If you'll take your copy of the Scriptures and turn with me to Psalm 33. I know your worship order says 139. I changed it. Psalm 33 this evening to introduce the theme of our lessons and songs tonight. Hear now God's Word from the 33rd Psalm. Rejoice in Yahweh, O you righteous, for praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise Yahweh with the harp, make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song, play skillfully with a shout of joy. For the Word of Yahweh is right, and all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the goodness of Yahweh. By the Word of Yahweh the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear Yahweh. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him, for He spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of Yahweh stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. Yahweh looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling, He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashions their hearts individually. He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety. Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of Yahweh is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for Yahweh. He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let your mercy, O Yahweh, be upon us, just as we hope in you. Congregation, this is the word of the Lord. Amen, you may be seated. Let me remind you of a passage of scripture that I'll refer to again in just a moment, Daniel 2, verses 20 to 22. After Nebuchadnezzar had ordered the death of the wise men who were unable to produce Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the interpretation thereof, when the Spirit of God reveals the interpretation to Daniel, Daniel answered and said, blessed be the name of God forever and ever. For wisdom and might are His, and He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. I've been a political junkie virtually my entire life. I have very fond memories as an elementary school-aged child of listening to President Reagan's speeches to Congress and the nation. I still listen to presidential addresses, but I've been consistently disappointed since 1989. I grew up in a household where voting was not only not practiced, but was actively discouraged as a matter of principle, as a matter of Christian conviction. But when I turned 18, I chose a different path, and I voted in local, state, and federal elections ever since. I will tell you, I don't remember those first few national elections in which I voted being referred to as the most important election ever. They might have been, but I don't remember those particular claims being made. But sometime in the last, I'd say, 15 to 20 years, political candidates and parties began to make those kind of claims. Every four years, in fact, we hold the most important election in our lifetime. And now it has become the most important election in the history of our nation. And I don't know when this kind of rhetoric will simply become background noise and be treated like the cries of the boy who cried wolf on the day when the predator finally came to his door. But like any doomsday prophet, if they continue to say it year after year and cycle after cycle, it's bound to eventually be true. And more responsible and careful observers of this year's election do wonder if this time the claims might really be justified. No matter who wins the presidency, or which party gains control of the House and the Senate, whether the winner secures the popular vote or only the Electoral College, whether Arizona remains purple, begins turning red once again, or becomes a deeper blue, the winners and losers in this next election will be decided by God. And we can be sure of certain things. Democrat operatives will cheat. Republican operatives will complain about their cheating. And the ultimate outcome is in the hands of God. You should know that. Whatever the Lord wills will be done. If he intends President Trump to be re-elected, no amount of election rigging, ballot harvesting, or dirty tricks can prevent it. If he intends for Vice President Harris to become president, then no surge in voter turnout, increase in early voting, or gains among ethnic minorities can change it. The Lord will put the next president in the White House, whether that person is a businessman with a track record of immorality, or a corrupt Marxist, or the vice presidential candidate of one who was elected and then assassinated. Romans 13 in verse 1 says, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Again, the passage I read from Daniel 2. He changes the times and seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. Or later in the same book, Daniel chapter 4, after the Lord humbles Nebuchadnezzar, the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever he will, and sets over it the lowest. of men, and Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation was to teach him that very lesson. Now, do not think that I am saying it is impossible for there to be any shenanigans in the next two weeks to reverse or control the outcome. Our fair and free elections are beginning to look a little like our fiery but mostly peaceful protests, with a wall of flame behind the propagandist holding the microphone. God works through means. And cheaters cheat, and liars lie, but their evil cannot do any more than God allows for His own purposes. Remember that the Lord used a lying traitor to condemn and crucify the Son of God, thereby saving the world. So you may be tempted on the morning of November 6th to complain, curse, or despair. You may imagine in the worst case scenario that there was obvious foul play, and there may very well be. After all, Oceania has always been at war with East Asia. We've moved beyond the facade of justice and begun construction on the new headquarters of the ministry of truth. But God is still in control. Not just in charge, but in control. And He always will be. You cannot pray for the Lord's will to be done and then object when He does it. You can't say, not that, Lord. I said do as you will, by which I meant do as I will. Sometimes it is the Lord's will for the cancer to metastasize or for the thorn in the flesh to remain. Sometimes the Lord says no. And whether He says yes or no, the proper response is, thank you, blessed be the name of the Lord. Now some have compared the options in this year's election to a choice between driving a car over the cliff at 100 miles an hour or 50 miles an hour. However enthusiastic you may be about your candidate, we should be realistic about the options that we have. Neither is a Christian by conviction, even if at least one of them is by baptism. Both need to repent and truly trust in Jesus Christ. One has policies that are better aligned with biblical law and values, yes, but both allow for the practice of abortion, both promote IVF, both support same-sex marriage, both promote feminism in various ways, and neither are committed to the drastic cuts and radical changes in policy that would be required for our government to function within biblical limits or in a fiscally responsible way. The election of one candidate may be an act of divine mercy, staying the catastrophe and consequences we deserve because of our sin and stupidity. The election of the other would be, I think, an act of divine judgment. Nations receive the leaders they deserve. We can hope that that might not be the case this time. God raises up judges to deliver, and he raises up tyrants to punish and subdue. The Lord says through Isaiah, in a passage we'll read more fully in just a few minutes, as for my people, children are their oppressors and women rule over them. Oh my people, those who lead you cause you to err and destroy the way of your paths. The fact that women ruled in Israel was not a sign of egalitarian progress, but an indication of the wrath and judgment of God. So we should hope and pray for mercy. We do not want Yahweh to deal with America as she deserves. If we love our nation, then we should be honest about our wickedness so that we can work and pray for repentance and reformation. But while we may hope for mercy from the hand of God, we must be prepared for judgment. After all, the Lord allowed Queen Athaliah to come to the throne of Judah. He ordained Manasseh as king who made the streets of Jerusalem run with the blood of the righteous. After 9-11, a televangelist in the area I was living and pastoring at the time said, we know God did not do this. He would not use Muslims to judge a righteous nation. But if you have ever read your Bible, you ought to know that the Lord has done exactly that kind of thing many times. If Marxists gain explicit control of the White House, Congress, and government agencies, it will be no more than what we deserve. You cannot trust Boromir with the Ring of Power, but you absolutely must not give it to Sauron. As Tolkien said, men are better than gates. And when a nation's future is on the line, we must pray for strong and God-fearing men to rise up and man the walls at Helm's Deep and storm the Black Gate of Mordor. As far as I know, Aragorn is not on the ticket this year. Neither is Denethor, or Balin son of Fundin, or Thorin Oakenshield. We do not expect Peter the High King to appear, or for Arthur to return, and if he did, he might want Britain's colonies back. You will be pulling the lever, no matter who you vote for, for very flawed people in the coming election, and you need to be realistic about your choice. Choosing whom to vote for in local, state, and national elections is a matter of prudence and discretion, things seemingly in short supply in every generation. Rarely are there obviously righteous options, and a decision to vote is often a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils. But this is not to say that such a choice should never be made. God's people cannot be saved by politics, and neither kings nor judges will ever be what God alone can be to us and for us. But we should not imagine that it is spiritual to be indifferent to who and what our kings and judges may be. We would rather have David as our king than Saul. For that matter, it would be better to have a man like Jehu on the throne than Ahab. Both Jehu and Ahab were going to hell, but at least one of them knew that the Baal worshippers needed to make the trip first. I will not tell you as a Christian that you must vote for a particular person, but I will tell you that as a Christian there are certain things you should never vote to support. And in our own state, Proposition 139 seeks to amend Article 2 of our state constitution by making explicit a quote, fundamental right to abortion, end quote. And no Christian should ever vote for that. If you vote at all, you should vote against it. It is explicitly anti-Christian, and it is as evil as the Third Reich's final solution. We may only have the option to vote for flawed and foolish men. We should never vote for orcs. So if we learn to think biblically about men, history, and nations, we will understand why the scriptures say repeatedly that our hope is in the Lord alone. J.C. Ryle said that the best of men are men at best, and men can and will ultimately fail. But the Lord never will. Whether he has appointed a season of mercy for us, an Indian summer of blessing leading to national repentance, or at least a temporary stay of execution, or whether he has ordained a season of judgment, suffering, and disaster, God's people should not fear. Behold, the eye of Yahweh is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine." Psalm 33. Our trust is in the Lord who made heaven and earth. So let us pray earnestly, live and act faithfully and responsibly, and hope and trust in God's mercy, because He is our salvation and reward. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.