Dr Greg Bahnsen - Proverbs: Proverbs 14:28, 35 (Political Wisdom Part 2) (Part 67)

Please turn with me in God's word this morning for our Old Testament reading to the Book of Proverbs, where I'd like to go through a series of selections from Proverbs, the basis of our exposition on political wisdom, the duty of rulers, and our duty to them according to the Book of Proverbs, and I will announce each of the passages so we can turn through together, and then we'll turn in the New Testament to 1 Peter, chapter 2. But beginning in the Old Testament at Proverbs the 14th chapter, verses 28 and 35. Hear now God's word in the multitude of people is the king's glory but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince. Verse 35 says, the king's favor is toward a servant that deals wisely, but his wrath will be against him who causes shame. Proverbs 16:10 15 A divine sentence is in the lips of the king his mouth shall not transgress in judgment a just balance and scales are Jehovah's all the weights of the bag are his work. It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness, for the throne is established by righteousness. Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and they love them that speak right. The wrath of a king is as messengers of death but a wise man will pacify it in the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain. Proverbs 17:7 Excellent speech becomes not a fool much less do lying lips a prince. Proverbs 19:12 the King's wrath is as the roaring of a lion, but his favor is as dew upon the grass. Proverbs the 22 the terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion he that provokes him to anger sins against his own life. Verse 8 A king that sits on the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes. Verse 26 A wise king winnows the wicked, and brings the threshing wheel over them. Verse 28 kindness and truth preserve the king, and his throne is upholden by kindness. Proverbs 24 at the 21st my son, fear thou Jehovah and the king, and company not with them that are given to change, for their calamity shall rise suddenly, and the destruction from them both who knoweth it? These also are sayings of the wise to have respect of persons in judgment is not good. He that saith unto the wicked, thou art righteous people shall curse him nations shall abhor him but to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them. Proverbs 25. The first five verses. These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied out. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable. Take away the dross from the silver, and there comes forth a vessel for the refiner. Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness. Proverbs 28:2. For the transgression of a land, many are the princes thereof. But by men of understanding and knowledge, the state thereof, or the stability thereof shall be prolonged. Verses 4 and 5. They that forsake the law praise the wicked but such as keep the law, contend with them. Evil men understand not justice, but they that seek Jehovah understand all things. Verses 15 to 17. As a roaring lion and a raging bear, so is a wicked ruler over a poor people. The prince that lacks understanding is also a great oppressor. But he that hates covetousness shall prolong his days. A man that is laden with the blood of any person shall flee unto the pit. Let no man stay him. Proverbs 29:4. The king by justice establishes the land, but he that exacts gifts overthrows it. Verse 12. If a ruler hearkens to falsehood, all his servants are wicked. And verse 14. The king that faithfully judges the poor, his throne shall be established forever. One more passage in Proverbs, chapter 31. The first five verses the words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him. What, my son? And what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, nor nor thy ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel. It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to say, where is strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted. And now let's turn in the New Testament for our reading from God's Holy word to First Peter. Chapter two. First Peter, the second chapter, where I'd like to read for you. Verses 13 to 17. Peter writes, many years after the publication of the Book of Proverbs, Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or unto governors as sent by him for vengeance on evildoers, and for Praise to them that do well, for so is the will of God, that by well doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the King. Thus far, the reading of God's holy word. This actually is part two of the Sermon on Political Wisdom, and that may be a little distressing to those of you who were not with us when the first portion of this sermon was delivered, but I don't think it needs to be Let me give you a little bit of background. We have been working through the Book of Proverbs in Covenant Community Church for some time now. We've been going in a rather detailed fashion through subjects that Proverbs brings up and looking at the various verses that are attached to that subject in the latter part of the Book of Proverbs and before the union of our two congregations, which called for sermons appropriate to those events and the occasions attending them, and then sermons that most recently dealt with what we traditionally call Easter season. Although that's not a biblical way of looking at things culturally, people do do expect that we are now returning to the Book of Proverbs as I preached to you, and continuing the exposition of it. However, where I left off had to do with political wisdom. In the morning that I came to preach that sermon, I found out that apparently the Lord had laid a lot more on my heart than I realized in terms of what could be packaged in the time that is normally expected for a preacher to get done in the worship service. I began our considerations a few weeks ago by looking at how the latter portion of Proverbs contains a great deal of material addressed to the issue of political wisdom. In fact, I would imagine some of you, especially those who might be new to our congregation, were a little surprised at how long we spent in the Book of Proverbs just a few moments ago, going verse after verse after verse after verse. It really is surprising, even for those of us who know this in general, and it's surprising to see how much of the Book of Proverbs is addressed to political matters. And it's not only surprising, because we just don't expect that out of a quote unquote religious book like the Bible. But you see, it's surprising, especially in our culture, because in our culture we're taught that the church has nothing to do with the state. And what I attempted to do a few Lord's Day mornings ago was to really attack that notion of the separation of church and state. State. The notion, not the legitimate and biblical historic Christian notion, that there is an institutional separation between the work of the church and the work of the state, but rather to attack the modern idea that such a separation implies the privatization of religion. And by that I mean that religion must be kept in private, something that's a matter of your own heart. Maybe it was in your own family, within the walls of your congregation. But don't take religion out in public. Don't try to make it influence economics. Don't try to make it influence education. Don't try to make it influence the affairs of the state. And we are told often and mistakenly, that the separation of church and state really means the separation of God in the state, the separation of God's Word in the state. As though God is no longer lord over every area of life, but Lord only over, I guess, our private devotions, the affairs of our heart, and maybe our congregation as we corporately get together and voluntarily share our private religious experiences with one another. You see, the Word of God will have nothing of that. And I suggest that again in the first installment of this message, that if that is your outlook, then you really had better find another religion. You'd better find another book to follow. Because unless you're going to take the scissors and paste to this book, you cannot have an apolitical Christianity. Christianity has political implications, and that is heretical in the minds of some Christian teachers today and is certainly abhorrent and offensive to the secularists of our day. But it is the word of the Lord. If you read the Book of Proverbs and you cut out everything that has to do with public life, and especially with the public life of the state, you're not going to have much of the Book of Proverbs. You're going to have holes everywhere. It's going to look like Swiss cheese, not as it was intended. And so the drive for the privatized version of religion in our day has to be rejected. We must honor Jesus as the King of Kings and as the Lord of Lords, and as the King of Kings. He's the one who rules over earthly potentates. He's the Lord over every other Lord. He's the Lord over your boss, he's the Lord over your father, he's the Lord over your husband, and he's the Lord over the President of the United States, too. And every other Lord, every other dominion in this world is subordinate to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Do you remember how he said upon his resurrection all power and authority in heaven and on earth is mine. Jesus does not settle for apple pie in the sky. By and by, he'll rule in some invisible faraway place that has no implication for life right now, doesn't ever challenge the way we live or the way things are done in our culture, and never forces us to bow the knee politically to him. Jesus doesn't have that kind of rule. And if you think that he does, and if it offends you to say otherwise, then I suggest you need to look for another religion. I also said in the opening installment of this message, you see, the Muslims understand this much better than we do, even though they don't follow Jesus Christ. If you were to tell a Muslim that your religion has no implications for political law, I mean, if that was understandable at all, it would be laughable. Muslims understand that their religion dominates everything they do. It governs their family life, it governs their social affairs, it governs their politics, it governs their economics. And of course it does, because why, for them, Allah is supreme. Well, I just want to remind you that's really a Christian idea that they stole. That's really Christianity that has been paganized. The form of it is correct. God is supreme. God is sovereign and just. For that reason, he rules over every area of life. God doesn't settle for being Lord of the hills and the seas, and then he gives the rest of the world to the other gods. Jehovah does not settle for simply being Lord of your family and Lord of the church. And he gives all the other areas of life to other gods. He is the Lord of Lords and the King of kings, and all of life must submit to Him. And so enough of this. I will not apologize. We will preach about politics from this pulpit, the politics taught in God's word. And so this morning, what we need to do, and that's about where I ran out of time last time. And if I'm not careful, I'll run out of time this time again. Because those themes are so important to me, I would like to now address the specifics of what the Book of Proverbs does say about political affairs, the duty of rulers and our duty to them. And the first subject that we come to is that of Godly citizenship. Proverbs 24, 21, 25. My son, fear thou Jehovah and the King in company not with them that are given to change, for their calamity shall rise suddenly, and the destruction from them both, who knows it. The Book of Proverbs surprisingly anticipates the New Testament Teaching what the Book of Proverbs tells us about citizenship is what you're used to hearing from those traditional passages in the New Testament. First Peter, chapter 2, or Romans the 13th chapter, in verse 21, the first line of verse 21 of our reading this morning. My son, fear thou Jehovah and the king. If you'll turn to first Peter, chapter two, the 17th verse, you'll see that Peter quotes that. So let's open our Bibles to two places and keep our fingers there. In first Peter, chapter two, at the 17th verse, Peter says, honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, fear Jehovah, honor the king. Back in Proverbs we are told, my son, fear Jehovah and the king. The same thought is used in both places, and we can compare both of these to what Paul says at greater length in Romans 13. Romans 13 at the first verse, let every soul, let every person be in subjection to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God, and the powers that be are ordained of God. Therefore he that resists the power withstands the ordinance of God. And they that withstand shall receive to themselves judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good work, but to evil. And would you have no fear of such power? Do that which is good, and you shall have praise from the same. For he is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he bears not the sword in vain he is an avenger of God's wrath upon those who do evil. Therefore you must needs be in subjection, not only because of such wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For this cause you pay tribute also. For they are ministers of God's service, attending continually upon this very thing. Render to all their dues tribute to whom tribute custom, to whom custom fear, to whom fear honor to whom honor. Verse 4 of Romans 13 gives us the job description. For anyone who would rule in the state, he is a minister of God to you for good. And if you would do that which is evil, be afraid, for he bears not the sword in vain. He is God's minister, an avenger of wrath to him who does evil. That's what should be written out, it seems to me, as the job description in our constitution. For not only the president, but for all of our congressmen and for judges as well. They are to be God's ministers. The minister of God is not found simply behind the pulpit on Sunday morning. There is also a minister of God, who rules in the congress of our land. In the courts of our land and in the White House as well. Now, not all these people accept the title, and not all these people perform the duty. But that, according to God, is what they are to be. His ministers, his servants. They are sent by him to do something. And in particular, they are sent to be a terror to evildoers. They are to avenge God's holy wrath against evildoers. You'll notice in Romans 13:4 that what Paul says is he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath. That expression, an avenger for wrath, has led some people to say that what the magistrate does is avenge his own wrath, because it doesn't actually say God's wrath right there. And so be afraid of him, because he'll get angry with you if you don't do what he tells you to do. If you don't obey the king or the president or the judge, whatever it may be, whatever culture you come from, be afraid of him because he avenges his wrath. But that is not Paul's teaching, not at all. And I think I can prove that rather simply if you just go back a few verses from what Paul has said into the 12th chapter of Romans. And remember, those chapter breaks are not Paul's chapter breaks. Somebody added that later. Paul has said in verse 19 of chapter 12, Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God. For it is written, vengeance belongs unto me. I will recompense, says the Lord. Vengeance is mine. God says, you don't need to go out and avenge yourself. I'll take care of it. And then the question arises, how will God take care of it? How does God avenge his wrath upon evildoers? And again, you just go down now, what, six verses or so to the fourth verse of chapter 13. And there Paul says, the magistrate is an avenger of wrath, the very same words used just a few verses before, for what God does. The magistrate, you see, is God's servant, sent by him to avenge God's wrath upon those not defined by what the magistrate thinks is right and wrong. Evil, according to this passage, is not defined by what a public opinion poll tells us is right and wrong. Evil, according to this passage, is not defined by what any particular culture may think is right and wrong. Evil is defined by God himself. God's character is good. God's character is absolute. God's character is perfect. And that which conforms with his character is good. That which goes contrary to his character is evil. And how do we learn about the character of God? The Bible says it is revealed in his law, God says, be holy as I am holy. Therefore you don't do certain things, you do do certain other things. And that law becomes the manifestation of God's character on a creaturely level. And you know that that is Paul's understanding of right and wrong. Because if you read on in this passage in Romans 13, you come eventually to verse 8, which says, Owe no man anything, save to love one another. For he that loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law for this. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet. And if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love works no ill to his neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law. Now, in that expression, love works no ill to his neighbor. The sad thing in this English translation is you don't know that in Greek the same word is used for ill. Love works no evil to his neighbor. That's the same word that you find in verse four, where we read that he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. Who should the magistrate avenge wrath upon the one who does evil? And Paul says, evil is defined by the law of God, because love, which fulfills the law, does no evil to its neighbor. And so here we have taught in the New Testament, very clearly, based on what Proverbs already began to instruct us in Proverbs 24, that we are to submit to the magistrate precisely because the magistrate is to submit to God. Fear God, fear the king. Why does Proverbs put those two together? Because in the thought framework of the biblical writers, in the biblical outlook, the magistrate is to fear God, and therefore by your fearing the magistrate, you fear God. Paul puts it this way, that we are to respect the powers to be because they are ordained of God. And those who resist the powers that be are resisting who? They're resisting God. We've gotten a long way from that point of view in our culture, haven't we? And there's been two crucial errors made in our culture in this regard. In the first place, we have gotten to think that the magistrate doesn't have to fear God. He's kind of a law to himself. And secondly, we've made the mistake of thinking we submit to the magistrate no matter what he says. He becomes an autonomous power, a law to himself, and then we must fear him and submit to him, because formally he's in this position of rule. The Bible never teaches that sort of thing, the Bible teaches that God has a plan for all of life. And in that plan the magistrate is to obey God. And for that reason, out of conscience sake, we're to obey the magistrate. But out of conscience sake, you cannot obey a magistrate who wants to exterminate Jews. You cannot obey a magistrate who tells you not to preach the gospel. We must do what? Obey God rather than men. And so the idea that the Bible teaches that the ruling powers can do whatever they want and we must still submit is not a biblical teaching. One must add to that the crucial premise that we fear the king because he is supposed to fear God. He is God's minister. Submissiveness does not mean condoning evil. In Proverbs 24, look at verses 24 and 25. He that saith unto the wicked, thou art righteous peoples shall curse him. Nations shall abhor him, and to them that rebuke him shall be delight. A good blessing shall come upon them. He that saith to the wicked, thou art righteous, people shall curse him. The Bible condones that we ought to curse those rulers that pervert justice, who turn righteousness into unrighteousness and vice versa. When a ruler says to someone who is a mob boss, when a ruler says to someone who has perjured himself, when a ruler says to someone who has strong armed his way into power, when a ruler says this is perfectly okay, when he says this is righteous, I accept that we ought to curse such rulers. We ought to hold them accountable, that the reason we are to honor their position is because they and their position are to honor God. And when they don't honor God, we must not honor them. Now, the way to bring about change, you see, the way in which we respond to the disobedience of our rulers is another question. No one's suggesting we have the right to go out and rebel. No one's suggesting we have the right to take up arms just because we don't like the rulers, what they're doing. And if we know that they aren't doing things right, there is a godly way to bring about social change as well. But we have to understand that what God has called us to in terms of godly citizenship is not just giving a blank check to the state to do whatever it wants. So what should be some of the attitudes and what should be some of the priorities of rulers that truly honor God? The book of Proverbs answers that question for us. In the first place, the glory of a ruler that honors God will not be found in a self orientation, but in the well being of his people. Look at Proverbs 14:28. In the multitude of people is the king's glory, but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince. In 1 Kings 4, verse 20 we find in angel. Interesting illustration of that. You might want to turn to that in your Bibles. First Kings, the fourth chapter, verse 20. Here in the midst of. Pardon me, praise, because of Solomon's wisdom and the power and wealth that he received, we read Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude eating and drinking and making merry. You see, it is to the praise of a ruler that he has many subjects. But in the dearth of subjects there is shame. The glory of a ruler is not to be found therefore in what he individually gives gets out of the position, but how he benefits the many whom he rules. Does that describe the people that you know in the United States of America running for office that describe the basis on which their decisions are made? I think you know very well it's not. Those are rhetorical questions. You would have to be absolutely blind and not listen to the evening news to think otherwise. One of the greatest curses we face today in the political realm is that our rulers make decisions with a view to re election, not with a view to righteousness. The glory of a king is his many subjects and their prosperity. It is not that he keeps himself in power. Moreover, in terms of the attitudes and priorities of a truly honorable ruler, you'll notice that loose living cannot be mixed more with political power. Proverbs 31:3 5. Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroys kings. This is advice from Lemuel's mother to him as the king. Give not thy strength unto women is a euphemism in Hebrew that means don't go to prostitutes, don't give of your semen, frankly your strength to a woman. Don't be a womanizer, to use our idiom today. Don't give your ways to those who destroy Kings. Moreover, verse 5 says that Kings and princes are not to drink, lest they forget the law and pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted. Womanizing and drunkenness, what we might generally call carousing, is a lifestyle is not for kings. Loose living cannot be mixed with political rule. Rather, the ruler must learn to be a protector of his people. Verses 8 and 9 of that passage say, open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such who are left desolate. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and minister justice to the poor. And needy. His concern should be for his people. He should not be a person who lives loosely with women, with drink. He should be the kind of person who glories in the multitude of his people. Thirdly, a truly honorable ruler delights in the truth. He delights in advisors who tell him not what he wants to hear, but in what is absolutely true. Proverbs 16:13. Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and they love him that speaketh Right again. Does this describe our political rulers in our day? Do they get for themselves advisors who will tell them the hard truth? Who will step on toes, who will be offensive if they have to be? Or do they get yes, men about them? Men who will pump them up, Men who will tell them what they want to know, men who will advise them? This will be a popular decision. Whether it's true, whether it's just, whether it's right. It's amazing. This book of Proverbs was written hundreds of years ago and yet it could be written today as an indictment of our own culture. We haven't even gotten through all the things that we read this morning already. And we see three ways in which the political rulers of our day are not biblical rulers. They aren't God honoring rulers because their glory is self oriented, because they live loosely with women and drink, and because they delight not in the truth. A truly honorable ruler does not engage in arrogant talk, but in complete truthfulness. Proverbs 17:7. Excellent speech. That's my translation. The Hebrew actually is big speech or what might be puffed up. Literally. Arrogant speech becomes a fool. Excuse me, Excellent speech. Arrogant speech is not becoming for a fool, much less do lying lips a prince. You shouldn't engage in excessive talk, big talk. He should engage in truthfulness. The fact of the matter is, the word politician in our culture has become synonymous with the word liar. That's why we speak of promises being genuine promises and political promises. What's a political promise? One that no one expects to be fulfilled anyway. The sort of thing that's said during an election year but never carried out because there's always a rationalization, always a way to create a loophole to slip through. Politicians should not be liars. Campaign promises should not mean empty promises. And why not? Why shouldn't we have politicians that are liars in our day? If you stop and think about it, we have wanted politics divorced from morality, politics divorced from religion for so long, and now we're getting it. Now we're getting politics divorced from morality. And the amazing thing is all the people who want no religious influence in politics scream bloody murder when a Richard Nixon turns out to lie to them. Well, look, choose your worldview, choose your moral code, and then have the courage to live by it. If you want politics divorced from morality, don't get upset when you get immoral politicians, when you get liars, say, well, that's what we ask for. When you get womanizers, say, that's what we ask for. When you get drunkards. And people who go back on their word don't complain. But from the Christian standpoint, we have a basis to complain. We have a basis to go before the throne of God and say, remove these men, they are unjust and grant to us not only a society that tells the truth, but a society ruled by those who tell the truth. Those who listen to falsehood will have corrupt administrations. The Bible says Proverbs 29:12. If a ruler hearkens to falsehood, all his servants are what? Wicked. If you get a man who wants to hear all the tickling, pleasing things in his ears that his advisors will tell him, then don't expect that he's going to have men of integrity. All of his servants will be wicked as well. You'll have a corrupt administration. Corrupt administration? How long has it been since we have not had a corrupt administration in our country? And I want to tell you I'm saying this not from any Republican bias because the Republicans have had just as corrupt administration as the Democrats. I'm not saying this from any Democratic bias. I'm saying this from the standpoint of God's word. Don't be surprised that when you have liars for politicians and liars for advisors that the administration turns out to be corrupt. The Bible would have told you as much. Well, what then would characterize a truly honorable ruler? The just ruler has an inquiring zeal. He knows what is going on in his administration, and he'll have nothing to do with wickedness in his regime. So says Proverbs 25:2 5. Proverbs 25:2 5. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings to search out a matter. As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable. Take away the dross from silver, and there comes forth a vessel for the refiner. Take away the wicked from before the king and his throne shall be established in righteousness. No more excuses about, I didn't know what was going on in my administration. It is the glory of kings to search out a matter. It's the glory of political rulers to know what's going on in their sphere of authority. And when they know what's going on, they remove wicked from before the throne just as clearly as a refiner removes the dross from his silver. We want a sterling administration. If we are godly rulers, we want to know what's going on. No more excuses, no more cop outs about, well, I didn't know they were doing that. If they are under your charge, you are responsible for them. But you see, this all ties together. You want liars for your advisors, you get a wicked administration. And when you have that, you have someone at the top who won't take responsibility either. Again, it's amazing, isn't it? Written hundreds of years ago, could have been written last year. A truly honorable administration rewards competence and treats a shameful administration of justice severely. Proverbs 14:35. The king's favor is toward a servant that deals wisely, but his wrath will be against him who causes shame. You have those in your administration that do not show integrity, that cause shame, that do not do justice. Wrath must be shown to them and favor shown to those who deal wisely. How often do we have people that end up resigning from their post under pressure because they wish to deal wisely, but it didn't fit in to the public relations needed by a particular administration? You see, government service is to be a ministry, not an opportunity for personal power and personal privilege for an elite who can do just anything they want. Those who deal wisely should have the king's favor. And severity is not enough for an honorable government. We have to add that that government must have a kind and a positive attitude toward its citizens, not simply an authoritarian spirit. In Proverbs 20, verse 25, we see a point of view, a perspective that I think is often overlooked in conservative circles. As right as many conservative principles are, we need to supplement them with this. Kindness and truth preserve the king and his throne is upholden by kindness. Severity must be there toward wicked men. To be sure, severity must be there against unjust subordinates, those who are advisors that don't tell the truth. But there must also be a positive and a kindly and a true attitude toward the citizens. Kindness and truth preserve the king. It is kindness that upholds his throne. And in particular the Bible says kings and judges and rulers are called upon to protect the weak and the powerless against oppression. Proverbs 29:14. Proverbs 29:14 says, the king that fit faithfully judges the poor. His throne shall be established forever. You want a long Administration. You want an administration honored by God, One that will be established even forever, then faithfully judge for the poor. If there is any indictment that our society has to hear in our day and age, especially in polite, upper middle class Protestant culture that takes for granted the United States does everything so well, it is this indictment that we don't judge for the poor in our land. Now, judging for the poor does not mean welfare handouts. That's not judging for the poor. Judging for the poor means that in a court of law, those who have no voice, who have no political clout, who have no money to buy the best lawyers and get their day in court, and I don't know how anybody who knows the legal system could be satisfied if they were a Christian in our day and age. You want your day in court? You want to get a really good fair judgment? You better have a lot of money for a really good lawyer, because that's what it's going to take. You have a case that has some special circumstances attendant to it. Just try defending yourself in a court of law today. Try going into court with some run of the mill lawyer who doesn't know all those special. The fact is, the wealthy get their day in court and sometimes get more than they deserve in court, but they get their day. But the rest of us, and especially those who don't even make the kind of money we in this congregation do, if you think they get their day in court, you're just living in a dream world. But a faithful administration makes sure that the poor are heard, that those without a voice are given a voice. Where are those advocates who will stand up for the oppressed? Where are those who will say, I'll give my time and my money and I'll put my reputation on the line to make sure that my poor neighbor gets a hearing in court? Truly, honorable administration will go out of its way to protect the oppressed. Moreover, the Book of Proverbs teaches us that honorable rulers do not render unrighteous judgments. There is a finality and an authority to what the magistrate officially declares, whether it's a courtroom verdict or a legislative decree. And for that reason, God forbids the mouth of the magistrate to violate justice. Proverbs 16:10. A divine sentence is in the lips of the king. His mouth shall not transgress in judgment. That's the shall not that is to be read ought not to violate justice. God forbids him. Because when the magistrate speaks, it's like a divine sentence. It has a finality to it. If there's going to Be stability in an administration. Genuine truth and justice must attend it. Proverbs 28:2. For the transgression of a land. Many are the princes thereof, and by men of understanding and knowledge, the stability thereof is prolonged. Many are the princes of the land. For many years I read that because of the transgression of the land you get a big administration. That's probably true too. You know, large overbearing government comes because we're asking the government to do too much. But I'm convinced now that what this really means are many are the princes, because you have one prince after another after another after another. You have this big turnover of princes because of the transgression of a land. No administration lasts a long time when you have a lot of injustice in the land, and so you have this turmoil. One regime after another regime after another regime. Those who will not honor God's direction will become beastly rulers who oppress the people and allow murderers to get away. Proverbs 28:15 17. As a roaring lion and a raging bear, so is a wicked ruler over a poor people. The prince that lacks understanding is a great oppressor. He that hates covetousness shall prolong his days. A man that is laden with the blood of any person shall flee into the pit. Let no man stay him. If you honor God's direction, then you don't allow murderers to get away. No man gets in the way of the murderer as he goes to the pit. But an unjust ruler does. And the Bible says the unjust ruler then turns into a lion and a bear into a beast. Very interesting, Romans. Excuse me. Revelation 13 describes the wicked ruler par excellence as what a beast. Instead of being the image of God, rulers become the image of the animal world instead in terms of their effect. Because according to the Bible, rulers are to be a terror to evildoers, and they can only be a terror to evildoers if they honor justice. Proverbs 16:12. It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness, for the throne is established by righteousness. To establish any ruler's throne, he must have righteousness as his primary concern, because it is an abomination in the eyes of God if he will not do what God has told him. If he commits wickedness only by honoring justice. Can those who govern us then be a terror to evildoers and turn out to be a delight to those who do good? Proverbs 16, verses 14 and 15. The wrath of a king is as messengers of death, but a wise man will pacify it in the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain. When a good ruler establishes his throne on righteousness, then it's like the refreshing rain upon the good. He's a blessing to them, and he is a terror to the wicked. They don't want to go before the king. They don't want to have to answer to the president or to the judges of the land. Proverbs 19:12. The King's wrath is as the roaring of a lion, but his favor is as dew upon the grass. But you see, it's often just the reverse. Today evil men do not fear the authorities. You know who fears the authorities today? The innocent. Try running a Christian school in certain states where you're told you have to honor the state and you have to have accredited teachers from the state. And you'll see innocent men put in jail without any terminus to their sentence until they will relinquish and they'll say they will not run that school. The innocent must fear going before the bureaucrats and before the administrative law judges and before the law of the land. But how many wicked mafiosa men do you know who fear the government? Fear the government. They paid for the government. They run the government behind the throne. The Bible says it's got to be the other way around. So the innocent say it's a blessing to be before the ruler. And wicked men say, boy, we want to hide out in the dark places. Get us in a corner somewhere where we're not seen. And it's just the opposite. Rulers are charged with terrorizing criminals so that they will not terrorize us. There must be a genuine fear. There must be a genuine fear of the magistrate because he justly and surely will punish the wicked. Look at Proverbs 22:8. The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion. He that provokes him to anger sins against his his own life. Verse 8. A king that sits on the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes. The righteousness of a ruler, his very gaze scatters the evil because people know what they can expect from him. Verse 26. A wise king winnows the wicked and brings the threshing wheel over them. A wise king with his gaze puts the innocent and the guilty in different categories, and he runs the threshing wheel over the wicked that surely he terrorizes those who would otherwise terrorize us. What's the key consideration as we conclude our study of the book of Proverbs this morning Politics. Politics cannot be a neutral subject. Politics cannot be ethically open ended. Politics must be governed by moral concerns. And for the Christian, moral concerns are defined by the word of God, the holiness of God's law. Politics is not to be the abandonment of principle. You know, I've taught political ethics courses in a number of different schools, and I often begin by pointing out how often the opening of a political theory book, the very beginning of a political theory book, will say that politics is the art of compromise. That is just. We've come to define politics that way. Politics is not the art of compromise. Politics is not to be the abandonment of principle in favor of pragmatism or compromise. It is utterly abominable for kings not to found their dominion upon the justice which God the King demands. So Proverbs 16:12 tells us when we're reminded again, it is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness. For the throne is established, not uncompromised. Not on pragmatism, not on popularity, not on convenience. The throne is established by righteousness. Proverbs 29:4. The king, by justice establishes the land. He that exacts good gifts, bribes, overthrows it. By justice, he must establish the land. And how is that possible? It's only possible if we will have rulers that submit to the justice of God himself, to the direction of God's own law. And so in Proverbs 28:4,5, we read, they that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law, contend with them. Evil men do not understand justice, but they that seek Jehovah understand all things. Could it be any clearer? Evil men don't know what justice is. But those who seek God, those who submit to his law, they do understand justice and all things with it. You know, as a teacher, I often make my weak students at school write out their notes over and over again. In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28, we read that God required the king to write out a copy of his own law. It's as though God said, I want you to write this law because I want this to really sink in. Let this be what founds your throne. Let this be what defines justice for you. Let your regime and your dominion be established on the righteousness of my word. We're in an election year, my friends. You need to think as Christians about God's principles of justice, God's definition of an honorable ruler, and vote accordingly. It is a grave sin for us as Christians, one, to neglect our political responsibility, or two, to use that responsibility in what is really an irresponsible and thoughtless and shallow way. Think through who you're voting about. Take the definitions of God's word, these standards and priorities, and apply them to to those who are ruling. Those who wish to rule decide who needs to be returned to office or put in office on the basis of who will really serve God and the purposes of his righteousness. You say, well, that may be difficult. There may be very few that may be true, but it is still the definition we must follow. One of the most glorious pieces of music ever written, Handel's Messiah, as, of course, the Great Hallelujah Chorus. The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. That Hallelujah Chorus actually the whole presentation of the Messiah was first sung and performed in London in 1843. And when it got to the Hallelujah Chorus, Queen Victoria stood in her seat and took off her crown. My friends, look for rulers who know how to take off their crown in the presence of the true King of kings, who will say, let your law be my law. Let's pray. Father, give us the courage to follow out the implications of the rule of your son, Jesus Christ in this earth. We do pray that you would give us the courage not simply to proclaim him our Messiah and our Savior for all eternity and in our private devotions, but that he might be the Savior of the very world, that His Lordship might be extended to every domain, to every area.