01-05-2020

You please rise to hear the word of God from Psalm 146 this morning.

One of the last songs in the in the psalter David pens these words and says praise the Lord praise the Lord. Oh my soul. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God while I have my being Put not your trust in princes and a son of man in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs. He returns to the earth now that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the god of Jacob whose hope is in the Lord his God who made the Heaven and the Earth the sea and all that's in them who keeps Faith forever who executes Justice for the oppressed who gives food to the hungry the Lord sets the prisoners free Lord opens the eyes of the blind the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down the lord loves the righteous the Lord watches over the Sojourner. He upholds the Widow and the fatherless, but the Way of the Wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever your God o Zion to all generations praise the Lord. This is the word of the Lord. BC that all great God thank you for this word. Press it deep into our hearts.

So what are the New Year? We're starting a new year and and we're going to spend the next six weeks exploring. What is the scripture say about government politics and things like that right where long before our election season really kicks off and gets there but it'll be good for us as we're listening to politicians to having our mind. The things that scripture presents about the way government is supposed to work the things that are important to God and so we're going to spend six weeks now and look at some broad overarching things and then and then we'll go into a series on prayers. We work together reading art or books. Maybe this summer. I'll come back and deal with some topical things with government and some of the print issues. But but I want us to to get just basic things in our mind. Have you ever heard phrases like this? I don't find an instance anywhere in scripture where where where eluded are commanded to be involved in government. I never see Christ involve doing political things. Is there a whole gamut sin and swathes of Christianity that that work off those kinds of assumptions?

Many say those kinds of things as an excuse to not be responsible and engaged in government.

many people just don't like politics and I can understand that right it kind of leaves a nasty taste in your mouth that makes you say If that's what it is, I'm not sure I want to be part of that. But politics broadly understood is involvement in government or even stepping back one step further politics is a word that assumes that we actually have a common life together. But it's not just me and it's not just my family, but it's all of us in a particular area that are coming together and having a common life. Scripture has a lot to say about common life. We could talk about, life in many ways. But what scripture also has a lot to say about the particular common life that we have as we govern ourselves. Psalm 146 is one of those great places. It's an absolutely marvellous song. A wonderful saw that teaches about the kingdom of God and how it relates to the kingdom of men. a teacher's are some wonderful things that God is Sovereign and that he is Creator and that he is one who's faithful to his word and that men aren't It teaches us that were called to trust in God not to trust in political Authority. We're going to look at all these things we go through. So let's look beginning and verse 1 and 2 praise the Lord praise the Lord. Oh my soul. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God while I have my b

David begins with a command Praise God. It's in the imperative in Hebrew the word hallelujah and we say hallelujah and we think that the word is a is a nice Pious religious word to declare don't we Hallelujah? It's actually a command praise God. Samantha Clary everybody who hears these words needs to praise the Lord.

It's something that the song that shouts out. the whole world to hear all the Israelites around praise God and then he shouts of the second time praise the Lord. Oh my soul, right not only do you need to hear it, but I need to hear it. Only do you need to be commanded to praise God, but I need to be commanded to praise God.

Because it's the foundation of life. Life, it's not built upon praising the Lord gets out of whack. It gets messed up. So you shall sit out praise the Lord? And then he declares I will I will praise God.

Worship and understanding ourselves as worshippers and the command to worship is the foundation not only of our individual life, but I've all of our life together. Whether it's inside the church, whether it's inside the state whether it's inside of a community Gathering wherever it is right when we worship all things come into proper orientation. And when we refused to worship things get asked you.

Without seeing ourselves as worshippers. About seeing ourselves as worshippers called to submit to God to bring him glory to fulfill his purposes. Every other thing that we will seek to do in communal life will get asked you. And it won't work with the way God intended it to work.

And please politics. include economics includes family life that includes community service flute everything right the foundations of our political life according to the scripture begin in the command to Worship the Lord. And we need to remember that.

The implications of that are huge and David begins to to draw them out in verses 3 and 4. Put not your trust in princes in the son of man in whom there is no salvation when it's breath departs. He returns to the Earth and on that day his plans Parish. I find those two verses quite unexpected. In a song that starts out, praise God. I would expect if I was declaring praise God that what would immediately follow would be a list of reasons why I should praise God. once you You're somebody praise praise God right? You want to know why I should praise God, but the psalmist doesn't tell us why he goes into a political commentary. Don't trust in princes. Don't trust and rulers don't trust in sovereigns. Don't put your trust and people who are in political Spears of authority. That seems like kind of a weird juxtaposition that doesn't it.

We doesn't say don't trust princes, but that's different right to say don't trust princess is to say that this group of people that are in a thority and rulership and exercising government are inherently untrustworthy. Don't trust Prince's trust in princes. Don't look to them to be your Saviour. Don't look too dumb to solve your problems. Don't look to them that somehow they can make things right in the world.

Don't place your security there. Don't place your alliance for a better life there. Don't have your confidence that if I just get the right Prince. Then my world will be good.

We look at the parallel between verses 1 and 2 vs 3 and 4. We see some interesting things. What command to worship and then a declaration do not trust? Worship and Trust Authority and worship their all intertwine together. They're mixed together.

Psalmist understand something about politics that it would be good for us as 21st century people to remember. So we tend to praise princess, right? We tend to praise government officials. We tend to phrase President. We tend to the hope that if we just get the right politician and office will have a better life.

We take it as a foundational truth with the wisdom of the wise men of our day. Set all things square and well.

We throw our hope with line human beings. and institutions and political parties and in the midst of doing that we fail to trust and remember that God is God and that he is sovereign. The he alone is the one who should be worshipped.

interesting singer out of the EU name rag'n'bone man. You run across him an amazing deep voice wish that I could sing the way he sings and he sings in a style that is unique and different then it's kind of a mixed blending of a bunch of different styles. I haven't listened to all of his stuff, but the things I've listened to her just very intriguing and insightful. His first song that hit the the Billboards was called human. In the course of the song goes like this. Some people have real problems some people out of luck. Some people think I can solve them Lord heavens above. I'm Only Human After All they sings This chorus as people's problems are coming. It isn't that the way we deal with politicians we bring our problems to them and we think you can solve this for me. You can fix this problem for us.

the singer recognizes and astute fact They're only human. I'm only human you're only human and a politicians are only human and they can't solve the problems of the world. But a life centered on worship. worshipping the Lord can and that will bring orientation to our political and our common life together.

And it's a problem that we face astutely in the modern world because people get so entrenched in their political party that as soon as somebody challenges the figure that they think it's the one who's good. We end up in big fights, Tony. That person can't possibly be saved that person can't possibly know the scriptures that person is totally an idiot if they vote for him.

or her

or it depending on the pronoun they were using this days.

And we think the politicians can solve all of these things and the scripture says don't put your trust in princes because when they died all their plans for making your life better will dissolve like a vapor. I'll be gone. And the next person will come in with a different set of plans and when they die their plans will dissolve like a vapor 2. Praise the Lord worship God keep your life properly oriented. Our politicians need to be told this not just us as people that are politicians need to be reminded. They too are only human and they too. Have a call to worship God. Did everything right? Before they try and solve problems of the world.

pop the Samus moves on and then he does what I expected him to do in the song then he does start giving us reasons why we should Worship the Lord We Worship the Lord because he's the god of Jacob. He's The God Who made the heavens and the Earth in the sea and everything that's in them.

Who's the creator of everything?

I will worship and we trust God and we set him as the foundation not only of our individual life benefit, even our political and and and Civil Life together because he created all the seen and unseen Hebrew says everything the Lord made.

Somis Roots trusting God over trusting Earthly civil powers and institutions arutz it in the creation narrative, very beginning of scripture.

Seems obvious doesn't God made it all than God has a right to determine to determine how it best should be government has a right to determine how best it should be it should be. Built upon in and made fruitful in the world.

psalmist it's helping us see that political Authority is rooted in the scripture in the creation narrative, but it's also rooting the creative power of God, but he is the one who establishes authorities. He's the one who establishes rulers and so we don't worship rulers. We worship the ruler of rulers. We don't worship civil Lord We Worship the Lord of lords.

You speak scripture sets. It keeps his faith forever and I don't want to downplay this but we've talked about God's faithfulness do this past year as we were working through our our other series over the last year, but I am so I'm just going to move on there. But remember right all those things that we talked about God's faithful to his promise and his word and his Covenants. Samus is drawing that back up for us. This is why we worship. An inherently we all know politicians aren't faithful to their words and their continents and their promises and so we don't root our political life in the promises of people. We go back to the sure Foundation.

The notice what happens in versus 7 to 9.

We learn about the things that God created we learn about his faithful character, but then we learn about a whole bunch of things that God. Does he executes Justice for the oppressed food to the hungry such prisoners free. He opens the eyes of the blind you lifts up those were bow down. He loves the righteous. He watches over sojourners and widows and aliens and father listen, and he brings the wicked to ruin. Oh that any civil government would do this, right? Isn't this a description of what government and common life together supposed to look like?

It's a description of the political governance of God over the whole house mouse. He's the Civil Authority par exsalonce.

This is what good government. Looks like in the family civil society and the church the things that God does here is the way that government supposed to be functioning and every sphere that we find it.

The question for us hopefully will answer as time goes on as it's not if these things should be done. Who should do them? Who should be doing these things? Some of these things are things that Civil Authorities are supposed to do and some of these things are things that families are supposed to do and some of these things are things that the church is supposed. And God is Lord over all of them. But no individual place of governance can do them all nor should they?

The song is closes with the spitting words the Lord will reign forever your daughter Zion all generations. Praise the Lord. He's essentially declaring from beginning to end in the song that God is God. He's King of Kings. He is Lord of lords. He's president of presidencies ruler of rulers o Mighty powerful God and when we understand that then all other items of governance all other items of politics Will Find the rightful place if we're willing to let them be submitted to his authority. There is no Authority higher than his. So what are some of the implications of just taken Psalm 146? for face value

Here's one. The first one is that any government that doesn't begin with individuals who acknowledge and worship the Living God will ultimately be a government that brings death not life.

If our government is founded upon people both in civil society that worship. And in the actual civil government that Worship the Lord that we will be a government that brings death and life.

Because there is no salvation outside of the worship of the Lord. No matter how you parse that are cut.

This is long been known and and and Believe by those in the church. It's just been forgotten in modern era. Listen to Robert Winthrop use the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He addressed the Massachusetts Bible society in 18-49 these words men in a word must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or buy a power without them either by the word of God in their heart or by the strong arm of people either by the Bible or the Banette. If he recognized. He recognized. but if we are worshiping people under the authority of scripture, but the only other alternative is to be controlling people Do the power of the sword?

sort always brings.

Hugo grotius was a Dutch reformed Christian in the in the 1500s and 1600s most powerfully known for his writings on political political theology particularly on how one nation should relate to another but he has an insightful as well. Listen, he knows not how to rule a kingdom that can't manage a province know how to wield a province but can't order a city know how to order a city that doesn't know how to regulate a village. Northeast Village that can't guide his family Nora Man Who Can't govern his family well does not know how to govern himself well And he can't govern himself unless his reason is Lord and as well as appetite or submitted to that reason. Any can't have a reason that rules unless he himself is ruled by God and obedient to his word. Big radius around the entire the entire political process and submission to the authority of the word. From the smallest all the way to the highest echelons of corporate life.

What the song that says saying praise God by worship him getting. Right and all the rest of it will fall into place get that wrong and you undermine the very Foundation of corporate life.

If that's true, then we need to remind ourselves of that and we need to remind others of that. We need to remind them often. The second thing that this has implications for is that if God is Sovereign and if he is all-powerful then all human governments derive their Authority from him.

Not the other way around. All human governments any Authority that exist whether it's in the family or in society, it derives its Authority from the one who is all-powerful.

and so Again, all people need to be called to find themselves in submission to the authorities that God establishes, which is the whole argument of Romans 13 and we'll get to that in a couple weeks.

but because people are sinful. Because people are broken and because people are falling. Every government also needs the prophetic critique of Christians faithful to the word. Every government that every system is broken and Fallen. So if God is Sovereign in a fall authorities find themselves Gathering their Authority from him the no civil Authority is perfect because of falling humans, then that means we should be every form of government that exists. We should be afraid to speak in and challenge the things that are being said over claimed. from any Authority structure always in accord with the word of God

4 if God is doing this kind of work that we see in versus seven through nine. But every government is called to execute justice as God would execute Justice.

Recalled to seek the benefit of people around us. We exercised Authority not to build ourselves up but to build others up.

We establish governments that don't further our benefit. We established governments the further the benefit of all people together.

So in the coming weeks, I hope to explore each of these topics going back to each of the passages of scripture that will look through and we'll see what what scripture says about these things. But for now what I want you to remember this Foundation a political life is that our God is Sovereign and that Christ is lord, and there were called to worship Him. And if we get that right then all the other things will fall into place.

That would leave us with one final question. What percolate in your mind this week? That's this. The question to ask of any government system. And any law and any ruler who seeks to have authority over people is this to what extent of those laws and those rulers and any institution at any point in history conform to the very standards of the Lord. That's the question to ask that's the fundamental questions asked as we look to engage the political process.

Do our laws and our rulers conform to the word of the day the word of the Lord? Do we as participants in those systems can form ourselves? And allow ourselves to be conformed to the word of the Lord. If we approach the candidates, we approached the laws. We approached all the policies that they present over the next year by that standard and we submit it to the word. Will go a long way in establishing a government its Sovereign the under the authority of the Lord. Let's pray. Oh Lord. Thank you. Thank you that you are king and there is no other thank you that you are Great and Mighty and that you rule even when we fought that rule and we say go away. But we would ask father now that you would help us. The rightly think about government and politics and law in a cord with the word. record with a life of worship

in accord with benefiting in and serving other people around us. We pray these things for your glory and your grace all God's people said