The Heart of the King in the Hand of the Lord

“Like a stream is the king’s heart in the hand of the LORD; wherever it pleases him, he directs it.”

I think most people would read this line, and especially during an election year, they would interpret it as saying the Lord is in control; we need not fear no matter who is in office. But St. Jerome didn’t interpret it that way. In fact, he proposes the opposite! St. Jerome uses the example of the emperors Julian the Apostate, Nero, and Decius—the emperors who led the greatest persecutions against the Church—to say that no, the hearts of these men were not in the hand of the Lord.

The only ones whose hearts are in the hand of the Lord are not literal kings, but those who are worthy of the name of king. Who are they who are worthy of the name of king? As the King of kings himself says: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” The mother and the brothers of a king are royalty; they are queens and principalities. And so, those who do the will of God, those who have conquered sin, are worthy of the name of king.

And what is it that kings desire? Kings desire a kingdom. God desires that His kingdom be established; therefore, it is the case that the phrase “Thy kingdom come” is equivalent to “Thy will be done.” This is at the heart of Christian prayer: that God’s kingdom be established, but first and foremost in each of our hearts; that God’s will be done, but first and foremost that we entrust our hearts to His hand to lead and direct.

My dear sisters, by Baptism we share in Christ’s own kingship. As St. Paul says, we’re even meant to rule over angels. But he also desires to reign over our hearts. If we can faithfully conquer sin, if we can faithfully follow the law of the Lord, then our hearts will be in the hand of the Lord. What a beautiful promise. This promise is the joy of the angels, the terror of demons. Let’s offer the Lord’s Prayer with a special kind of intensity today, entrusting our hearts to the Eternal King, that we might be made worthy of sharing that kingship.