When the Wicked Rule

READING: Ps. 125; Matt. 26, 27

SCRIPTURE: Ps. 125
¹ Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
² As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.

³ The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
their hands to do evil.

⁴ Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
to those who are upright in heart.
⁵ But those who turn to crooked ways
the LORD will banish with the evildoers.

Peace be upon Israel.

OBSERVATION: This psalm starts with a declaration that the Lord blesses and protects the righteous. Then the next section has some very interesting verses. They speak of the necessity to have righteous rulers over a people. The statement is made that if unrighteous rulers (leaders) remain too long in power then those who are righteous in the land may turn to doing evil themselves. In other words, corrupt leadership can lead those committed to moral living astray. When I look around my own country and see the changes that have happened in the moral landscape, I have to say I agree with these words. When I was younger, even non-Christians spoke against lewdness, pornography, having sex before marriage, "shacking up", abortion, greed, etc. After the drug and political revolution of the 1960's, those standards all started to change very rapidly. The results are evident today. We have a weak church where people are afraid to confront sin because people could leave their congregations if they do. There is almost as much sex before marriage among "Christians" as among non-believers. Child molestation is at an all-time high, corporate and individual greed is causing great suffering and has ruined our economy, materialism is the new religious idol and much evil of every kind abounds. It is hard for Christians to maintain their personal commitment to righteousness when they live in a moral cesspool. It seems there is no reward for living according to the Word. But there is! The psalm ends by saying God will bless the righteous and judge the wicked.

APPLICATION: It is important to pray for righteous leadership in our country and in our churches. This psalm stresses the reasons for that. We will be tempted to do evil much more if we live in a world with unrighteous people in places of authority. In any case, whether we have righteous leaders or not, we ourselves need to keep in mind that in the end, all wicked people will be judged by God, so we must maintain our commitment to obedience to the Lord.

PRAYER: Oh Lord, deliver us from those who do not have their hearts set on you! Speak to those who rule over us in any capacity. Remove leaders who do not believe in you and walk in your ways. Give us righteous leadership so that it is easier for us to walk in obedience to you. Keep us from being tempted to do wrong. Bring peace to our land and to our world. In Jesus' Name, Amen.