Worship service 03/15/26.
Greetings and call to worship.
Greetings and good morning saints and fellow soldiers of the cross. Grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you through the everlasting love of the Father, which is bestowed abundantly upon us through the Spirit of His Son. We are gathered once again on the Christian Sabbath, which He hath consecrated for our profit and growth, for His worship and service and do delight to come before Him to praise His name. Psalm 100 says, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” We are commanded and encouraged throughout scripture to serve and worship the Lord with gladness, therefore although our inward joy be mixed with much outward grief or sorrow, let us take heart and remember that all that the Lord doeth is in perfect wisdom, and He hath promised to turn all our tears into shouting. A Puritan minister writes, “The commandment of the Sabbath is, and must needs be moral, and not ceremonial; because all the reasons that enforce it are perpetual, and the Sabbath continued when the ceremonial law ceased, and was vanished; Matthew 24:20. But pray ye, that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day.”
Prayer unto the public reading of the Holy Scripture:
Our holy and righteous Father,
Full of all glory, justice, and righteousness,
Merciful and faithful—The Covenant God who will by no means clear the guilty, taking vengeance on them that follow after other gods, yet showing mercy to thousands that love thee with the whole heart and keep thy commandments:
We come before thee solemnly and sincerely, as those whom thou hast elected from before the creation of all worlds and purchased by the precious blood of thy Son, called out of darkness and brought into the fellowship of the gospel and the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We bow in all reverence before thy throne, knowing the severity of thy law, the holy requirements of the gospel, as well as our own vileness and unworthiness to draw so near unto thee.
We freely confess, O Lord, that apart from the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are denied access to the covenant promises, are under the wrath and curse of God, and must be cast from thy presence as an abominable thing. Moreover, we confess that without faith in the Mediator, consent to sound doctrine and a repentant heart, endeavouring to walk evenly and zealously for thee, which is the gracious work of the Spirit, we have no evidence of fellowship with thee. For we are by nature guilty and polluted, unable of ourselves to repent or return, and altogether unfit to render thee any service that is not defiled by sin. Therefore, do we confess our utter dependence on the Father’s love for our election, the Son’s righteousness for our justification and the Spirit’s work in our hearts for our sanctification. We believe that thou art our God, and the rewarder of them that diligently seek thy face. Therefore, inasmuch as we are convinced of our sin in Adam and the redemption in Jesus Christ alone, we cry out to thee for mercy: For pardoning mercy to cover our iniquities, And sanctifying mercy to make us meet for thy presence. Hear our prayers, deliver us from all trouble, cleanse us by the blood of Christ and the washing of the Spirit by the word. Sanctify us by the truth of thy word. Defend us from all evil, Strengthen our faith, subdue the lusts of the flesh that swell within us, And enable us to perform this holy service, Not in our own strength, But in the virtue which thou dost supply of thine own free goodness. And now, O Lord, as we come to the reading of thy holy word, we pray for a special blessing upon this portion of Scripture, that it may be effectual to build up thy holy church, which thou hast called thy special possession, and thy little flock. Open our hearts to receive it with meekness; Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and cause us by thy grace to live by it; And may the same Spirit who breathed life into the church in all ages; the fathers, apostles and prophets, the reformers and Puritans, so guide our whole lives, That we may grow up in Him in all things, even He who is the Bridegroom and Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, our Prophet, Priest and King. All this we ask in his most worthy name, Amen.
Devotional and doctrinal exposition on the Psalms:
Psalm 27 [22] (Verse 12): 1 David maketh this Psalm being delivered from great perils, as appeareth by the praises and thanksgiving annexed: 6 Wherein we may see the constant faith of David against the assaults of all his enemies. 7 And also the end wherefore he desireth to live and to be delivered, only to worship God in his Congregation.
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I request; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his Tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, seek ye my face; my heart answered unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
9 Hide not therefore thy face from me; nor cast thy servant away in displeasure: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 Though my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a right path, because of mine enemies.
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as speak cruelly.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Exposition:
We saw previously that it is good and lawful for the Christian to pray to the Lord for deliverance when surrounded by enemies who would revile and speak evil of us, and we must remember that when David here says, “speak cruelly,” it is not limited to harsh and abrasive speech which immediately damages the conscience, but includes all forms of speech that tend to the damage of the person or good name of the other party, such as false witness, flattery, and manipulation. The Westminster Catechism sums it up well by stating, “The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are, all prejudicing the truth, and the good name of our neighbors, as well as our own,1 especially in public judicature;2 giving false evidence,3 suborning false witnesses,4 wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, outfacing and overbearing the truth;5 passing unjust sentence,6 calling evil good, and good evil; rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous, and the righteous according to the work of the wicked;7 forgery,8 concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause,9 and holding our peace when iniquity calleth for either a reproof from ourselves,10 or complaint to others;11 speaking the truth unseasonably,12 or maliciously to a wrong end,13 or perverting it to a wrong meaning,14 or in doubtful and equivocal expressions, to the prejudice of truth or justice;15 speaking untruth,16 lying,17 slandering,18 backbiting,19 detracting,20 tale bearing,21 whispering,22 scoffing,23 reviling,24 rash,25 harsh,26 and partial censuring;27 misconstructing intentions, words, and actions;28 flattering,29 vainglorious boasting,30 thinking or speaking too highly or too meanly of ourselves or others;31 denying the gifts and graces of God;32 aggravating smaller faults;33 hiding, excusing, or extenuating of sins, when called to a free confession;34 unnecessary discovering of infirmities;35 raising false rumors,36 receiving and countenancing evil reports,37 and stopping our ears against just defense;38 evil suspicion;39 envying or grieving at the deserved credit of any,40 endeavoring or desiring to impair it,41 rejoicing in their disgrace and infamy;42 scornful contempt,43 fond admiration;44 breach of lawful promises;45 neglecting such things as are of good report,46 and practicing, or not avoiding ourselves, or not hindering: What we can in others, such things as procure an ill name.47”
And while it may be beneficial to quote extensively from all the scripture proofs provided, it will do well to provide a few key passages that summarize what David suffered as a public person, and one privy to the corrupt manners of men.
Prov. 18:31 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Good and evil, the fruit and effect of the tongue.)
James moreover says, “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we sin all. If any man sin not in word, he is a perfect man, and able to bridle all the body. Behold, we put bits into the horses’ mouths, that they should obey us, and we turn about all their body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small rudder, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth of great things: behold, how great a thing a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is fire, yea, a world of wickedness: so is the tongue set among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell. For the whole nature of beasts, and of birds, and of creeping things, and things of the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of the nature of man. But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God even the Father, and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of one mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing: my brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at one place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bring forth olives, either a vine figs? so can no fountain make both salt water and sweet. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show by good conversation his works in meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, rejoice not, neither be liars against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is sedition, and all manner of evil works. But the wisdom that is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace, of them that make peace.” Let us remember by this principle to be of a careful and judicious spirit, especially pertaining to the tongue, not prone to rash speech or censorious language, but speaking the truth in love, and all sobriety, might grow up in Christ in all things, bearing the reproach and slander of others, without giving them just cause to speak ill against us.
Manton—”He showeth the further efficacy of this tonguefire; it doth not only black and sully, but it devoureth and destroyeth. He expresseth it by this phrase, ‘setteth on fire,’ because of the comparison foregoing; and it is very proper, partly in regard of the effects of the tongue, which are usually false heats, passion, wrath, raging, violence, contrary to which is that ‘cool spirit’ which Solomon saith is in the prudent man; partly in regard of the tongue’s manner of working in contentions. It is rapid and violent; men are by the tongue transported and heated into inconveniences; and it is also disorderly, like raging fire, causing great confusions; and therefore in any heat we had need look to the rise and quality of it: be sure to watch over your spirit when it beginneth to grow furious and inflamed. The whole course of nature.—In the original it is τὸν τρόχον τῆς γενέσεως, which some render, ‘the wheel of our nativity,’ by which he intendeth the whole course of our lives; there is no action, no age, no estate privileged from the influence of it. The word signifieth our natural course, or the wheel of human conversation. And it is set on fire of hell.—He showeth whence the tongue hath all this malice and mischief; from hell, that is, from the devil, who is the father of lies, the author of malice and virulency, and doth by the tongue, as a dexterous instrument or fit servant, transmit lies, and slanders, and strifes, for inflaming and enkindling the world.”
Opening Prayer.
Our faithful and merciful Father in heaven, righteous and true in all thy ways,
Look now upon thy church and people with pity and compassion, for we are scattered and oppressed by the rage and tumult of the enemy. The godly man ceaseth and we see not thy signs in the land. Thy ordinances are despised, and sound doctrine is ridiculed in the places of worship. Heresies, sects and cults abound, but we see not places of godly worship. For this cause the land is cursed, and wicked rulers have risen up—not to enforce that which is good, but to cast off restraint and remove righteous law from the land. The common people wax worse and worse, and all manner of villainy and wickedness is permitted and promoted. Ignorance, superstition, and false worship have risen up and do bear rule among them. But bless and sanctify thy people, that we may do battle against these evils in heart, deed, and word. Give us the strength of faith to abhor idolatry and cast down every imagination that exalteth itself against thy truth. Purify us from every evil work and from all impure affections and desires. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy; but we look unto thee, and place our hope in thy righteous judgment upon all men. Prepare us for that day through Jesus Christ our Lord, that we may shine as fixed stars in patience, wisdom, and glory, through the work of thy grace within us.
Do it for thy name’s sake, O Lord,
our glorious Redeemer and Savior.
Amen.
Lesson 75. [1.2.49.] The Contents of Holy Scripture: The Prophets. Joel. The Prophet of True Repentance.
Westminster Confession of Faith 1.2.
Under the name of holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments,
Genesis—Hosea, Joel
All which are given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.
Intro. Joel 1-3
Introduction to Joel.
I. Historical Background.
The prophecy of Joel is found among the Minor Prophets and is particularly remarkable for the obscurity of its historical setting. Unlike the previous prophetic books we have studied, the book of Joel contains no explicit chronological markers: no reigning king is named, no foreign empire is clearly identified, and no specific political crisis is recorded. The prophet is introduced simply:
Joel 1:1:
“The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.”
Because of this silence, scholars have differed in opinion regarding the date of the book. Most of the more notable and trustworthy sources place Joel early in the prophetic era, during the time of the divided kingdom, while some modern scholars judge it more likely to belong to the later period of Judah after the exile. Howbeit none of their arguments are well grounded or conclusive, and the earlier date is therefore to be preferred.
II. Literary Significance.
Joel is among the most poetically vivid books of the Old Testament. The prophecy is written almost entirely in elevated Hebrew poetry, rich with imagery, parallelism, and symbolic language. The devastation of the land is portrayed with dramatic intensity: fields are ruined, vines wither, priests mourn, and even the beasts groan under the mighty hand of God.
The book is especially notable for its sweeping movement from present judgment to divine prophecy. Joel begins his discourse with the declaration of an earthly disaster and then, by the wisdom of God, expounds upon it—calling the people to repentance and declaring that it to be a sign of the coming judgment of God. Thus Joel stands as one of the chief Old Testament preachers of the Day of the LORD, a theme which echoes again in the prophecies of Zephaniah and Malachi.
Because of this literary structure, the book of Joel functions like a theological bridge. The immediate event—the locust plague—becomes a sign pointing forward to the final judgment and the restoration of God’s people.
The book is also highly influential in later Scripture. Most notably, the prophecy concerning the outpouring of the Spirit, quoted in Acts, demonstrates the unity and harmony of Old and New Testament prophecy and fulfillment.
III. Major Themes
Several theological themes are prominent in the book of Joel.
i. National Judgment for national sins.
Joel demonstrates that natural catastrophes act as covenantal discipline. The devastation of crops, wine, and oil directly touches the blessings promised in the Old Covenant, demonstrating that God governs the natural world and makes use of them as instruments of His justice.
ii. The Day of the LORD
The central theme of Joel is the Day of the LORD—a day of divine justice and the final visitation in which God manifests His sovereignty through judgment and deliverance. The locust plague is presented as a foretaste of that day, warning the people of the greater reckoning to come.
iii. Repentance and Return
Much like the prophets we have hitherto studied, Joel’s doctrine calls the people directly to repentance and to a sincere return unto the Lord. The emphasis is placed upon inward sincerity rather than outward ceremony, and upon the rejection of complacent religious formalism.
This is why we can easily condemn the modern church as apostate. They have not turned from their idols, so how can they turn to the LORD?
Joel 2:12–13:
“Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
iv. The Power of the Spirit Alone Sufficient to Restore
Men are commanded to repent, yet the work of true repentance belongeth unto God and not unto men. This Joel understood, and therefore he proclaims the latter as the foundation and source of the former.
IV. Function in the Canon
Within the canon of Scripture, Joel serves several important purposes.
First, it reminds us of the importance of the biblical doctrine of the Day of the LORD, a theme which becomes vital and central in later prophets such as Zephaniah and Malachi, and ultimately in the New Testament teaching concerning the final judgment.
Second, it establishes the principle that historical judgments are types and foreshadowings of the final judgment. The devastation of Judah becomes a prophetic sign of the universal reckoning that awaits all nations (see Matthew 25).
Third, Joel prepares the way for the New Testament revelation of the Holy Spirit. The prophecy of the Spirit’s outpouring marks a key transition from the Old Covenant administration to the greater fullness of the New Covenant.
Finally, the book functions as a call to repentance. Joel demonstrates that God’s judgments in history are never meaningless disasters; they are divine trumpets of warning, calling a people to humble themselves before the Lord and to repent of their sin and idolatry.
Thus Joel stands as a prophetic watchman within the canon: interpreting calamity, proclaiming the Day of the LORD, calling sinners to repentance, and pointing forward to the mercy and renewal which God grants His elect through the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
I. Lessons from Joel.
- God is willing to invent new ways of punishment for new crimes against Him. Joel 1:2.
Gurnall—“Uncleanness is an old sin from the beginning; but the Sodomites will be filthy in a new way, and therefore it carries their name to this day. Some invent new errors; others new oaths —such as are of their own coining—hot out of the mint; they scorn to swear after the old fashion. Others [invent] new devices of persecuting, as Julian, [who] had a way by himself different from all before him; and to the end of the world every age will exceed other in the degrees of sinning. Ishmael and the mockers of the old world were but children and bunglers to the scoffers and cruel mockers of the last time. Well, take heed of showing thy wit in inventing new sins, lest thou stir up God in inventing new punishments. ‘Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?’ Job 31:3. Sodom sinned after a new mode, and God destroys them after a new way—sends hell from above upon them. Some have invented new opinions, monstrous errors, and God hath suited their monstrous errors with births as monstrous of their own body.” - God knoweth how to send a cankerworm to eat up all our harvest, and a devil to pluck away our spiritual profit. Labor to understand the word and apply it that you might profit. Joel 1:4 (Parable of the sower)
Henry—”The wicked one, that is, the devil, cometh and catcheth away that which was sown.–Such mindless, careless, trifling hearers are an easy prey to Satan; who, as he is the great murderer of souls, so he is the great thief of sermons, and will be sure to rob us of the word, if we take not care to keep it: as the birds pick up the seed that falls on the ground that is neither ploughed before nor harrowed after. If we break not up the fallow ground, by preparing our hearts for the word, and humbling them to it, and engaging our own attention; and if we cover not the seed afterwards, by meditation and prayer; if we give not a more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, we are as the highway ground. Note, The devil is a sworn enemy to our profiting by the word of God; and none do more befriend his design than heedless hearers, who are thinking of something else, when they should be thinking of the things that belong to their peace.” - The deprivation of the ordinances and the means of grace is a sore and grievous judgment. Joel 1:13
Charnock—”’ I will remove thy candlestick out of his place.’ I shall not trouble you with the different interpretations of it. There was a candlestick within the tabernacle, Heb. ix. 2, which had seven branches, wherein lamps were continually presented lighted. The candlestick represented as a type the gospel church, and the lamps the gospel in it, and the oil to supply the lamps the gifts of the Spirit for the preservation and propagation of the gospel. An allusion is made in this place to the candlestick in the ancient tabernacle. The chief intention of the ancient tabernacle was to represent and signify future things. The seven particular churches allude here to the seven branches of that candlestick, seven particular churches or seven states of the church, all parts of the universal. The chief concern of the candlestick was the light in it, without which, as the tabernacle had been a place of darkness, so is the world without the gospel. By removing the candlestick is therefore to be understood the removing of the gospel, and so an unchurching of them. Candlestick may be here put for the light in it, by a metonymy of the subject for the adjunct. We might observe,
1. A nation, people, or church, that have been eminent for the owning the ways and truths of God, may have great decays in their affections, and greatly apostatize.
2. Apostasy in a church is followed with a removal of the gospel.
3. The removal of the gospel is the saddest judgment that can happen to a nation.” - Though it is the Lord who judges us, it is to the Lord we are to cry. Joel 1:19
- God delighteth in true repentance. Joel 2:12-13
- We are to apprehend and make use of the means of grace, and not pry into the secrets of God’s decrees. Joel 2:14, Luke 13:23-24
- The beginning of salvation is the Mediation of Christ, and the beginning of national reformation is the reformation of the church. Joel 2:17-18
- The remnant shall be saved. (Elect Jews and Gentiles) Joel 2:32, John 3:16
- The Day of the Lord will thoroughly purge the world of sinners. Joel 3:9-17
- The gospel is only known through the law. Joel 3:21
Conclusion.
Closing Prayer.
Fearless Puritan: 