And we're going to be looking particularly at paragraph 3. Now in our studies so far in this very important chapter, we have seen that the civil government's authority is legitimate. God himself has ordained the civil magistracy. Paragraph one, God the Supreme Lord and King of all the world has ordained civil magistrates to be under him over the people for his own glory in the public good. And to this end, he has armed them with the power of the sword for defense and encouragement of them that do good and for the punishment of evil doers. Civil government has a legitimate authority. Civil government is answerable to God. Civil government is called by God and civil government is powered by God. It is given the sword by God to punish evil and to reward good. And it is therefore, paragraph two, entirely appropriate for Christian believers to take up the office of the civil magistracy. not only because the magistracy is legitimated by God, as we've seen in paragraph one, but also because God himself calls certain of his people to this work. It is a work with much potential for good in this age, as we see in that paragraph two. It is lawful for Christians to accept and execute the office of a magistrate when called thereunto. in the management whereof, as they ought especially to maintain justice and peace according to the wholesome laws of each kingdom and commonwealth. So for that end, they may lawfully now under the New Testament wage war upon just and necessary occasions. A Christian civil magistrate can work to do much good. There is the good of justice, There is the good of peace, the good of lawfulness, the good of common wealth, the good of warfare unto security, God's glory in the public good. And the Christian who is a civil magistrate labors to those ends and they're all good things. But many Christians will never be servants of the civil authority. They will never be ministers of state as we would say today. So what of them? Well, they are citizens of the state in which they dwell. They have no authority, but rather they are under the authority of the civil government. And what of such Christians then? surely covering the majority of us that is where paragraph three is so helpful to us we read civil magistrates being set up by god for the ends of all said subjection in all lawful things commanded by them ought to be yielded by us in the lord not only for wrath but for conscience sake and we ought to make supplications and prayers for kings and all that are in authority that under them we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. What's the key word here in this paragraph? Isn't it the word subjection? Subjection. Subjection ought to be yielded by the Christian citizen for the Lord's sake. And that's a strong word, isn't it? That's a strong statement. We are to be subjected. We are to be in subjection to the civil authorities. What do we make of that? And what does it mean in practice? Well, let's get into the detail now. Firstly, let's consider the Christian ground of subjection. The Christian ground of subjection. We submit to the civil authorities because they are appointed by God for the public good. Civil magistrates being set up by God for the ends of all said, subjection. ought to be yielded in the Lord for conscience sake. We submit to the authorities because God has appointed them to be over us for the public good. This takes us back to the principle of the fifth commandment. Do you remember the two tables of the law? The first table of the law concerns our communion with God and begins with, you shall have no other gods before me. And the second table of the law governs our communion with one another and begins with honor your father and mother. So the first table of the law begins with the authority of God. And the second table of the law begins with the authority of men. There is an authority amongst men. There are authority structures within our society and we need them. We need them. And some within those authority structures are called to exercise authority in the context of the civil magistrate, that is, the Minister of State, and there are many who are called to be in subjection to that authority. And we do so for the sake of God. The second table of the law comes because the first table of the law is already there. It's all about authority. Why does a parent have authority in the family? Because God has given the parent the authority. To whom does the parent answer? God. To whom does the child answer? To the parent, for God's sake! It's the same in the workplace, isn't it? We see that in Colossians chapter 3. Why does a servant or an employee subject themselves to the employer or to the master? Well, for the Lord's sake. So Colossians 3, 22, bond servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye services men pleases, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ. We are to be submissive to those in authority over us in the workplace, because God has established those authority structures. And we are to be submissive to the civil magistrate, to the minister of state, because God has appointed that authority structure. We do it for Christ's sake. We do it because we humble ourselves under the Lord God. Proverbs 24 is a really important text in this regard. Proverbs 24, 21, and 22. My son, fear the Lord and the King. Do not associate with those given to change, for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin those two can bring. Who is speaking? Solomon. But he is speaking in his capacity as a father to his son. The authority structure of father-son kicks in here. And because of that authority structure, he says, fear the Lord, humble yourself under God, submit yourself to God, and the king. Why be submissive to the king? Because the Lord commands it. Because the Lord requires it. And do not associate with those given to change. In the context it's clear. Do not associate with those given to wanting a change in their earthly circumstances. Perhaps wanting to change the king. Where does that lead? Well, their calamity will rise suddenly and who knows the ruin those two can bring. God appoints these authority structures and rebelling against them, denying them and defying them will only lead to trouble and calamity. We are under those that God has placed over us in the civil realm. Again, this is abundantly clear in Romans 13, isn't it? 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. Therefore, whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves, for rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same, for he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is God's minister and avenger to execute wrath. on him who practices evil. We are under those in authority in the civil realm because God has ordained that authority. All those who are in authority are in authority under God. There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. We studied that in detail, didn't we? A prime minister is the prime minister, not primarily because the people voted him in, or because he led an army and conquered all his foes, but because God decided, through whatever means, through whatever contingencies, God decided he was gonna rule. And that is why we submit ourselves to the ruling authority. It is because they will uphold the public good. And if you say to yourself, well, I don't see how our current governing authorities are upholding the public good. Look at all the evil they're doing. Well, it's relative. Go back to Genesis 6. Do you really want a whole earth that is completely running with blood? Do you want every street corner to be anarchic? Do you want people literally to be tearing one another limb from limb? Do you want immorality to get so out of control that every boundary that God has established is broken down? You'll soon have that if you have anarchy. You'll soon have that if there's no civil authority. We rush far too hastily to conclude that our civil authorities have got it all wrong. And they've got many things wrong. But God has appointed them. And God has told us, be in subjection to them. 1 Peter 2 also emphasizes this point very clearly and very strongly. Verse 13. or to governors as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. As free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God, honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. This is what we are to do. And there is far more at stake than we imagine When we are tempted to break down the rule of law, when we think that it is the right time and the right place to defy the civil authorities, we don't need to be in full agreement with every law in order to keep the law. There is a higher good in view. Yes, in a sinful world, it is only a relatively higher good. But if you are to compare two evils, almost always the lesser of the two evils will be a civil government that is ruling with some degree of stability over against anarchy. So Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2, and we'll come back to this text later in a slightly different context, but he says here 1 Timothy 2 verse Two, authorities are there for what purpose? That we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. But this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. The rule of law is the best context for gospel work. The ministry of the Word of God carrying forward the Great Commission is done where there is stable government. There's a lot at stake. The Christian ground of subjection then is very clear. But secondly, we come to the Christian limit of subjection. The writers of our confession are very clear. Civil magistrates being set up by God for the ends aforesaid, subjection in all lawful things commanded by them ought to be yielded by us in the law, not only for wrath, but for conscience sake. Subjection in all lawful things in the Lord for conscience sake. And really, if you pick out those three phrases, you've got three check points, three items on your tick list before you ever decide you've come to the limit of Christian subjection. Is this an unlawful thing? Tick. Is this out of the Lord rather than in the Lord? Is this against the Lord rather than for the Lord? Tick. Is this in defiance of conscience as tied to the Word of God? Or is this not in defiance of conscience as tied to the Word of God? Apply these three things. Lawful, in the Lord for conscience sake? Is it unlawful? Is it not in the Lord? And is it against conscience? These three things are absolutely required for the limits of Christian subjection. So there will be occasions then when Christian citizens ought to engage in what we refer to as civil disobedience. Notice that terminology, we're not talking about revolution here. We're not talking about bloody revolution. We are talking about civil disobedience and not the same thing. This is the limit of our subjection to the authority that God has ordained. This isn't our decision to overturn an authority that God has ordained. Sam Waldron is extremely helpful here. Let me read this section to you. The fundamental command found in this passage referring to Romans 13 is often misunderstood. Paul is not interested in telling Roman Christians to obey their leaders. He would not want them always to obey such leaders. Though there are three perfectly good words for obedience used in the New Testament, Paul does not use any of them here. What he actually says to the Roman Christians is that they should be subordinate, put themselves under the authority of the Roman rulers, take their place beneath them as God-given rulers. What he means is more precisely defined by the words he uses in describing the opposite of subordination, verse two. Both of these words, resist and oppose, originally and properly described the use of armed force against a military opponent. Poyle's point is that Christians are never to take up arms against the civil authorities. More specifically, Roman Christians are not to be swept into the Jewish resistance movement. They are not to adopt the cause of or become part of the Jewish rebellion. They are to remain subordinate to the Roman authority. They are not to take up the sword against them. and end up suffering as murderers. That's a really helpful comment. So there is a time when we will engage in civil disobedience, but that is what it is. It is not our job to overturn a duly appointed governing authority. And this is exactly how Daniel approached the matter, isn't it? We've recently studied the book, so the references are all that is needed because the context is clear in our minds, isn't it? Chapter 1 and verse 8, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies. There was clearly an issue of conscience here. For Daniel to take of the king's delicacies would defile his conscience, so he refused to do it. That's civil disobedience. Or tracking forward to chapter 3, this is Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and they are commanded with all the people Verse 4 of Daniel 3, at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, and psaltery in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar set up, and whoever does not do it will be thrown into the fiery furnace. Well, what's the response of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Verse 16, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand, O King. But if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. No leading the people in armed rebellion, no pulling out the swords to chop off Nebuchadnezzar's head. Just civil disobedience, not doing it. We're not defiling our conscience. We are not going against the Lord. What you're commanding is unlawful and we will not do it. Or chapter six of Daniel, when Darius gives the command that everyone is to pray to him and no one is to pray to any other authority for a period of time, what do we find? Well, we find that Daniel verse 10 of Daniel 6 when Daniel knew that the writing was signed he went home and in his upper room with his windows open towards Jerusalem He knelt down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. He didn't march through the streets. He didn't wave placards in the air. He didn't bang on drums and make a racket. He didn't brandish AK-45 around and start firing it off into the air. He went home. And he said in his heart, and he said with his life and his choices, no way, Darius. It's time for civil disobedience. I won't be doing what you have commanded me to do. Interesting, isn't it? In each of these three cases, Daniel one, Daniel three, and Daniel six, that there is an encroachment of the civil authority into the spiritual realm. Did you notice that? There's an issue of defilement. Now that's a spiritual term in chapter one. There's an issue of idolatry, that's clearly a spiritual issue, you will worship this image, you will not worship any other god. And then there's an issue again of idolatry in chapter 6, isn't there? You will not pray to any god but the king for this period of time. So in each of these cases, the civil authority is encroaching into the spiritual realm. And when you get that overreach of the civil authority into the spiritual realm, that is where unlawful things are done that are not in the Lord, which defile the conscience. Remember those three things? So here's a principle. When the civil authorities command us to do, and I'm going to use this word here, I want you to think carefully about it. When the civil authorities command us to do anything, anything at all of a spiritual nature, we are to resist their demands. Anything. They have no authority in the spiritual realm. It is therefore unlawful in principle for them to encroach on our spiritual exercises even if it may not be against a specific commandment. The principle has been breached and we stand. And we say you do not have authority here and we will be engaging in civil disobedience on principle. Remember the two tables of the law? Where does the civil realm operate? Table 2, not table 1. Now the kings of Nebuchadnezzar's time and Belshazzar's time and Darius' time, they failed to grasp this and we've had that brought out in the ministry recently, haven't we? when they realize how great Daniel's God is, they all start commanding everybody to worship Daniel's God and telling them, if you don't worship Daniel's God, we'll slaughter you, we'll cut you into pieces, we'll make dunghills out of your family, and we'll do this and that. This is just swinging from one extreme to the other. They hadn't got it at that stage, had they? Later on, Nebuchadnezzar did grasp he had no authority at all in the spiritual realm. None. The civil authorities have nothing to do with the spiritual matters other than, as we'll see again, come back to later, 1 Timothy 2, other than giving entire freedom for those who are in spiritual authority to do what they are called to do. So when, for example, in the matter of prayer, when to pray, how to pray, what to pray, is never a matter for the civil authorities to tell us. That is for God to tell us. When we gather to pray, what we pray about, how we pray, When we gather to baptize, who we baptize, how we baptize, when we gather to preach, what we preach, how we preach, it is 100% a spiritual matter. It is not. for the civil authorities, by all means. Let the civil authorities tell us that if you're going to meet in a building in this particular place, there are these fire regulations you must keep, and there are these parking regulations that you must keep, and there are these, this, that, and the other non-spiritual things. Fine. But not in the spiritual realm. And when the civil authorities overreach into the spiritual realm, we say on principle, no. No. That is not your place. The Lord Jesus in Mark 12 was put to the test by the religious leaders. Shall we render taxes to Caesar or not? Is it lawful or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? Mark 12. 15. Jesus asks for a denarius. Jesus Well, it's a bit of an understatement to say he's a genius, but here he is. He has no denarius on him, so he asks them to bring forward the denarius. Who has the denarius in his pocket? The very religious leaders who are saying, should we pay taxes to Caesar? And he holds up one of their denarii, and he says, whose image and superscription is this? And they say Caesar's. And he says, that's fine. That's the civil realm. You render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And to God, what belongs to God. You see, there's a principle, isn't there? There's a principle of distinction between the civil realm and the spiritual realm. Jesus is saying your real problem is not has not nothing to do with the civil authorities Your real problem is that you are not in subjection to God You are not hearing the Word of God. You are not following the Messiah of God. That's your real problem So there is a limit of Subjection and it kicks in when the civil authorities overreach into the spiritual realm This is what happens in Acts chapter four, isn't it? In those early days of the church. And those who are in authority command the apostles that they must not teach any longer in the name of Jesus. Acts 4, 18. What is Peter and John's response? They say, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge, for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Civil disobedience. You are commanding us in the spiritual realm. You are commanding us what we should or should not do in the realm where we have a direct command from our King, Jesus. He has commanded us to speak, we will speak. And we'll let you judge for yourselves whether that is right or wrong, but we know in our own spirit what is right. The same in chapter 5 verse 29 when they're arrested again and warned again and Peter says we ought to obey God rather than men. In these situations, please notice that civil disobedience is not merely sanctioned. It is not merely allowed. It is required. There will be situations in which civil disobedience is required. That it is not merely an issue of individual conscience. Yes, there are cases where it will be individual conscience, but the time will come and the situation will come when it is required that the believer says, We must obey God rather than men. We must obey God rather than men. And this, in the broader context of the New Testament, is the moment when spiritual leadership becomes incredibly important. Churches have elders. They are elders, they are pastors, they are overseers. We know it is all one office. And the elder pastor overseers have the gifts, and they have the graces, and they have the maturity, and they have the calling before God as the church prays for them to lead the church in these matters. And when Peter and the apostles led the Christians into civil disobedience, the Christians followed. The believers followed. Remember also that what is lawful is defined by God and not by us. We cannot limit submission to government on the basis of our own opinions, feelings, convenience, or even political convictions. The word of God alone, as found in the written scriptures, is the sole authority of what is lawful. And this is so important for us to remember continually, especially when our civil authorities do begin to overreach. And as we've seen in our recent church members meeting, that is exactly what is happening right now. Civil authorities are overreaching into the spiritual realm. And at such times, we must be careful to ensure that our conscience is bound to the word of God, not to our political persuasion, or our emotional feelings. There's a place for political persuasion and you cannot avoid your emotional feelings as we saw Sunday morning. And especially when we see red or blue or green or whatever it is that gets you agitated. That is the moment at which you must go back to the scriptures and be careful to be guided by the scriptures in what is lawful and what is unlawful. So we've seen the Christian limit of subjection. I'm going to move quickly now through our two remaining points. Thirdly, the Christian spirit of subjection. The Christian spirit of subjection. What is to be the spirit of the believer in subjection to the authorities? Is it obsequious? Is it sheepish? Is it sort of kowtowing and doing it for the sake of some preferment? Is it unwilling? Is it grudging? Is it hard-hearted? Is it resistant? Is it looking to the letter of the law and ignoring the spirit of the law? How is it that the Christian is to offer his subjection to the civil authorities? And the answer to that question is clear. We saw it right back at the beginning of our study from Colossians 3, didn't we? We do it willfully, joyfully, as to the Lord and not to men. So the spirit in which we offer subjection to the civil authorities is a Christian spirit. as unto the Lord. Paul, Titus, Paul outlines this, yes I was right first time, Paul outlines this in writing to Titus, chapter 3 verse 1. He says to Titus in his office as an elder, he says, remind them, that is the members of the church, to be subject to rulers and authorities. Okay, we've got that same principle, be subject, same wording and same idea. Be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, and what about the spirit in which it's to be done, verse two? to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward men appeared and so on, what is to be our mindset? What is to be our attitude? What is to be our spirit? It is to be peaceable, it is to be gentle, it is to speak evil of no one, and it is to show humility to whom? To all men. So even when it becomes our duty before God to resist the civil government, because there is a limit, isn't there, to our subjection as we've seen, But even when it becomes our duty before God to resist the civil government, we are to do it in a respectful and in an honorable manner. There is no place in the New Testament anywhere for belligerence or rebelliousness. We've already mentioned this, but we see it, don't we, in Acts 4. Look at the very calm and simple way in which Peter, as it were, renders his resistance. How does Peter resist the authorities in Acts 419? Peter and John answered and said, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak of the things which we have seen and heard. It's a very humble spirit, isn't it? Very humble spirit. No stirring up of the people. No crass defiance. No storming out and making great speeches. Just humble. Strong. Absolutely, it's strong, but it's humble. And it's calm. We see the same thing in Acts 23, a very interesting passage. where Paul manifests a remarkable humility. Acts 23, Paul looking earnestly at the council said, men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. That was a completely unjust thing to do, wasn't it? From Ananias. And so Paul said to him, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. You sit to judge me according to the law. And do you command me to be struck contrary to the law? And you think, yeah, go for it, Paul. You tell him. That's outrageous. Let's have a bit of red blood here. Come on. But what happens next? Very interesting, isn't it? Those who stood by said, do you revile God's high priest? Then Paul said, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest, for it is written, you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. Oh, there's a lesson there, isn't there, for us? It's so easy to get stirred up, so easy to become angry, and so easy to argue within ourselves that because it's righteous anger and so on and so on. Take a leaf out of Paul's book here. Because easily he could have said, couldn't he? When they said he's the high priest, Paul could easily have said, well, there's only one high priest, Christ Jesus. I stand by what I've said, away with him. But he doesn't say that, does he? He resists, and he speaks what is true. but he does so without a rebellious spirit. This comes out so beautifully in Acts 5. It's why I read the passage a little more length earlier on, because you can see the spirit here of the apostles. Many signs and wonders are being done. Verse 12, none of the rest dare join them. The people esteem them highly. Believers were increasing, they brought the sick, people wanted the shadow of Peter to pass by because this was healing. There was a tremendous excitement, wasn't there? Tremendous agitation amongst the people. And you could just imagine the way in which Peter could have stirred this up and launched some kind of rebellion. against the authorities, these wicked and evil authorities who are trying to shut down the gospel. But Peter doesn't do that. When the high priest rises up, they're filled with indignation, they lay their hands on the apostles, they chuck them into the prison. The angel of the Lord comes, brings them out of the prison, tells them to go and speak to the people. This is civil disobedience. They're going to obey God rather than men. The authorities find out about it, they come and arrest them again. Did we not command you, verse 28, not to teach in this name? And look, you filled your wisdom with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood on us. And Peter and the other apostles said, we ought to obey God rather than men. They speak the truth. You have murdered God's Christ. God has raised him, and God has exalted him, and we are witnesses to these things, and the Holy Spirit, and so on. So there is strength, and there is conviction, but there is no rebellious spirit. There is no uprising of the people. There is no marching through the streets. We need really to learn how to engage in civil disobedience, and we learn that from the apostles. Sam Waldron, again, is really extremely helpful here. Let me read this comment. Note that there is no precedent for a Christian displaying a rebellious belligerent attitude towards civil authority in the Bible. Peter's response in Acts 4.19 is remarkably tame when it is compared with the belligerence of certain segments of professing Christianity in our day. There is an instructive example of such belligerence in Acts 23.1-5, there Paul quickly apologises for his belligerence even though he was provoked by a miscarriage of justice. Belligerent attitudes and deliberately and unnecessarily provocative behavior are never appropriate, even when Christians must decline obedience. So let us learn the Christian spirit of subjection. And finally, let us recognize the necessity for Christian prayerfulness in subjection. Christian prayerfulness in subjection. We read in our confession, we ought to make supplications and prayers for kings and all that are in authority that under them we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. We are to be prayerful in our subjection. We recognize that this subjection to the civil authorities is not going to be straightforward. especially in those instances where there is overreach of the civil authority into the spiritual realm, where the civil authorities start to command us, as they did in Acts 4 and in Acts 5, what we can say and what we can't say, what we can do and what we can't do, how we can meet and how we can't meet, and so on. Then we need to be prayerful as we offer up our subjection to the authorities. Jeremiah is commanded this by God in chapter 29 and verse 7. God says, seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive and pray to the Lord for it for in its peace you will have peace. God is saying to Jeremiah, pray and seek after the peace of an utterly godless society. This is the culture that carried Israel off captive, that decimated Jerusalem, raised it to the ground, destroyed the temple, carried off all its articles. And God says, seek the peace of that city. Pray for the peace of that city. Pray to me for the peace of that city. Even when our society is godless. Even when our society takes away our Christian liberty. Even when a society treats believers terribly. Pray for the peace of that culture. Never pray for uprising. Never pray for anarchy. Don't pray for that. You pray for that, You're praying against the will of God, and you're praying for something which will do great harm. So even when we have to engage in civil disobedience, we pray for the very authorities that we are disobeying. And this is Paul's point, isn't it, as we come to a conclusion in 1 Timothy chapter two, In 1 Timothy chapter 2, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour. Interesting isn't it in this context that God is called our Savior. It's one of those passages where God is called Savior usually the Statement Savior is applied to Christ Christ Jesus our Savior, but here God is Savior There are many other places where this is done, but it's a very deliberate thing God wants to save people and as God seeks to save people It is in the context of a society where there is law and order, where there is peace and harmony, where there is structure, where there is civil government doing its task well, where those who are in authority exercise authority so that there is peace. Because God, who is the Savior, God desires, verse 4, all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For this God has appointed the mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle, a sent one. I've been sent to accomplish the great commission, to go and preach the gospel. In the context of going to preach the gospel, what is the environment that is most conducive to that? An environment where the civil authorities are maintaining law and order, where the rule of law reigns, where there is peace, where there is freedom for the preaching of the gospel. We don't know what Daniel was praying when he knelt in chapter six, do we? We're not told what he prayed for. But it doesn't take a great stretch to consider that amongst the things he was praying for, he was praying for Darius. Surely he was praying for Darius. He knew Darius had been deceived. He knew he'd been tricked. He knew he'd been foolish. He knew Darius, he'd served under him. And Daniel's prayers were answered by God. God answered Daniel's prayers, didn't he? Because not only was Daniel delivered, but Darius, or the heart of Darius, as it were, was vindicated. And his prayers were answered. We must pray for our civil authorities. They've been appointed by God. They will answer to God. They've been given power and authority by God and they have been told by God what they must do. So let us pray that the God who has appointed the civil authorities would so work in the hearts and minds and lives and convictions of our civil authorities that they might rule according to the will of God. Let's pray that at all times, but surely let's pray that especially on those occasions when we, either for conscience sake or for scripture's sake or for clearly and manifestly, unmistakably, For clear reasons, we absolutely have to engage in civil disobedience. At such times, let us be especially prayerful for those that we have to disobey, knowing that we're entering into it under the Lord and for his glory. Amen.