Let's turn to God's Word, Psalm 72 once more. And let us read the entirety of the Psalm of Solomon. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son. May he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice. Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people and the hills in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people. Give deliverance to the children of the needy and crush the oppressor. May they fear you while the sun endures and as long as the moon throughout all generations. May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In his days may the righteous flourish and peace abound till the moon be no more. May he have dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. May desert tribes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust. May the canes of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute. May the canes of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all canes fall down before him, all nations serve him. For he delivers the needy when he calls the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence He redeems their life and precious is their blood in His sight. Long may He live. May gold of Sheba be given to Him. May prayer be made for Him continually and blessings invoked for Him all the day. May there be abundance of grain in the land, on the tops of the mountains may it wave. May its fruit be like Lebanon, and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May people be blessed in him, and all nations call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be His glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen. The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. Amen. Let's pray. Our Father and our God, we humble ourselves before Your Word. to acknowledge that we are fools, but you alone are wise. We are weak and needy, but you alone are mighty. Father, we are creatures, we are dust, we are mortal. You alone are the creator God eternal and from everlasting to everlasting. You are God and you invite us, you invite peoples, you invite all the nations, you invite all the rulers, all the civil governments of the earth that have ever lived, that are in existence, that will ever exist, to kiss the sun, to worship the great king. and to live and to reign in faithful imitation of the great King and His justice and righteousness. So, Father, help us. Help us to see and to comprehend Your Word, to see the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to see, Father, how this passage speaks to human kings and civil governments. Father, and grant us Your grace and Your mercies to walk in the way of Your commandments, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Today's sermon is a little bit of a deep dive. We've done these before in the past. It's a little bit more of what's called worldview, all right? And it's important to know what it is that we are to do, what it is that God calls us to believe about the world we live in. And we often have done this when it comes to other things, you know, sexuality and money and things like that. So today we look at civil government. A number of questions as we begin. Because God is our true food, our true drink, does that mean we can reject physical food? Because God is our true wealth, does that mean we should not earn money and save money and be generous? Because God is our Father in heaven, does that then mean we neglect our physical fathers, right? He's our Father in heaven. We don't need to care for our earthly fathers. Because God is the true king, does that then mean there is no place for human government? Does that then mean we reject human kings? Of course, the answer to all of these questions is, of course not. Of course not. Beloved, we may not pit and put in opposition creation and redemption. In the goodness of Christ our Savior, the goodness of creation finds its proper place. Hermann Bavink was a Dutch Reformed Protestant theologian at the turn of the 20th century and he was known for a little phrase that is essentially how we are to view culture as Christians. The phrase is simply, grace restores nature. Grace restores nature. God's grace, God's salvation doesn't replace nature, doesn't replace the creation of goodness that God first created way back in the Garden of Eden. God created all things good. Of course we know that in the span of six days. And of course we know in Genesis 3 that man's sin corrupted all good things. Corrupted all the entire world and introduced man's sin, introduced a new state, a state of misery, a state of death and destruction. And yet, what does Jesus Christ do? What does God's grace do? In salvation, God restores what He first created. As Bovinck would say in his four-volume Dogmatics, Jesus Christ came, paraphrasing 1 John 3, to destroy the works of the devil, not to destroy the works of his father. And so God's grace in redemption restores what God first created, those natural ordinances, and God restores them back to their proper place. So under God, and for his glory, and in stewardship of his kingdom." So what are we talking about here, right? God created marriage, for instance. Sin corrupts marriage, but God restores marriage to its proper place. God created family. Sin corrupts family, but God restores family to its proper place. God created food. He created money. He created sex. And all of these things sin corrupts, But in Jesus Christ, the church, those redeemed of Christ, by Christ, learned to use these stains for God's glory, under His authority, and in stewardship of His kingdom, including civil government. And that's the point here in our text. That in Psalm 72, we see, as we noted last week, the great king, right? We need to know that, of course, there's a lot of language here in our text that cannot be applied merely to a human ruler, right? If it applies to a ruler like Solomon or one of his children, it's pure metaphor, right? There's no way he had comprehensive dominion in the world. And what we noted last week is that really it's the son of David that's being talked about here. Jesus Christ, son of Abraham, son of David, who is the great king. And in this psalm, we see Jesus front and center. But what we also see, and that's what we're going to pick up on today, is we learn what to expect from human kings, from civil government. And civil government learns by looking at this text. how to govern. This is what is known as political theology. Political theology is just a ten cent word that means, what is a just ruler? What is a righteous civil government? Or, to put it differently, how does the absolute kingship of Jesus Christ teach and lead human kings to govern? How does it teach civil government to be? If there was a mayor or a councilman in our midst, and this is one of the prayers, and we'll talk about this as we conclude today later on, but we should pray that God would raise mayors and governors and councilmen and civil leaders from our midst. But suppose Stephen Phillip was here. Suppose Philip Murphy was here. What is God's will for them? Not just in their personal lives, but in terms of their political authority. Beloved, God is not silent on this matter. God clearly speaks about what He requires of civil government. So, with that framework in mind, let's look at five things. Some of these are very interrelated and it's going to sound slightly repetitive, but follow what I say here. Follow what God says. In verse 1, Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son. The first thing we need to note is that God must give his righteousness, his justice, to the king if the king is to be a righteous ruler. Now, this doesn't just mean that rulers must be personally righteous, seek to adhere to God's law, which is, after all, the definition of righteousness. It is that in their official capacity as rulers, they must rule according to God's law. If righteousness is defined by God's law, they, in their personal lives, must seek to obey God's law. But it's not like when they become rulers, they put off God's law and now they follow some other principle. No, God's law leads them in their lives, in the lives of their families, and in their official calling as governors, as mayors, as rulers, as presidents, as cabinet officials. God says in Romans 13 that the civil magistrate has been established and ordained by God. God has installed, in other words, every civil government to do His will. It is when they overstep the bounds of that authority they've been given that they become tyrants, and yet they are called to be reflections, to be ministers, stewards of God. Think of a butler. Think of a servant, right? A butler is sent by the master to do some task and he may not deviate from that task, right? He may not fill that calling with his own opinions and his own interpretation of what he's supposed to do. right? That's what gets us in trouble, beloved, not just in our personal lives, right? When we start adding to God's commandments, when we start becoming wise in our own opinion, in our own wisdom, and it's what gets governments in trouble. When they deviate from what God says in his law. If ministers, if civil government is called by God to reflect God and to do so by ruling righteously, then the king must know what is righteousness. He must, in other words, be familiar with the law of God. He must be, as it were, trained in God's law. Look over at Deuteronomy 17. I go in a little bit more detail in the handout, but let me just read a few verses from Deuteronomy 17. The first thing that Cain is supposed to do, Deuteronomy 17 verse 18, when he ascends the throne, is this. Verse 18, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law approved by the Levitical priests, and it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers. What prevents tyranny? Right? People think, oh, to know the law of God, right? You want to establish a theocracy, right? How oppressive would that be? No, it's actually the opposite. God's law restrains people, restrains the tyrannical impulses of civil governments. That's what God says here. Know the law, that way you may fear God and not have your heart lifted above your brothers. that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children in Israel." The first thing the king is to do is to copy the law under the supervision of the priests in order to have it with him always, to be able to open the law up When he's confronted with an issue, when he doesn't understand what to do, he goes to God's law and there he finds light for his feet and a luminous glory for his path to follow, to read it, to study it always in order to fear God, in order to do God's will. If there is no knowledge of the law, then there can be no faithful reflection of God. And that is what brings about tyranny and every form of wickedness, societally speaking, in our lands. What does God require of civil government? That they receive, verse one, the righteousness and justice of God. Number two, what does God require of civil government? Of presidents, of councilmen, of Mayor Fulop, of Governor Murphy, President Biden, of the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Congress, of state representatives. Verse four, may he defend the cause of the poor, of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor. Verses 12, 13, and 14. We're told that He delivers the needy when He calls the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak, saves the lives of the needy from oppression and violence. He redeems their life and precious is their blood in His sight. God calls rulers to be impartial. That is to say, to not favor one party or another, but rather to be guided by what is right, and what is right is defined by God's law. In order to discern between who is right and who is wrong, in order to punish the wicked, crush the oppressor, and deliver the needy, civil government must have moral integrity and honesty so that civil governors and mayors and civil rulers may not be swayed and influenced by anything except the facts of the case. If a man steals from his neighbor, It doesn't matter that that man is rich and influential in society. It doesn't matter if he's the president of the United States. It doesn't matter if that neighbor is a poor slob. What's right is right, what's wrong is wrong. The man who has stolen, rich and influential as he may be, is in the wrong. You know the story of Ahab? who steals the vineyard of an Israelite. He asked to buy that vineyard. And the man said, no, I won't sell it to you. It's a family heirloom. It's been in our family for generations. It's my property. It's how I get money. It's my livelihood. It's who I am. And Ahab said, please, I'll give you a trillion dollars for it. He said, no. Ahab goes home, he's depressed, he's a very weak effeminate ruler. And they're all like this. He goes to his wife, and his wife Jezebel says, what's the matter with you? Oh, so and so doesn't want to sell me his vineyard. Jezebel says, there's another way to do politics here, Ahab. You're trying to be too honest. You just got to kill him, get rid of him, and then take his property. And that's precisely what Ahab does. And that's precisely why the prophet comes to Ahab and denounces Ahab. It doesn't matter if he's the king. Civil government may not be partial to anyone, may not give favoritism to anyone presenting their case. And this is why, beloved, in God's Word, you always find references to the poor and the needy. Why? Because first of all, you're never going to get rid of poverty. Jesus tells us that you will always have the poor in your midst. But second of all, you always find references to the poor in the land because God leaves the poor in the land as a test to civil government. He wants to say it. He wants to see what are you going to do with the powerless? What are you going to do with those people who can't afford a lawyer? Right? Do the poor and the needy, does the widow, does the fatherless, does the orphan, does the sojourner, do they have a shot at a fair hearing? Do they have a shot at getting their legal claim addressed? Or will the king be inclined to show favoritism to the wealthy, to the lobbyists, to the influential? Now, of course, the flip side is also true. In Leviticus 19.15, Again, it's in your handout. It says, you shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. We can show favoritism to the poor as well. Right? We can say, we're gonna side with the poor simply because they're poor. And God says, uh-uh, you can't do that. You can't show favoritism to either the rich or the poor. You must be guided by my law and by the facts of the case. You must have an equal and fair application of the law. It's clear from scripture that it's not so much that civil government can completely stop bribes and corruption. Alright, we'll get to more on that in a minute. What is the goal? It's never the full eradication of evil. before the coming of Christ. That's not the point though. The point is that civil government, the ruler, the king himself must be incorruptible. He cannot be bought, he cannot be bullied, he cannot be negotiated with. He does not have a price. The king, the just ruler, will do what is right no matter what. And he will faithfully adhere to the law. Now, beloved, in our day, we do not live in a time when there is comprehensive impartiality, fair and equal application of the law. In fact, we see in our day so much partiality and it just, it's astounding. I mean, we're swimming in it. All you need to do is just get off the merry-go-round for a minute and get your bearings, get your senses, and see that this is the case, right? During the lockdowns, what did we see? We saw an unequal partial application of the law, right? Certain businesses were labeled essential, certain businesses were labeled non-essential, right? The big box stores remained open. Uncoincidentally, they also have lobbyists embedded at every layer of government. And why is it that the small business and the worker, right, was kept from opening. Why were they labeled non-essential? It's partiality, favoritism. We also see how regarding immigration, all right, There's a wholesale allowance of immigrants storming the border. Now, hear what I'm saying here. I'm not talking about what our immigration policy should be. That's beside the point. What I'm saying is, if there is a law, apply the law. But immigrants are allowed to enter illegally Why? Because one party thinks that once they allow them in, they'll be able to vote for that party, right? And yet, notice what's happening here. Breaking of the law is allowed. It's okay. Because it's the right kind of immigrant, all right? Or you could look at what happened last year when all these riots across our nation burned businesses, killed civilians, right? And they were never prosecuted. Arsonists, criminals, murderers were never prosecuted. They were never brought to justice. Or if they were imprisoned, The bail requirement was suspended, right? They were imprisoned and then let go. They were released. And yet, trespassers on Capitol Hill on January 6th who were deemed insurrectionists, terrorists, right? They have not had a fair hearing. They're still in solitary confinement, many of them, it is reported. All right? So on the one hand, we let criminals go free. On the other hand, we throw the book at people. So which is it? Right? This is what's called moving the goalposts, right? Do you believe in justice? Good. Then believe in justice across the board, Jesus says. Because short of that, you have injustice. Beloved, when God, when, Let me put it this way. God hates false weights and measures. When you have inequity, when you do not have a fair and equal application of the law, you have literally iniquity. That is what iniquity in the root sense of the word is. In, not, equity. Justice. So no equity. That is what iniquity is. It's not just sin against God. It's depriving your neighbor of what they're owed. Favoring someone else because of money or influence. The law must be applied. The law may not be applied on condition of bribes, manipulation, death threats, right? We have a lot of that going on, right? People who you think they're principled, stand for what's right, but there's a mob that comes to their door and then they're like, oh, you know what? I didn't really believe that principle. I was just, you know, I was just a conservative for a little bit, you know. and they waffle, and they fold over. All right? That is injustice. All right, moving on. A lot to be said for each of these. Number three. Just rulers, God calls them to punish evil, to crush the oppressor, and to uphold the innocent. We read that in verse 4, 12, 13, and 14. The impartial ruler discerns between right and wrong, And after seeing, according to God's word, what's right and what's wrong, punishes wrong and protects right. Has someone stolen? Has someone murdered? Has someone defrauded and cheated their neighbor? Have they failed to take steps to prevent the loss of life? God says they must pay, they must be punished. Calvin says, and I repeat this quote from last week, that sin will prevail under an effeminate and weak magistrate, and even under those who are too gentle and forbearing. This is a big problem, beloved. This is a huge problem in our day. If rulers fail to punish evil, what are they doing? They're allowing evil and they're punishing the innocent, right? And this itself makes the ruler wicked. He may be a nice guy, he may not have killed anyone, but if he lets murderers go free, arsonists go free, what's he doing? He's permitting evil and punishing the innocent, which makes him wicked. The principle of scripture is that you will always get more of what you permit and promote. and less of what you punish and penalize. Parents, you know this, even though you may not articulate it this way, right? By allowing misbehavior and disobedience, you're permitting your child, right, to engage in that, right? If you say, when I count to three, I want you here, right? One, two, three. What you're saying is you're demanding obedience at three, but you're permitting disobedience at one and at two, right? You're letting them do what they want, and then comes a threat which forces them to have outward obedience, but not from the heart. You will get more of what you incentivize and less of what you penalize. Look at Romans 13 to see this more explicit. Romans 13 is the classic text. In the New Testament on civil government here, Paul summarizes very concisely the entirety of the Old Testament teaching on civil government. He says in verse 1, there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. So basically what we've just said, that civil government is a minister of God. They are established by God, instituted by God to reflect God, to do God's will. And what is God's will? Verse 3, for rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain." Rulers bear the sword. This is part and parcel of what it means to be a ruler. This is their prerogative to punish to engage in punitive justice. They are to be those appointed by God as agents of vengeance, verse 4 says, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Alright? And this is, of course, responding To what Paul says elsewhere right in Romans. He says in verse chapter 12 Verse 19 a few verses up. He says beloved never avenge yourselves But leave it to the wrath of God for it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay says the Lord so you personally are not to be a vigilante and You are not authorized, you have not been deputized by God with the sword, unless you are a civil magistrate, a civil ruler. In that case, you have been deputized by God. You have been authorized by God to bear the sword. God carries out His vengeance, His justice, not just immediately, without mediation, but immediately through civil government. Just civil government is to be a deterrent and an avenger of wrong. But what we see in our day is not this at all. There is no sword. The sword has been sheathed. It's been put away. So that civil government is not a terror to bad conduct. That's what Paul says. They are to inflict fear upon evildoers. In our day, what we see is that bad conduct has not been punished, but rather has been incentivized, approved, promoted, and pushed. Why is it? Think about it. Why is it that we have in our day, let's just look at some quick examples, adultery, divorce, single mothers. Why is it that we have abortion? Why is it that homosexuality is rampant, right? Yeah, it's only 1% of the population, but it's 100% of the media. It's 100% of universities. It's 100% of culture. Why is it that we have high taxes and theft and crime and assaults in San Francisco? Did you know that they allow shoplifting up until $1,000? They have minimum thresholds of prosecution. I don't know if you've seen the videos of people just going into stores and grabbing jeans and the workers to stand there because they can't call the police because the police won't arrest these people. Why is it that there's no punishment for certain crimes and certain criminals, Antifa, border crossers, drug use, right? Marijuana is now pushed in our society to, I mean, the absurdity of that. This thing that's a gateway drug. Why is it that we have laziness? Why is it that we have liars in office? Why is it that everything that God says is true has been redefined? Why is it that we have such national debt that will crush our children and their children's children? Why is it that we have wars? Right? It's interesting. Someone said recently that what leaders in our country have done in other countries, What American leaders have done to destabilize other countries, they're doing here, now. They've turned their attention to you, to us. And election is part of that strategy as well, in case you didn't know. Beloved, the sword must be used by the civil government if civil government is to be just. Otherwise, civil government that refuses to use the sword is, by definition, wicked. This, of course, is why there's capital punishment, why there's a death penalty. First of all, Genesis 9, 6, because God said so, whoever sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed because God made man in his image. Is man still made in the image of God? You better believe it. So the death penalty must exist as long as man is made in the image of God. The death penalty says that the life of the victim is in the image of God and though the victim has been murdered God will vindicate his life through the agents of vengeance that God has established, which is government. There are some sins so corrupting in the Old Testament that they are crimes, capital crimes, murder being one of them, others, sodomy, perjury, lying, being a lying witness, idolatry, adultery. They are so gangrenous that They will corrode your society. They will unravel creation. They will forfeit the life of the offender. And the offender must be cut off, lest Israel be cut off. If society does not deal with capital crimes, beloved, there will not be society, any society, in the near future. The government must punish Hebrew, but must Approve what is good. Verse 3 tells us in Romans 13, still here in Romans 13. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good and you will receive his approval. The ruler is to promote what is good. And what is good? I don't know. Whatever I think is good. Whatever I say or whatever I feel is good. Wrong. What is good is God's Word. What God's Word puts forth as what's good. Right? Let's not play dumb. Alright? Government that is just must see that good conduct not be hindered. Yes. I get the argument. You can't legislate morality. Right? What that means is you can't change the heart. I get it. And God says, of course, of course, he's the one who changes the heart. But government is called to get out of the way and not become part of the problem by approving evil. Rather, they are to approve what is good. marriage between one man and one woman for life, children, families, big families, loyalty to country, home ownership, starting a business, the worship of God, the church being able to assemble freely, law and order, civil security, dwelling in safety and in peace. And we need to understand the role of government here. The role of government is not to give rights and create rights. When people start demanding rights, all of a sudden, in the last 70 years, we started demanding rights. You need to realize that what they're demanding is favoritism, partiality. Righteous government doesn't make rights. Righteous government recognizes God-given rights and protects them. So in other words, and I don't want to get into political theory here, righteous government is negatively conceived, right? They don't give rights, they are to get out of the way. and protect the rights that God has given. That's why government isn't called to be your teacher, your educator, your doctor, to give you health care, your employer. People often ask these candidates during these debates, how many businesses have you started? Wrong question. I hope they didn't start any business because that's not the job of government. Right? In other words, we are to pray 1 Timothy 2, 2, offering supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for kings and all who are in high positions. Why does God tell us to pray for them? What tells us right after? To what end? So that the church can live a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. Why do we pray for kings and civil government? so that they can leave us alone so that civil rulers can leave the church alone so that the church can go about its calling in peace and in quiet godly and dignified in every way so government should punish what's evil, but should incentivize right behavior and righteousness. You can't stop murder completely. But you know what government can do? They can prosecute the murder of the unborn. They can refuse to license doctors who murder. They can prohibit the normalization of an entire industry built on murder. You can't ever stop prostitution and sexual immorality, all right? And you see that even in ancient Israel. But you know what government can do? They can prevent smut from being printed online. They can criminalize immoral behavior and conduct. They can disincentivize promiscuity. No welfare for promiscuity. You can't force people to go to worship, but you know what you can do? You can have commerce closed on Sundays. And how many of us, how many of us struggle, right? Because our employers call us to work, right? What a joy to know that the government has sided with God. You don't need to go to work on Sunday, right? It's closed. Go to worship, rest. You can't make people industrious and hardworking You know what government can do? They can patrol the streets and their cities to ensure reasonable safety so businesses will want to open and hire residents. You can prosecute those who destroy business and property. You can not lock down the economy, right? Oh, so many people unemployed. What are we going to do about it? Don't lock down the economy. Let people work. Don't label businesses essential, non-essential. Don't be partial. You can't make parents good parents, but you know what you could do? You can start by not stripping away parental authority with government schools that take away decision-making power from parents. If you send your child to government school, you have no part, you have no power in the curriculum your child will learn at all. And government schools make parents lazy because they override parental values and parental authority. Let's put a bow on that point. Alright, let's move on because there's more to be said. Fourthly, quickly, a just king, back to Psalm 72, a just king is life-giving. We see this in verse three. Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people of the hills in righteousness. Verse six and seven. May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In his days may the righteous flourish. You see this in verse 16. May there be abundance of grain in the land on the tops of the mountains, may it wave, and so on and so forth. Creation, life, under civil government that is righteous, Life flourishes. Life as God ordained it to be flourishes. The righteous flourish. The righteous love civil government. Under a righteous ruler, all the things, all the right things. Listen, there's no perfection. Let's not confuse ourselves. There's no utopia here on earth. You can have things though that are better, that are good and better. You can have things that are bad and worse. But under a righteous ruler, all the right things are developing, they're widely embraced, and it's publicly embraced. And under a righteous king, you're never going to get rid of sin and crime, but all of the wrong things are in the closet. And they're rejected and mocked as defined by God's law. Listen, you're never going to get rid of the closet, You're never going to get rid of the queer. That's not the goal before the return of Christ, the full eradication of evil. The goal before the return of Christ is the proper evaluation of evil. Calling evil, evil. Calling good, good. Evil must be properly named, called out, and punished. And this is part of Adam's call in the garden. God told Adam, name the animals and he brought all the animals to Adam so that Adam could name them. He would look at their nature and name them properly. And in Christ we are restored to that Adamic vocation to see evil and say, ah, no, no, this is evil. This is wicked. And we are to see good and say, ah, this is good. This actually creates the conditions of flourishing and prosperity. Evil should be properly named, good should be properly named, recognized, promoted, and rewarded. When civil government is righteous, It's life-giving. It's recovering something of the Garden of Eden, paradise. And it's looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth, 2 Peter 2.13, where in righteousness dwells. But when a ruler is unjust, he's only furthering the fall of man, doubling down in his misery and rebellion to God, and he is preventing people from fulfilling their obligation to God. Alright, last point before we conclude. Verse 17, 18, and 19, it's in the background, it's implicit, but I want to make it explicit. We're told there, may his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen. The fifth point. civil government that is just and righteous will lead people to worship the one true living God. We're told here that because of the great king, nations come to praise Yahweh. It's not that government is going to conscript people and force them to church, right? Whatever caricature that is. It's that when government gets out of the way, people were not fulfilled in government. When government is righteous, then the citizens learn to yearn for something beyond the human realm. They begin to yearn for God himself, a yearning that's already inborn in every man, woman, and child that's been placed there by God. When just rulers get out of the way so that He is not putting himself in front of others as the object of their worship, and he's not putting idols in front of the people as the objects of their worship. When just rulers readily, cheerfully, continually confess that they rely on the blessing of God, they will lead people to know God indirectly. Think of a few biblical examples, negatively and positively. Think of Pharaoh. Pharaoh was unjust. Why? Pharaoh was a wicked ruler. Why? Among many reasons, because he hindered the worship of God. Moses, God said through his servant Moses, let my people go that they may worship me. And Pharaoh says no, and opposes God and opposes the worship of God. He hinders the worship of God. But just government helps the worship of God. Think of Cyrus in the post-exilic time, who was a Persian king. Cyrus is called Avid Adonai in Hebrew, the servant of the Lord. What a title! Why? Because he himself was a believer? Maybe, maybe not. We don't know. But objectively, because Cyrus allows the building of the temple to begin. And he sends back God's people to Israel, to the land of Canaan. And he sends them back with supplies, not empty-handed. And in this, he helps the worship of God. In Isaiah 49-23, we're told that kings shall be the foster fathers of Israel, and queens their nursing mothers. Righteous government is to be the nursing father and mother to the church, nurturing the church, being a guardian of Christendom, guarding the gates from barbarian invasions. Civil government, in other words, leads to the worship of the one true living God. Civil government that is just, in other words, to give a few examples. must defend the conscience of businesses that refuse to celebrate or normalize sodomy and transgression. Civil government that is just must defend the right of Christian parents to homeschool, the right of Christian schools to hire their own staff. Civil government that is just must prohibit vaccine passports because they violate the first commandment. They must prohibit commerce on Sunday because they violate the fourth commandment. civil government that is just and righteous must not actively work against the church nor the truth of God's word. In other words, civil government that is righteous must be on the one hand impartial, but may not be neutral. And there's a difference. To be neutral says all religions are the same, right? We want to be principled pluralists. First of all, No. And second of all, not all religious expressions are equally valid. Civil government that is righteous must favor the Christian faith. Why? Because God doesn't believe in neutrality. Because God is not an atheist. Because God sent his son to live perfectly, in perfect obedience. He sent His Son to be crucified in perfect obedience for our sin. He raised His Son from the dead. He raised His Son to heaven. He seated His Son at His right hand. And He crowned His Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, the King over all. So God is not an atheist. God believes in God. And why is it, beloved, that the American church, perhaps even us here today, We exalt the myth of neutrality, the separation of government from God, and God from the state, as if this were possible. Some religion will always be worshipped, some religion will always be exalted, and if it's not the Christian faith, it will be a pagan faith, which is what we see in our day. Why don't we understand that the greatest good in society is not this myth of neutrality. It's godly virtue. It's the fear of the Lord. Because God is holy and righteous. God establishes civil government as ministers to represent him. And beloved, here's the great thing. That as the Christian faith is protected and promoted, not only will it go well with the church, it will go well for all of society, right? It's not just the church that benefits when murderers are put to death. It's not just the church that benefits when businesses are protected, when there's a fear among the wicked of punishment that may come if they do XYZ crime. It will go well, not only with the church, but with all of society. And do you see the point here? The point is that the Law of God is really good. The Law of God is our life and our length of days. And it's not just good for Israel, it's good for the world. It was given to Israel, but it was given to Israel so that she could model, she could be a miniature of what the world was to be. The Law of God, the Word of God, the Will of God. heals us, makes us whole, brings us back to God, restores us to our true purpose. The law of God doesn't make us less human. It makes us more human. Sin dehumanizes us, but God rescues us. More could be said, but let's wrap it up. What are some takeaways here? What is the goal for the Christian? It's not revolution. It's not to fight this battle with with the sword. That's part of your calling if you are a civil governor, a civil authority. But short of that, The goal is regeneration and not revolution, as RJ Rushdini would say. And what does this then push us to? This pushes us really to evangelize, doesn't it? This pushes us to preach to the lost, to see that they would find Christ, the true King of Kings, and to train those who have been found. The great paradox of what we've been talking about here is that no man is to trust human authority to fulfill what God says only he can do, which is to establish his kingdom of eternal peace. No one can bring about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is brought about by God. Thy kingdom come is a prayer we pray to God, not to any civil authority. Why? Because only God can bring the kingdom, his kingdom, the only kingdom worth belonging to. And yet, At one and the same time, all civil authorities must know what God expects of them. And all authorities, because their authority is given to them by God, must strive for the righteousness of the law of God. And the church is here to tell them how to do it. And the church is here to tell them to seek their salvation, not in what they can do, But in Christ Jesus, the King of Kings, alone. That's the first point. The goal is not revolution, but regeneration. A new heavens and a new earth. New people, a new mankind. But secondly, we need to pray. We need to pray for the lost, but also pray that God may raise up men from our midst to be mayors. to be governors, some of our young boys, to be judges, to be police chiefs, to be lawyers, to be cabinet officials, to be civil rulers who use power the right way for the advancement of the kingdom of God and for true righteousness. And then thirdly, if we are to hold our civil government accountable, we need to hold ourselves accountable as well. Right? We need to walk in righteousness. We must live righteously now. God blesses His work of righteousness in you. And what is His work? To make you the preserving agent of true humanity, the salt of the earth, the preserving agent of goodness, of God's truth, of righteousness, of civility, and order in society. When people look at the church, they should be able to look at what a righteous society looks like. When they look at this church, this church is a mini society. When they look at your family, they should see a mini society built on the cornerstone of righteousness, of God's law. Live, beloved. Live according to the righteous law of God. In your home, with your spouse, in dealings at work, at school, and especially in your neighborhoods, that all of our relationships would be guided by the law of God. And let me tell you, it's not hard. It's easy. It's a long-term work, but the beginning steps are basic and easy. And can I just mention to you that godly men and fathers are indispensable in maintaining order and righteousness in society. I've seen this time and again. I take my sons to the park. And I'm just there, unembarrassed, not apologetic, and I'm a man. I'm not particularly muscularly strong, but men are a sign of strength regardless of what they are. And what happens? Right? Immediately, you know, the boyfriend and girlfriend in the corner of the park copping a feel. They disperse, right? People who are engaged in some nefarious shadowy activity are exposed, right? We're just playing catch. We're just playing pick-up ball. And all of a sudden, right, the shadowy elements want to relocate somewhere else. The elderly who are going out for a walk, are reassured because they know it's safe because there's a man there with his sons. And mothers with small children in the playground are reassured because they see a man with his sons, a protector is nearby. And this is all it takes. This is it, right? When you see unrighteousness on the checkout line, when you see mistreatment, what do you do about it, right? It's not time to call Governor Murphy to come down and do something. You're there. What are you doing about it? As a man, as a Christian man, as a Christian woman, as a teenager who is devoted to Christ, beloved, we must hold ourselves to God's righteous standards. And finally, we must hold our leaders accountable to God's righteous standards. Because, beloved, this is what He expects. This is good and pleasing in His sight. And may God give us strength and resolve and courage to live for Him now and forever. Amen? Let's pray. Our Father and our God, Help us to trust You. Help us to believe Your Word. Help us to know that Your law is good. It's righteous. Father, it's the way of life in Christ. The law did condemn us. And Father, to be sure, we are condemned when we live unrighteously and in our sins. But Father, do forgive us. Father, help us to be assured of your pardon and of your love, but Father, more than this, help us to build on the assurance of the gospel, that you are with us, that Father, we would build, Father, and invest and advance, Father, whatever corner of the kingdom you've placed us in for your glory and honor. Father, as men, as women, as young men, as young women, Father, we all need to learn your law, we all need to learn, Father, what it is that you expect of us. So, Father, help us in this regard, help us, Father, to see even from our own midst, leaders in civil government, civil authorities, Father, men and women here, but especially the men, Father, to rule justly with the fear of the Lord, that, Lord, it would be due and light upon this populace. We ask, Father, that we would see this in our own day even. In Jesus' name, amen.