PRÉCIS ON THE EXTRAVAGANT MAJESTY AND MERCY OF GOD: A PERSONAL LIFE LESSON

SCRIPTURE. “My mouth shall be filled with Your praise and with Your honor all the day. Cast me not off nor send me away in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent and my powers fail.” – PSALM 71:8-9, AMPC

KEY TERM. “HONOR.” ‘Tiphara’ [תִּפְאַרְתֶּֽךָ׃]: “‘To attribute beauty, bravery, glory, splendor and majesty [to God and no other];’ bearing the apparel and rank of the High Priest; boasting of the Monarch; the esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; dignity; exalted rank or place; distinction.” “So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’” – MATTHEW 13:57, NKJV

QUOTATION. “Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in Heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The Gospel is not a way to get people to Heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It’s a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. ‘If we don’t want God above all things, we have not been converted by the Gospel.” ― JOHN PIPER, God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God’s Love as the Gift of Himself, 2011; edited

COMMENTARY. “David prays that he might never be made ashamed of dependence upon God. With this petition every true believer may come boldly to the Throne of Grace. The gracious care of Divine Providence in our birth and infancy, should engage us to early piety. He that was our Help from our birth, ought to be our Hope from our youth. Let none expect ease or comfort from the world. Those who love the Lord, often are hated and persecuted; men wondered at for their principles and conduct; but the Lord has been their strong Refuge. The faithful servants of God may be assured that He will not cast them off in old age, nor forsake them when their strength fails.” – MATTHEW HENRY, Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, 6 vols., 1708-1710; edited

DK’S TAKE. The upcoming Presidential Election of November 5, 2024, is inarguably the most important referendum in all our history. It is also the most divisive in American history, with the Red States and their supporters lining up militantly, frankly, for their candidate, DONALD TRUMP. And just as zealously (though less militantly), the Blue States supporters are campaigning for their champion, KAMALA HARRIS.

Consequently, an unprecedented political phenomenon began to take place that we have not seen since the Rise of Trump’s Nationalism Movement: Several principled Republican leaders began to publicly support the Harris campaign for one unified purpose:

“To Save Democracy.”

Rightly reasoning that a Second Trump Presidency would be the final ruin of the American Constitutional Order they were willing to sacrifice their own ideological commitments for the Larger Good. Such names as Lynn Cheney, Dick Cheney, Adam Kinsinger, Bill Weld, Christine Todd Whitman, along with 238 former Republican staffers for George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Mitt Romney signed a Letter of Support for Harris on August 27, 2024.

CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE. For those of us following Jesus Christ and His Gospel, there have been lines of disagreement even among the Never Trump believers, with one side favoring a No Vote or a Write-In as the best way to deal with the choice between Trump and Harris. Another equally zealous side formed behind Harris in order, again, to do all they can to defeat Trump:

“To Save Souls.”

Most of you know well by now that I am a No Vote advocate, but in my commitment to that position, I overlooked the crucial matter of ‘Principled Christian Conscience.’ And in so doing, I grieved a number of my closest and godliest friends in this Fight against the Donald Trump Maga Movement.

After these lines of division began to form and heat up even among a few of my closest confidants, allies, and even my wife, TWO EVENTS came across my path that got my attention for a much-needed Course Correction. They came in the form of Two Written Statements that pierced my stubbornness on this vital issue.

PAUL LEE. “It’s been almost a decade since the reprobate spirit took over the Evangelical Church after the Church ‘leaders’ sold their souls cheap in exchange for Supreme Court justices. If Harris wins this November even though she’s for abortion, the Church may enjoy another respite and perhaps repent of its sins.”

ASAPH. “Moreover, He rejected the tent of Joseph and chose not the tribe of Ephraim [in which the tabernacle had been accustomed to stand]. But He chose the tribe of Judah [as Israel’s leader], Mount Zion, which He loved [to replace Shiloh as His capital]. And He built His sanctuary [exalted] like the heights [of the heavens] and like the earth which He established forever.” – PSALM 78:67-68, AMPC

CODA. My current position on not voting has not changed, but my failure to grant Grace to Christian Conscience has changed. Here the Lord instructs that though the largely Apostatizing American Church continues to reject God and His Son, He still, He still, beloved, holds out:

‘One Final Plea for Repentance!’

The Apostle stated it plain and loving: “The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” – 2 PETER 3:9, AMP

Therefore, it is legitimate to ask God for a little more time for those who will not follow Ephraim but will rather choose Judah – even at this Last Hour – to bring the spiritual, historical and theological parallels together.

And, beloved, hopefully now, our own Peloton Confessing Fellowship, for the Great Struggle ahead.