BLESSED IS THE NATION WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD
Rev. Bernt P. Tweit
The Beginning of Government and Israel
Prayer for Good Government:
Lord, Keep this nation under your care. Bless the leaders of
our land that we may be people at peace among ourselves and a
blessing to other nations of the earth. Help us elect
trustworthy leaders, contribute to wise decisions for the
general welfare, and serve you faithfully in our generation to
the honor of your holy name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Bible Readings:
Deuteronomy 6:4-7, 17
Deuteronomy 17:8-13
New Testament Basics about Government
Prayer for our Country:
Almighty God, you have given us this good land as our
heritage. Grant that we remember your generosity and constantly
do Your Will. Bless our land with honest industry, truthful
education, and an honorable way of life. Save us from violence,
discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every
evil course of action. Make us who came from many nations, with
many different languages, a united people. Defend our liberties,
and give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of
government, the spirit of wisdom, that there may be justice and
peace in our land. When times are prosperous, let our hearts be
thankful; and in troubled times, do not let our trust in you
fail; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Bible Reading: Romans 13:1-7
Christ’s Rule over Government
Prayer for the Rule of God in the World:
Creator of all things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions, principalities or
authorities, Ruler through powers, governments, and authorities;
ordained and instituted to check evil conduct and to encourage
good, King over those who are kings, Lord over those who are
lords, Governor of those who are governors, Chief of those who
are chiefs of state, cause men everywhere to respect law and
justice, and to create and enforce legislation, that men may
rule with fairness. Give wisdom and restraint to those who bear
arms in the community, or are entrusted with authority for the
sake of peace and order. Where men are unjust, inhuman, and
cruel, send correction. Where men are at war, send peace. Where
men profit at the expense of human welfare, send relief. Give to
all peoples a sense of the necessity to live in the freedom of
Your Gospel. Silence the ignorance of foolish men, that all may
hear Your voice; through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Bible Reading: Ephesians 1:18-22
Our Duty to the State
A Request from the Apostle Paul concerning our Duty to the
State: I Timothy 2:1-4
"I urge, then first of all, that requests, prayers,
intersession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings
and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet
lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases
God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth."
Bible Reading: Acts 23:1-5
Good Citizenship
Prayer for Responsible Citizenship:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for having given us freedom
through Your Son, to live as citizens of your Kingdom. We pray
that by the gift of Your Spirit we may also live honorably and
prudently with all men as citizens of the state. Keep us from
becoming careless, from acting rashly, from neglecting the
rights of others, from willful disobedience and the neglect of
just laws, and from all manner of mischief that is harmful to
the community. Give us the readiness to share the burdens of our
community, the willingness to attempt solutions to social
problems, and the zeal to join in efforts for the common good.
Make us effective voices in government through discussion,
petition, debate, use of the ballot, and other proper means.
Help us accept cheerfully the opportunities for service in the
community at every level. Aid us in managing our affairs
sensibly. By your grace, enable us to overcome all temptation
and do what is pleasing to you by faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Amen.
Bible Reading: 1 Peter 2:15-21
Blessed is the Nation
whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 33:12
Hezekiah was the thirteenth king of Judah. He was the first king in a long time who did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. As a matter of a fact, he was the first king since the days of the United Kingdom, under David and Solomon, to do that which was right. Certainly, other kings before him had done right, but they were not willing to reform the worship of false gods that was taking place. But, Hezekiah did.
Hezekiah was the first king in many generations to open the doors of the temple. People had stopped coming to the temple to worship God. He opened the doors of the temple. He had the temple consecrated and purified.
Hezekiah was the first king in a long time to bring the priests and the Levites back. The work that they had done had been postponed for a long time. Hezekiah had the priests and the Levites purified and consecrated so that they could come back and do their work, on behalf of the people for God.
Hezekiah brought back the Passover Festival. The people for many generations had not celebrated the Passover.
And, Hezekiah brought back ‘first fruits’ giving. The people started giving to God in such great proportion in keeping with their income Hezekiah needed to build larger storehouses, in order to house those offerings the people were giving to God.
And so, scripture says about Hezekiah, "This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD, his God. And everything that he undertook, in the service of God’s temple, and in obedience to the Law and the Commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly."
It was shortly after this, that a neighboring superpower came in and lay siege on Judah and Jerusalem. It was the nation of Syria and its king Sennacherib. Sennacherib came in and this is what he said to the people of Judah. Scripture says;
This is what Sennacherib, king of Syria says. "On what are you basing your confidence? That you remain in Jerusalem, under siege. When Hezekiah says, ‘The LORD our God will save us from the hand of the king of Syria,’ he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. Do not believe him. For no God of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand, or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?"
Right after that, Hezekiah gathered his people together, because they were terrified of Syria. They were terrified of the words of King Sennacherib. Listen to the encouragement that Hezekiah gave the people of Judah. Hezekiah said, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Syria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles."
And so, King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah cried out in prayer to heaven about this. And the LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men, the leaders, and the officers in the camp of the Syrian king. So Sennacherib withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down with the sword. So, the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem, from the hand of Sennacherib, king of Syria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side.
Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah, king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nation.
Truly about Hezekiah and Judah our psalmist could say, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD."
From this example we see how it is God had protected and preserved His people. It does not say in that section of scripture, but it tells us elsewhere, that when the angel annihilated Syria, the angel of the LORD killed 185,000 people. Now, if I have my population of Madison correct, that is almost all of the population. The LORD truly did preserve and protect His people.
This morning we can say the same thing as the psalmist,
"Blessed is the nation
whose God is the LORD."
As we say those words, we see, too, it is God who has preserved us and kept us. Every time we confess our faith, using the words of the Apostles Creed, we acknowledge that, when we say, "I believe in God the Father, almighty, maker of Heaven and earth."
To help us understand what exactly this means, Martin Luther helps us, for in his explanation he says, "God richly and daily provides food and clothing, home and family, property and goods, and all that we need to support this body and life, that He protects us from all danger, guards and keeps us from all evil. And all this purely out of fatherly divine goodness and mercy without any merit or worthiness in me. For all, which I am, duty bound to thank and to praise, to serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true."
God certainly has blessed our nation. And He certainly did also bless the nation of Judah.
But let’s go back to Hezekiah for just a moment.
After God preserved the nation of Judah, Hezekiah became sick. Hezekiah approached God in prayer, asking that he would be healed from his sickness. God promised that he would. Hezekiah asked for a sign to show that he would be healed. God gave Hezekiah that miraculous sign. He did heal him. But then scripture tells us Hezekiah was proud and he did not show favor to the kindness that God had shown to him. After God pointed out Hezekiah’s sin of pride, scripture tells us that Hezekiah relented of his sin. He repented of his sin. And God relented from his anger and Hezekiah was allowed to live 15 more years.
But, we know what happened just a few short generations after this. Hezekiah had become proud. He had looked at the accomplishments that had happened during his reign. He had seen all of the storehouses, full of all of the treasures that had been accumulated under his reign.
And then, there was another kingdom that came. That was the kingdom of Babylon.
Some representatives came down to hear about the miraculous sign that had been shown to Hezekiah. At this time scripture says, "God left Hezekiah to test him and to know what was in his heart."
Hezekiah opened up all of his storehouses, showed them all of his wealth, all of his treasures, all of his might. He was taking credit for that himself, instead of giving credit to God.
Within a few short generations, we know what happened. The nation of Judah was carried off into Babylonian captivity. The nation of Judah had forgotten God.
About 150 years ago, one of our famous presidents, Abraham Lincoln, proposed a proclamation to have a National Day of Prayer. It is almost as if Abraham Lincoln looked at this event from scripture that happened during Hezekiah’s reign. I want to just share two paragraphs with you from that proclamation that he made. Abraham Lincoln said, "It is the duty of nations, as well as men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God. To confess their sins and their transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon. And to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proved in all history that only those ‘nations are blessed whose God is the LORD’ (There he is quoting our text.)"
He goes on to say, "But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand, which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us. We have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all of these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom or virtue of our own." (Sounds like Hezekiah there, doesn’t it?) "Intoxicated with success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us."
Hezekiah and the people of his day had become proud. As our nation, and the people of Abraham Lincoln’s day, we can say the same thing of our generation this morning. We and ourselves, we have become proud. Scripture tells us in Proverbs,
"Pride goes before the destruction."
Both James and Peter say,
"God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble."
The sin of pride led to Satan’s downfall. It was the sin of pride that led to Adam and Eve’s downfall. It was pride that led to Hezekiah’s downfall. It is also the sin of pride that is our downfall, as well.
How proud we have become, looking out for our own best interest, instead of giving credit to God, our Heavenly Father.
How is it that He responds to us? Well, God doesn’t repay our pride with pride. Rather, God repays our pride with humility. The scriptures tell us,
"Love is patient.
Love is kind.
It does not envy.
It does not boast.
It is not proud."
We see how it is that God, our Heavenly Father, has given His own Son to us, in, not pride, but humility. The scriptures say,
"Jesus did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but made Himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness,
being found in appearance as a man.
He humbled Himself,
and became obedient onto death,
even death on a cross."
As our dear Jesus went to the cross for us, there He went to forgive us of our sin of pride. With His death and with His resurrection, we stand forgiven of our sin of pride, and we stand forgiven, of all of our sin. And so, Jesus now tells us, as we are troubled with our sin, including our sin of pride, He says,
"Come to me
all you who are weary and burdened
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you,
and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart.
And you will find rest for your souls."
Our Savior, Jesus, went to the cross to forgive us of all of our sin and we stand forgiven of our sin of pride, through His humility.
This weekend, as we celebrate the birthday of our nation, we are reminded of our past history, not only in the days of Hezekiah, but also in the days of our country – through the proclamation that Abraham Lincoln made.
And today, we stand before God again, and are able to proclaim,
"Blessed is the nation,
whose God is the LORD."
The very end of the chapter in which our verse was recorded for today, the Psalmist ends with some very beautiful and comforting words, closing in a prayer.
I close with that, this morning. Here the Psalmist says,
"We wait in hope for the LORD, for He is our help and our shield. In Him, our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name."
And we close with this verse as our prayer.
"May your unfailing love, rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you."
Amen.
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