The first seven verses of Revelation chapter two. To the angel of the Church of Ephesus, right? These things, says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, I know your works, your labor, your patience, that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars. And you have persevered and have patience and have labored for my namesake and have not become weary. Nevertheless, I have this against you that you have left. your first love. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Thus far the reading of God's holy word. In a marriage, one of the easiest duties to neglect, as I'm sure we're all aware of, is to fall from that first love. I'm not so much referring to the romantic elements of marriage. For many couples fall into the trap of believing that if they simply keep the romance alive, they will keep love alive. However, these couples have it quite backwards. It is not romance that keeps love alive. It is love that keeps romance alive. Dear ones, love is evidenced in a marriage by desires. by words and by actions that convey to the one who is loved, I will subdue my selfish desires in order to serve you according to all of God's righteous commandments. Husbands, if we would not fall from that first love, we must love our wives. as Christ loved his bride and gave himself for her. We must lead through the truth, but we must also lead through those religious and gracious and godly affections and kindness and mercy and patience produced in us by the Holy Spirit. Wives, if you would not fall from that first love, you must love your husbands as the church is to love the Lord Jesus Christ. You must find comfort and security in submitting to all of His lawful commands. And you must find joy beneath and in the arms of Him alone. You know, we're so often tempted to say, but you don't know my husband or you don't know my wife. You might have a different opinion if you knew him or her. No, I do not know your husband or wife as you do. But I do know. And I am assured that the same grace of God that can turn the heart of stone into a heart of flesh and regenerate a man or regenerate a woman or a child and can turn a rebel's heart like my own to desire and follow the Lord Jesus Christ, is able and capable and mighty and powerful to melting even a cold heart, making that heart fervent and passionate for the one loved. For when we truly apprehend the truth that God is revealed in his word. We will see that his truth is always light to our understanding, but it's also heat and warmth to our affections. The truth does not simply affect our understanding. The truth affects our affections as well. We learn to love As we learn the truth, we learn to love what God loves. And we learn to hate what God hates. One other evidence of that first love, I believe, in a marriage is that you enjoy the time that you spend together. You enjoy that blessed communion and fellowship with the one that is loved. It's not a drudgery to be with that one whom you love. You find it to be, in fact, your greatest joy. Romance and marriage without these things that I've just mentioned is indeed simply a smoldering fire. that is about to go out. And I exhort you, dear ones, to recognize these signs of sinful neglect in your marriage and repent of them. But I much more exhort you to recognize these signs of sinful neglect in your union to Jesus Christ, who is your eternal husband, to whom you have been joined not simply for this life but to whom you have been joined for all eternity." To recognize those signs of having fallen or having left that first love. You see, it's not enough to put away all idols before our eyes. For we see in Ezekiel 14, which was read earlier, that God's people had idols in their hearts as well. And so, whatever sinful neglect in your life or mine that has led us away from that first love, that becomes an idol to us, an idol in our heart. Our shorter catechism tells us that the chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. And we so quickly focus, it seems, often upon the glorifying aspect that we're to reflect the glory of Christ's nature, his law, his commandments in all that we think and do and say. And that's absolutely true. But we must also not neglect, nor forget that we are to enjoy our God, that He is to be a great source of joy to us. For the Word of God says He rejoices in us. He rejoices in our songs of praise. He rejoices in our love as our eternal husband. You see, this is the message of the Lord, the Lord of the church, to his bride in Revelation chapter 2. And he who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church. As we consider our text, this Lord's Day from Revelation chapter 2, This is the first of the seven letters that is addressed to these seven churches. It is first addressed to the church of Ephesus. And as we look at the very first part of the first verse, to the angel of the church of Ephesus, we stop there for a moment, we see that this letter is specifically directed to the angel of the church of Ephesus. It's obvious that this angel or The word that is used there for angel in the Greek also means messenger. This angel or this messenger in some way serves in a representative fashion. This angel represents the entire church of Ephesus, because though the letter is directed to this angel of the church of Ephesus, the rest of the letter is very clearly, as you read through it, as we have, directed to all of the members of the congregation of this church. And so this angel again, this messenger, whom I believe the word of God would have us to understand, represents the elders, the ministry of the church. that it's directed to the ministers of the church, that it is their responsibility to communicate the word of God to the people, to communicate it accurately, to communicate it with love for the truth, love for the Lord Jesus Christ, faithfulness to the message, to the one who's committed the message unto them, to be ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the messenger, This angel is representative of the whole church through the ministry that God has given. For ministers or elders or pastors are very much like angels in that they are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation. As we consider the passage before us, we want to notice three points about this passage and what the Lord Jesus says to his church at Ephesus. First of all, the Lord brings commendation to his church. In the second place, the Lord brings rebuke. And finally, the Lord brings promise. And so let us look at each of these aspects of this letter and pray that the Holy Spirit of God would give us insight into our church. For this church belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ as well. He is the Lord of this church, even as he speaks as the Lord of the Church of Ephesus. Even as he speaks as the one who walks in the midst of the seven candlesticks or lampstands, he indicates that he is the Lord of his church. All of these various congregations, these particular churches, he is the Lord, nevertheless, one Lord of one church. Though meeting in various locations, he is the Lord. And so let us consider, first of all, the commendation that the Lord brings to the church of Ephesus. The city of Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Ephesus was a very prosperous business center in the location of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. the temple of the Greek goddess Diana. It was a citadel for emperor worship in that particular time. It was a metropolis of paganism and idolatry. You remember when the apostle Paul, who was the one who established this church, in Acts chapter 19, when he came to this particular church. You remember the opposition that he had, not only from the Jews, but also from all of the idolaters who worshiped the goddess Diana. Some of the Christians were really putting a dent into their sale of idols. And these people didn't appreciate it. It was affecting their pocketbooks. And they took out their hostility, of course, as always is the case. Since they cannot directly attack the Lord Jesus Christ, they attacked those who proclaimed his message. This was the beginning for this particular church, which the Lord Jesus addresses in Revelation chapter 2. Paul had to flee Ephesus. Those who were left behind, no doubt, those Christians who had been established and grounded in the faith, the church that had been begun in Ephesus, no doubt faced strong persecution. Perhaps they were not allowed to buy from certain of the merchants. Perhaps they were boycotted, so they were not able to sell their particular merchandise. Perhaps they were as well persecuted, whipped, driven from town to town. There was indeed persecution, as we will see in just a moment. But they stood firm and fast for the Lord in these difficult times. In verse one, To the angel of the Church of Ephesus write, these things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. The Lord Jesus identifies himself as the one who walks or first of all, who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands. You see, these are symbols that are mentioned, first of all, in Revelation chapter one. Turn with me there. Just look at verse beginning with verse twelve, how the Lord Jesus, when he first appears in visionary form to the Apostle John. This is how the Lord describes himself. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, one like the son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace. And his voice is the sound of many waters. He had in his right hand seven stars. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am he who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death. We find that the Lord interprets the symbols of the stars that are in the hands of the Son of Man and the symbol of the seven golden lampstands in verse twenty of chapter one. The mystery of the seven stars, which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands, which you saw are the seven churches. As we have already noted, the seven stars. And particularly referring to what Jesus says, he is the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand. This refers to the fact that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who commissions and sends forth his ministers. They are to do his bidding. That ministers who would presume to stand before God's people and to speak their own thoughts, to speak their own mind, are those who have betrayed Christ. For the Lord Jesus holds the ministry. The ambassadors of Jesus Christ are held in his right hand. He is the one who has given them the authority that they have. They don't possess the authority to stand and to proclaim the word of God in and of themselves. That authority comes from the Lord of the church. And when the minister of Jesus Christ stands in the pulpit and faithfully proclaims the word, it is as if Jesus Christ is declaring and speaking to you the very word of God. And you are bound before God to hear and to obey it. For the Lord speaks unto you, his people. They're called stars, no doubt, because they give light and heat. They give forth the light of the gospel. They give forth as well when the truth comes from them and through them. They give forth as well that heat which warms the affections of God's people. They are like stars in the expanse of God's creation, which declare the glory of God. to his people. These are his ministers. This is the ministry which Christ himself has authorized and commissioned and sent them forth to do his bidding as his ambassadors. Turn with me to one passage very quickly to Second Corinthians, chapter five, verse eighteen. The apostle Paul says, Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. He is speaking of the ministry that Jesus Christ has committed and given to the ministers, the message and the ministry of reconciliation. Notice, as he continues, verse 19, that is that God was in Christ reconciling the word world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were pleading through us. We implore you. on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. This is the ministry, the awesome ministry and the message. On the one hand, a glorious privilege to declare this message, but on the other hand, a very sobering responsibility to be faithful to the Lord God in declaring his message. And so this is what is signified, that these ministers are in the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. He protects them, he holds them forth, he sends them forth as his ambassadors. But the Lord Jesus says he's also the one who walks in the midst of the seven lampstands. That is, that the Lord Jesus Christ, in covenant faithfulness to his people, as we see in Leviticus chapter 26, verses 11 and 12, there the covenant is summarized in this way. I will walk in your midst. I will be your God and you will be my people. You remember how the Lord commanded that no defilement should be in the camp of Israel, lest God look upon it and be sorely displeased about the defilement and corruption he saw in the camp, even to the point of all excrement being taken outside of the camp because God is a holy God. The Lord Jesus Christ walks in the midst of his church. And with those same burning eyes, flames of fire, he looks at his church. He pierces through the hearts of men who come to worship before him, he identifies that which is commendable as well as that which needs to be altered and changed and repented of within the church. That is his privilege and obligation as the Lord of the church to purify his church. Our obligation is to be in communion with the Lord of the church. Now, as the Lord does walk in the midst of his church. Back to Revelation, chapter two. He brings, first of all, commendation to his church located in Ephesus. And I might say, though there were seven actual churches in Asia to which these letters were addressed and that they spoke of in these letters actual events that were going on, we nevertheless, as God's people today, understand that these particular truths are as real and meaningful and relevant to us as they were to those people to whom the message and the letter was originally addressed. We cannot simply say, well, the letter wasn't originally addressed to me. It wasn't originally addressed to Puritan Reformed Church in Edmonton. Therefore, I'm not responsible to hear what the Lord of the Church says to this church in Ephesus. No. We are bound in covenant to that church in Ephesus. We are bound together as one church. And when Jesus speaks to one, he speaks to all. And the commendation comes basically in three areas. As the Lord addresses this church in Ephesus, three areas, first of all, The Lord says, I know your works and your labor. I know your works and your labor, the word labor, there is labor to the point of exhaustion. I know how you have been those who practice faith and works love. indeed and in truth. You are a church who promotes the caring for widows. You are a church who visits the prisoners in jail. You are a church who cares for the orphans. You are a church who has faithfully promoted and been a witness In very dire circumstances for the truth, I know your works. I know your good works and your hard labor for the sake of the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus calls us to be like that first century church as well. He calls us to be mighty in works and deeds, to be faithful in ministering to the sick in our midst, in caring by calling, providing meals. Those who are orphans, those who are separated from their families by distance or because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to care. for those in the faith. The Lord calls us to be a church that is evangelistic, to promote the truth of the kingdom of God. As even we prayed this this Lord's Day for this man whom our brother picked up in the car. So God calls us in our various relationships to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ, to be a witnessing church. Ephesus was certainly faithful, and that's biblical, and that's laudable and commendable. And the Lord Jesus Christ is not one who simply rebukes. The Lord Jesus Christ is one who encourages. The Lord Jesus is one who is filled with compassion for his people and desires to see that same compassion evidenced in their life as they share it amongst themselves and spread it even to those who are outside the church of Christ. The second thing that the Lord commends this church for is for their perseverance and patience. In verse two, I know your works, your labor, your patience and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars and you have persevered and have patience. and have labored for my namesake and have not become weary." Here we see a persevering church, not one who after a few trials was ready to give up and say, well, this Christian faith is not for me. It's true. Christianity is not a faith for cowards. Christianity is a faith for the fearless, for those who are courageous, for those whom, by God's grace, can stand before the lions of this world, before the gladiators of this world, for the faithful witness and even be willing to lay down their lives for the truth. Christianity And this, I think, is one of the sad things about the feminization of Christianity today, that so many men have no desire to be a Christian because the church is filled with so many women. Women are leading, teaching various classes. Women, for the most part, if the women were not there, the church would not go on Christianity. is a religion which has always, in ages past, appealed to men as well. It is a religion and a faith and a commitment that is based upon the highest degree of courage, fearing God more than any man. This was a church which had persevered in the face of fierce persecution brought against it, both from Jews and from Gentiles. And thirdly, the third item that the church is commended for is for their orthodoxy. We see in verses Again, versus two and. Then again, verse six, verse two and six, I know your works, your labor, your patience and that you cannot bear those who are evil and you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars. Notice for six as well, but this you have. that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. These Ephesian Christians, this church in Ephesus, was committed wholeheartedly to the truth of Scripture. They were committed to the infallibility and the authority and sufficiency of God's word in all matters of faith and practice. They even use their orthodox faith to try those who were not of the truth in their midst and found those who profess themselves to be apostles to be liars. They judge them. To be liars, to be false teachers. And they were put outside the church. They did not tolerate false doctrine. They did not tolerate false worship. They did not tolerate a false government nor a false discipline within the church. These were Orthodox people. This was an Orthodox church, faithful. to the teachings which had been committed to her through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the apostles of Jesus Christ. We look at these things and for which they are commended. And we say, what an ideal church. I wish our church was more like that, we might think. And rightfully so. Wouldn't it be wonderful for the Lord Jesus Christ to say the same things about our church? We should all desire that, particularly we who are elders within the church to whom the ministry has been given. This should be our desire. They were hard workers, they had withstood persecution and they defended the truth. What more could the Lord ask for? brings us to the rebuke of the Lord in verse four. Nevertheless, Jesus says, I have this against you that you have left your first love. The Lord doesn't say you have left or abandoned the Lord Jesus Christ. He says you have left your first love. that first love which you had for the Lord Jesus Christ. You have left that. It doesn't say you have lost it. It doesn't say that there is no love at all on the part of these people for the Lord Jesus Christ. The rebuke comes in the form of you have left that place of first love that you once enjoyed with the Lord of the church. your eternal husband." Apparently, their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ had become businesslike, cold, calculating, mechanical, lifeless. There was service and there was worship and there was doctrine in defending the truth. But it had become apparently routine, devoid of joy, devoid of thankfulness and love and praise and thanksgiving. They had left their first love. You see, beloved, it is certainly possible we should never forsake the things which they were commended for. Jesus is not saying you should leave anything undone that you have done. You simply have left undone one very important thing. You have left your first love. And so the Lord Jesus is not pitting love for him against the truth. or love for him against service, or love for him against perseverance in the faith. He's not pitting them one against the other. As he told the Pharisees in Matthew 23, verse 23, if you want to look there very quickly, The Lord Jesus told the Pharisees this. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. So the Lord Jesus says to this church, these you should have done without leaving this other undone. And it seems so often that it's the very things that we are doing within the church that we allow in some way because we become too busy in our own minds. We don't make time for we become so pressured by deadlines. Certain issues have to be decided. Certain things have to be done that we forget that we don't remember the Lord of the church, that we don't take time to spend in fellowship and communion, in prayer, in pouring out our hearts to the living God. that he would bless all of our deeds, that we would bless as we pursue the truth, that he would make efficacious the Word of God to the hearts and lives of people. You see, the two primary areas, as I understand the ministry The Apostle said in Acts chapter six, they defined that they defined the ministry is comprising of these two areas, the word and prayer. And we can be so faithful. As elders and ministers, and you can be so faithful as members of a congregation to pursue the truth. But beloved. The Lord Jesus Christ says, if we are not pursuing with equal fervency, communion and fellowship with him through prayer, you have left your first love. The Lord strikes all of us right here. It pierces us to the very core of our being. It awakens us and shows us how important this is to the Lord Jesus Christ. We might say, Lord, Why make such a big deal about this? Because the Lord God is jealous for our love and affection. Dear ones, we ought to consider that such a privilege that God doesn't need, but He desires our love and affection. He desires us to spend that fellowship communion with him in prayer. And finally, in this letter, the Lord having established what the problem was, what the rebuke was for, that they had left their first love, he now gives to them the solution, the promise that is uttered in verse five and in verse seven. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen. Repent and do the first words or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. And in verse seven, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God." The Lord says that in order to enjoy the promises of God in eating of the tree of life, people of God, you must remember You must repent and you must do. You must remember from where you have fallen. You must not consider it some light and insignificant thing that your love, your passion, your affection for Christ and your desire to spend time with him in prayer, pouring out your heart into him. You must not consider that some insignificant thing. You must remember in your own life that there were days gone by when the light within you, the heat within you, burned brightly. And you must desire with all of your heart to reclaim those days, not to go back if there was error. Sometimes we associate those days, days gone by, with the error. But we must realize that if we have come to the truth, how much more now we must be able to enjoy the Lord God in all of His fullness. For we know Him more accurately. We know Him as He has revealed Himself. Remember how often we have a very selective memory when it comes to the things of God. How often we remember the things that God didn't give us that we had asked for. How we remember that this discipline that came into our life for our sin. But do we remember the goodness and kindness and the compassion of the Lord in pouring forth his grace and mercy upon us? Remember, the Lord says, first of all, then repent, repent of your present state of fallenness, turn from it, recognize it as sin. Don't toy or play with it. Again, realize, dear ones, that this having left one's first love is the first step in leaving the one. Altogether, leaving your first love is simply one step towards leaving the Lord Jesus Christ altogether, and if it is not corrected, if it is not repented of. That is where it will lead. That's where it will take us. The Lord says, repent, recognize it as sin. It is your responsibility in your marriage and in your relationship with Jesus Christ not to neglect this duty to continue to flame the embers of a law that belongs in those relationships. And then do don't wait till you feel like it. Don't wait till there is a particular emotional feeling before you do. Do it. Do those deeds that you once did. Spend that time with the Lord Jesus Christ. Fervent prayer in ministering to the sick and caring and showing compassion to the lost whom God places in your pathway. Do those works. And most of all, enjoy the Lord. Enjoy the Lord God, find your joy in him. Rather than in the things of this world, God has given us much to enjoy in this world by way of blessing, but find your joy by which you can enjoy everything else in him. If you lack the feelings. If you can't seem to stir it up, those that same. Joy that you once knew don't become discouraged, continue to fervently pray that God would stir up the affections, those gracious and godly affections within your life and be faithful for the means of grace, of prayer. The reading of God's Word, corporate worship, family worship is like gas. It's poured upon a simple smoldering ember. It's those means of grace that will ignite that and bring that to a burning passion flame again. The Lord says that if you do not do these things, he says to this church of Ephesus, He says, I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. The Lord is serious about this business of maintaining him as our first love. If you don't repent from this backsliding, in spite of all these other things that you're doing, I will return and I will remove your lampstand from the circle. of those churches. I will extinguish your flame so that you cannot glow amongst Christ churches at all. The Lord takes this very seriously. But the promise that the Lord makes is given to us, verse seven, to him who overcomes, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. In other words, to enjoy fellowship with Him here, to set Him apart as the first love of our life, and to seek by His grace to maintain that place as our first love. What we will enjoy for all eternity is that fellowship and that communion with Him. That is what eating of the tree of life speaks of. Fellowship and communion in His life. In all that he has purchased for us, enjoying that to its fullest. Right now, sin hinders that full and complete fellowship. And we hate the fact, as believers, that sin does affect us in that way. But there is coming a time, beloved, when nothing will hinder that sweet and blessed fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And we will be able to enjoy Him fully and completely without any of these hindrances at all in our life. Dear ones, the results of lovelessness for the Lord Jesus Christ in conclusion are these. Dead worship, lifeless worship, going through all the right forms, but devoid of that love for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus said they professed me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. That's lovelessness. That's where lovelessness leaving our first love will lead us to dead worship. Secondly, lovelessness will lead to slow and joyless obedience. Slow. Taking our time. and considering it a great burden to obey the Lord. Dear ones, when there is true love in a marriage, there is joy in serving one another. And when there is love for the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a swiftness to obey, like the angels of God in heaven are swift to obey the commandments of the Lord. And third, lovelessness will lead Lead us to no sacrificial love for others. If we do not love the Lord Jesus Christ as our first love, we will not be demonstrating and showing that same kind of love within our family or to anyone else. All they will see is selfishness and self-centeredness on our parts. In Luke chapter 10, you remember the story, the account of Martha and Mary who entertained the Lord and how Martha was so busy doing some very good things, preparing food, making preparations for the Lord who had visited them. And she became very indignant with her sister, Mary, who all the while, rather than helping her with all of these good things, was sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, communing and fellowshipping with him. And she contended with her sister and came to the Lord, said, Lord, command her to get up and help me. And the Lord Jesus said, Martha, Martha, you're so consumed with so many things. But Mary has chosen that. I'm paraphrasing. Mary has chosen that which is truly important. God help us to see that if we would change our families, if we would bring change to our church and to this world, it must be not only because we have the truth, but because Jesus Christ is our first love. It is in that perspective That God will give us true compassion for people. The bowels of mercy will overflow to people. We will hate their sin. We will hate them as idolaters, but we will nevertheless contend for their souls. For the throne of grace. God grant that we as families, as individuals, as a church be restored to our first love. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you. We bless your holy name. And in your great wisdom and your great love for us, you have given to us a record of your concern that the church Follow you in uncompromising faithfulness. And yet, Lord, that we in no way throw aside. The truth that we do not throw aside the perseverance in the truth. So we do not throw aside our our good deeds, but that God, we also recognize our need to continuously stimulate, to stir up our hearts, that we might love the Lord God with all of our hearts, to pray fervently for the Spirit's blessing, that he would unite our hearts to the heart to the Lord Jesus, that we would not fall by the wayside, that we would not be ignorant, that we would not be neglectful nor forgetful of this important duty O Lord God, we pray that you would bless this church, that we would indeed, as ministers and as members of the congregation, that we would repent, that we would remember, repent and do those deeds that we once did in faithfulness unto you. And that, Lord God, you would bless our marriages as well with that same fervency. that you would stir up the hearts of husbands and wives for one another in such a way that, Lord, our children would desire to have marriages like our own rather than running from avoiding having a marriage like our own. Oh, Father, we thank you and we praise you. for your faithfulness to us in spite of our idolatry and our spiritual adultery, that you are a faithful husband to come and to restore us back into fellowship with you. Break and melt our hearts this day. Oh, Lord God, we ask these things in Jesus' blessed name. Amen. This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. You are welcome to make copies and give them to those in need. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. It is likely that the sermon or book that you just listened to is also available on cassette or video, or as a printed book or booklet. Our many free resources, as well as our complete mail order catalog, containing thousands of classic and contemporary Puritan and Reform books, tapes and videos at great discounts is on the web at www.swrb.com We can also be reached by email at swrb.com, by phone at 780-450-3730, by fax at 780-468-1096, or by mail at 4710-37A Edmonton, that's E-D-M-O-N-T-O-N, Alberta, abbreviated capital A, capital B, Canada, T6L3T5. You may also request a free printed catalog. And remember that John Calvin, in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart. From his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions, since He condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devised. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The prophet's words, then, are very important, when he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind, as though he had said that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay, what he never knew.