughout Revelation. Overcome! Overcome in the way that we will especially read about when we come to Revelation 12:11. Overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony. And, when the days of your witness in this world are completed, overcome by loving not your life, even unto death.

When you think of “witnessing,” about Whom are you giving witness? How do the numbers in this chapter help you think more correctly, believingly, and healthily, when the days of suffering or spiritual decline seem to you to be too long? How do the last several chapters help you think about the primary story of your life, and of the world in this age?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we see how very much Your Word teaches us to focus upon Your church, and her witness to Christ, in this age. Forgive us for how we have failed to have the same focus! And forgive us, for when our hearts have not had the grief of sackcloth over the woe of an unbelieving world under the wrath of God. Grant that we would have confidence in Your exercise of Your own power through the preaching of the gospel. Forgive us for when we have been fearful and anxious and unbelieving before the world. Grant that we would overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony, and that we would love not our lives, even unto death, we ask through Christ, AMEN!

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

2025.04.16 Midweek Meeting Live Stream (live at 6:30p)

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April 16 Prayer Meeting Folder

Proverbs 13:20–25 sermon outline

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

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

Made to Plow for Repentance [Family Worship lesson in Hosea 10:3–15]

How does the church respond to judgment? Hosea 10:3–15 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these thirteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that some in the church respond to God’s judgment in a way that just brings more of it, but His focus is especially upon the others, whom He causes to respond to His judgment with repentance that is met by His mercy. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.04.16 Hopewell @Home ▫ Hosea 10:3–15

Read Hosea 10:3–15

Questions from the Scripture text: How will Israel respond to their punishment (Hosea 10:3a–c)? But why would they have wanted a king (verse 3d)? What have they done to the Lord (Hosea 10:4a–b)? With what consequence (verse 4c)? How will the residents of the capital respond (Hosea 10:5a)? What is Bethel called instead in verse 5b? What will happen to its calf (Hosea 10:5-6)? With what effect upon Ephraim/Israel (Hosea 10:6c–d)? What will happen to their king (Hosea 10:7)? What will happen to their worship places (Hosea 10:8a–c)? What will they hope to be covered by (verse 8d–e)? How long has Israel been so wicked (Hosea 10:9a–b, cf. Judges 19–20)? But what hadn’t the Lord yet done (Hosea 10:9c–d)? When will He (Hosea 10:10)? What would Ephraim had liked, metaphorically, to do (Hosea 10:11a–b)? What will the Lord chasten her to do instead (verse 11c–d)? To whom else will He do this (verse 11e–f)? What will they be “digging up” (Hosea 10:12)? What have they “worked at” before (Hosea 10:13a–c)? Especially by doing what (verse 13d–e)? What is coming upon them, as a result (Hosea 10:14-15)? 

How does the church respond to judgment? Hosea 10:3–15 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these thirteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that some in the church respond to God’s judgment in a way that just brings more of it, but His focus is especially upon the others, whom He causes to respond to His judgment with repentance that is met by His mercy. 

The end is here, and the end is sad, Hosea 10:1-8. We have heard the final verdict and the sentence (Hosea 10:2). Now, we see the results. They know that their kingdom has fallen because of their sin (Hosea 10:3a–c), but their interest in a king was purely selfish: “what would he do for us?” (verse 3d). They are insincere in their covenant bond to the Lord (Hosea 10:4a–b), so their response to judgment breeds even more judgment, like weeds (verse 4c). In an age in which people do not realize that their church membership is a solemn covenant with God Himself, we grieve to think how appropriately verse 4 could be written about so many in the visible church. 

The Lord cuts off their false worship, concentrated in the golden calf at Bethel (and its sister in Dan). They are so proud of it, it is considered their “glory” (Hosea 10:5e), and people and “priests” weep and wail for it (verse 5c–d). They thought they worshiped YHWH by it at “Beth El” (house of God), but the Lord has called the place “Beth Aven” (house of iniquity). When their idol is presented to the Assyrian king, the Lord will have humiliated their purported glory (Hosea 10:6).

The Lord cuts off their false government, concentrated in the king in Samaria. Rather than have the weight of honor to make an impact for them, he will be as weightless and helpless as a twig in a river (Hosea 10:7).

The Lord cuts off their false religion. As He destroys the worship in which they falsely hoped, they will turn to mountains and hills to hide them from God, but their iniquity (“Aven”) will continue to be exposed before God (Hosea 10:8). Just as nettles and thorns inherit their wealth (cf. Hosea 9:6), thorns and thistles will inherit their worship (Hosea 10:8c).

The end is like the beginning, which hints at the only hope, Hosea 10:9-15. “Gibeah” in Hosea 10:9 takes us back to Judges 19–20. How did things “get so bad” in Israel? From the beginning, their hearts were as Sodom and Gomorrah, and so were their actions, when unrestrained! One reason that their sin demands such a response is because it is the genuine expression of what is in them. This is true of us, too, dear reader.

And yet, just as the Lord had shown what that sin deserved in the battle of Gibeah (Hosea 10:9c, cf. Judges 20), He had also patiently borne with them for many generations. The word “two” in Hosea 10:10 has the sense of “double”; in His longsuffering, the Lord has waited until they filled up a double measure of their before bringing this chastening upon them. This has happened by their sin and what it has provoked, but it has happened even more so at His pleasure (“When I desire,” verse 10a). 

Their will would have been threshing-floor duty, where they can eat while they do light work (cf. Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9–10; 1 Timothy 5:18). But He will give them, instead, field duty, where they have to do the hard work of pulling a plow to break up clods of dirt (Hosea 10:11). Indeed, this is designed primarily toward those whom He is bringing to repentance through this. They have been happy enough to work hard at sin (Hosea 10:13); now he will bring them to work hard in repentance, which is met with finding the Lord and His mercy and His righteousness (Hosea 10:12). For the purpose of doing such work in those whom He is saving, the Lord is fully willing to bring just and painful judgment upon the visible church (Hosea 10:14-15).

From where does your sin come, demanding God’s response? How do you respond when He brings chastening into your life?

Sample prayer: Lord, forgive us, for we have taken lightly our covenant with You. And in our church membership and worship, we have been in it primarily for ourselves. Whenever we have worshiped according to our own desires, we have thought of the house of our iniquity as if it were the house of God. Thus, we have gloried, spiritually, in that of which we should have been ashamed. But, You have given Your Son, our Lord Jesus, Who has been forsaken as entirely as we have deserved to be. For His sake, and by His grace, we pray that You would give us repentance. Take away the easy threshing that we would prefer, and give us whatever hard work is necessary until we sow righteousness, reap mercy, and seek You until You come and rain righteousness upon us in Christ, through Whom we ask it, AMEN!

 Suggested Songs: ARP51AB “God, Be Merciful to Me” or TPH433 “Amazing Grace”

Evening Prayer in Distress [Family Worship lesson in Psalm 141]

How should we pray when we are in danger of sinning? Psalm 141 looks forward to the opening portion of morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we should pray against our sin as those who come to God smelling like the worthiness of Christ, confident that He will finish the work of making us to be like Christ. (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.04.15 Hopewell @Home ▫ Psalm 141

Read Psalm 141

Questions from the Scripture text: Whose psalm was this (superscript)? To Whom is it addressed (Psalm 141:1a)? What is David doing? What does he ask God to do (verse 1b–c)? As/like what does he ask for his prayer to be received (Psalm 141:2a)? As/like what else (verse 2b)? What does he ask YHWH to do to his speech in Psalm 141:3? In what two ways? What does he ask Him to do to his thoughts in Psalm 141:4a? What will this prevent (verse 4b)? Under what pressure (verse 4c)? And what temptation (verse 4d)? What providence helps against wicked words, thoughts, and actions (Psalm 141:5a, c)? Whom does the Lord use to do it? How should the godly view it (verse 5b, d)? How should he respond to it (verse 5e)? Against what does he pray (verse 5f)? What will happen to wicked judges (Psalm 141:6a)? And whose words will they hear in that day (verse 6b)? But what is the current circumstance (Psalm 141:7)? So, what is David doing in such a circumstance (Psalm 141:8a–b)? What does He ask YHWH not to do (verse 8c)? And, positively, to do to him (Psalm 141:9, Psalm 141:10b)? And to the wicked (verse 10a)?

How should we pray when we are in danger of sinning? Psalm 141 looks forward to the opening portion of morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we should pray against our sin as those who come to God smelling like the worthiness of Christ, confident that He will finish the work of making us to be like Christ.   

Evening prayers. This psalm forms a pair with Psalm 5, bringing home to us the essential application of the morning (cf. Psalm 5:3) and evening (Psalm 141:2) sacrifices. The Lord has built into our daily habits oases of prayer. Never are they more necessary than in that Psalm, and this, when under the pressure of the aggression of the wicked. And David doesn’t just take from this instruction in what to do in the evenings, but encouragement in how his prayers are received by God. What a mercy, to know that the Lord is receiving our prayer as sweet incense (verse 2a)—all the more so, when we know that the Lord Jesus Himself is adding His incense to our prayers (cf. Revelation 8:3–4). This same Lord Jesus is answering our prayers for vindication with His powerful responses against the wicked in the earth (cf. Revelation 8:5).

Our greatest threat. Even though the wicked are attacking him (Psalm 141:7) and laying snares for him (Psalm 141:9-10a), David has identified a greater threat: his own words (Psalm 141:3), thoughts (Psalm 141:4a), and works (verse 4b). When we pray to be “delivered from the evil” (cf. Matthew 6:13, Luke 11:4), it is not specifically the evil “one” as our English translation has it, but especially that evil which remains in us. While Scripture teaches us that this is our responsibility (cf. Philippians 2:12), yet the biblical man knows that only by God’s grace is it a possibility (cf. Philippians 2:13). So David asks YHWH Himself to guard his mouth (Psalm 141:3), and to incline his heart properly (Psalm 141:4a–b). This grace is needful not only because of our inherent sinfulness, but because of the pressure to join the wicked (verse 4c), and the temptation to desire what they enjoy (verse 4d). 

Blessed blows. The wicked are not the only ones in the earth. The Lord has those who are His, and it is a very different matter to be “struck” by them (Psalm 141:5). Not every wound is harmful. Some are kindness and excellent oil (verse 5). We should welcome the rebuke of the righteous, just as much as we shrink from the friendship of the wicked. 

Confident about completion. All of this is prayed in the urgency of the evil and danger of sin, but not in the despair or anxiety of uncertainty. As David prays against both his and others (Psalm 141:5f) evil deeds, he does so knowing that even though the wicked have power and include judges (Psalm 141:6a), when they are overthrown, they will be hearing David’s sweetly righteous words (verse 6b). YHWH will not forsake our soul (Psalm 141:8). He will, indeed, deliver us from both the evil within us, and those who would see us fall into it (Psalm 141:9-10). He will complete what He has begun (cf. Philippians 1:6) and perfect that which concerns us (cf. Psalm 138:8). 

What are your morning prayers like? What are your evening prayers like? What effect does it have on you to grasp Christ’s intercession “sweetening” your prayers unto God? How have you been treating your own sin as your greatest threat? What righteous have loved you with rebuke? How have you received it? What would it look/feel like in your heart to be praying for your sanctification with more confidence?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank you for giving us to cry out to You evening and morning, with Your Son, our Lord Jesus, Himself, offering incense with our prayers. Receive us, in Him, as sweet-smelling sacrifice. And work in us, by the means of Your grace, to guard our mouths, and incline our hearts, and form our works according to the character of Christ. By Your Spirit’s applying Christ to us, bring us safely to You in our worship here, until You have brought us safely, in Him, all the way home to You, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

Suggested Songs: ARP141B “When Just Men Strike Me in Reproof” or TPH141 “O LORD, to You I Call”