People of the Lord, let's stand now in honor of the Word of God, and we'll read first from Revelation chapter 19, verses 1 through 9, and then we'll turn to Hosea 2, which will be our text for the preaching of the Word. So first, Revelation 9, verses 1 through 9. God has just promised the destruction of all the kingdoms of this world, summarized in that great name of the enemy nation Babylon. and you'll see then what your part is with all the saints. We are to rejoice in these blessings and look forward to more to come. Revelation chapter 19 verses one through nine. After this, I heard what seemed to be a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying out, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just, for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality and has avenged on her the blood of his servants. Once more they cried out, hallelujah, the smoke from her goes up forever and ever. And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne saying, amen. Hallelujah. And from the throne came a voice saying, praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great. Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, write this, blessed are all those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. And he said to me, these are the true words of God. Amen. And turn with me now to Hosea chapter two. We'll read the whole chapter, which will be our text for the preaching of the word, Hosea chapter two. Say to your brothers, you are my people, and to your sisters, you have received mercy. Plead with your mother, plead, for she is not my wife and I am not her husband. that she put away her whoring from her face and her adultery from between her breasts, lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day when she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a parched land, and kill her with thirst. Upon her children also I will have no mercy, because they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore. She who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink. Therefore, I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. She shall pursue her lovers, but not overtake them, and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. Then she shall say, I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now. And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for bail. Therefore, I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season. And I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness. Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand. And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts. And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, these are my wages. which my lovers have given me. I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them. And I will punish her for the feast days of the bales when she burned offerings to them, and adorned herself with ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, declares the Lord. Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards, and make the valley of Acre a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me my husband, and no longer will you call me my Baal. For I will remove the names of the bales from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. and I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord. And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel. And I will sow her for myself, in the land, and I will have mercy on no mercy. And I will say to not my people, you are my people. And he shall say, you are my God, amen. It is common in the church today to separate two things that God always intended to go together. And those two things are judgment and salvation. In the Bible, they always come together. And indeed, the one, salvation, always comes through and with the other, judgment. And that message of salvation through judgment is what we have before us in the Minor Prophets, the last 12 books of your English Bibles. Hosea is the first of those 12 books, and they form somewhat of a unit, and Hosea is the introduction, and it especially has this great theme of salvation through judgment. If you look at the very first verse, it tells us that it was written in the time of the kings of Judah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, especially under the last king, a time of relative spiritual blessing. but also in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, a time of great sin in the northern kingdom, but also of great material blessings. And this message largely to the northern kingdom, but also for her sister, Judah, listening on. is clearly a book of judgment. We read it in our passage. In the first chapter, you know very well the powerful prophetic image that Hosea is to enact in his own life when he is told, commanded to marry a prostitute. to marry a whore and to have with her children of whoredom as a powerful and unforgettable image of the great sin of Israel that then is applied. God makes the image real for Israel in our text. In chapter three, we see more warnings and yet in chapter three, in the beginning of this book, the first three chapters, we see what's writ large in the whole book and in the minor prophets, that that judgment is for salvation. that God clearly has a plan, as we heard, to allure His bride back to Him. He says the same in chapter 3. And then as the book continues, chapters 4-13, in an ever-growing litany of judgment ending in a horrendous vision of judgment. In chapter 13, the same book ends. I will heal their apostasy. I will love them. freely, for my anger has turned from them. And that's also then the frame of our passage. You saw it in chapter one, or in verse one, we read, continuing from the end of our chapter one, verse 10 is actually the beginning of Hebrew chapter two, that God has promised to bless those whom he's just promised to curse. And that at the end of our chapter, it picks up the same. And so now let's consider then from this text, this powerful message of judgment and salvation. We'll consider the text, focus a little bit more on its gospel teaching, and then consider its application for our lives. Look at this text here. There are three points, very simply, that of sin, of judgment, and of salvation. To put it in the terms of our text, God is going to speak to us of the whoredom of Israel, of his divorce of them, and of his reconciliation with them. The first two points are outlined in verse two. She is not my wife, and I am not her husband. And then the rest, verses 2-13, weaves all this together like a carefully argued court case. Speaking of sin and it's just punishment, let's consider then those two things. First, the whoredom of Israel. God has said it plainly, you are not my wife. And this is a just charge. Look at what she's done. She has many lovers. Look in verse 2. She's put whoring on her face and adultery between her breasts. If you compare this with Song of Solomon chapter 1, where the beloved is like a sachet of myrrh between the woman's breasts. This is saying you have cherished your sin. You have loved it, you've hidden it in your heart. Not only that, verse five, you're actively pursuing these lovers. I will go after them. Verse seven, it says she shall seek them. She's gonna pursue them, and she's gonna pursue with all the seductive power she can. She's put her hoard in, verse two, on her face. She's painted herself up so that she would be as attractive as possible to these lovers. And in verse 13, it says she adorned herself with ring and jewelry. and went after her lovers. But this is worse than mere adultery, even mere serial adultery. This is prostitution. It's whoredom, because she's doing it not just for love or companionship, but, verse five, for money. I will go after my lovers who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink. In verse 12, she says that all these are her wages that her lovers gave us. And don't you see how this accents the grievous sin of Israel? That it is underneath all this, the sin of ungratefulness. Because look at verse five, she says, her lovers give her bread and water. She says in verse 12, that their wages the lovers have given me. But in verse eight, God responds and she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain and the wine and the oil. God has given her all these blessings and she says, thank you, Baal. What a terrible ungratefulness. And you see then that ungratefulness really is idolatry. And that is what this spiritual adultery is. In one word, it's idolatry. It's the breaking of the very first commandment. She is giving the worship and honor that God alone deserves for Baal. She's lavishing her silver and gold, verse 8 on him. And that is particularly done in worship. You look at verse 11, God says this. I'll put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, her appointed feasts. Also ironic because God had given himself these things to her, but yet she was not happy with God's worship and she wanted Baal's worship. And in verse 13, she burned offerings to them. This woman truly has played the horn. She is not in any recognizable sense the husband of the Lord. And therefore, he is perfectly just in our second point to say, I am not her husband. She's not the wife. He is not her husband. This is a perfectly just sentence that this whoredom would be followed by divorce. All the blessings that wives enjoy from their husbands, he's going to take them all away. She'll have no more protection. She doesn't want a home with God? Fine. She'll be cast, verse 3, into the wilderness. Said so powerfully, she'll be made into a wilderness. In verse 12, she'll be made into a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them. She wants to share her supplies with the whole world? Well, the beast can enjoy them too. She treats her husband like an enemy. Verse 10, they'll respond in kind. None shall rescue her out of my hand. She'll have no more provision either. She preferred Baal's food, and the Lord then will stop her supply. He'll bring her, verse three, to hunger and thirst, and he'll kill her. But there will be something worse than death, than physical death, because what in Israel was the first use of grain, of wine, of oil, of all the produce of the earth? It wasn't for your table. It was for God's table. It was for worship. God is going to put an end through famine to the sacrificial system and thus to all the gospel hope that they had shown through that system in that day. Their worship and their very salvation will be done. They'll be done with all those provisions, but also of clothing. Verse nine, wool and flax, which were to cover her nakedness. And thus we see third, under this point of divorce, should not only not be protected or provided for, there'll be no more marital intimacy. Verse 10 makes it clear. You've committed indecent exposure, and I will now indecently expose you. I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers. She'll be on display for all to see. She's missed all her dates with God. There'll be no more. All the worship he gave her, the feasts, the new moons, the Sabbaths, their appointed feasts, He'll put an end to them. There'll be no more fatherhood either, because there's no more intimacy. Even her children, he'll have no mercy upon them. Verse four, and it says, because their children afford him, and don't you again see how just this is? They don't even belong to him. They're children of another man. He has no duty to them. He will disown them. This marriage then, it will be undone completely. Now why is that? It's because it's already been undone by the adulterous, by the whore. The punishment fits the crime. You are not my wife and I am not your husband. And that's why when we get to verse 14, we have a pretty clear expectation of what's to come. He says, therefore, behold, and this I is really I myself. It's as if this woman now is on the chopping block and the death penalty is just about to fall. but it's not what happens, is it? This third point takes us by surprise, that of reconciliation. Immediately, punishment is turned to blessing, judgment to salvation. The same God who said that I will divorce her says I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, the very place in which she added so fully to her catalog of sins as a stiff-necked people Read it in the Pentateuch. That place will now become the place where the courtship is restored. I'll restore even the place Achor, which if you remember, Joshua 7, was where Achan and his family were stoned for taking the devoted things. That will now be a door of hope. It'll be the beginning of a new relationship. I'll restore not only the courtship, I'll restore the betrothal. Verse 19, I'll betroth you to me forever. There'll be a new marital intimacy to come. I'll take away all your enemies. In verse 18, you'll lie down in safety. And in verse 20, you'll know the Lord. not just with your head, but with your heart, with your life, with all things, you will have an intimate relationship with your God, your husband. He'll restore his provision. He says in verse 21 to 22 in this beautiful image, that day I'll answer, declares the Lord, the heavens, the heavens, so to speak, are ringing with the prayers of God's people and God will answer them. with his own prayer, really a commandment. I'll answer the heavens, they'll answer the earth, the earth will answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and what will this echoing word be that God has spoken and the creation has spoken with him? It's Jezreel, which means God will sow, which is why what happens, what comes next makes perfect sense, and I will sow her for myself in the land. I will plant her in the land Not only Canaan, but the land of heaven that Canaan spoke, that greater country that Abraham sought. I will give to her intimacy in my very house, in my very courts. I will provide for her fully. I'll protect her fully. There'll be a covenant, verse 18, with the beasts of the field. None of them will hurt you. I'll abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land. No one will make you afraid. There'll be no danger on any side. I will hide you in the shadow of my wings, and you'll be fed from the river of my delights. What a beautiful picture of God's salvation, isn't it? What does it bring your mind back to? Eden, doesn't it? God is promising here a much better Eden, but using imagery that makes us remember that place in which our first parents lived a beautiful life of intimacy, of provision, of kindness, of fellowship with the Lord. And God is gonna bring it all back and much better. But there is a problem, perhaps it's on your mind. How did Eden end? Well, not well, did it? It ended with sin. How did the first betrothal with Israel end? Well, it actually started with the golden calf, if you recall. It didn't end well. It ended with the exile of both Judah and Israel. But God is promising here for something much greater, a salvation, an exodus, a deliverance that will be much greater than all of those because he will go and fix the root of the problem that was in the hearts of all those people. He will give a complete salvation, a salvation that will bring what is so necessary for a fruitful and eternal marriage, and that is faithfulness. That is the richest blessing here, because as you see, in the unfaithfulness of this whore, it is the great thing that is needed, and God has promised. He says, this new wife of mine, she will be faithful. Verse 16, she will call me my husband, and no longer my bail. There's a beautiful wordplay here. Bail in Hebrew just means master, and it can mean husband. But as you know, it's also the name of a false god. He's saying, you won't call me by the name of a false god anymore. And in addition, you won't merely call me master. Yes, you will submit to me. But it won't be mere submission. I'll be your husband. I'll be your caretaker, your lover. And you'll call me so. And you'll say that I am your Lord. I'm your man. And you, verse 23, shall say, you are my God. Notice what God's promised, the fulfillment of verse two. It says, plead with your mother, speaking to Israel, plead with your mother Israel. And it's clear that there's at least going to be a faithful remnant in whom that pleading was successful. A remnant who will listen, that she will put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts. There will be a faithful wife. And in addition, then, there will be faithful children. It's so beautiful at the end of this chapter, following up on chapter one, in which we hear these three children of whoredom. Jezreel, God will sow, but then God will scatter. No mercy, and not my people. All those names now will be reversed. Jezreel, with a wonderful irony, same name, completely different meaning. Not God will scatter, but God will sow the seed of eternal hope. And that no mercy will now be, have mercy upon her. And I will say to not my people, you are my people. These children of whoredom, verse four, on which he will have no mercy, now he will. He'll make them legitimate children. And not just for her children, but for the whole earth. Notice God's promise here and the universality of it. We saw, if you look back at chapter one, God says that my people have committed whoredom, but he says it this way, for the land. commits great boredom. Israel has polluted the universe, so to speak. As if we, after Adam, by our sins, Paul says the creation groans together with us, Romans 8, and God is going to set it all to right. He's going to purify this world and every corner of it will ring on that day with this phrase, Jezreel, that God will sow and there will be an abundant harvest of righteousness. And God wants to make it clear to them and to you this morning that these promises are not temporary. They are eternal. They will last forever. That's exactly what he says in verse 19. I will betroth you to me forever. Forever. And in verse 16, we see in that day, in verse 21, we hear, or in that day rather, declares the Lord, and we read the same in verse 21, declares the Lord. God is putting his own name on the line here. He's saying as surely as I am faithful, this word is faithful, and just surely as I will never fail, so this will never fail. for the divorce, he said, declares the Lord in verse 13, but here it's brought back twice to make it clear that just as surely as I will punish Israel's sins, all the more surely will I allure her. Back to myself. Now before we get to application, it would be very helpful to look especially at this third point and to see its wonderful and beautiful gospel teaching with a bit more care. Let's ask a few questions of it. A great question to ask in verse 14 is why. Why all of a sudden in this great court case of judgment, does the judge, as it were, put down the gavel, take off the robe, and embrace the prisoner. Why? It might be surprising. But this actually tells us it shouldn't be, because what word begins verse 14? Therefore, God's not saying, despite all that judgment, I'll be merciful. In a certain sense, it's because of it all. It follows from it. And what we see here is a most beautiful window into two awesome attributes of our awesome God that are perfectly unified in him with no conflict. And the first is his mercy. You see, when God sees the awful ugliness of sin, yes, by his nature, he can and must punish it. That's his justice. Yes. But God is not only or merely just, as we might say, because he never fails, when he's done justice, to continue and to do what is more than justice, that is, to do mercy. When our God looks at the wretchedness of sin, he's not only stirred up to anger, the wonder of our God's compassion and steadfast love is that the sight of sinners makes him love them. He sees us in our lowest state, and He wants to save wretched sinners who have sinned so grievously against Him. That's who our God is. He's merciful. Now He exercises His mercy according to His will, but even so, His nature is merciful. Our God will be merciful, but He also will be just. And this shows us that very clearly. Salvation is not only in addition to punishment. In a certain sense, it's through it, and we see that justice and mercy meet here perfectly, because Israel's punishment that's declared here was the first step for Israel's salvation. Historically, you remember how the prophet says it in Isaiah 40? Come for Emy people. Why? Her warfare's over. Why? Because she is received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. I've filled up her judgments and historically that's exactly what happened. God brought sinning Israel to the ground at the end of the Old Testament. Both nations exiled, brought back in a little light for the future. But Israel was in a bad way, and through that darkness, God brought the light of the gospel. And that's why Paul uses the last verse of our text in Romans 9 to speak to us of God's plan for the ages, that he brought Israel to their apostasy and whoredom so that he'd bring us Gentiles in. And Paul is amazed by this, that God, through punishment, would bring us, that he'd break off the natural branches of the olive tree and graft us in wild branches. But that really is just a picture of what's all the more deep and amazing here, of how judgment, justice is always through salvation. And that's because Israel really is a type, it's a picture, it's pointing us to the true Israel, Christ. The perfect justice of verses two through 13 is the grounds for the perfect salvation of verse 14. We can say from this passage as well what Isaiah says, surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Or as Paul says it, he who knew no sin became for us sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. This is the hope for sinful Israel and for sinful us that Jesus bore all the weight of our spiritual whoredom. What an awesome picture of our God. But ask from this text also, who's doing this? And he says it clearly, verse 14, behold, I myself. Though the salvation we're expecting is not from man, it's from God. It's from God, the Son, who took flesh and became the bride. As John the Baptist saw it, he says, who has the bride is the bridegroom. He became the bridegroom, rather, for us, the bride. and the Spirit of God at work in us to fulfill and make us faithful. As Ezekiel says, I'll put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. And when we ask from this text when this will all happen, and it echoes back this answer in that day, on that day, that's pointing to the time in which Christ came. And in his first sermons he made it clear the kingdom of God is here, the time is fulfilled, and that itself was pointing to another great day to come. The day about which we read in Revelation 19, there's a great wedding feast coming, and God right now is wooing his bride. He is alluring her so that she would be there with him on that last day. Do you see then how this passage is teaching us clearly the gospel of the saving work of the triune God? Because in his mercy and justice, the father sent the son in the fullness of time to bear the punishment due to his people. And now by the Spirit, he sweetly allures them. And he promises them, promises us, not only to bring us into marriage with himself, but to keep us in it, faithful until the day of Christ Jesus. So having heard this powerful message of judgment and of salvation, there really are two simple applications for us this morning. And the first, my friends, is that we must flee from the spiritual horden that is spoken to us in this text. This text directly addresses Israel, which was the church of that day. And Paul reminds us that these things are written for our instruction, and in the end of the ages have come. We are the Israel of God. This is written to us, make no mistake. And this text addresses, in particular, two groups that are found in every church. The first is that of the unbeliever. The one who pretends to be a faithful wife even while she's a prostitute in her husband's home. It was true, there were many like that in Israel. It'd be foolish to think it's not true today. There are many of whom Christ says now and will say on the last day, depart from me, I never knew you. Do you see how then this text calls us to the most necessary task of self-examination? Because what a woeful thing it would be to be in this body of Christ, but not to be of it. To be in the house of the living God who will save utterly from sin and yet be far as possible from that salvation. To be a whore in God's house. What a shame. So we need to ask from this text questions of our hearts. Instead of seeking first the kingdom, do you, verse five, pursue sin with zeal? Is sin your delight? Have you hidden it between your breasts, even in your heart, so that no one can see? God sees it. Instead of setting your mind on things above, is your heart set on worldly pleasures? Are you most excited about the grain, the wine, and the oil? And so it doesn't really matter who they came from or who you're giving them back to, because your God is your belly. Could be today food or beer or sports or vacations. It doesn't matter. Do you not use the things of this earth as God intended as tools for worshiping him? Or instead of graciously returning God's gifts to him in praise for his glory, do you lavish them, verse eight, on Baal or on yourself? Or instead of thanking him for them, do you, verse 12, attribute them with terrible ungratefulness to other lovers? And thus while living in your own husband's house, do you really give your true loyalty, love and service to another man? Now this text also addresses the believer. in God's house. And as the author of Hebrews says, so I say to you, believe better things of you, though the reality of apostasy is real. But the believer, though, needs to learn from this text, too. We who are faithful to our God, to our husband, sometimes still play the whore, at least in our hearts. God has already betrothed to us in faithfulness, but in that sense, we're not yet married. These sins do not yet define our lives, but we still sin daily. God has given us every good thing, but we still mimic the wicked in our ungratefulness. And make no mistake, true people of God, that is whoredom also. It is. And it will and does in itself deserve the same penalty. And so this text in that sense is even for the faithful Christian trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a great warning that the end of all whoredom is divorce. Whether you're on that path of spiritual prostitution or you in weakness are now and then setting your foot upon it. Even so, at the end of that path is only one thing, and that is divorce. God will take away his provision, his protection, his intimacy. He will disown you and your children after you, even to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate him. And so be warned, whether you're acting like a whore or you are one, let these judgments make you come to your senses. Take verse seven on your heart. Then she shall say, I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now. Run back to the true husband. Forget Baal. He is no God. And come back to the one who will allure you. And do it knowing well that there's a day in which this text, so to speak, will end at verse 13. And there will be no more alluring. No more mercy. There will be only eternal divorce. And I want to help you, people of God, to apply these warnings particularly in your hearts. One thing you should think about is that these judgments are not merely about the future. We need to open our eyes to see how God is already in our own lives judging us now. Now, we need to be careful here. Because for true believers, what Paul says is true. There is therefore now no condemnation. for those who are in Christ Jesus. But even for the justified saint, there is still discipline. And there's still testing as well. And that was even true for our Lord Jesus, whom the author of Hebrews says, learned obedience through what he suffered. And so I ask you to examine your life. If you feel, verse three, like you're living in a parched land, If you feel, verse four, like you're not seeing God's mercies upon your children. In verse six, it seems like God has hedged up your way with thorns. In verse 12, it's as if you're being devoured by the beasts of the field. And I want you to hear God's voice through those providences. This is what he's saying to you. Verse two, plead with your mother that she put away her whoring from her face and her adultery from between her breasts. If you're living totally in sin, that's a special warning for you. But even if you're living godly, and these things have not come upon you because of your sins, even so, they have come so that you, with all the more faith and obedience to God, would come in spiritual obedience to Christ, your groom. But this text also brings a special warning to those who've had special blessings. And I'm very glad to count you all as receivers of very special blessings. You know, you're very rich here. Much better than life under Hezekiah or under Jeroboam. You've got, yes, many physical blessings, but all the spiritual blessings. You are full of mirth and feasts and new moons and Sabbaths, Lord's Day worship morning and evening, catechism school, Sunday school, rich biblical teaching, three ministers, ruling elders, a congregation that is bursting at the seams. The Lord has blessed you greatly. And don't you see that if you take these blessings like Israel and use them for bail, then your judgment will be far worse than theirs because you receive all the more mercy. And so I plead with you, my dear mother, you really have been that to me and to my family here as we lived here. I plead with you that you would put spiritual adultery away. You'd flee it and its penalty, which is eternal divorce. But second, when you flee from that sin, flee to what this text puts before us so beautifully, the saving love of Jesus Christ. We've seen clearly how this passage preaches to us the gospel of Christ, the mercy of our triune God, that he sent his son to bear the guilt of our whoredom, to restore our spiritual marriage, and to keep us faithful in it. And the duty then should be clear to you. You must hear his call. Do you hear it today? Little children, do you hear Jesus speaking to you right now? He's alluring you just as much as your dad allured your mom to marry him. So Christ is right now speaking tenderly to you. He's saying, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He's saying, oh, everyone that thirsts, come to the waters. Come, you who have no money. Buy and eat without money and without price. Jesus is calling right now so that you would have eternal life in him. Do you hear him? And will you answer his call? As verse 15 says, she will answer as in the days of her youth. Will you answer with faith in the saving work of Christ? Will you confess your loyalty to him? Today it's as if Christ has bowed his knees right before you and he's held to you the ring and says, will you marry me? Will you marry me? Or it's as if you're here at the front, as many of you have in this very church, and the minister is here, and the bride is there, and he's turned to her now and says, will you take this man to be your husband? Will you take him? Will you answer my husband and not just my bail? When he says you are my people, will you say you are my God? But even that, friends, will not be enough, because it has to be followed by something else. You not just need to have Christ as your husband, you must obey him. It's true in earthly marriages. Our culture has lost the phrase honor and obey from the woman's wedding vows, but it's still what marriage is. It's a picture of Christ and the church, and the church obeys Christ, she must. No, that's not the case. Then what do we have but exactly what Israel has been? Spiritual adultery. It might look nice, you might be together, but it's true because of action. She is not my wife and I am not her husband. That's true in earthly marriage. It's all the more true in spiritual, in heavenly marriage that Christ makes with his people. There's no way that you can hear his call this morning. There's no way that you can respond to it without willing to be betrothed to him as he intends. Verse 19, I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and you shall know the Lord. Your character then as the bride of Christ must be the same character as your bridegroom, that of your husband. You must live with him under his law. And thus, if you truly desire to flee your sins to Christ, then hear his words, those who love me keep my commandments. And remember what we read in Revelation 19, that on that great wedding day, he will grant to all those who loved him to wear the fine linen, bright and pure. But what does John tell us very clearly that that fine linen is? It's the righteous deeds of the saints. Holiness befits his house and it befits his bride. And so I ask you again, not only do you take this man, Christ, but to you take him to honor and obey him, to have and to hold him and to keep yourself only for him as long as you both shall live. May the spirit give you grace to say today and forever, I do. Amen. Let us pray. our merciful and just God. We thank you for who you are and how you've shown us on display your beautiful character in this text as the holy God who cannot abide sin and who will punish all the wicked, especially those who have committed the whoredom of living as unfaithful members of the body of Christ. Lord, we confess our sins. We confess, Lord, that even though we have been betrothed to you in righteousness, we have so often, even if only in our hearts and minds, gone after other lovers. And we have, even though you have in large measure plucked it out, hidden little bits of sin and delight and sin in our breasts. We ask, Lord, that you would forgive us. We see your judgments. We know where the end of sin is, that the wages of sin is death. And we pray, Lord, that you would deliver us and our children from that death, that we would serve you instead with your intended faithfulness, that we, Lord, would hear the voice of Jesus this morning in his alluring call. Lord, we thank you. that He looked on us, that He would even bother to write such a text to us and address us so plainly about our sins and tell us so beautifully of His love for sinners. We pray for grace for all of us to hear that voice. Lord, open ears this morning of those here who may not yet have heard. We pray, Lord, that You would make them true members of the Bride of Christ. and having heard that they, together with all of us, would open our mouths and confess that you are our husband, and that you are our God, and then gladly we would serve you in holiness and righteousness all our days. Give us, we pray, this fullness of gospel grace, giving us not only grace to know Christ now, but to know him tomorrow and the next day and forever and ever, and to serve him world without end. We pray, Lord, give us your spirit that we might be a fitting bride to our blessed Savior. And we pray it in his name. Amen. people of the Lord. As we reflect on the mercies God has shown us in his house, and as we look forward to feasting at his table, let's sing now Psalm 23. This is number 85 in your Trinity Hymnal. 85, please stand and sing. He brings me down to life. With pastors free, he'll be with me a quiet water's eye. so he doth restore again, and be true of the faith, live in the grounds of righteousness, ye for his own name's sake. ♪ While all the angels are prayed ♪ ♪ Then will I hear the angel ♪ ♪ Pour out with me and my heart ♪ ♪ And sadly comfort still ♪ ♪ I take a vow as permission ♪ ♪ In presence of my foes ♪ Amen, you may be seated.