If you sing all the songs to the same tune, you know, you may not know what the first go around, but by the time you finish, you know what the tune is. As we come back together in our study from the book of the Psalms, we are taking the second in Psalms installment in Psalm 72 as we prepare for our break in the Psalms and move on to the Gospel of John here in about two weeks. But before we get there, we've got to cover a couple points out of Psalm 72. And so this week, we're going to be talking about God has a foreign policy. God has a foreign policy. Now, if you're an observer of what's going on in the world, if you watch the news, if you listen to a particular podcast, you are familiar with this term foreign policy. It is a description of what our government does, how it influences other nations, and how it interacts with other nations, how we as a nation interact with other nations. And it's more than just really policy. It has to do with our influence in the world. I would just say this, that I think for the average American, we really don't understand how much influence we actually have in the world. Every time I have traveled overseas, people always want to know what's going on in American culture. They want to know what's going on in politics, but they want to know what it is that's going on in our society that doesn't make the news. And a lot of people around the world have figured out that the news only gives you part of the story. They never turn to page two like Paul Harvey, right? And so they will ask me at various times, well, what's happening? What's going on? We see the news, but we want to know what is actually happening, what's really going on in your country. And so I try to tell them from a Christian perspective biblically what is going on within our society. And so there is a sense in which God has a foreign policy. God has a standard or a plan how we as his people are to interact with the nations of the world. And I know, I realize that some people have never left the state of Louisiana. I know there's still people in the world today who have never left the state of Louisiana, let alone gone into the world. And they're saying, well, how is it that I have a foreign policy? How is it that I interact with other nations and people from other nations? Well, I think Psalm 72 gives us some insight to that very question. We'll be looking at verses 8 through 14 this morning in which David, as he's continuing to pray for Solomon. Now remember last week when we started Psalm 72, I said that this is a prayer that David is offering for Solomon. David is coming down to the end of his life. He is an older man. He's not going to be around much longer. The kingdom is in transition to Solomon. Solomon is taking over the nation of Israel and David is praying for his son. That's very important. We saw last week that we're to be teaching our children certain aspects of godly living. Well, this week we're going to carry that theme on and that we're to be teaching our children what we're to do in relationship to nations and other people. And so David is praying for Solomon and he continues to do so in verse eight. May he, Solomon, the king, have dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. May desert tribes bow down before him and may his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute May the kings of Sheba and Saba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him. All nations serve him. For he delivers the needy when he calls upon him, the poor, and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and on the needy. He saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence, he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight. Father, we thank you for the day that you've given to us. We praise you, Father, for your continued goodness, your mercy, and your grace. We thank you, Father, for the praise within song that have been sung and the prayers offered. and the reading and the hearing of your word given thus far today. And we ask, Father, now that as we come into this hour, this time, where we listen to your word, give us ears to hear and eyes to see and hearts that are ready to receive all that you have for us, Father, that we may truly understand that we are and are called to be a light to the nations. Thank you, Father. We praise you, we glorify you, and we ask these things in your precious and holy name. Amen. Well, I think we all agree that we live in a fallen world. Philosophers have said that we live in what's called a post-Christian world now. There was modernity, that's Sir Isaac Newton in the Age of Enlightenment. Then we had post-modernity, which came in through the 60s and all the various and sundry political movements that occurred in the 60s. And now philosophers tell us that we live in a post-Christian world. that there is very little faith, there's very little trust in God. And I think we see that day in and day out, and the fact that we live in a world where people just don't seem to be concerned about God much. Now, I realize that's a pretty tall statement here in the Bible Belt in the South, that everybody claims Christianity, or by claim some degree, of Christian heritage, but that Christian heritage very seldom influences what people do Monday through Saturday. Christian heritage seems to only show up on Sunday morning when we're at church. So I think we all would agree that we do live in, at least in some measure, in a fallen world. But the reality is, the psalm teaches us, that God's presence is in this world. That God's presence goes before his church, goes before his people, like us, teaching us that God bestows favor for the preservation of life. God bestows favor for the preservation of life. I want to call your attention to a grammatical construct, if you want to call it that, something interesting in the text that we just read. In verses 8 to 11, we have David praying that Solomon would be prominent, that God would give to Solomon dominion over all the nations. And what I want you to catch is the very first word of verse 12. Look there. Verse 12 starts with a very simple three-letter word, for. Why did David use the word for? What is he trying to teach us? Well, I believe that what he's teaching us is that God blesses us with dominion for the preservation of life, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to care for those who cannot care for themselves. And yes, I would even take it to its most extreme expression within our society today in terms of pro-life. Now, this is not a pro-life message, but I think that is very much part and parcel of the world we live in, that we live in a world that doesn't care much about life. Now, I realize, I see the looks on your face. You're already thinking about unborn babies, and I agree. I absolutely agree. Pro-life covers that, but pro-life also covers the end of life. You don't hear a whole lot about euthanasia anymore. But it's still there. And what about the life between our birth and our death? What about that life? Pro-life. God is a pro-life God and we are to be a pro-life people protecting those who cannot protect themselves. And we need to be teaching our kids that. If we are going to make any difference in this world, it begins at home with our kids, raising up the next generations, to teach them what it means to love God and love people, right? And I believe that's what the message that God has given to David within this psalm. It reminds me of a little boy, one day he asked his dad, he said, Dad, does God know everything? And the dad said, well, of course he does, son. Why do you ask that question? And the little boy said, well, at church, when the preacher stands up to pray, he prays for so long about so many things. I just thought God was uninformed. God's not uninformed. He knows very well what's going on. But I think the little boy caught on to something that we need to catch. And that is, there is nothing that we should not pray for. Nothing. I've mentioned this before. I think it's even appropriate to pray as we're driving in the Walmart parking lot, as to that parking space up front. No, not the ones with the blue lines, but the ones that regular people can park in. Do we take that parking space up front at Walmart or do we let it go by and give it to somebody else? Should we park back on the back 40 so that somebody who really needs that parking space, whatever is driving them, maybe they just need to get in and get out or maybe they can't walk, whatever. You know, we should pray about that, don't you think? And in our text today, it tells us, David tells us that we really ought to be praying for some people that at various times in our lives, we really don't like praying for. How about our governmental leaders? How about our mayors? Shouldn't we be praying for Mayor Friday and Mayor Mitchell? What about our city council members? I don't even know who the city council members are, other than the really bad ones. But we ought to be praying for them, shouldn't we? Shouldn't we be praying for our police jury here in the parish? What about our state representatives? What about the guys down in Baton Rouge that represent us there and our senators at the state level? What about our governor? Shouldn't we be praying for our governor? Incidentally, I want to reemphasize this. It's been fascinating to me to see what's happened in the last election cycle because, as I mentioned probably almost two months ago now, There were several initiatives in several different states around our nation that were anti-abortion, pro-life type legislations that had failed and failed and failed several times until this last go round, there were several, now when I use the word pro-life here, I mean the abortion issue, there were several pro-life governors elected and because those pro-life governors were elected, those pro-life initiatives in those states passed. The governor has immense influence over the states that they serve. We should be praying for our governor. And we should obviously be praying for our federal senators, our representatives, for our president, our vice president, and all of those who have been newly elected in governance over. And we should have been praying for those that we didn't necessarily vote for too, right? You see, David says, may he have dominion from sea to sea and from river to the ends of the earth. He's praying for Solomon as king. And this tells us that we should pray that God bestows favor upon our leaders and that he would grant them influence among other nations. Now, we're going to get to the why, but I want us to see that we are to be actively praying for those in governance over us at all levels. I was talking with a pastor friend this week, and he told me, he said, you know, our church has decided to start praying for the various and sundry leaders. You know, we'll, each week as a church, we'll come together, we'll pray for, you know, local leaders, we'll pray for state leaders, and we'll pray for federal leaders. And he said, we actually write them a letter saying, hey, we prayed for you this week. And I said, you know what, that's a great idea. We used to do that, right? You remember those days on Wednesday evenings when we would pray specifically by name for a particular governmental leader? Now, that's been a while ago, but we used to do that too. We never sent letters, but I think that's a great idea. I think we ought to start sending letters to these people that we pray for. Let them know that somebody is praying for them. And by extension, let them know that somebody's watching them too. Right? To be involved, right? To get involved in what's going on in our society. Isn't that what it means to be salt and light? I think so. But to pray, we need to pray earnestly to the Lord for the favor of our governmental leaders, that they would not be embroiled in controversy, that they would not be given to corruption, that they would not see their office to be an office that enriches them at the expense of the people, but that truly they would have a God-centered philosophy about how they rule and administer in the offices that they have been given. that we ought to pray that God bestows favor upon them, and that that favor would extend beyond just the local level, or the state level, or the federal level, but that it would extend to the other nations as well. May the desert tribes bow down before him, David says. May his enemies lick the dust. Now that sounds a little harsh, but as you think about those words in antiquity, what that really means is that enemies would submit to his leading. May the kings of Tarshish and the coastlands render him tribute, that they would come and they would pay homage to the king, that the kings of Sheba and Saba would bring gifts. May all the kings fall down before him, all the nations serve him. This is truly a remarkable thing, don't you think? Now, it's not a tyrannical thing. I don't think David is praying that Solomon would rule the world with an iron fist or put the heel of his boot upon the necks of his enemies. I don't think that's what David means. If you want to find that, there are other Psalms that you can go read for that one. But I think David was saying, may he have influence. May he be someone that is looked up to, that nations would say, we want to follow his lead. Right? You see the picture? Now, this is not a description of a man. This is a description of what we're asking God to do in the life of a king, or a president, or a governor, somebody who is exercising a rule over people. And not for his benefit, but for the people's benefit, ultimately for God's glory. That we would be known as a people who love each other, love God, love each other, love our nation, and are really interested in what is best for everybody in the world. Think we could do that? I do. Do what is best for the people in the world. Now, look, I want you to understand something. I'm not advocating that we give away everything we have just to care for people that we've never met, okay? I think we have to be judicious. We have to be smart. We have to exercise wisdom. But can't we have a mindset that says, I'm concerned about others more than I'm concerned about myself? Shouldn't we have a mindset that was found in the Lord Jesus that though he sat at the right hand of God, did not find equality with God, something to be grasped, but that he emptied himself and he took on the form of a bondservant and he was obedient, obedient even to death on a cross? Right, you remember that from the kenosis, the emptying in Philippians chapter two? Paul starts that whole discourse, that very theologically rich discourse by saying, have this same mindset in you that was in the Lord Jesus. That and then all the stuff that follows. We're called to have an other's mindset. We're called to teach and example that mindset before our children. There's a lot of ways as parents that we can that we do fail in others mindset, don't we? Our time after the end of the week, when we worked hard, and we want to have a little rest and relaxation. What did you remember that while you were off working hard this week that you weren't around your family perhaps? And that you want time to yourself to rest and relax? Well, that means time away from the kids. when the kids really need you most? Right? How about an other's mindset? How about an other's mindset in how we interact with the people outside of our home? How about an other's mindset when we're dealing with difficult people at work? You know, the reality is, is, you know, we deal with difficult people all the time, right? Outside the home. And we may not come home and air our grievances before our kids. We probably shouldn't. but they still know that something's going on. By the way, just out of curiosity, what happens to kids? Because when they're younger, they're very intuitive. They get to be teenagers, and that seems to disappear. Right? Kids are intuitive. They know something's going on. Right? How do we interact with others outside the home in a way that teaches our kids that we're to have an others mindset? with difficulty. You see what I'm saying? You see, it's our job. It's what God has called us to do. To think of others as being more significant than ourselves. Have this mindset among you that was among the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul further emphasizes this idea in 1 Timothy 2, a passage that many of us know. Starting at verse 1, reading down to verse 4, 1 Timothy 2, Paul says, first of all, then. Now, I want to stop there for just a second. What do you think Paul means when he says, first of all, then? Do you think that's important? Do you think that's something that we ought to pay attention to? Don't you think that Paul is about to give us some really cool wisdom? Anybody here want really cool wisdom? I mean, that wisdom that you go, wow, that's really cool, right? Anybody want that? Here it is. Paul is putting a big old neon sign out that says, I'm fixing to say something that is really important and really cool, and if you'll do it, things are gonna be really good. Well, what is it? Well, thank you for asking. He says, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. Okay, well, we're probably okay with that, right? Up until that point. We can keep all people pretty broad. You ever done that? Keep it broad enough that you can be praying for all people without praying for anybody specifically? You ever done that? Let me say that again, I said it pretty fast. Have you ever been so broad in what you're doing that you could be praying for all people, but not praying for anybody specifically? See, that's how we get around not praying for people we don't like. We just pray for everybody, right? Paul says, I urge you that you offer supplications, that's requests, that's God interact in the lives of somebody who is really needing your help. Prayers, perhaps of those things that are needful, specific needs, intercessions, protections, thanksgivings, right? For all people. But then he goes on to say, for kings and all who are in high positions. You see, the Bible teaches us specifically, not only in Psalm 72 by inference, but in 1 Timothy 2 by direct declaration, that we are to pray for governmental leaders, kings and all of those in high positions. I'm not going to ask for you to raise your hand when was the last time you prayed for a governmental leader? I would guess that we probably, it's been too long. But we need to pray for those who are in leadership over us. Well, what happens when we do? Well, Paul tells us in the next part of this verse that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life. That sounds good, doesn't it? How many times have you heard somebody say, pray for peace? You ever heard anybody say that? Pray for peace. At times, I've seen signs in front yards where it said, pray for peace. I've also seen those signs that said, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways and seek my face, then I will hear from heaven and I will heal their land, right? Do you think there was much praying for governmental leaders going on during those times when we have pray for peace and the Second Chronicles 714 verse, I think it is? You know, you talk to folks and you don't hear so much praying as much as you hear mulling grubbing. You know what mulling grubbing is? Grousing, complaining. Right? Paul says we ought to pray for those that are in leadership over us, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life. You see, the world wants peace. The world wants to live in, I'm gonna say quiet, solitude. They don't want wars, they don't want arguments, they don't want fighting, they want people in other parts of the world want the same thing you want. They want to be able to work, and to make a living for their families and that their kids would be safe. That's what they want. They want exactly the same thing we want. And as America, our nation, being a leader in the world, we can lead people into that if we will but follow what the Bible says. and that is pray for our leaders so that we might live a peaceful and quiet life. And he goes on to say, probably the more important thing, godly and dignified in every way. There's a sense in which our governmental leaders have sway over our society, our culture, here at home too, right? It kind of follows along this idea that, you know, we're to make sure that we're taking care of business at home before we go try to take care of business somewhere else, right? It's kind of like taking the log out of your eye before you try to get the speck out of your brother's eye, right? That kind of thing. There's a sense in which we need to be praying for our governmental leaders so that our society, our culture, the towns that we live in would be godly and dignified in every way. As I think about things that happen within our culture, I frequently think, well, when I was a kid, nobody ever did that, right? Now, when I was a kid, we did kid things, When I was a teen, we did teen things, right? Now, I don't want to plant any ideas in anybody's mind, so I'm not going to mention some of the things that I did as a teenager, but I don't see those kinds of things anymore being done. I see things a lot worse than that. When I was a kid, about the worst thing that could ever happen to you is you wake up one morning and there's toilet paper hanging out of your trees, right? People don't do that anymore, which I'm glad, but they're doing a lot worse things. And we wonder why is it that our culture, our society, the towns that we live in, the cities that we live in seem to be degrading to do all of these things that once upon a time we wouldn't even mention. Nobody did that kind of stuff. Could it be that we, in our failure to pray for our governmental leaders, that our society, our culture, our towns are not living in a way that is godly? That we're not living in a way that is dignified in every way? I think we would agree that that at least in part is true. So how do we go about instilling godliness back into our culture? How do we go about instilling dignity back into the way we live in our society? Well, as I said, it begins with training our children, and that's the things that are supposed to be done. But it also, as I said last week, means that we have to live the example, right? We have to insist upon godliness in our deportment in the world, in our businesses, in our interactions outside of our homes, what we believe our governmental leaders ought to be doing. We pray for them, certainly that is true, but we also email them and call them too, don't we? Nancy was reading a post that we got from a friend of ours that was talking about somebody who had worked in government. And one of the things that stood out to me in that five minutes as we're driving down the road and she's reading it to me is how important constituency interaction is. The person that was being quoted said that constituents, the people, when they really get on an elected official and call and email and write and communicate with them, that carries a lot of weight. That still, to this day, carries a lot of weight. If the people would just contact their representative and say, we want this, that carries a lot of weight. So how do we begin to instill godliness back into our society? contacting our representatives. And if our representatives don't want to do what the people say we want you to do, if for some reason they decide that they know better than everybody else, because they're a doctor from South Louisiana, then maybe they ought to be sent home. I didn't call any names. I just mentioned a senator. That's all. Maybe they need to be sent home. You see, we need to pray. We need to pray for him, too, by the way. We need to pray for our governmental leaders that we would lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly, dignified in every way. Verse three goes on to say, this is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God, our Savior. How about that? How about that? It's pleasing to God that we do these things. That's what he tells us to do. It's pleasing to him when we do it. I mean, does that make sense? We tell our kids to do certain things, they do it without grumbling about it. They just go do it, and they do it with a joyful spirit. Aren't we pleased with that? Yeah, I guarantee you we are. God's pleased with us when we do what he tells us to do. You see, we ought to pray for our governmental leaders, and we ought to pray that God bestows favor upon them so that they can have a place of influence among the nations. And that doesn't begin with them, it begins with us as God's people. Again, I mentioned this several times this week in other circles, but we as a nation have been granted a reprieve, right? How quickly have we forgotten, three months ago, before the first week in November, when we were really worried about the condition of our nation and the direction that we were heading. And I'm not espousing any one particular party or any one particular candidate, but God has granted us a reprieve, don't you think? Would you agree? What are we gonna do with that reprieve? What are we gonna do with this season of time that God has given to us When we are called to train up our children in the ways of the Lord, and we're called to live by example for them and for everyone else, and we're called to pray and to contact our governmental leaders that we might live a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. And to realize that God is pleased with us when we do that. What are we gonna do, church? John Owen put it this way, he said, if we would talk less and pray more about them, that is, things would be better than they are in the world, at least we should be better enabled to bear them and undergo our portion in them with more satisfaction. Owen says we need to quit griping and start praying. And I would argue that praying leads to action. Because when we pray, God brings conviction over what we haven't done. You can't just talk the talk, God says, you got to walk the walk. And when we fall under conviction, then God's people begin to move. But that begins as God's people prays. Well, why are we doing this? Number two, we should insist that God's favor be wielded for the purpose of saving and preserving life. Again, verse 12, that word for, have dominion, have influence, people come to you giving tribute, enemies submitting for because he delivers the needy when he calls the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy. He saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence, he redeems their life and precious is their blood in his sight. It's for the caring of those who cannot care for themselves. Precious is their blood in this sight. Precious is their life. The Bible teaches us that life is in the blood, right? But that is the very thing that animates physical life, is the blood. No blood, no life. So it is about the lives of people, and not just the physical lives of people, but the emotional lives of people, the spiritual lives of people, the entirety of that trichotomy set up in the lives of human beings, the body, the soul, and the spirit. At various times in our society, we have people who are extremely concerned about whether people have enough to eat. whether they have a house to live in. We find this after storms. We saw it in North Carolina and Georgia and Florida after the hurricanes. We're seeing it in California after the wildfires. We're all worried about somebody having a house and having food to eat. And there are, I would argue, countless billions of dollars donated by well-meaning people, and I'm not arguing against them, who go, but they only take care of one need. That's the physical. What about the spiritual, which leads to the emotional? What about one's right standing before God, which leads to encouragement and boldness and strength, emotionally, spiritually? And you say, we need to be concerned about people. And we need to be concerned about all of that person, not just their physical needs, but their emotional needs, their spiritual needs. We need to be ones who God uses to deliver the needy when they call. We need to be ones who are insisting that our government produce a environment in which people feel secure and safe and stable. We need to truly insist upon whatever it is that people need for their total well-being. See, this is not just about sit in your house and pray. This is about taking what God has given to you and using it for the benefit of other people, to teach our children to do the same and to be examples of that. Again, I'm not asking for any of us to sell our cars and our houses and live in a cardboard box so that we might give all of our money to other people. There have been some who have suggested that over the years. I'm not, I don't think the Bible suggests it, but I think we ought to take what God has blessed us with and use it for the benefit of other people. to care for the orphan and the widow and those who cannot care for themselves. And sometimes that's not just directly. Sometimes that's using our influence to speak to governmental leaders. It's using the resources we have to promote certain causes. And I'm not necessarily advocating for political advocacy, although I think there's a sense in which all of us as citizens really ought to be active in the politics of our culture, where we live. If nothing else, just at the local level. Our leaders need to hear from us. Our leaders need to know what it is that we want. If we want to make a change, we've got to make the change. I'm not denying God's sovereignty, but God moves through his people. Why is the church not a loud voice in culture? You ever wondered about that? Why is the church not a loud voice in culture? I think it's time that we become that. I think it's time that we begin to have an other's focus and to see that God is calling us to this. We have not come to Psalm 72b at this juncture by accident, right? Two years ago, better than two years ago, when we started this discussion of the Psalms, little did we know what was going to happen two years later, and little did we know that on February 9th, 2025, that we would be in verses 8 to 14 of Psalm 72. We had no way of knowing that, but God has brought us here for a reason. He's called us to be salt and light in the world. And being salt and light in the world goes beyond just simply asking somebody to come visit your church. It starts there, but it goes beyond there. Right? Let me put it to us this way. Salt. Do you wanna be one of those little bitty salt packages that you find in a restaurant? Or do you wanna be a big old Himalayan, pink Himalayan salt grinder? Do you want to be one of those little bitty LED pin lights? Or do you want to be a floodlight that points to Christ? You see, if we just consider being salt and light, simply inviting somebody to come to church with us, which is important, I don't want to diminish that, but that's a little pin light. Why are we not being a floodlight of Christ? Everything that Christ has done in our lives, being willing to share with those around us what Christ has done in our life, in an instant, being ready, as Peter says, to give a defense for the hope that lies within us. Could it be that we don't know what hope we have? Maybe, but now's the time. We are, church, like Esther. We have been brought to such a time as this. It's no accident. And God calls us to get up and get going. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 18, verses 10 to 14. He said, see that you do not despise one of these little ones. This is speaking of children in particular. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. So what do you think, Jesus said, if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine on the mountain and go and search for the one that went astray? Of course he does. And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than the other 99 that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. And I think if we use young children as an illustration of that, we would go, well, of course, absolutely. Right? Would you agree? And occasionally, there are stories in the news that are just that, a child goes missing, right? And it seems that when a child goes missing, even in the debauchery of our society, our culture shuts down until that child is found, right? Even today. But what about those who are perishing? Rescue the perishing. Save. The dying, right? Does our society shut down to find the one who is perishing? Generally not. Should we? Yes, we should. Jesus tells us in this text that those who cannot care for themselves, little children, but then by extension, those who can't care for themselves, have an advocate in heaven. Yes, the Lord Jesus agreed, but Jesus says, their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. Did you know that there are ministering spirits sent out for the good of those who have been called by God? Did you know that? Writer of Hebrews tells us that, that there are ministering spirits sent out for the children of God. that there are angels charged, at least in some measure, to care for us and prepare us to ensure our well-being. I think that that's especially so for those who cannot care for themselves. Now, that's probably a message and a discussion for a whole nother day, but my point in this, but I think this is Jesus's point in this, is that you can't just blow off kids, right? You can't just blow off kids. It was kind of interesting this morning, the prayer text that you got this morning also went out to a group of pastors. And on normal weeks, I generally get several responses back, amen, good word, wow, ouch, you know, those kinds of things. And I had a few respond to me this morning, but it was a relatively quiet morning talking about don't blow off kids. Right? It's awful quiet in here too. I realize that at times kids can take up an awful lot of your time. I got it. They can come at some of the most inconvenient times and sometimes they think that the world is all about them. Do we think that the world is all about us, too? Jesus said, suffer not the little kids to come unto me, for such is the kingdom of God, right? Unless you have the faith of a child, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. So there's a softness, there's a sensitivity, there's a tenderness that we're to have, yes, towards children, because heaven does, but then by a greater extension by those who cannot care for themselves. And I don't necessarily mean those who are destitute and cannot care for themselves financially. That's part of it. What about those who cannot care for themselves spiritually? Can we take it to that realm of life? We've already said that people are made up of three parts, the physical, the mental or emotional, and the spiritual. And I'll just tell you, I'm a trichotomist. I see men, human beings, having three components, right? Physical, mental, emotional, and then spiritual. So what do we do for those who can't take care of themselves spiritually? You ever wondered about that? How do we interact with those who have never heard the gospel? How do we interact with those who have not learned that the gospel is the power of God unto deliverance? How do we interact with those that just have a basic passing knowledge of the gospel and are living in such futility and frustration? How do we interact with those that have sought counsel from the world and have subscribed themselves to the world's way of dealing with problems and relationships? How do we interact with those? See, we are called to rescue the perishing and save the dying. that those who cannot take care of themselves are not exclusively reserved to children, although that is true. But what about children in the faith? What about babes in the faith? What about those that have never even been born into the faith yet? How do we interact with them? You see, the whole idea of this passage of Psalms, David is saying of Solomon, Jehovah God, give him favor, give him prominence, give him influence, have people come to him, provide peace, stability, strength through his administration so that those who cannot care for themselves can find a safe harbor and can be taken care of. And that message to Solomon is the message for the church. all throughout the Old Testament, the figures, the types, the shadows, the nation of Israel, the kings of Israel, which many times foreshadow the Messiah. Those images, those types, those teachings of the Old Testament, which Paul said were written down for our own instruction, are instructive to us. We need to pray for our governmental leaders. We need to pray for our nation, for our society, for our community so that it will provide a peaceful and quiet situation, circumstance in which we then can care for those who cannot care for themselves because their blood is precious in our sight. That, that is the mandate of this text. It reminds me of a story. I don't know if you ever heard of a man by the name of Admiral George Dewey. If you've ever heard of Admiral Dewey, you know, and at least at the time of the writing, and I believe this is still the case, He is the only man in United States history to have achieved the rank of Admiral. Now, whether that's still valid or not, I don't know. But he was an important guy, right? Well, it seems that Admiral Dewey had a soft spot in his heart for children. That's amazing in and of itself. A man of such rank, a man of such importance, a man who commanded not only tens of thousands of sailors, but the ships that they sailed in, cared about children. And it is said of Admiral Dewey that each morning as he would take his walk, he would take a walk in the morning, that whenever he encountered people, he would talk to them, but especially children. If he encountered a child on his walk, he would stop and he would speak to him. And on one particular occasion, Admiral Dewey ran across a little boy. And he said, well, hey, little man, how are you today? Doing fine, sir. Tell me, son, what is it that you aspire to do when you become a man, when you grow up? What do you want to be when you grow up? The little boy immediately said, oh, that's easy. I want to be an animal in the Navy like you. Yikes. Where'd that little boy learn that? Probably from his dad. You see, we can teach our children the right way to go, which incidentally is harder, right? The Bible tells us to train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. If we don't train up a child in the way that he should go, what way does he go? The wrong way. Has anybody ever planted weeds in their garden? Why do we not purposely plant weeds in our garden? We're coming into that season of time where we're fixing to start planting gardens, right? Why do we not plant weeds? Well, because they come up all by themselves, right? It's part of the fall. And kids are the same way. We have to intentionally train our children, teach our children, lead our children by example in the way that they should go. And that's the harder thing. And we can either lead our children to do those things that are godly, the way that they ought to go so that when they're old, they will not depart from it, or we can just by default teach them to live like the rest of the world. And I would suggest that if we choose to just kind of sit by and idly do nothing, that that's exactly where they will be, in the world like everybody else. But that's not what we're called to. We're called to exercise a God-given foreign policy, to care for others more than we care for ourselves, to have an others mindset, to search out the perishing and rescue, to be mindful of the dying and save them, to Be sensitive to those things going on in the lives of those around us. And to not be a little miniature salt packet or a little mini pin LED light, but to truly be salt that seasons this world and light that sheds light on Christ in the middle of this world. And to truly, truly pray that God would give us influence over the nations. And today, I pray that we would never be satisfied with anything less, that we would see Christ exalted, that we would see our society peaceful, godly, dignified, and that we would rescue the perishing and save the dying. Father, we thank you for the day that you've given to us. We continue to praise you and glorify you for all that you've given to us. And we ask, Father, now that in the hearing of your word, that we would submit ourselves to what you have shown us. It truly is, Father, a bitter pill at times to pray for those who are in leadership over us, and yet, Father, that is nothing new. At least we as Americans have the right to choose our leaders. There are many throughout history that have never had that choice. And so, Father, help us. in our weakness, in our frailty, in our distractions and inattentions to remember the words of your word and to pray fervently for those who are in governance over us that we might live peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way and therefore receive your good pleasure. Help us, Father, to be salt and light in the world to those who are perishing, those who are dying. Help us, Father, to raise our children in the way that they should go, knowing, Father, that your word promises that they will not depart from it. And help us, Father, in all that we do, to praise you and to bring you glory. We thank you, Father. We praise you. We glorify you. And we ask these things in your precious and holy name. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we ask. Amen.