Amen. We come now to the exposition of God's holy word and congregation. Let's take our Bibles out together again, and we want to turn back to Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5, as we continue in our study and exposition of God's word, considering the word and will of God as it relates to the home and to the family, speaking especially to marriage. Ephesians chapter 5, and let me begin reading with verse 25, our text, as we have here this statement. that Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives to husbands as to their duty in the marriage relationship. Ephesians 5, beginning in verse 25, husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Let's now join together before the Lord in prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we bow before you today as we come before your word. And as we come to your word, we confess that it is the very bread of life, that it is inerrant, that it is adequate and sufficient, that it is infallible in all of its instruction. And Father, it is our desire to place ourselves under the authority of your word, to receive its teaching with a view not merely to understand it, but by your grace to believe it and obey it as your people. Father, that we would have homes that are holy, marriages that are a reflection of what our Master has commanded that they be. And this, O God, all for your honor and for your glory. We pray, Father, that you would draw sinners to yourself. Lord, those who do not know Christ, may they be drawn by the efficacious, irresistible power of his inner working. And Father, that you would add to your church, that you would bless your people and extend your kingdom. and that in all things you would receive the honor, praise, and glory. We pray this all in Christ's holy name. Amen. As we continue again today, we are, of course, discussing that pattern and that plan of God for a godly marriage. It is critical, we have said, that a God-glorifying marriage have a clear understanding of the God-ordained roles and responsibilities of each member of that relationship. We are presently considering the responsibility of husbands. We have been looking at this for the last few weeks, and we have said that we are following that biblical, historic, reformed approach to the duties of husbands. That is, their duties related to love and leading in the home. And we are focusing at this time on that duty of love, and we have for the last few weeks. Indeed, last time we talked about that, And we said that this idea of the husband loving his wife, we say, well, how is this to be? We'll look again at verse 25. Paul says, husbands love your wives just as Christ so loved the church and gave himself for her. We said that Jesus himself is our example. He's our model. He's the one that we husbands are to be following in that love we have for our wives. We said last week, considering this love that we are to have, that what are some of those characteristics that God has in terms of love for us, which we husbands can follow in our love for our wives? We said that our love is to be like God's love, in that it is to be an unconditional love for our wives. It is to be a volitional love, that is, a deliberate choice based upon our wills. Number three, we said that it is to be a selfless And yes, a sacrificial love. This is exactly the language of verse 25. Christ so loved the church that he gave himself for her. That's in a statement of sacrificial love. We said number four, it is to be an unending love. And then we said it is to be a visible love. That is, it is not merely in attitudes, but in actions. Husbands, your wives should see demonstrably that you love her by your attitudes and by your actions. And then we said, number six, it is to be a purposeful love. It is to be for her good. Then we talked about the demonstration of this duty and we gave various practical ways that this can be demonstrated. And we made a list of several things. Now today we want to continue in this theme of loving our wives and what we want to do today is look at this subject through the lens of what Dr. Joel Beeky has given Which is basically a collating and a synopsis of the reformed historic teaching on this subject of love. Now we've already talked about the nature that this love is to be like. It's to be like God's love for us. Joel Beakey continues on this subject and he lays out a couple of more things that I want to talk about today. He talks about, and we'll look at first of all, the five-fold ground of a husband's love and then the various fruits of a husband's love. Now, some of these things are going to overlap with things that we've already said, and that's okay because reinforcement is a good thing. We want to review, reinforce, and we want to accentuate these realities. First of all, as we think about this love that husbands are to have for their wives, Dr. Joel Beeky says that there is a five-fold ground of the husband's love for his wife. Now the idea of ground, the word ground, we use the word ground and basis often interchangeably. They refer to the foundation upon which something is built or established. So we want to know what is this love to be built upon or established by. Sometimes we use the phrases figuratively like, well, we're going to lay the groundwork for something. The idea of preparing the foundation for something. Or we might ask the question, on what grounds are we doing this? And what we mean by that is, what is the reasons or what is the justification for this? Or we might say, well, on the basis of this, we're going to do that. And that's exactly how Dr. Beeke is using that terminology of the five-fold ground, the reasons, the basis, the justification. for the love that we have for our wives. And so there are five things we ask. What are the reasons? What is the basis? What are the grounds for this love, husbands we have for our wives? And so let me just list them one after the other. Number one, we are to love our wives because God requires it. That is at the very beginning of the list, amen? We're to love our wives because this is what God requires of husbands, that they love their wives. Now, we just got through reading in Ephesians 5, and we note there in this text, no less than three times Paul says, husbands, love your wives. Look at verse 25, husbands, love your wives. just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. Notice verse 28, so husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. And then notice again, a third time in verse 33. Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his wife as himself. We're not going to, but we could turn to Colossians 3 and verse 19. And there again is that command for husbands to love their wives. So, gentlemen, husbands, regardless of the situation and the circumstances that you find yourself in in your present relationship with your wife, God requires that you love your wife. Regardless of the fluctuations, regardless of the feelings, regardless of the failings, you are commanded to love your wife. It is not something that is conditional, which we've already said. And as Dr. Beeke points out, this is the ground of our love for our wives. It has nothing to do with anything related to what's going on at the present moment. It has to do with the fact that God requires it of you. Secondly, another reason why we are to love our wives, that is what is the ground or the basis of it, is not only that God requires it, but number two, your marital vows require it. Turn with me in your Bibles back to the Old Testament. And if you will, I want to turn just to one passage in this regard, and that is found in Malachi chapter 2. Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament. This idea of the marriage as a covenant and that there are vows related to the marriage relationship. Malachi chapter 2. And look with me please in verse 14. It says, yet you say, this is Malachi 2.14. Yet you say, for what reason? Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously. Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant." She is your wife by covenant. Dr. Joel Beeky would tell us here that the ground, the foundation, the basis, the reason for a husband's love for his wife is, number one, because God requires it, but then, number two, because your marital vows demand that you love her. whenever I conduct a wedding ceremony, and in that ceremony, we're familiar with the words in a traditional marriage ceremony. Now, I realize in our day-to-day, you know, when you go to a wedding, you don't know really what you're going to discover because, you know, people write their own things and they say all kinds of things. But in a traditional Christian ceremony, These are the kind of words we would expect, and this is what I share whenever I conduct a marriage wedding ceremony. I say, and here's quoting, the scriptures identify two forms of solemn promise, oaths and vows. Oaths and vows are solemn expressions of religious worship and are to be performed with great care and faithfulness. An oath is a solemn promise made to man in God's presence. A vow is a solemn promise made to God in God's presence. Both are very serious and they call on God to witness and to judge if the promise is broken. And that's how I set up the vows, that what they're doing is a very serious, solemn act of religious worship when they partake of those vows. And then I say to the groom, having him state his name, and then state the name of his bride, I take you to be my wedded wife, And I do promise before God and these witnesses to be your loving and faithful husband. in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, as long as we both shall live. And that is the vow that I have for the groom. Of course, I have one for the bride as well. But there in that promise that is made, it is clearly stated that the groom is promising to be a loving and faithful husband. And again, the vow here, and as Dr. Joel Beakey points out in his consideration of this, this vow that is made, we sometimes think that they're making promises to each other. But the promises are being made to Almighty God. Amen? That's what holy matrimony is all about. And to break those vows that you've made to God, who you've called up on Him to witness you making, is to call upon God to judge you, should you should break those promises that you have made. Dr. Joel Beakey says this, and I quote him, He says, quote, if God's command binds him from above, his marital vows bind him from below. His marriage to his wife is a covenant before God in which he has promised to love and cherish her, not because of anything in her, but because she is his wife. For love is far more than a warm feeling. It is a commitment carried out daily with heart and hand in word and deed. And so, as Dr. Beeke points out, what is the ground, what is the foundation of the husband's love for his wife? Well, number one, because God requires it. Number two, because your marital vows demand that you love her. You've made a promise, gentlemen, to Almighty God. Amen? And God will deal with you should you break those promises you made to Him. You had a ceremony and you called people to come and to witness you making those promises. And God was invited as well to witness the promises you have made. So why are we to love our wives? What is the ground? What is the basis? God requires it. Your marital vows demand it. Number three, your nearness to your wife requires it. The nearness that you have to your wife requires it. Now, we've already touched on this briefly in a previous exposition. But Joel Beakey says, and again, this idea of Leviticus 19 and verse 18, that we are to love our neighbor as ourself. And here, Dr. Beakey, he chimes in on this same idea of the ordo amoris, the same idea of this love we have to our nearest neighbor, which is our wife. We are to love our wives because she is closest to us. Dr. Beeky says your wife is your nearest neighbor sharing your home, your table, and your bed. Dr. Martin Luther said this, he said, quote, the Christian is supposed to love his neighbor, and since his wife is his nearest neighbor, she should be his deepest love. There are degrees of love. And when it comes to loving your neighbor, that has to do with the issue of place and proximity, and your wife is in that place and proximity of nearest to you, relative to anyone else, even your children, closest and nearest, and you therefore are to love her. Number four, the ground of our love for our wives is that, and he says, and I'll quote him, your comfort and happiness depend on this. Your comfort and happiness depend upon it. And he quotes the Puritan Ezekiel Hopkins, and I'll just quote him, love is that which makes the marriage not, so it is love alone that can make married life easy. In other words, if it is love that brought you together, then it is love that's going to bring the comfort and the happiness of your living together, truly a comfort and happiness to you. And then number five, he says that the grounds of our love for our wives, fifthly, is that all of your other duties require it. And here he quotes from a verse that we've already talked about several weeks ago, and that is that we are to let love basically regulate all that we do, 1 Corinthians 16, 14. We already quoted this verse a few weeks back. He says, all of your other duties must flow from love, or they cannot be done well. A wife should see and feel your love in all that you do. And it is the ground, it is the basis, it is the reason. that you are to love her. If you're to love in all that you do, then obviously you're to love your wife as your companion and your spouse. So those five grounds come alongside what we have said as a buttress and as a reaffirmation of why we are husbands to love our wives. Now, let's shift gears a little bit today and let's consider the various fruits of a husband's love. Now, what Dr. Beeke means by this is that, men, if you truly love your wives, there's going to be the manifestation of that. There's going to be fruits that are born from that love you have for your wife. And he lists several of these, and I want to look at some of these. And again, some of these are going to overlap what we've said before, but it's good for us to consider them. So if you love your wife, number one, he says, talking about the fruit of this love, it will make you find great joy and great delight in your wife. If you truly love your wife, you will find great joy and delight in her. Turn with me in your Bibles back to Proverbs. Turn with me to Proverbs chapter 5. Now, if you know the book of Proverbs, you realize that there are these various sayings, some of them short, pithy, proverbial statements, like a one-sentence sermon. And then there are other sections where there are topics of discussion that are brought up. And in Proverbs chapter 5, Solomon is giving his son a word of instruction related to having a fidelity for his spouse. and not falling into the wicked infidelity of finding satisfaction with the forbidden woman. And so that's basically what this chapter deals with. So let's just read beginning in verse number one. Proverbs 5 and verse 1, my son, pay attention to my wisdom. lend your ear to my understanding, that you may preserve discretion, and your lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey. and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end, she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death. Her steps lay hold of hell. Lest you ponder her path of life, her ways are unstable. You do not know them. Therefore, hear me now, my children, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your ears to the cruel one. lest aliens be filled with your wealth, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and you mourn at last when your flesh and your body are consumed. Verse number 12, as he continues, and say, how I have hated instruction, and my heart despised correction. I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me. I was on the verge of total ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation. Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets, Let them be only your own and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving dear and a graceful doe, let her breast satisfy you at all times, and always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, and be embraced in the arms of a seductress? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. Here you have this chapter which is this admonition, it's this warning, it's this call to not fall into the sin, the iniquity, the immorality of the immoral woman. Those enticements and those temptations which surely will come And there is this necessity for warning against, as Solomon gives these words. But notice, if you will, looking back in this text, look at verse 18 again, this idea of finding great joy and delight in your own wife. He says, let your fountain be blessed and rejoice with the wife of your youth. Husbands, do you rejoice with the wife of your youth? Does she bring you joy and delight? If you truly love her with this love you've been commanded and required to love, then it will produce a fruit of having great joy in her. Look at verse 19. He says, as a loving dear and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times. The idea there of delighting you, of satisfying you. Dr. Beeke says this, and I quote, Just as love causes Christ to be satisfied in his church, Isaiah 53, 11, to delight in her, Proverbs 8, 31, and to cling to her, John 10, 28, so it will cause a husband to be satisfied in his wife. delight in her and cling to her. He will delight in her company more than in that of any other, having no desire to be separated from her any more or any longer than necessary, because he enjoys his time with her. When away from her, he feels he has lost half of himself. And when restored to her, he feels himself whole again. In love, he counts her to be as dearest, confident, and closest friend. He takes the greatest pleasure in her embrace, fills his heart warm by her smile, rejoices in her laughter. and persists in being well satisfied with her, ravished with her love, and completely fulfilled in his intimacy with her." End of quote. What a beautiful way to put this. Husbands, we're to have that kind of joy and delight in our wives. And it, interestingly, it's not about some kind of feeling that comes over us. He says, you are commanded and required to love your wife, and that's not some feeling you fall into. And then when you truly love your wife, as you've been commanded to do, Then you will find joy, delight, and satisfaction with her. It's not, well, I love my wife, but I just don't find the kind of satisfaction and delight that I should in her. No, you don't love your wife as you should, because if you loved your wife as you should, you would find joy and delight in her. You see how often we get these things reversed. We're commanded to love and then that love produces the fruit of joy and delight. Secondly, he says, another fruit of the husband's love is not only it will cause us to have great joy and great delight in our wives, but secondly, it will make you speak affectionately to your wife. In Colossians 3, in verse 19, we have that command, a parallel from Ephesians. Husbands, love your wives, and what? Do not be embittered toward them. The idea of bitterness. Love will cause a man to put away all bitterness and cruel speech. It is the very mark and fruit of that love. Dr. Beeke says this will cause him to, quote, speak kindly and affectionately to his wife, because there is nothing more contrary to love than bitterness. Love sweetens a man's heart towards his wife, which in turn will sweeten his speech towards her. Do you speak affectionately to your wife? Well, speaking affectionately to your wife is downstream from loving your wife. You love her, and it will be manifested in how you speak affectionately to her. If you love her, you will find great joy and delight in her. If you love her, you will speak affectionately to her. Number three, if you love her, it will cause you to live openheartedly with her. Dr. Beeke cites Song of Solomon one and verse seven, And he says, talking about this idea of living openheartedly, or we would probably use today the term transparently with your wife, he says that you will not treat her as a stranger, keep secrets from her, or hold suspicions about her, but rather you will pour out your heart to her in that loving relationship. You will live with her as bosom friends, sharing your thoughts, your hopes, your fears, your desires, and your dreams. You will speak to her and seek from her wisdom and insight and encouragement. This is a manifestation of having love for your wife, a transparency. Husbands, do you have this open heartedness with your wife? Are there areas of your life that you've shut off from her? Why? You have become one flesh with her. There is this leaving and cleaving and becoming one flesh. Why are there secret rooms and chambers and areas that she is not allowed in? If you love your wife, you'll be transparent with your wife. You will be open-hearted with your wife in all things. Number four, if you love your wife, it will cause you to live tenderly with your wife's weaknesses. Turn with me in your Bibles, please, back to 1 Peter 3. In 1 Peter 3, we have a verse Speaking to this duty of husbands, 1 Peter 3 and verse 7, husbands likewise dwell with them, speaking of the wife, with understanding, giving honor to the wife. as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered." This idea of causing you to have by your love for her a spirit, a heart, a disposition of tenderness toward her, not just in general, but specifically as it relates to her weaknesses as your wife. You will not demand what she cannot deliver. You will give comfort in all of her trials and struggles. You will sympathize with her in her suffering. You will encourage her in her difficulties. You will exhibit a tenderness with her, a tenderness that you have had exhibited to you by the Lord Jesus Christ in your life. Husbands, we are to take Christ as our example. Has Christ not been tender to us? Has He not been patient with us? Has He not, as it were to use the human language, been over backwards with us as it relates to all of our failings and weaknesses? Are we going to turn around and not have that same spirit with our wives? Showing that love of Christ's likeness is showing that tenderness with her weaknesses. Again, this is not something that we do as a duty, as it is so much this is downstream of truly loving her. When we love her, This will be the fruit that is manifested in that expression of love. Number five, if we truly love her, it will cause us to do everything we can possible to protect her. We've already talked about this, and we will talk about it again, surely. But turn back with me in your Bibles to Psalm 128. Psalm 128. This idea of protecting your wife. Again, this is the fruit of loving her. Psalm 128, verses 1 through 4. Listen to the words of Holy Scripture. Psalm 128, beginning in verse 1. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy. It shall be well with you. Your wives shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house. Your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. What I want you to notice there is the words found in verse three. The wife here is described as a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine. This idea is a vine. You think about, go back in your backyard, you go to your garden, you think about a vine. Vines aren't very strong, are they? Vines are not like the trunk of a tree. There is this weakness associated with a vine. And here the scriptures compares the wife to a vine, a vine that is fruitful. Ezekiel Hopkins, the Puritan, said this. He said, quote, now a vine is a weak, tender plant. and requires support, and the husband should be as the house side for her to stay and support." That is like vines grow up on the side of a house. Well, she's the vine and you're the house that is strong, protecting. He continues, Speaking of the woman, the woman was at first made of the rib taken from under a man's arm. The office of the arm is to repel and keep off injuries. which signifies unto us that the husband ought to defend his wife from all wrong and injuries that she may be exposed to. She is the weaker vessel. She, we must always keep before us, is like a tender vine and should be protected. Number six, if you love your wife, The fruit of that is that it will cause you to provide for her needs. We've already talked about that already. This is a part of our duties, and we'll speak more of that when we speak about the leading of the husband. And then finally, and number seven, If you love your wife, you will be led or it will cause you to promote her spiritual welfare. Your desire will be to promote, encourage her spiritual warfare or welfare, rather. And this, of course, we'll deal with more when we talk about the husband as prophet, priest, and king in the home. But just as Dr. Beeke points it out in this list, so we'll make an allusion to it in this context. And if you would, turn back with me to Ephesians 5, verses 25 through 27. This idea that the fruit of your love, if you truly love your wife, then you will have an interest in promoting her welfare, spiritually speaking. Not just her physical, but her spiritual welfare. And this is exactly what we see by Christ who is our example. Ephesians 5 and verse 25, husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." Here, Dr. Beeke says, although this is listed last, it really should be primary in our love for our wives. If this is not primary, then all is lost and all is for naught. And that is to be how we see this in our love for our wives. Our primary aim is like Christ's primary aim for His church. And we should follow Christ's example. That she would be sanctified, cleansed. That she would be glorious, not having spot or wrinkle. And that she would be holy and without blemish, spiritually speaking. Richard Greenham, who was a Puritan who lived from 1542 to 1594, in his wedding sermon gave this charge to the groom as to what his duty was. And it's a good illustration of this concern for the spiritual welfare of your wife. He says to the groom, You, brother, must learn hereby so to love your wife as Christ Jesus loved his spouse, his church. That is to say, Even as our Savior Christ is very patient towards us, and by little and little purges, washes, and cleanses away the corruption of it, so must you, in like manner, in all wisdom, use the means. And, with patient mind, wait for the amendment of anything that you shall find to be amiss in your life. that the graces of God's Spirit may daily increase in her. Therefore, I charge you in the sight of God and his angels, and as you will answer unto me and the parents of this my sister before the judgment seat of Christ, that as you receive her a virgin from her parents, so you neglect no duty whereby her salvation may be furthered, that you may present her pure and blameless as much as in you lies unto Jesus Christ when he shall call you to account. Can you imagine a minister saying that in a wedding ceremony today? That's strong language. That's language that communicates that duty of concern that you are to have husbands for the spiritual welfare of your wife. And again, it's not some duty that's a drudgery. This is to be the fruit of truly loving her. You love your wife, and it will cause you to promote her spiritual warfare. Again, we'll deal with this even more in our subsequent expositions. So husbands, as we conclude this morning, why should you love your wife? Well, it's very straightforward and very simple. You are to love your wife because God requires that you love your wife. You say, well, Pastor, you don't understand our situation right now. Things are a little difficult. It's kind of hard to love your wife. My friend, there is no qualification to the duty that you are required to love your wife. God requires it. And the question is, do you desire to obey God? That really is the issue. Do you desire to please God? This should be the mark of anyone who's a believer. And yet often professors don't really have that as their heart interest. It is amazing. You are to love your wife because you made solemn vows when you entered into the marriage relationship. You made a promise to God before witnesses that you would love your wife. You called upon God himself to witness those promises. You called on God to judge you should you fail to keep those promises that God has given. This is your duty before God. Your wife is your nearest neighbor and that calls you to love her. You are to find your happiness and comfort resting in her. You are to find all of your duties fulfilled in love, and that includes love to your wife. If you truly love your wife, then all of these fruits that we have listed will flow. They won't be forced. They won't be somehow mechanically devised or somehow through drudgery fulfilled. If you love her, You will find great joy and delight in her. Speak lovingly to her. Live transparently with her. That you will exhibit a tenderness towards her in her weaknesses. You will protect, provide, and you will promote her spiritual warfare. This is simply the fruit of truly loving your wife. Husbands, do you love your wives in this regard? Is this the manifestation of your relationship that you have with her? Before your union can be right maritally, You need to have union with Christ, and that sets everything aright. These things about how we obey God, this will sound like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. Who cares about that stuff? Talk about something that makes me feel good. But if you love Christ, then you earnestly desire to know everything you can about how you can follow in Christ's commands and do Christ's will. And it will be for you, your heart's mission and goal and interest and desire to do what God would call you to do. So really, your reception and your Internalizing of the Word of God proclaimed, or lack thereof, simply shows your heart. It shows your spiritual condition. Do you love Christ? Are you united to Christ? Then you will desire to please Him and follow Him and obey Him as He has commanded in His Word. Let's bow together before the Lord. Heavenly Father, as we bow before you, we recognize that we live in a day where Satan is very present and he is seeking in every way to try to discourage and deflect and interdict the teaching and the truths of your word. Help us to realize, oh God, that what we are about is so much more than ourselves. And help us, O God, that we as your people would recognize our duty to submit and to implement the truths of your holy word. I pray, Father, for the husbands that they would take upon themselves these responsibilities with due diligence, that these things would be found not merely in our heads, but they would be driven into our hearts, and they would be manifested with our hands as we live out these duties that we are to love our wives. Father, I pray that you would draw sinners to yourself, those who are not in right relation with your Son. May they be drawn by your Spirit and find salvation. through your gracious, merciful, and kind work through Jesus Christ. Father, grant this, we pray, as we ask this all in Christ's holy name. Amen. Amen. Let's all stand together now as we prepare to be dismissed. Again, with the words of holy scripture, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. And all of God's people said, amen, amen.