Psalm 146
November 3, 2024 Father, on the eve of a national election of our country’s leaders, this psalm calls us to once again adjust our thinking: “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” the psalmist tells us. Though in this country we have the privilege to elect our leaders, we must remember our leaders are temporary and their plans are temporary; and if we retain the privilege, we will at some point elect new leaders with new plans. No, our ultimate trust and hope is not in our earthly leaders but in you Lord God, Maker of heaven and earth, the seas and everything in them; and you are not temporary, you are not elected for a term, then replaced by another earthling, you remain faithful forever, for all generations. “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.”
Father, may our leaders bear in mind that they are your subjects, that their leadership is ordained by you, “the ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev. 1).” May they look to you for guidance. May we as citizens vote with all the forethought and intelligence we can muster knowing you have given us principles to govern ourselves wisely. And as we put pen to ballot may we keep in mind that you are working out your sovereign purposes in this world and will do so till the earth is filled with your glory as the waters cover the sea; for you have said about yourself:
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isa. 46)
Meanwhile, Father, no matter the outcome of this election, whether or not we approve of our new leaders and the direction they take our country, we press on to follow you, to act as agents of your kingdom in a broken world that awaits the return of King Jesus Messiah in all of his glory. We take as a guide the Apostle Paul’s admonition as he sums up his first letter to young Timothy:
“But as for you, O man of God, . . . pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called . . . .”
“I charge you . . . to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor [and dominion forever] (I Tim. 6)”
And all of God’s people said with one voice,
AMEN
And AMEN!