God’s Superiority
We continue in Psalm 136, where the psalmist now starts to praise God for his power over all the other earthly rulers. He calls the people to give thanks in verse 17:
“To him who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings— His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan— His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.”
(Psalm 136:17–21 NIV)
Corrupt Rulers of Earth
And so again, the author of the Psalm is saying we see God’s in His act of taking out the bad and evil kings and allowing Israel to take possession of the land. Maybe you're thinking if only God would take out the evil rulers of our day, right? Our evil and corrupt presidents and leaders of the world - wouldn't it be great if God took them out and let Godly people rule the world so that God's glory is upheld everywhere and God's good news reaches more people?
But in 1 John, we read that God has given the devil an amount of power at this point. And so he, in a sense, is in control of the world, although God's will is still taking place far above that.
God Can Change Our Leaders
For me, verses like this make me go to God and say, I believe you are greater than any politician, king, leader, human. And though I don't want God to kill anybody, I am praying for God to lead all these types of leaders into salvation and redemption.
In the previous devotion we spoke about the glory of the cross and how to free us from our lands of sin. Isn't that how we should be praying for our presidents and leaders - that God would touch them and save them, protect them and give them a new heart? Let's not pray that God kills anybody, but let's pray that God in His glory and wisdom saves people.
Pray For Leaders
I want to challenge you to pray for your president and your government, asking God to transform their lives and bring them into deep, worshipful relationship with Him or to bring into power those who will honour God and lead our countries forward in that way.
And so with the Psalmist today, we praise God, but not because He's a killer of kings, but because He's a Saviour of souls. May it be that even those high up on the earth's totem pole right now will be humbled as they learn of the saving love of our Lord Jesus, which endures forever.
