3,000-year-old Election Commentary

Some of you may be pleased with the results of this past Tuesday’s election.

Others reading this may be disappointed.

It turns out that there is a Bible verse that is good and timely for both groups, whether the election fell your way or not.

Psalm 146:3-5 reads: Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation… Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever.

We really need to remember those words for both our personal sanity and to keep our proper perspective as Christians, no matter who sits in the Governor’s office or the Oval office.

Unlike our many television and print pundits, Psalm 146 doesn’t criticize or condemn political leaders. Rather, it criticizes and condemns us for our sinful tendency to expect more from political leaders and government institutions than God designed for them to do.

Psalm 146 reminds those who were on the winning side of the election this past week… when your political knight in shining armor wins and ascends his earthly throne, beware — you can be sure there are going to be chinks in that armor. He can make all the best plans, but sometimes they fail and fail miserably.

Even the best rulers will at times have broken promises, disappointing developments and revelations. Why? Because behind all that shining armor is a frail, fallible, sinful human being… just like you and me.

And when your favored ‘prince’ or party or platform loses — beware of despair. Because it’s a sign of misplaced trust. Let’s read that verse once more:

“Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save.”

The truth is that Psalm 146 isn’t really about politics or political leaders at all. It’s about the God of the Bible.

Psalm 146 is just ten verses long and it describes the great and wonderful things that the Lord our God does. And when you read it, it reads like a summary of Jesus’ ministry.

It talks about God executing justice for the oppressed: Well Jesus did that in his ministry, going about healing all who were oppressed, quite a number by demon possession.

Psalm 146 talks about God feeding the hungry. Jesus provided food for 5,00 and 4,000… He gave food to the hungry — and He still does… food that will never perish, food that always satisfies, food that doesn’t cost a dime, but it did cost Jesus His life.

The Psalm talks about God setting the prisoners free. When Jesus gets invited to preach in the synagogue in his hometown, they hand him the scroll of Isaiah that talks about the Messiah who would come to set prisoners free. And Jesus basically says, “Yep, that’s me. Today this has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

The point is this. No government, no politician, no program will ever give you the kind of freedom that Jesus Christ offers: freedom from guilt, freedom from fear, freedom from death.

Jesus opened the eyes of the blind — and He still does open the eyes of the spiritually blind with amazing grace. Jesus lifted up those who were bowed down to the ground — flat out of hope, flat out of help, broken, crushed, at the very bottom of rock bottom.

For some reason, Jesus was strangely attracted to people like that — and He still is. For He still says: ‘Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’

Jesus cared about the alien and the sojourner in a way that far transcends any immigration plan or policy — and He still does, praise God: for we are all strangers and sojourners here, on our way home to the Promised Land.

Jesus cared about poor widows long before any form of ‘social security’ or ‘Medicare’ — and He still cares for them today, and commands each of us to do the same.

Jesus cared about the fatherless, the orphans, the most helpless members of society — He took little children in His arms and blessed them, not as part of a campaign photo-op, but as an opportunity to show us what God is really like: a God who loves and blesses babies and welcomes them into His kingdom; a God who actually became a baby; a God who says we must all become like babies, like children, if we really want to know Him and live with Him forever.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul!” is the way Psalm 146 begins.

And we can praise Him, no matter what happened in this past week’s election or what happens in the next election.

Good, bad or indifferent; right, left or center; in the red states or the blue states…

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever.’ Psalm 146:5

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