When we are tempted to trust in some particular person or political party to provide deliverance and security, we have a vain hope. The God who made heaven, and earth, the sea and all that is in them, is the One who provides deliverence and security for His people. This God has secured a city that has foundations–a lasting city–for His people (Heb. 11:10, 16; 13:14). He has, through His own death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, secured victory over our enemies–the world, the flesh, and the devil. He alone provides salvation. He alone atones for our sins. He alone sets the prisoner free. He alone raises us from death to life. He alone is the One in whom we should find our help.

Like many other Christians, I am deeply concerned about the direction in which our country has been moving and the speed at which it continues to move. The murder of the unborn, the celebration of every form of sexual immorality, the increase in public acts of violence, perpetual discrimination, sex trafficking, and a rise in religious intolerance certainly top the list of moral evils over which we should grieve. If the outrage and anger we witnessed in 2020 is any indicator of things to come, the future looks bleak. Along with the decay of the moral fabric of our society is the inevitability of opposition to Christ and His church. This rightly leaves believers unsettled in heart and mind. However, so many scramble to get behind a political leader in order to alleviate fears. Conspiracy theories abound to justify in the minds and hearts of the fearful why they should be fighting for a political solution. However, when fears or concerns rise up in our minds and hearts, what does God call us to do? Thankfully, He has given us all that we need in His word. The Psalms alone provide us with enough encouragement to trust in the God who made the heavens and the earth, when everything around us seems bleak. Consider, for instance, Psalm 124.

One of the Songs of Ascent, the people of God sung this Psalm as they made their way to the Temple every year. When they ascended the hill of Zion, they would hear one another singing:

“‘If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,’
Let Israel now say—

‘If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have gone over our soul;
Then the swollen waters
Would have gone over our soul.’

Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.”

Martin Luther–a man who knew what it was to face severe opposition from every side–reflecting on the usefulness of this Psalm, wrote,

“We may well sing this Psalm, not only against our enemies which openly hate and persecute us, but also against spiritual wickedness. For we know, from the teaching of the gospel, that now seven devils beset us, whereas formerly we had only one to fear. But this is not the whole of our danger; a third enemy must rise up against us, within ourselves, whom we carry along with us and tenderly preserve, namely, the sacred venerable woman, our flesh, which incites us to sin at all times and makes disturbance, is contrary to faith, and fights against the spirit in all our members.”

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