October 1, 2020
Dear friends,
Our gradual for this Sunday comes from Psalm 33. It’s a fitting Psalm for your meditation considering the ever increasing attention given to the upcoming presidential election. Here’s the whole Psalm. It’s worth your time.
Psalm 33
1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, you righteous.
The praise of the upright is beautiful.
2 Thank the Lord with a lyre.
Make music for him with the ten-stringed harp.
3 Sing to him a new song.
Play skillfully and shout praises.
4 Yes, the word of the Lord is right,
and everything he does is trustworthy.
5 He loves righteousness and justice.
The mercy of the Lord fills the earth.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.
By the breath of his mouth he made the whole army of stars.
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap.
He puts the depths into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord.
Let all the inhabitants of the world revere him.
9 For he said, “Let it be,” and it was!
He gave a command, and there it stood.
10 The Lord wrecks the plan of the nations.
He hinders the intentions of the peoples.
11 The plan of the Lord stands forever.
The intentions of his heart stand through all generations.
12 How blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose to be his possession.
13 From heaven the Lord observes.
He sees all the children of Adam.
14 From his throne room he looks at all the inhabitants of earth.
15 He alone is the one who shapes all their hearts.
He understands all their deeds.
16 No king is saved by the great size of his army.
No hero is rescued by his great strength.
17 You cannot rely on a horse to save you.
Its great strength will not deliver you.
18 Look, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who wait for his mercy.
19 He will deliver their souls from death.
He keeps them alive in famine.
20 Our souls wait for the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 Yes, in him our heart rejoices,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 May your mercy, O Lord, be on us,
even as we wait confidently for you.
It’s a beautiful reminder of the limited scope of politics. Politics matters, but not in the way that people tend to think. Kings and princes cannot save anyone by their strength. What matters above all, putting politics to shame, is the fear of the Lord. It is confidence in his goodness and hope in his mercy. It is our adoption as the children of God, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
That adoption does not depend on the outcome of elections or the policy choices of men. It depends entirely on God’s immeasurable love for you, poured out for you in the death of Jesus on the cross, forgiving all your sins, and rising from the grave to give you his victory over death.
Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!
God bless and keep you,
Pr. Buchs