In 1st Samuel 8, Israel asked for a king because they wanted to be like all the other nations around them. Samuel of course was not pleased with this, so he went to God and prayed, and God said, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. ⁸ According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. ⁹ Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them" (1st Samuel 8:7-9).  God gave the gave the people a king, not because it was the best thing to do, but to give them what they deserved because of the hardness of their hearts. Israel rejected God over and over again, so giving them a king was a well deserved gift.

The Psalm says, "Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in  whom there is no salvation. ⁴ When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day" (Psalm 146:3-4).  The Holy Spirit inspired the psalmist to write this because of how man sees his temporal princes and kings. Israel trusted in men that rose and fell, that started holy and ended in debauchery. The same thing happens still today. We put our trust in the government, in presidents, in laws passed to supported the work of the church. On the other hand, we despair when our candidate doesn't get into office, we lose heart when our sinful nation passes laws that reject God and destroy the innocent. God calls us to look away from this, to trust not in temporal princes to save us and sanctify us. We are called to honor, obey, serve, love, and cherish temporal authorities. We are not called to trust in them for salvation and look to them to determine our identity. Let us not trust in a man who is here one day, gone the next, whose policies can be done away with with the stroke of a pen.

Let us trust not in princes, for they are but mortal. Let us trust in He who is our immortal Savior, Jesus the Christ. For His policy is to redeem all of fallen mankind, and His policy does not get changed by a successor. For Jesus has no successor. Jesus is not dead, He died, but He is risen and lives and reigns to all eternity as our merciful and forgiving King. His policy is to absolve us our sin and acquit us of all our trespasses against His Law. His policy is to heal us by His stripes and cleanse us by His blood. Unlike earthly politicians, Jesus does not speak promises He never intends to keep, but speaks His Word that He keeps unto all eternity. Politicians lie to get into office, or at least they stretch truth or make promises that are not possible to keep. Jesus is not like any earthly King because He does not reign over us with earthly desires, but with eternal ones. He reigns over us to save us from eternal death, from the burdens of the world, from the sting of sin, and from the tyranny of the devil. Jesus reigns as our unconditional King who desires nothing more than to save us from our captors. In Jesus, God doesn't give us the king we deserve, but the King we need for our salvation. Take heart then, for you are a citizen of the great King, the King who baptizes you, communes you, and forgives you all of your sin so that you may be ushered into His Kingdom which has no end. 

Peace be with you. May the devil be silenced, the world be hushed, and the Old Adam be drowned anew so that you hear only the voice of your Savior Jesus who says, "I forgive you. I love you. I claim you as My own forever," Amen.

Jesus' Sheepdog,

Pastor Hull