Proverbs 16 12 It is an abomination to kings
to commit wickedness For the throne is established by righteousness
Now as with most if not just about all of the Proverbs there
is an earthly lesson here that teaches us a spiritual truth
as with our Lord's parables These proverbs have been called parables.
It's things that we are familiar with, a king, a throne, sin,
righteousness, taught all through the scriptures. But here's a
very simple principle really on both counts, both in the earthly
and the spiritual realms. Someone who is given authority
by God is required to honor him with that authority. It's an
abomination, though there is no earthly authority that's perfectly
righteous. It's an abomination not to be,
nonetheless. Our nature is not an excuse for
our sin. It's the reason for our sin. So if God has given you authority
of any kind, you're responsible to God, to honor him with that,
and that which honors the Lord is also that which is best for
men and women. First of all, think about this
now. We say that God gives authority.
Men vote for many positions of leadership, but God is the one
that gives authority. Listen to Psalm 75, five, lift
not up your horn on high, speak not with a stiff neck, don't
be haughty and puffed up and proud when you have some authority
in this world. For promotion cometh neither
from the East nor from the West nor from the South, but God is
the judge. God is the one who decides who
is promoted and who's not. Put us down one and set us up
another So This of course doesn't excuse
the evil of one in authority who is evil The fact that God
is the one that raised him up He raised up Pharaoh knowing
of course that he was evil and that he would rebel he told Moses
all along He's not gonna hear you. He's not gonna listen to
you. And then of course when the Passover came When it came
time for the Passover, he said, now he's gonna let you go. The
Lord wasn't fooled by any of that. He knows who it is he's
setting up in authority. He's not expecting them to do
well, and then they don't. He knows what's gonna happen
before he does it. But he does it to accomplish
his good, sovereign, eternal purpose. One way or another,
it doesn't excuse the evil of the one who's evil in the exercising
of that authority. And it doesn't mean that we have
to be happy about it. David complained about those
that he said, I'm talking for peace and they want war. He would pray to the Lord about
those things and we do too. We pray that some in authority
wouldn't be able to get away with what they want to. So it doesn't mean we have to
be happy about it, but it does give us comfort and peace to know that the government rests
on the shoulders of the Savior. Isaiah 9, 6, for unto us a child
is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be on
his shoulder. And his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. And this is, of course, talking
primarily about the government of God's kingdom, but all other
earthly governments are subservient to that. When Christ rules over
all, he turns the hearts of kings in his hand as the rivers of
water, Proverbs 21. And that, that's good news. So the Lord gives and establishes
all authority, whatever it is. And this verse talks of kings,
but it applies to all positions of authority in this world. Of
course, all wickedness is an abomination to the Lord. It says
here, when kings are wicked, That's an abomination. Well,
all wickedness is an abomination to the Lord, but what this is
saying is that it compounds the wickedness when it's committed
by someone in authority, someone who is entrusted, not that God
trusts sinners, but is entrusted with authority in some position
or another. Just think about it. When an
employee is messing up on the job, There may be and should
be a boss that can reel that in or fire that person and solve
the problem that way. But when the boss is corrupt
or vindictive or irresponsible, that affects everybody. It affects
the whole company. And who's gonna fix that in just
earthly terms now who's going to fix that if it's the boss
if it's the owner that's the problem then then it's all a
problem so you see in that in that scenario if a misbehaving
child ideally has a parent to correct it but if the parent
is the problem that's a bigger problem you see what it's talking
about that's a sad family Politicians are able to affect millions of
people for good or bad with a stroke of a pen. And so it's doubly
important for them to honor the Lord with the authority given
them by the Lord. So you see the earthly principle
here is plain. There's great consequence when
someone in authority on any level commits wickedness. But as we
know, by God's grace, the Bible is a spiritual book. And when
it speaks of the throne here, the throne is established in
righteousness. We know what throne that's talking
about because there's only one throne that's established in
righteousness. All in authority are to be held
accountable for the authority given them, but There's only
one who ever lived up to the office. Psalm 45, six, thy throne,
O God, is forever and ever. Scepter of thy kingdom is a right
scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest wickedness. Therefore, God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy felons. He is the king of kings, of course,
because of who he is, but this verse says also he is because
he's worthy of it. He's worthy of the title. Christ's
sovereign, absolute authority is what sinners hate most about
him. That's clear in the scriptures.
How did they nail him to the cross and who was it they were
spitting on? The king. King of the Jews. They wrote it above his head.
Listen to this. This has always been a favorite
article of mine by Charles Spurgeon. And I remembered it when I was
looking at this and I found it. Spurgeon said there is no doctrine
more hated by worldlings, no truth of which they have made
such a football as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain
doctrine of the sovereignty the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow
God to be everywhere except on His throne. They will allow Him
to be in His workshop to fashion worlds and to make stars. They
will allow Him to be in His almonery to dispense His alms and bestow
His bounties. They will allow Him to sustain
the earth and bear up the pillars thereof or light the lamps of
heaven or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean. But when God
ascends His throne, His creatures then gnash their teeth. And when
we proclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do as He wills
with His own, to dispose of His creatures as He thinks well,
without consulting them in the matter, then it is that we are
hissed at and despised. And then it is that men turn
a deaf ear to us, for God on His throne is not the God they
love. They love him anywhere better than they do when he sits
with his scepter in his hand and his crown upon his head. But it is God upon the throne
that we love to preach. It is God upon his throne that
we trust. There's nothing more comforting
to the people of God. And just right, there's nothing
that feels more right than God's absolute sovereignty. For man, look at this world. Who in their right mind would
want man to have any power at all in things that matter? Well, that's the problem. We're
not in our right mind by nature. But there's nothing more comforting
to God's people. I can't trust a God who tries
and fails. How are you gonna trust him?
Maybe he'll fail in my case. Maybe he'll try to save me and
won't be able to get it done. I trust the God who has mercy
on whom he will and who delights to show mercy. That's who I trust
for myself and for my family, for those that I love. I trust
him by his grace. I can't rest in comfort and peace
if God wants the best for everyone, but can't get it done. He can't
violate man's free will. And man's free will is a disaster. There's no such thing, first
of all. because man's so-called free will is a will depraved
by sin. I rest in the arms of the God
who does as he pleases in the armies of heaven and among the
inhabitants of this earth and has promised that no harm shall
ever come to his sheep. No one can pluck me out of His
hand. And since that hand is a sovereign
hand, I can truly rest. And most relevant to our text,
I trust by His grace to God who is too good to ever do wrong. His throne is established in
righteousness. He was good and right. on my
best days, when my children were born, when I met my wife, as
my children grew up and there was laughter and happiness. He
was good then, and he'll be good on the day that they watch my
casket lowered into the ground. And there's not laughter, there's
tears. And remembering all the good precious times that the
Lord gave us, and there'll be tears, I'm sure, I hope a little
bit of tears. Not too much. But the Lord's
gonna be good and right on that day, too. And that's who we rest in, that's
who we trust. His throne is established in
righteousness, it's a throne. And bless God, a righteous throne. Throne of God the Son is established
in righteousness, and therefore we rejoice. We sing his praises
as we just did. We rest. We go to bed at night,
knowing that if it's the Lord that's keeping me safe, I'm safe. And by his grace, we worship
him. And I pray that he will grant
us that this morning, that we might worship him. See him on
his throne, a throne of righteousness and a throne of grace. Amen. Let's pray.