Election

Volume 2, Number 31

… the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes, and sets over it the lowliest of men. (Dan 4:17)[1]

… there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. (Rom 13:1)

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, America will have a new President Elect. If one gives any credence to the promulgation of the liberal media, Barack Hussein Obama will be our next President. This heretofore unknown is, in the words of one, “an eloquently tailored empty suit. No resume, no accomplishments, no experience, no original ideas, no understanding of how the economy works, no understanding of how the world works, nothing but abstract, empty rhetoric devoid of real substance.”[2] He claims Christianity for political expediency having sat for over twenty years at the feet of Jeremiah Wright, a far left wing social extremist fully indoctrinated in the religion of black liberation theology. Obama is in league with the likes of Bill Ayers, Nadhama Auchi, Louis Farrakhan, Tony Rezko, Moussa Marzook (author of the Hamas manifesto), James T. Meeks (another Black Liberation Theology preacher) and the list goes on. Senator Obama, who is sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and who will be required to take an oath to that effect when he is sworn in as President, views the Constitution as “fatally flawed” in that “it is a charter of negative liberties that says what the states can’t do to you, says what the federal government can’t do to you, but it doesn’t say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf.”[3] This was in the context of the courts’ limitations with respect to redistribution of wealth, a Marxist idea contrary to the ideals and individual liberties secured by the Constitution of the United States.

I could say more, but my purpose here is not to make a political statement, but rather to proclaim a great biblical truth in order to diffuse the ominous spectre of the dissolution of our nation. From the founding of our great country, God has reigned supreme in our land. He is, in the words of the great American hymn, “Great God, our King.”[4] It is God who establishes and deposes rulers. Throughout history, rulers, both good and evil, were put in place by God. Some, like Nebuchadnezzar, were set up to punish God’s people for their rebellion. Others, like Cyrus, were established to bless God’s people and dispense His mercy upon them. The book of Proverbs tells us, “The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Prov 21:1) Men may think they are in control, but it is God who is ultimately in charge of events here on earth. “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings …” (Dan 2:21)


God has blessed the United States of America solely because our nation was dedicated to Him from its inception. The psalmist says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.” (Ps 33:12) It should be intuitively obvious to the most casual observer that this is true. One just has to look at the nations of the world, see who or what they worship, and note their economic and social condition. Until very recently, our country claimed God as provider and protector, and Christianity as our national religion. I still recall within my lifetime that morning routines in elementary school consisted of the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States, a daily Bible reading and a prayer. Those days are long gone. We have despised the LORD our God. We have spat in His face. We have thrown Him out of our schools and ejected His laws from the courts of our land. Now God says, “Where now is your king that he may save you in all your cities, and your judges of whom you requested, ‘Give me a king and princes’? I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath. (Hos 13:10-11) Should not God give our nation what we deserve? “‘For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,’ declares the LORD; ‘but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another's power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.’” (Zech 11:6)

We, as a nation, stand in the face of God’s judgment. We must therefore plead for His mercy. We may cast our vote, but this is God’s election. If Barack Hussein Obama becomes our President, it may well be the judgment of God upon our nation. Even so, as the proverb says, “The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Prov 21:1) We, as God’s people, must fall on our faces before God, willing to submit to His perfect will, but pleading for mercy in His will. Whether Obama or McCain is elected, it is urgent “that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” (1 Tim 2:1-3) Remember, it is your vote, but it is God’s election.


My country ‘tis of thee, Sweet land of Liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountainside let freedom ring.

My native country, thee, land of the noble free, thy name I love:
I live thy rocks and rill, thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

Let music swell the breeze, and ring from all the trees sweet freedom’s song.
Let mortal tongues awake, let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.

Our fathers’ God, to Thee, Author of liberty, to Thee we sing:
Long may our land be bright with freedoms’ holy light;
Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King.[5]


It may be God’s election, but the vote is your responsibility.

Notes:
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are taken from THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE UPDATE. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, by The Lockman Foundation.
[2] Dr. Jack Wheeler http://www.tothepointnews.com/content/view/3227/44/
[3] Barack Obama, 2001 interview with WBEZ 91.5 FM in Chicago.
[4] Smith, Samuel F. (1808-1895), “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.”
[5] Smith, Samuel F. (1808-1895), “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,” The Baptist Hymnal, (Nashville, Convention Press, 1991), Hymn 634.