Presidential Election Reflections: (God's Sovereignty over the Presidential Election)

I have read some good prayers today from Al Mohler and from The Blazing Center blog.

I posted this on election day, but thought it still had relevance with Obama's inauguration going on today. I think it is a good reminder for us all,... so here it is again:

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Post-Election 11/05 Update: If you don't want to read my long post below, I think Justin Taylor summed up what I was getting at very good and pithy:

"No matter who you voted for--or whether you voted at all--it's important to remember that, as President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).

• We are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7).
• We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17)."

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My original Pre-Election 11/04 post:


I pray that you would rest in God,...
Specifically in His ownership and rule of the earth:

For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
- Psalm 47:7-8

...the world and its fullness are mine.
- Psalm 50:12

For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
- Psalm 47:2

He is in charge of the rulers of the world and governments and presidents:

...Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings...
- Daniel 2:20-21

...the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will
- Daniel 4:17

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
- Romans 13:1-2

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.
- Proverbs 21:1

No matter who is elected His plans and sovereign rule will NOT be frustrated:

Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.
- Psalm 112:2-3

For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
- Psalm 135:5-6

The Lord of hosts has sworn:
“As I have planned,
so shall it be,
and as I have purposed,
so shall it stand,
- Isaiah 14:24

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
- Psalm 33:10-11

...he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, “What have you done?”
- Daniel 4:25

...I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
- Isaiah 46:9-10

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
- Proverbs 19:21

The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.
- Proverbs 16:9

The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the Lord.
- Proverbs 16:33

What should a non-Christian's response be to God's sovereign rule? I think Paul says it best:

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
- Acts 17:24-31

and a Christian's response:

The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.
- Psalm 33:16-19

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,...
- 1 Timothy 2:1-3

If by providence our new president or any earthly ruler is reading this, here is something extra for you:

Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
- Psalm 2



"We don't have to despair or be driven into fearmongering or slander. No matter who wins, let's avoid despair. Let's avoid letting this consume us. Let's not sink to bitterness or slander.

Our citizenship is in Heaven. Our hope is not in one who will promise change (in whatever party/ideology), but in the One who never changes. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is still in control! Our salvation does not lie in human governments. Our hope is not in a candidate. True change does not come with a new administration. Let us hope in Christ!"

- last quote from http://makinghome.blogspot.com/2008/11/freedom-in-gods-sovereignty.html

Feel free to leave your election advice in the comments.

Soli Deo Gloria,

jason d.

p.s. to end with some truth and humor, always remember we will never find a Savior on Capitol Hill: