God and government. I'm going to be so audacious today as to aspire to fulfill something of the subtitle of this sermon. God's evaluation of America's general election. And I can feel the lightning bolts already. By the way, part of the reason that I decided to do this is because I'm an American, because we have the privilege of exercising First Amendment rights to speak truth to one another, and by the way, to speak truth to those who seem all powerful in our eyes. The title today is God and Government. This will be a first of several sermons that I hope will link together. and that will be helpful for us as we live and in some cases endure the general election in which we find ourselves right now. Friends, it is a key time for we the people of the United States of America. We ought to pause and take stock of our national identity, to consider who we truly are as a body politic, and what we are trying to accomplish. In just over eight weeks, America will collectively select her next president, plus a variety of lesser officers to represent us in national, state, and local offices. During this election season, it is my intention to survey what the Holy Scriptures have to teach us about government. Friends, I want to ask us today, how's come when we use the word government, our minds immediately go to Washington DC? There was a day when we didn't even speak of government or government was what we did. Self-government, family government. community government, school government, government of various voluntary government of various sectors of the economy. But the federal government had one job. Go back and look at the United States Constitution. I'm not going to go into details because I'm not interested in this becoming a partisan sermon. But look at what the United States Constitution gives to the federal government as one of its primary jobs. During this election season, it is my intention to survey what the Holy Scriptures have to teach us about governments, including family, church, and self-government. Friends, the divine tidings to those who govern wickedly are terrible. The Bible heaps up threats against those who would resist the Lord, resist His anointed. In addition, though, there are tremendous comforts for those who would, in a sense, unplug from the churnings of the political machine and submit themselves to the eternal reign of Jesus Christ. The heat of our nation's general election is upon us. as it has been every four years since 1789. That was the year that the United States Constitution came into force. It was partway through President George Washington's first of two terms. And I would remind us that this has been sort of a cycle for us as a nation ever since then. We live under the parameters and under the structure that was set by the United States Constitution. In the midst of overheated political rhetoric, remember that raging nations are nothing new, nor are they the slightest bit disturbing to our laughing, derisive God. We can have hope because God governs in the affairs of men and will bless those who take refuge in him. Today we begin our study about civil government by turning our attention to Psalm 2. This is one of the two unique Psalms that open the Divine Hymn Book. Though technically this Psalm is part of Book 1 of the Psalter, scholars have long noted that Psalms 1 and 2 are anonymous, providing an introduction to the Psalter as a whole. Almost the whole remainder of Book 1 is made up of Psalms of David. David wrote the vast majority of Book 1 of the Psalter. But Psalms 1 and 2 are exceptions, standing as a preface or a thematic introduction to the Psalter. One scholar notes that these Psalms, quote, stand like a gateway to a sanctuary. The theme of kingship pervades Psalm 2, giving the overall message of the book The Lord reigns." This psalm ought to grip the conscience of every American during this election season. It ought to humble our national pride. It ought to give the political parties pause in how they do what they're trying to do. In a sense, Psalm 2 is a shot across the bow of our lumbering ship of state. It ought to assure us of God's absolute sovereignty in the affairs of men and over the affairs of this nation. It ought to point us with crystal clarity to Jesus Christ, the king whom God has set upon Mount Zion. And it ought to call us to repent of our secular arrogance and moral apathy, compelling us to collectively bow the knee to Jesus Christ. Our first point then today, number one, is that our rebellious nation joins Israel's neighbors in raging against the revealed will of the one true God and of His Christ. Now, this first point may ruffle some feathers. Specifically, I have in mind those who would emphasize the conservative tradition of, quote, American exceptionalism. Surely, one might say, we are a city on a hill. The envy of the nations are not many people seeking to immigrate to our nation. We are a nation with God's unique blessing, are we not? Surely, we are not just one other nation alongside puny ones like Philistia or Moab or Egypt. Surely, we are more enlightened than they. Friends, may I politely challenge you and ask bluntly, are we really more enlightened? Does not the United States, in fact, rage against Christ? Plotting worldwide the advancement of secularism and squeezing, subtly squeezing a biblical worldview from the public national dialogue. I need only say a few words to point out a truly regressive agenda. Abortion. Nation building. National debt. Gender fluidity. Obergefell versus Hodges. Obamacare. The Environmental Protection Agency. Believe me, I went through my list carefully. And I want you to note that I'm not playing any sort of partisan game here. I want you to think about what God is seeing in all the parties in our nation. In fact, the way that we do the political process at this point in our nation. Are we not in all our counseling together, as verse two says, taking counsel against Christ and against the acknowledgement of God in our land? Are we not intent on bursting the bonds of religion and morality from our collective consciousness, reducing these vital elements of a Christian nation to mere personal opinions? Friends, the one true God reigns over us, and he would have us acknowledge the truth, placing the common sense bonds of revealed religion and the chords of his moral law upon our land. But we will have none of it, for we collectively have forgotten God. But second, in this miserable state we can find comfort. For number two, God's kingship is in no way threatened by rebellion. In his wrath, he appoints his own king, setting him into history on Zion. Setting him into history on Zion. Verses 4 through 6 move our eyes away from the feverish activism and political posturings of national elections. They direct our hearts instead to the quiet, somber, and rational activity of the heavenly places. The mindless propaganda of spin rooms and of, quote, the mainstream media have no place in the councils of heaven. In this place, we see the Creator God seated upon His eternal throne. And notice, we do not find Him quaking. We do not find Him bargaining or posturing. No, we find Him laughing. Now, this is not some humorous laugh, but a derisive laugh. Notice the word there is right in the ESV, the Lord holds them in derision. Now my question today that I'd like to invite you to wrestle with me about is this question, how is it that a holy, holy, holy God does something derisively? This word that's translated here is other places translated as mock or scorn or deride. This is the same word used in Psalm 22 to describe those who mock or deride Christ. This word is used nearly 30 times in the Bible and it denotes a reaction of contempt. This is the laugh that God gives to idolaters who would pretend to be gods. Thus we can say with confidence that God's deriding laugh is a holy laugh that exposes the pretenses of man. As the Incredible Hulk notes in a recent superhero movie, humans are puny gods. But listen, friends, to the word of the Lord as He speaks. In His wrath, He does not, at least not yet, cast wicked nations into the lake of fire. Rather, He asserts with holy authority that He has set or installed His own king on Mount Zion, My holy hill. Now Mount Zion is the location of the temple, the worship center planned by David, erected by Solomon, rebuilt by Zerubbabel, and then expanded much later by King Herod. It was this magnificent structure that Malachi prophesied about when he said in Malachi 3.1, the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. It was in this house on Mount Zion, as Greeks came to see Jesus, that Jesus prayed, Father, glorify your name. And at that moment, the divine voice came thundering forth from the heavens. I have glorified it and will glorify it again. A very short time after this, Jesus said, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. And the temple that he spoke of was the temple of his body. Do you see God's patient and resolute response to foolish nations? He doesn't pound his chest. He doesn't threaten devastation. He does not undo his creation by imposing his will. Rather, he quietly warns that his king is coming. Certainly in the immediate context of Psalm 2, we need to see David or Solomon and their descendants as the immediate fulfillment of these words. Make no mistake, the Israelite monarchy was God's monarchy in that time, an imperfect means he would use during that time to guide the nations. But God's true King does not reign for a few years or decades. His reign is not susceptible to a coup or to domination by a superpower as Israel was again and again. No, God's true King is Jesus Christ, the Lord. He has indeed been set upon God's holy hill in Zion at a time in history Friends, we need to see God's reign over the nations. This leads us then to the third point this morning. The Lord's Son possesses America and all the earth. He brings His rod and judgment upon those who reject or ignore Him. Friends, we need to see in verses 7 through 9 that now we have the words of Christ Notice the Lord said to me, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Notice that the son now is speaking, the one who is called the son. Now, again, there's a sense in which those of the Davidic dynasty fulfilled these words. But notice that the word son is capitalized, and this is really in many ways the pivot point upon which the whole new covenant turns. As now this one comes in the name of the Lord, and now he is the son, and he refers to God again and again as his father. God the Father Himself is speaking prophetically a word called the decree. He speaks of the eternal generation of His Son, as well as His invitation to the Son to ask for the nations and for the ends of the earth. We know for a fact that Psalm 2 9 intrigued the Apostle John. In the book of Revelation, The Apostle John referred to verse 9 no less than three times. He did so by lifting this phrase in verse 9, a rod of iron, and placing it into key parts of his vision in Revelation. We know this, for nowhere else in Scripture does this phrase appear. You might jot these references down and look at them later on your own. Revelation 2.27. Revelation 12, 5, and Revelation 19, 15. We've read these passages today, and they contain vivid imagery depicting how the apostles understood Jesus' reign, perhaps as present, perhaps as future, but as the fulfillment of Psalm 2 and verse 9. Friends, do you see the brokenness around us? It is not as though Christ must somehow destroy us. Oh no, sin itself will do that. But what Christ must do, and indeed what Christ is doing in our midst, even as we speak, is, as Romans 1 declares, to give us over to the deadening and destructive power of sin. Friends, look around at our broken society. Look at our broken government. Look at our broken political system. Look at our broken justice system. Look at our broken streets. Look at our broken families. Friends, does your heart break when you see that we, as a nation, have forgotten the one who is our lawgiver and our king and our judge? In fact, we're so broken that we cannot see clearly that Jesus Christ is the ground and foundation of truly transformative and rational thought. This is why John 1.1 says, In the beginning was the logos. This word in other places in Greek literature is translated logic. In the beginning was the logic. The logic was with God. The logic was God. The logic became flesh. Friends, when we abandon an ultimate and transcendent reference point, we abandon classic logic. And the result is devastating, as we see in our political conversations. We have sought as a nation to unplug from any truly evangelical public conversation. And then we're shocked when any true moral fiber or true hope about the future disappears into thin air. One of the numbers that I have never heard spoken of in the press is to go and interview people who do not vote and to ask them why they do not vote. What percentage of those who refrain from voting do so on the basis of principle and what percentage do so on the basis of apathy? Friends, do we see? The voter turnout is plummeting in our nation, that there truly is a crisis of legitimacy, that we do not have God operating through wise and godly and righteous people in our government. We have the assertion of raw political power through propaganda. Do you see where we are as a nation? Friends, we must repent. I'm reminded. The Continental Congress is our constitution was being drafted of a very profound speech. You can find this various places on the Internet from Dr. Benjamin Franklin. I don't think he was an evangelical Christian. But he said. That after 81 years of living, I see that God governs in the affairs of men. As Dr. Franklin was leaving after the conclusion of those proceedings, someone came up and said, Dr. Franklin, do we have a republic or do we have a democracy? Benjamin Franklin turned and looked at this person and said, you have a republic if you can keep it. Friends, consider where we are in terms of the sweep of our political history. Consider. the nature of your conversations? Do you shoot arrows at the other side on Facebook or on the internet? Have you given up and simply thrown up your hands and said, well, they're all a bunch of crooks? Or do you see God governing in the affairs of men? This leads us to the fourth point. Our Christian duty during an election season. Number four, pray for the conversion of your nation and for her leaders. Lead your heart and home to kiss the Messiah, not politicians. One of the wonderful features of Psalm 2 is that it bridges the chasm between heaven's big picture and earth's practicalities. The final three verses of this Psalm, verses 10 through 12, in a sense, land the plane with direct applications. And oh, what direct applications they are. The Church of Christ is here given gospel ammunition with which to address the arrogant kings and rulers of the earth. Look, it's a direct address. O kings, be wise. Do you see wisdom being manifested in the political process today? Where is the voice of the church saying, O kings, O presidential candidates, be wise about basic disciplines of government. Be warned, O rulers of the earth, you who would grind the poor. under your perpetual oligarchy. The church is given gospel ammunition. It is scriptures such as these that ought to motivate the church in her prophetic function in the capitals and in the local assembly rooms of the nation. Pray for those who are laboring to bring the voice of a Christian conscience in the United States Capitol building. and in the White House. These verses teach us three things briefly in closing. First, they teach us that rulers are accountable. We do not need to come trembling on our knees before the apparent power of the ruling elites. They are accountable to us, and ultimately, they will be accountable to God. God delights in overthrowing the foolish plans of kings and princes. Second, these verses teach us that rulers must submit to Christ. This is where our nation has not shown ourselves willing to come under the power of our God. We say on our coins, in God we trust, but do we trust Him? Do we trust His anointed One? We have shuffled the ultimate authority of God off of the national stage and are now shocked when we face a crisis of legitimacy in our own general election. Thirdly, these verses teach us positively that security and serenity, or what the Bible calls blessing, is available to those not who get their candidate into office, but for those who take refuge in the Messiah, in the Son of God Himself. Have you taken refuge in Christ? If not, I would invite you to repent of your sins and to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, to turn away from your own political agenda and to follow Christ's political agenda. So secondly, and in closing, have you taken refuge in Christ during this present election season? If not, then I would invite you to once again focus upon the eternal rational counsels of heaven. I would invite you to unplug from the endless torrent of propaganda that is currently tearing at our moral fabric as a nation. Let's agree together that we will not trust presidents, that both the Democratic and the Republican Party and all the third parties have all put forward sinners who are not, I repeat, not able to solve the problems of our nation. For dear friends, these are spiritual problems of a most serious and urgent nature. Let us together choose not to trust their promises, but instead to entrust ourselves rigorously to the king who rules in the midst of his enemies. Politicians will not solve our problems because our problems are primarily spiritual problems. Instead, we need to seek the mind of the reigning Christ, whom God the Father has installed. We need to seek his holy will as it is revealed in the scriptures. In the weeks to come, it is to this task that we shall turn. Let us pray. Lord our God, how we thank you that you are a great and mighty king. We thank You, Lord, that though we cannot yet see Your reign, that it is real. Lord, that Your kingdom has indeed been inaugurated because the King has come. That Lord, upon His ascension, that He was given a kingdom. that all peoples, nations, and languages might serve him. Truly, O Lord, we confess with the prophet Daniel that this kingdom is an everlasting kingdom which shall not be destroyed. And therefore, Lord, we come to this matter of selecting leaders, not in despair, but in hope. We come, Lord, with the terrible reminders of the judgment that awaits those who would reign apart from truth and apart from Christ. And, Lord, we would come as well with the hope that is promised here, that our well-being is not ultimately dependent upon who inhabits various offices in our republic. Lord, truly, it is dependent upon our relationship to the one who reigns over both the church and over the nations, even Jesus our Lord. Father, grant us the grace that as we hear, that as we wrestle with important policy questions, Lord, that as we will ourselves wrestle in weeks to come with this matter of what does it mean to cast a vote, for this or that political candidate. Lord, grant us wisdom that we might live our lives according to conscience, based upon the eternal light of the Word of God. We'll give you thanks for it in Jesus' name. Amen.