Psalm 33:1-22 (ESV) Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 6

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Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

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The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13

The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 16

The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. 17

Once again this coming Tuesday our nation will chose who will be our political leaders in America. The United States is governed as a constitutional republic.

No matter who is elected on Tuesday, be they local, state or federal office holders, they will all take an oath to uphold the constitution. By definition this ought to limit the scope of government to the checks and balances within the constitution.

We are a blessed nation. We elect our leaders knowing full well that their authority is limited and that they can be replaced. No one person can control the reigns of political power.

This morning, on the LORD’S Day before a national election, we’re going to talk TYRONE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | OUR ONE TRUE HOPE NOVEMBER 6, 2016. PASTOR JAMES MASCOW

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about our one true hope. We begin with THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH. God is the creator of the earth, and He is the LORD of all the nations. Psalm 33:6-10 (ESV) By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

Ever since the Tower of Babel the desire to consolidate cultural power has led to the building of nations. At Babel a leader arose who sought to unite the world behind his plan to make themselves great. That leader’s name was Nimrod, and his plan was to build a tower to reach the heavens.

This building project was so ambitious that pitted the pride of man up against the sovereignty of God. Nimrod sought to lead one nation ABOVE God.

That attempt for one world government in defiance of God failed. The LORD confused their languages, and the people scattered over the face of the earth.

Different languages led to different tribes, to different cultures, to the building up of nations. Every nation in history sought to assert itself for the benefit of its people.

Every nation in history has had leaders that have governed with a mixture of wisdom & folly, power, and vanity. Some have ruled by conquest, others by the consent of its people.

Some leaders were kings, others were folk heroes. Some ruled with an iron fist, others with a sense of benevolent responsibility.

Some nations became great because of their military power. Other nations became dominate because of their economic supremacy. No matter how great a nation becomes, its power and its influence are controlled by the LORD of all the nations. TYRONE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | OUR ONE TRUE HOPE NOVEMBER 6, 2016. PASTOR JAMES MASCOW

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Isaiah 40:15 (ESV) Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales;

While the prophet Daniel was in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man in the world’s most powerful nation at the time. The LORD spoke through Daniel. Daniel 2:20-22 (ESV) Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

God governs all the nations of the earth, and He does so through those who have been put into positions of authority. Today we pray for wise leaders for our nation.

None of them are without fault. All of them are flawed human beings. May those who are elected on Tuesday be humble enough to know their limits, and wise enough to understand their place under God among the nations of the earth.

The United States is not the center of the universe, but it is a leader among the nations. To whom much is given, much is also expected. One of the slogans in this campaign has been “Make America Great Again” to which the other side replied, “America is already great!”

Both the slogan and the response beg the question, “how do you define the word “great”?” Greatness in: 

Military power?

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Economic affluence?

How about moral leadership? Cultural ethics? Personal integrity? TYRONE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | OUR ONE TRUE HOPE NOVEMBER 6, 2016. PASTOR JAMES MASCOW

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A sense of decency and civility?

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (ESV) Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

On Tuesday may God give us not what we deserve, but what we need at this time in our history. From the nations of the earth, we now go to the children of men. Psalm 33:12-15 (ESV) Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.

The God of the Bible is not an absentee deity. He looks upon all the inhabitants of the earth. The young and the old. The rich and the poor. The born and the unborn. The children of men include those who are the disenfranchised, the poor, the neglected, the unwanted and the incarcerated.

Every human being deserving of the respect and dignity that comes with being made in the image of God.

Christians have a greater responsibility to the children of men than those who know not the LORD. We are to be the salt of the earth and a light to the world. In this election year filled with such vitriol, how we communicate can be just as important as what we communicate. We are called to be civil, respectful, and humble in our public and private discourse. We are to love those who hate us and speak well of those who oppose what we believe. TYRONE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | OUR ONE TRUE HOPE NOVEMBER 6, 2016. PASTOR JAMES MASCOW

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Now more than ever believers can distinguish themselves as those who live by a different standard.

In social media, in public forums, in personal conversations, let the children of men see the love of JESUS Christ.

Go out of your way to build others up when the natural inclination would be to go on the attack.

The children of God are to live differently than the children of men. We of all people ought to know that everyone of us will one day give an account of our lives to God.

For God judges both individuals and nations. The rich and the powerful, the mighty and the arrogant, the proud and the haughty are all subject to God’s judgment. Psalm 2:1-4 (ESV) Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

All the nations of the earth and all the children of men will one day answer to the God of all creation. He is the one who will judge our thoughts, our intents and our actions. Where then is our hope? Psalm 33:16-19 (ESV) The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

The eye of the LORD is on those who fear him. The eye of the LORD is on those who hope in his steadfast love. Our one true hope is found in the person and work of JESUS Christ.

That has always been the case for Bible believing evangelical Christians. But our approach in how to balance that hope with our involvement in politics and culture has TYRONE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | OUR ONE TRUE HOPE NOVEMBER 6, 2016. PASTOR JAMES MASCOW

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varied over the years.

For years Christians stayed out of politics altogether.

Back in those days there was a Judeo-Christian ethic that was the consensus among a large majority of Americans. You could not be elected to high office without at least outwardly affirming those values.

Those days are long gone. Today there is a hostility toward Biblical standards and those who hold them.

Evangelicals once considered themselves to be a part of a moral majority. Today they look in vain for a candidate to champion their cause. One of the questions on Tuesday will be whether or not the traditional values people will get out and vote or stay home. Some will ask, “Vote for whom? Which presidential candidate stands for decency, morality, integrity and the sanctity of life?”

The answer of course is that our one true hope will not be residing in the White House. Our one true hope holds veto power over every branch of government in this and every other nation.

But in saying that, we know that God rules through those who are in positions of authority. He has used flawed and even wicked rulers in the past. He will do so in the future.

Our role is to stand for righteousness and to trust in the one who sovereignly sees and knows all. Trust is an active obedience. Shame on those who sit this election out because they don’t like any of the candidates. Our hope is not in a particular candidate, but that the eye of the LORD will be on those who trust in Him. (final point) Psalm 33:18-22 (ESV) TYRONE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | OUR ONE TRUE HOPE NOVEMBER 6, 2016. PASTOR JAMES MASCOW

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Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. On Tuesday vote your conscience, but put your trust in the LORD. If God’s people don’t participate in the process, that’s negligence not trust.

It’s the same reasoning people use when they say, “I’m a Christian, but I just don’t go to church.”

The world is a messy place, because this is a fallen world. But this is where God has called us to faithful.

The eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him and trust in His steadfast love.

The eye of the LORD will be on you this Tuesday, not so much for who you vote for, but for who you trust in.

Next Sunday we will pray for our current President and for the newly elected President, as well as for all those in positions of authority.

Today we have prayed for the Church and for our nation. Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.”

Regardless of who is elected to be our next President, our one true hope is that the eye of the LORD will look upon this nation and see a remnant of those whom he has chosen as his heritage. There will be winners and losers after Tuesday’s vote. The real losers are those who don’t care. People of God, do not sit this election out.

It is not spiritual to say that it doesn’t matter who’s elected or who will be in positions of authority. It matters a great deal on whether God’s people will trust Him.

TYRONE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | OUR ONE TRUE HOPE NOVEMBER 6, 2016. PASTOR JAMES MASCOW

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Do you believe that the LORD will work through the process which governs the affairs of men?

If you do, then first give yourself fully to JESUS Christ who died for your sins on the cross. Trust in His steadfast love.

Second, pray for the advancement of the kingdom of God here on earth through the people of his heritage, which is the Body of Christ.

Finally, exercise your right and responsibility on Tuesday. All of us will be thankful when this election campaign is over.

Like it or not, the candidates that are running for President are a reflection of where we are spiritually as a nation. If we want that to change, then we had better pray and participate.

We do that knowing that our one true hope is in the God of grace and the God of glory.

TYRONE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | OUR ONE TRUE HOPE NOVEMBER 6, 2016. PASTOR JAMES MASCOW

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