Provisions For Body & Soul

The Open Handed King of Kings

7.21.24 [Psalm 145:14-17] River of Life (10th Sunday after Pentecost)

Lord Acton had a famous little quote about power. You may not know the name, but you know the quote. Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

You see the corrupting capacity of power even when children are playing make-believe. When they pretend to be superheroes or royalty, it doesn't take long before they start bickering about who has what powers, who’s really in charge or making all the rules.

But it’s not just a make-believe problem. It’s a real-world pandemic. History is littered with tons of bloodthirsty kings and queens who lived like tyrants, using their power to mercilessly punish their opponents. There are plenty of stories about paranoid kings, queens, emperors, Pharaohs, and Tzars who hunted down innocent civilians, imprisoned loyal servants, and even executed their own flesh & blood.

Long before Lord Acton tried to signal the alarm bells about people in positions of power, the Lord God warned his people about how kings would treat them. The Lord told them a king will take (1 Sam. 8:11-18) your sons for his standing armies, for working his fields, and for making his weapons of war. He will also take your daughters to be his perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And if that’s not bad enough, he will still tax you at 10 percent on all you make. And if he sees anything of yours that is really good he will take that for his own use. (1 Sam. 8:17) You will become his slaves.

And that is exactly what happened. Even the few good kings Israel had still drafted their sons and daughters, taxed their fields and vineyards, and pilfered their best servants and strongest oxen.

We get a small glimpse into this pain in 1 Kings 12. Solomon the great, wise, and wealthy king had just died. Israel was in its golden age. When Solomon’s son succeeded him, the whole assembly of Israel came to the new king and said to him. (1 Kgs. 12:4) Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us and we will serve you. The new king, Rehoboam consulted with the elders, men who advised his dad, and they recommended a tax break. His buddies thought he should throw his weight around. Guess which one he chose?

Rehoboam wasn’t the only one who behaved selfishly. You remember the account of Naboth’s vineyard and Ahab?

The King, with the help of his Queen, had a man killed just so that he could have a vegetable garden closer to home. Another King, had his close friend killed when he got his friend’s wife pregnant.

That King was David. David could be a case study for Lord Acton’s quote. As a servant of the King, David refused to lay a hand against King Saul because he was the king, the Lord’s Anointed. It didn’t matter that Saul was actively hunting David like a dog—David could not do it. It was wrong. But when he ascended to the throne, David took Uriah’s wife as his own, but he also sent Uriah off to die in battle because Uriah was too upright to go home.

It seems that Lord Acton’s observation about power rings true throughout the ages. But it’s not just limited to kings and queens. It’s true about power of all kinds. When people have power, any power, the first person they look to help is themselves. There is a me-first monarch in each one of us. We call it the sinful nature.

Now the me-first monarch in you and me probably doesn’t raise taxes, or steal vineyards, or take your buddy’s wife and send him off into battle to die, but we don’t have that kind of power.

The me-first monarch in us picks smaller battles. Sometimes, it’s our love of money. You don’t have to steal or cheat on your taxes to have a greed issue. Maybe you are constantly sizing strangers up financially. Trying to figure out how much they make or have.

If you’re blessed, maybe you’re tempted to get competitive and show off a little. If you feel like you don’t measure up, maybe you take pride in that too. Like that proud Pharisee you may say to yourself: I thank you, God, that I’m not like all those greedy people with their fancy cars and designer clothes and big homes. I have simple tastes.

Maybe it’s not so much in how you treat your friends, but in how you view your life. Are you as eager, efficient, and laser-focused at giving a dollar as you are saving a dollar? Don’t get me wrong, God’s people should ethically do both. But be honest: which brings you greater joy? Which one do you think of as a score?

Your me-first monarch might rise to power when it comes to how you treat your friends and those who are not so friendly to you. Do you make excuses for those you love and make examples of those you hate? Do you defend the indefensible for a friend? Do you lambast your rivals when you know they had good intentions?

Your me-first monarch might rear its head most when you’re under stress.

Do you find yourself speaking in ways that are harsh or brutal when things aren’t going your way? When you’re stressed do you throw your weight around a little bit, just until people do as you say? Do you bend the truth to get them on your side? Do you slander those who stand up to you? Do you resort to passive-aggressive prickliness? Do you try to work around or behind people that are holding you accountable? Do you always fight to get credit? Do your ends justify your means?

We all like David, have that daily battle with the me-first monarch. As David took stock of his own reign, he probably thought of hundreds of ways that he used his royal power and influence to serve himself rather than the people of God. David knew his transgressions better than we do. His sins did a number on his family and things would be rough for the royal family after his passing. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

We would misunderstand the maxim if we thought Lord Acton was saying power was the problem. It was a warning about people. It’s not the throne that makes people selfish, it’s the opportunity to do as they please without fear or consequences that exposes the selfishness and the sinfulness in us all. People are the problem.

But in the final Psalm that bears his name, David put his hope in the best King. He begins (Ps. 145:1) I will exalt you, my God the King. I will praise your name forever and ever. (Ps. 145:3) Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. His greatness no one can fathom. (Ps. 145:9) The Lord is good to all. He has compassion on all. The Lord our God is King over all. But we don’t have to fear him becoming corrupt. Because he is good to his very core and throughout. So he is good to all.

God the King shows this goodness in two ways. First of all, we are reminded in this Psalm that he opens his hand and gives food to every living thing. Man and beast are provided for in intricate ways that we are still humbled and fascinated by today.

The example Jesus uses in Matthew 6 is the sparrows. He tells us they don’t have barns or nest eggs like people tend to do. Yet your heavenly Father, the Great Open Handed & Gracious King feeds them. Yes, birds will be happy if you put out a feeder for them in your yard. But they will survive if you don’t.

Today, I want to give you a second picture. Coral. They look like rocks but God made them to be living creatures. They can’t move, but God brings zooplankton to them through ocean currents & waves. Not only that but God designed coral to bring form & function to the seafloor. Some fish use coral to hide. Others use it to hunt.

God has magnificently and miraculously made this world to meet the physical needs of such a diverse array of life. That doesn’t mean that every creature always has enough to eat to survive. But starvation and death are the byproduct of man’s selfishness and sinfulness, not God’s design.

What amazes me is that God does this for people who pretend he does not exist. He doesn’t turn off the tap on unbelievers. He doesn’t leave proud sinners to fend for themselves. He opens his hand and he gives. Because that is who our God is. (Ps. 145:8) The Lord our King is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

Because he is great and glorious and rich in love, he knows that people need more than just food to fill their bellies. We need purpose and connection. We need to know who we are and why we’re here.

And God tells us all that in his Word. He gives us families and callings. He tells us clearly what righteousness actually is, and he is quick to redeem those who have fallen into sin, those who are bowed down with guilt and shame. This is why he sent his Son.

The eyes of all sinners will one day be opened to our deep need for a Savior. But God sent his Son to pay for the sins of every person that has ever lived. (1 Jn. 2:2) Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, but not just for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Some will reject this generous gift through unbelief. But God, our open-handed, great and gracious King, still paid for them all. (Ps. 145:17) The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The King of Kings loves us and freed us from our sins by his own blood. He has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve him. How can we do that?

We can live open-handedly. With open-handed gratitude. With open-handed generosity. We know that he takes care of all our needs. The same God who did not spare his Son also graciously gives us all we need for body and life. And more. He gives us more so that we can meet the needs of those around us. Sometimes that is financially or materially. But just as often, it is by giving of our time, our energy, our expertise, and our experience. You know, the things that money cannot buy? That’s the power, the control that God has placed in our hands. This is how one generation commends God’s works to another. This is how we testify to his mighty acts. The things, all the things, I have are from him. And I can share because I know he will provide all I need for body and soul. Amen.