Please turn with me this morning to Hosea chapter 4. Hosea following the book of Daniel. We consider together this morning chapter 4. The book of Hosea now makes a bit of a shift, a change. In the first three chapters, you recall, we had a very vivid picture of what the Lord considered to be the truth of the situation of his marriage with Israel, her relationship with him through the picture of Hosea and Gomer. And in those chapters, in a sense, we have a broad brushstroke, as it were, of the problem. And now from chapters 4 through 14, it changes. There's a series there, it kind of gets down to the nitty-gritty, you might say. There's a series in those chapters of sayings of judgment and hope, oftentimes using colorful language, colorful metaphors, and so forth. But in doing so, what we find there is a deeper digging into Israel's sin and her sinful situation and pointing out the hideousness of sin. But at the very same time, we find an illumination of the mercy and the love of God. and His mercy and love for you and me as well. Hosea chapter 4, hear now the word of God. Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land. There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery. They break all bounds and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this, the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away. The beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying. But let no man bring a charge, let no man accuse another. For your people are like those who bring charges against a priest. You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests. Because you have ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your children. The more the priests increase, the more they sin against me. They exchange their glory for something disgraceful. They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. And it will be like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. They will eat, but not have enough. They will engage in prostitution, but not increase. because they have deserted the Lord to give themselves to prostitution, to old wine and new, which take away the understanding of my people. They consult a wooden idol. They are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray. They are unfaithful to their God. They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings in the hills under oak, poplar, and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution, and your daughters-in-law to adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves consort with harlots, and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes. A people without understanding will come to ruin. Though you commit adultery, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty. Do not go to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-Avon, and do not swear as surely as the Lord lives. The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can the Lord pasture them like lambs in a meadow? Ephraim is joined to idols, leave them alone. Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution. Their rulers dearly love shameful ways. A whirlwind will sweep them away, and their sacrifices will bring them shame. May God add His blessing upon the reading, the preaching of His Word this morning. Beloved, in the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 15 begins again, Though you commit adultery, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty. You see, it's a sad situation when parents, especially Christian parents, need to tell their children, their younger children, those who might look up to and admire the older children, and they have to tell the younger ones, don't be like them. Don't say what he says. Don't do what he does. Do not follow her example, because that will only hurt you. In a sense, that's the word of the Lord here in this verse, especially to Judah. Judah, remember, the smaller nation. We might say the younger sister. And possibly what the Lord is saying there is that Judah is not guilty for Israel's sin, and of course she's not, but no doubt there is a warning to Judah there that your older sister is a bad example. She is a woman to be avoided. Don't do the things that she does. Because Israel was like a stubborn heifer who did not want to be led. She had a mind of her own. She wanted to go her own way. Why? Because she did not know what was good for her. She did not want what was good for her. And the reason is clear, I believe. In verse 1 it says, there is no acknowledgement of God in the land. They did not even act as if He existed. They had no knowledge of Him. The kind of knowledge that saves or edifies or keeps or builds up. They did not have the knowledge of faith. The revelation of God, which we know was given to them, the revelation of God was rejected of who He is and of what He had done, and His law of love, which was to be followed for their safety and their protection. And the very mention of the land, there is no acknowledgement of God in the land. The very mention of the land should have been a vivid reminder of all of this, especially of what God had done for Israel and that it warranted from them better behavior. But Israel rejected all of it. And now she is described in verse 6 with those gut-wrenching words, My people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge. Knowledge which is to be lived. Knowledge which is to be taught. Knowledge which is to be believed. We're talking here about knowledge of the true God, a saving knowledge of Him by faith. Knowing the true God by faith is a life-giving and a life-changing experience. And the evidence is to be clear. It will be clear in one who enjoys that knowledge of God and who He has done by faith. The very opposite of that knowledge is only danger and destruction. Israel didn't get it. Israel thought that she was just fine even after being given that vivid real-life example. The picture with Hosea and Gomer. And the Lord says, look, this is you. Just take a look. It's crystal clear. She didn't get it. It was as if the charge of rejection of God and the charge of adultery against God didn't register. Kind of like parents when you walk in on your child doing something that they shouldn't. Maybe watching a TV show they shouldn't. And you catch them. They look up in surprise. And you look at them and they go, what? you know what I'm talking about. As if to say, you think you caught me? Well, prove it. Where's the evidence? And in a sense, now that's what the Lord is going to give to Israel. The evidence is crystal clear. Her life, corporately and individually, but her life was a demonstration of a lack of knowledge. And they gave proof of a lack of knowledge, which was the very opposite of the fruit of a saving knowledge of God, which is to be lived. I put these points in saying what that knowledge is supposed to be. But of course, we need to look at it from the point of view that Israel was lacking all of these things. And notice then, Israel's covenantal violation. In verse 1, the second part, we begin to read there, there is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. There's only cursing, lying, and murder, stealing, and adultery. They break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Notice the covenantal virtues. Those attitudes, if you will, that are to describe or to be in place in that covenantal relationship. The covenantal virtues were lost. There's no faithfulness. There's no love. There's no acknowledgement of God. And I believe that the lack of faithfulness and love flows from the lack of acknowledgement of God. And because there was a lack of true knowledge of God, including who He is, that He is the one God that they confessed. That He is the sovereign one over all things. That He is holy and pure and righteous and gracious and loving and all those things that properly belong to His very being. Including the fact that He will not put up with sin. He will not put up with pretenders to His throne. There was a lack of a true knowledge of who God is and therefore also a lack of a true knowledge of what God had done. His redemptive work throughout their entire history. Again, they knew it. It was part of her history. but she rejected it, acted as if they didn't know it. And therefore, there was also a lack of a true knowledge of what God expects. Loyalty, intimacy, obedience to the law of love. And you see, without a true knowledge of God, it results in a heart problem. They lived as if He did not exist. And therefore, there was also a lack of faithfulness. the idea there being a firmness, a reliability, or a trustworthiness in word and deed. They were lacking a care and a concern for the true worship of God and that mutual concern for one another that binds the hearts of God's people together in Christian love. And there was also a lack of love, a lack of kindness and concern for the needy, which is to be a response to the love that Yahweh had shown to His people. And then when there's no love for God and no faithfulness to God, then we see in verse 2 that the covenant stipulations, the covenantal obligations are broken. Verse 3 points to the breaking of the 9th and the 6th and the 8th and the 7th commandments in that order. Clearly laid out a breaking of the revealed will of God, of God's holiness. So then in the place of faithfulness, they're swearing. The people were taking oaths in God's name, calling God down to be a witness to the oaths, the promises that they were making, but without any sort of intention of keeping those oaths, because they didn't understand who God is. And along with swearing, there was lying. Lying, especially with regard to being a false witness. Possibly in a legal deliberation of some sort, or maybe with regard to a financial transaction. to say whatever you have to say so that it comes out to your advantage. And in the place of love, there was murder. Bloodshed upon bloodshed, possibly pointing to the fact that, you remember we had said that after Jeroboam I, there were six more kings in Israel, and four of them were assassinated by each other, one after the other. Some of them reigned for a very, very short time. Bloodshed followed bloodshed. And along with murder, stealing, and adultery. They had no concern for their neighbor. For their neighbor's reputation, for their neighbor's life, for their neighbor's possession. None of those things were in place. And all of these things that they were exercising, notice, were capital crimes, Deuteronomy says. They were all punishable by death. When there is no true knowledge of God and of His will, Man's heart will do the very opposite. Very simply, covenantal living was non-existent in Israel. Without a saving knowledge of God, His revealed will, His law of love, that boundary that God has given, which is meant for the safety and the protection of His people, without a saving knowledge of God, that revealed will is meaningless. And faithless disobedience destroys just as a fish, boys and girls, faces certain death when it's outside of the boundaries of the water. That water, those boundaries are meant to keep that fish safe. It's life for that fish. So is the law of God that he has given to his people in Christ Jesus, who has kept it for us. And the danger in verse 3 is because of this, my verses mixed up, I'll go back to verse 2, listed all those other things. Verse 3, because of this the land mourns and all who live in it waste away. The beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying. A lack of a knowledge of God affects creation as well. And this was especially significant for the Israelites because it pointed to drought. Remember, they had credited Baal with fertility, rain, growth and all these things. But they would learn the hard way through their rebellion. and their lack of knowledge, they would learn that Baal was helpless. But in contrast to this, we must consider the believer's covenantal obedience. True knowledge of God, of who He is and of what He has done, enjoys intimacy with Him by faith and responds to Him with loyalty and obedience because the believer delights in Him. And the believer delights in that which pleases Him. the psalmist in psalm 40 verse 8 says i desire to do your will oh my god your law is within my heart the believer by true faith recognizes that god has has given his law to help and to lead his people to lead us and to help us in demonstrating love for him above all and our neighbor as ourself and the believer recognizes that true joy and true satisfaction is found only in him and that which pleases Him. Beloved true believers, those with a true knowledge of and faith in God through Jesus Christ will live. They will desire and strive to live according to a certain standard and follow a particular direction. And that standard and that direction is none other than God's will. It's the law of holiness. Why? Because we recognize by the grace of God, We recognize His greatness, His awesome nature. And we recognize the great work that He has done on our behalf. God's people are so in awe of Him that He has taken us, we who were faithless, we who were loveless, we who were without a knowledge of Him. In other words, we who were lawless. And He has sent His one and only Son to take our punishment, our punishment, also for our lack of knowledge demonstrated. And he perfectly demonstrated a true knowledge of God by offering righteous obedience so that you and I might have life and have it abundantly. That's what Jesus Christ came to give us. His prayer in John 17 was that you and I might know God, the true God, and to know Him truly. True knowledge of Jesus Christ by faith will never destroy, beloved, but He will build up and preserve forever. And the child of God, recognizing this, will strive, humbly strive in the strength of the Holy Spirit to live in obedience, asking in all of life, in every situation of life, with every question of life that we face, we will ask, does this serve Him? Will this please Him? Will this promote His glory? Will it edify others? Will it point to Jesus Christ? That will be our concern and our desire, not what will I get out of it. God will take care of that. And believers also will be comforted when we fail, as we were reminded with the law this morning. We do fail. We struggle. We are reminded of that every day, as the Holy Spirit convicts us in our hearts. But God's people will be comforted, are comforted, when we fail, that we are restored because of the all-sufficient work of Jesus Christ. Now sadly, we have a vivid example today, as all ages have, of a society without the knowledge of God. Though our nation may enjoy much prosperity, yet the perversion and the violence and the selfishness and the greed and the lust and the lying, the sin, the very demonstration of a lack of a knowledge of God that we see all around is it attacks the very vitality of our national lives. It attacks it with hatred and with an abuse of power. With a desire for revenge, it attacks it with godlessness. But as we hope to see tonight, the Lord willing, the church of Jesus Christ in the midst of a world and a nation that is destroyed, it seems, for a lack of knowledge, the church of Jesus Christ will be preserved forever. But in the second place, in order for true knowledge of God to be lived, it must also be taught. Paul says in Romans 10, How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? It must be taught. And again, obviously that's what was missing in Israel. Notice Israel's priestly failure, beginning in the second part of verse 6. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests. Because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children. The more the priests increase, the more they sinned against me. They exchange their glory for something disgraceful. They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. And it will be like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. They will eat but not have enough. They will engage in prostitution but not increase. Terrible words to be said about the priests. You have rejected knowledge. The priest's failure included the fact that they were ignoring God's law. The priests were representatives for the people before God. And they were called to demonstrate the law of God, the keeping of the law to the people. They were called to teach the law of God to the people. But they themselves had rejected the Word of God. They had rejected the law of God. They wanted nothing to do with it. And therefore, they too saw no reason to teach the way of righteousness. Instead, they were promoting sin. They didn't care about the glory of the office to which they had been called. They didn't care about the glory of God. As Paul says in Romans 1, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. They were promoting sin. Verse 8, they feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. Most likely that's talking in the literal sense about the fact that the priests were allowed to eat the meat of the sin offering. The people would bring their offerings for sin. They would bring the best of their animals. The blood would be shed, sprinkled. And the priest would enjoy a feast of the best. And therefore, the more the people sinned, the more food for the priests. In a sense, more money in their pockets. They relished in the people's wickedness. But God would not put up with it, as they would experience emptiness. Verse 10, they will eat, but not have enough. They will engage in prostitution, but not increase. Verse 9 says, like people, like priests, like father, like son, we say. On the one hand, the people were given the kinds of priests, leaders, that they deserved. And the priests, on the other hand, were just as wicked and just as disobedient as the people. They did not confront the people in their sin. and of course the people didn't mind that it was kind of a you scratch my back I'll scratch yours you look the other way I will too and I'll just keep bringing those sacrifices amen brother do that because I'll have plenty of food to eat instead they promoted the wicked living of the people the priest only said what the people wanted to hear Jesus describes the same thing in his day saying to the rulers that basically they were the blind leading the blind. But notice this teaching here, beloved, that sin doesn't satisfy. They will eat, but not have enough. They will engage in prostitution, but not increase. God had given food and intimacy and wealth and worship to be a blessing, but apart from holiness, apart from true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, it only results in frustration and not in satisfaction. And we see that too all around us, don't we? Greed only breeds more greed. I want more. And lust only seeks to satisfy itself more and more in more hardcore ways. Never gets enough. The priests themselves were facing danger. They would be punished with the people. Ezekiel 34 says, Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves. Should not shepherds take care of the sheep? One commentator points to the shame of these priests when he says, A man with a heart of a real priest would rather starve to death. A man with a heart of a real priest would rather starve to death. He would rather that the people didn't have to bring a sacrifice for their sins. He would rather that they didn't sin against God. And therefore his stomach would be empty. But these priests took advantage of, they promoted the sins for which Jesus Christ was willing to die. But in contrast to this, again, we must see the believer's earnest desire. And again, not that believers always live up to these things, we know that, but the truth is the believer's earnest desire is to teach the great truth of God which alone saves. Because that is the most important word that anyone could ever hear. It is to be taught by faithful clergy and that's why we as a congregation must continue, as in the past, so in the future, continue to encourage and promote the education of men to preach. And as a congregation, we are to keep our pastors and elders accountable. Not that we might hear from the pulpit what we want to hear or in the way that we want to hear it. But that only the truth comes from this pulpit. Parents are to desire to teach that great truth of God which alone saves to their children, to see to the education of their children in the ways of the Lord, at home, in church, in school, to encourage teachers to that end. And even when it comes to higher education, beloved, we are to encourage our children to seek education where their faith will be challenged and nurtured toward growth. Wherever that might be. We must remember, beloved, that the Bible says, My people are destroyed from a lack, not from a lack of formal education, not from a lack of success in this life, not from a lack of academic scholarship or athletic scholarship, not from a lack of abilities. But my people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge. The knowledge of faith in the true God. Apart from which there is no salvation. And that's why as parents, the education of our children in all areas of life, in the light of God's Word, is to be so important because by the grace of God, we know the truth of Him. We know His greatness of who He is. That there is none like Him. There is no other. And the greatness of what He has done, that which we desperately needed, that only He could do in Jesus Christ. And we know that in the end, only this knowledge of true faith matters. It's also to be our desire as a priesthood of believers. We're all priests, huh? We all enjoy that priesthood of believers. It's to be our desire to teach that truth. It's to not only be our desire to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, that all of God's people offer themselves as living sacrifices. And therefore, as priests, we are not to imitate the priests of Hosea's day. We are not to feast on and take advantage of or try to capitalize from the sin of others in whatever way it might be. For example, to gossip as if it's some sort of a choice delicacy. But as priests, under the great high priest Jesus Christ, we are to have a heart that bleeds. A heart that is filled with sorrow for the sin of God's people because we know what Jesus Christ has done to pay for their sins. It is our desire to be our desire for all of God's people that all be pointed to the blood that Jesus Christ shed for sin, that all hide God's Word in our hearts. Why? That we might not sin against Him. Well, in order for true knowledge of God to be lived, again, it must be taught, but it also must be believed. We're kind of going backwards here, aren't we? It really must be believed, and then it can be taught. When it's taught, then it can be lived, but we're going the other way around. It is to be embraced by faith, that knowledge of who God is and what He has done. And when that knowledge is believed by the grace of God, it is seen ultimately in true worship. That's the first response of a believing heart. Bowing before the God of our salvation. Again, something Israel was lacking. Notice Israel's depraved worship. We can only summarize, but the depraved worship among the priests and the people, it included idolatry, we know, bail worship, but also idolatry, actual physical images that they were bowing down to. Verse 12 says, They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood, Maybe some sort of a divining rod. Very possibly boys and girls, they would stand that stick up and then let it go. In whichever direction it fell, whichever way it twisted and fell, someone, somehow, would interpret what that meant. However they might do it. Kind of like our modern day horoscopes. They rejected the God of revelation. They rejected the God of knowledge, the knowledge of the past and the future. they rejected prayer to Him and instead they chose to seek their guidance and their prophecy from dumb images with whom God has said He would not share His glory. See, notice, a rejection of the truth of God only leads away from Him to false gods. And that idolatry then also led to cultic prostitution. It was terrible. It was engaged in all over the place. No doubt to please Baal, the fertility of God. And in doing so, they turned the historical places of God's revelation and redemption. For example, Gilgal, where Joshua set up the twelve memorial stones after crossing the Jordan River, and Bethel, where Jacob had his dream of the ladder and where God confirmed the covenant to him. They turned those historical places of God's revelation and redemption to places of wickedness and false heathen worship like the nations. It was so bad that Bethel, the house of God, was given a new name, in a sense, Beth-Avon, the house of evil. And this depraved worship also became a family affair. Notice verses 13 and 14 again. They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery because the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes. A people without understanding will come to ruin like father, like daughter. And the fathers ought not be surprised when the Lord says, I'm not going to punish your daughters. According to the law, they deserve it, but so do you. It's also not saying that they will not be punished because it says they will come to ruin. But the daughters themselves followed in the example of their fathers. They gave themselves to men like their fathers. It's passed on from generation to generation. Beloved children, watch. And they imitate their parents. It doesn't do any good to say, do as I say, but not as I do. And just as wine removes one's understanding and makes that one dull, makes the mind dull, a lack of a true saving knowledge of God makes one senseless and unthinking so that whatever seems right to me is that which rules me. And Isaiah points to that very thing when it comes to a lack of understanding God. In Isaiah chapter 44 where he talks about the carpenter that goes into the woods and cuts down a tree and takes part of the wood and builds a fire and makes dinner, takes the rest of it and carves out an image and bows down and worships it. In verse 19 we read, No one has the knowledge or understanding to say, half of it I used for fuel, I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood? No one asks those questions. because that foolishness so fills their minds they simply don't understand it. Beloved, the truth of the knowledge of God is to be believed by faith. And for those who come to believe it by faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit, they worship. And the believer's worship is led by the Holy Spirit according to the truth of Jesus Christ and the glory of God. They desire to please God, those who understand the greatness of God and His most gracious work accomplished on our behalf. They desire to worship not in a way that satisfies our senses and our emotions and our reason or in a way that focuses on me. But they desire to worship, they humbly desire to please Him and offer a sacrifice of praise. They recognize that He doesn't need us to worship Him, but He calls us to recognize the truth of Him by bowing our heart before Him in worship. That will be the natural response of a believing heart. And our worship, our lives to be sure, but first of all, our worship, that which is the first response of a believing heart, our worship tells a story to our children and to others. It tells a story of the knowledge of God. Of the knowledge of God that we have and our understanding of it. Children are to see the faith of their parents in action. So that they not only see Dad pray before a meal, but that they see his life and his dependence upon God is lived by and is demonstrated with prayer. The believer's life and worship will acknowledge the truth of God and faith in him. And children are to learn from their parents the truth and the importance of God honoring worship. Number one, that He deserves it. That is to be our first priority. That it is to be in reverence and in awe. And that He is to be worshipped. It is to be faithful. It is to be constant. It is to be continuous. That's one of the most important things that we can teach to our children and to the world by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is through our worship. Not neglecting it. We have been blessed with the truth of God through Jesus Christ. And therefore, may we be a people whose standard of worship is to God be the glory. Israel faced judgment. We know that. Without knowledge, they were like lambs in a meadow. That's what is said at the end of chapter 4. It sounds nice. Lambs in a meadow. It sounds quaint. It sounds kind of cute for lambs, but it's not meant to be. Sheep need to be contained, they need to be kept in one body of sheep, one herd close together, watched over carefully by the shepherd. But the idea of meadow here has the idea of a wide expanse, open ground, that's dangerous for sheep because they wander off, they become easy prey, and the Lord's point here regarding Israel is that they are all over the place. And the danger of those who ignore and reject the truth of the Word of God. As Paul says in Ephesians 4, that they are like infants tossed back and forth by waves blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men and their deceitful scheming. Beloved, the wicked world is deceived. The wicked world is happy and ignorant in her sin. It finds comfort in herself. but her end will only be self-destruction but praise god those who are saved by grace alone through faith alone on account of jesus christ alone those who know and understand and respond to god by true faith they enjoy what we might call god-given christian success what is that proverbs 3 says trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight they live according to the truth of god and they also enjoy a god-given christian desire psalm 139 search me oh god and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts see if there's any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting they desire that it be taught first of all to themselves and they also then enjoy a God-given Christian boast Jeremiah 9 says let him who boasts boast about this not in his riches, not in his wisdom, not in his strength let him who boasts boast that he understands and knows me they desire that it be believed and finally they enjoy a God-given Christian comfort as Jesus says in John 8.32 the truth will set you free only the truth of the knowledge of God, of who He is and what He has done in Jesus Christ. We know there's a stress today on knowledge and academics, and there's nothing wrong with that. But we need to understand there is only one knowledge, beloved, that reaches beyond the boundaries of this life and saves, and that is the truth of the knowledge of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who conquered the destructive power of sin that in Him we might never be destroyed. And it is this knowledge of faith earned for you and me by Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit equips us to believe, to teach, and to live for the glory of God alone. And beloved, praise be to God that He has made Himself known in Jesus Christ so that we might not be destroyed, but so that we might be delivered forever. Amen. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for the truth of your word. A truth which is sometimes difficult for us to understand. Even as, especially as we look back at the history of your covenant people. But we praise you for the application of your word to our hearts and lives by your Holy Spirit that we might know you by faith. The truth of who you are and all that you have done for us. And to recognize, Father, that we are desperate in and of ourselves. We praise Your name, Father, for removing our ignorance, the blindness of sin from Your people. That we might see You and glory in Your truth alone. Father, continue to educate us and to teach us more and more day by day until the work of the Holy Spirit in us is complete at the day of Christ Jesus. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake. And in his name we pray. Amen.