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1 Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the
anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, 2 The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and
his word was in my tongue. 3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must
be just, ruling in the fear of God.
2 Samuel 23:1-3
These were powerful words of conclusion to the life of a God-fearing king. After all David had written in the
Psalms, his most amplified words were those in the conclusion found in 2 Samuel. It was of such import, it was
prefaced with a repeat, in various forms, saying these are words straight from God. Repeat in the Bible speaks of
emphasis. Twice tells us the thing is confirmed and most assured. Three times is very rare, but four! The point is,
you had better hold to the words you are about to read as ultimate MUST words of instruction. These words were plain,
simple and binding upon all mankind. It didn't say just Israel.
Note them carefully: "He that ruleth over men must be
just, ruling in the fear of God."
This is a word from the throne of heaven to all mankind. God's demand may allow for a monarchy, republic or other
possible forms of government, but they do not allow for "freedom of the state to operate without the fear of God or
from ruling justly." Anything apart from that is treason against the King of the Universe!
With that passage fresh in our minds, let us move on to a Psalm from the position of that same God-fearing king David:
Psalm 101
1 A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.
2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a
perfect heart.
3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
4 A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I
suffer.
6 Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he
shall serve me.
7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
8 I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.
Lead-In Theme
1 A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.
This Psalm is a King's Psalm. David's song itemizes the two critical concerns a leader has to weigh in exercising his
position of office. It boils down to "mercy and judgment". The two must balance in the principals God had spoken of.
To do otherwise is to not rule justly and not rule in the fear of God.
With these foundation stones of responsibility, David proceeds to expound on how such a person would conduct himself,
who stays on these foundations.
Part 1 - Personal Life
2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a
perfect heart.
Oh, this is a biggy. The position of office must be held by a man who lives righteously himself. YES FOLKS, IT DOES
MATTER WHAT THE LIFE OF THE LEADER IS LIKE!
Let me put this consideration before you when you go to vote. Now I know that most of us will never personally meet
most of the political candidates, and the news' presentation will be on "best behavior". Nevertheless, consider that
you did know something more about them. I have met quite a few politicians, or aspiring politicians. I have listened
to them using God's name in vain. I am speaking of candidates from numerous political parties. I can look at them and
consider:
"The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes." Psalm 36:1b
God's Word is very clear on His view of using His name in vain. Remember, it is one of the ten commandments, and God
told Moses to execute a man who used God's name in vain. When I hear that political candidate use God's name in vain,
I can know, like the Psalmist in Psalm 36 (That means judging folks!) that person DOES NOT FEAR GOD. Under the clear
demand of God, in the passage from 2 Samuel, that person is not qualified. Even if there isn't one candidate who has
the fear of God, I cannot put my hand to help install that unqualified person into office. I will be held accountable,
before God, for my contribution in supporting a forbidden candidate.
Verse 2 shows us two important positions. First is conduct, the second is perfection of heart. That means the person
is not a hypocrite. He doesn't just say the right things around the right person. I'm referring to standard political
rhetoric with the host of deceitful words that can mean whatever the listener wants.
3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
This next verse speaks a host. The godly leader actively chooses to forsake the ungodly lifestyle of the wicked. He
will not watch ungodly movies or the like. Not only will he not watch them, he will hate them! He will openly count
such as refuse that he is determined will not defile him. He also is very aware that such wicked things have the power
of "cleaving" to us. He sees them as absolutely corrupting in their power.
4 A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
"A froward heart" is a perverse heart. The second part has been translated, "I will not know evil". In this verse, we
find the commitment to purity of heart, and separation from instruction in wicked ways. We see the necessary consecration
of the God-fearing ruler to purity of life, heart and pursuits.
Part 2 - Leadership Policy
5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I
suffer.
With verse 5, we see the leadership policy of the godly ruler. The first issue dealt with, is the slanderer. Can you
imagine a political candidate today who would run his campaign with the promise to "cut off" slanderers? He certainly
wouldn't be elected. People would be afraid of him, I think they would be afraid of being "cut off" themselves.
It doesn't expressly outline what cutting off is, but it would at least mean a public shaming and possibly flow to exile
or even execution. A part of the law that would shine here is:
19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; 20 Breach for breach, eye
for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. Leviticus 24:19,20
Depending upon the extent of the damage of the slander, it would be clear that the judgment would render damage of
matching weight to the slanderer. If his slander could result in his neighbor losing business and going bankrupt, it
would be matching to confiscate the goods of the slanderer to the same extent of loss.
I tell you, such judicial practices would certainly shut down the current practices of "anonymous" tips that afflict
neighbors. Anonymous tips would be illegal. A person would have to account for their speech. For example: Some wicked
neighbor wanted to afflict a homeschooling neighbor, so made a false report to government child protective services.
Their hope to have the homeschooler's children removed from the home, would end up seeing their children removed from
their home, if the charges were unfounded. Such just policy would see an end to the proliferation of wicked slanderings
that presently abound with no penalties.
That high look and proud heart would shortly be cut down when they realized the law is a double edged sword that does
not show mercy to the merciless slanderers.
6 Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he
shall serve me.
Note the turn of the next verse. David starts with punishment of the wicked then turns to the godly. The godly get
something from the righteous government. No, it's not welfare. They receive the protection of the government. Their
souls are preserved. They are protected from molesters and provided the necessary security to be able to dwell safely
in the land.
Presently, if you are a British citizen, you are considered a "British Subject". You are a subject of the monarch. In
a similar way, you see the service owed to the king in verse 6. Such service is not slavery to the king, it is
subjection to the lawful jurisdiction of the government. In a similar comparison, women are to be in subjection to
their husbands. They are to honor the position of authority, but that does not give the husband the power to demand
the wife steal. That is outside the boundaries of his authority and such demands would be tyranny. She would have
full responsibility to refuse to steal for him. Of course, the godly government would remain within its limits of
exercising "mercy and judgment" and providing security for the godly.
Taxing for the provision of these services would fall under the responsibility of "serving the king" of this verse.
Taxing for the provision of abortion would be exceeding the government's jurisdiction into the realm of tyranny. Such
taxing for the promotion of evil is beyond the rightful power of government. The taking of that money is sheer
oppression, via the power of its military might, to compel the taking of that money. You may give to the tyranny,
but not because of choice, only out of bully compulsion. Remember the child who had to pay the school bully his daily
lunch money? Now you've got the picture!
7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
He who works deceit is he who works falsely. The treacherous workers, who present one cause for some laws giving
"official reasons", but whose real reason is for corrupt, covetous gain, are not to be tolerated. David was committed
to removing any of such character from the realm of his reign. This is godly government. David called such, "liars".
They were to be promptly removed from the positions of governing over the people.
8 I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.
This final verse, describing the kind of government God intends to rule over men is pretty powerful.
The "I will early" is the translation of the term for "morning". In other words, David was committed to destroying
ALL the wicked, first thing in the day. Building a nice park was not the first concern! We see the position was serious.
It wasn't just a slap on the hand of the wicked. Nothing will do, for godly government, but destruction of the wicked
from the land. There is more to notice here however. It is that word translated "that". This tells us the following,
and final part, is the ultimate reason for the first part. The final concern bares in mind that "fear of God" all
rulers must have, from the 2 Samuel passage. It also warns us that if the wicked are not destroyed from the land, the
wicked will flood the church. Moral bankruptcy in the nation overflows into a compromised church. For those who think
God has no place in government, think again. God cares very much what happens in His church. What happens there, flows
from either a good government or a corrupt government.
Just like Lot, Abraham's nephew, was called righteous:
7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among
them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 2 Peter 2:7,8
So we see Lot was corrupted, to a degree, by the influence of Sodom. (Read the story in Genesis chapters 18 and 19.)
God showed He held Sodom responsible for its corruption. Separation of church and state CANNOT mean government has the
freedom to reign without the fear of God.
The true fear of God would rightly reign over the land where godly government reigned. Punishment of evil doers would
be in force and corrupt leaders would be banished.
Present National Situation
With these words of instruction on godly government, we need to consider a common practice prevailing in our land. We
see women appointed to office, and we are told that shows how marvelous our system is.
I live in a state whose motto is "The Equality State". That's here in Wyoming. That motto refers to the fact that women
were first granted the right to vote in the United States in Wyoming. Later, Wyoming had a woman governor. Most seem
proud of these things.
I have heard women libers criticize Paul, in the New Testament, as being a male chauvanist that God just couldn't
enlighten on that issue. They said Christ was a women's liber, and someday in the future, it would have to come
about that women were properly liberated the way Jesus meant. With that perverse doctrine in mind, I want us to
momentarily take a look a little farther back, to the days of Isaiah.
Isaiah saw the culture had become very women's liber in its views. Many would say, "it had arrived in the proper
liberation view for women". Women were operating in positions of government leadership. The point in time was perfect
for God to make a clear statement of His approval. Society had now openly approved such "equality" positions. God did
respond with a clear "thus saith the LORD" through His prophet Isaiah. Here are the exact words:
12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause
thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
Isaiah 3:12
No matter how you like this passage, the tone of disapproval and scorn is absolutely clear from the mouth of God.
(You can read all of Isaiah chapter 3 for full context.)
I find people who think it is wonderful when a women gets into office. They might even say, "She was the only possible
good candidate." I can't do anything about the leaders the majority chooses, but I can say it is a clear sign of the
decadence of the present society. It is certainly nothing to rejoice in, rather it is an occasion of mourning out the
very words of Isaiah 3:12.
Confusion and wickedness prevail over the land and people keep looking for the solutions in all the wrong ways.
The answer lies in God's Word. Repentance and turning back to those words of David in 2 Samuel is the only answer.
The proud and lofty hearts must be humbled. The outline of Psalm 101 must be returned to. Until then, preach the
Gospel, pray and immerse yourselves in God's Word.
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