If you’re like me—an informed, politically engaged Christian voter—you prayed according to God’s will of precept. Which is to say, you prayed that the all-sovereign God would place in office men and women who embrace biblical morality: who contend for the sanctity of human life, heterosexual marriage, gender sanity, women in women’s sports, secure borders, careful vetting and assimilation of immigrants, school choice, limited government, reasonable taxation, swift and effective law enforcement, and gratitude to the good God who gave us the American Experiment and all its blessings.
But when you prayed, did you also submit to God’s will of purpose? Which is to say, did you humbly acknowledge that the all-sovereign God also ordains events and situations that run counter to his will of precept? In other words, did you add to your initial prayers for the fulfillment of God’s will of precept this final prayer of submission to his will of purpose: “Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done”?
The tension between these two wills is evident throughout Scripture, but especially in its narrative of Scripture’s central theme: the Person and Work of Christ. Surely it was the Father’s will of precept that Israel should believe, obey, welcome, and love his messianic Son. Yet, as our Lord knew all too well, it was also his will of purpose that the nation as a whole should reject him. Why? So that a greater purpose might be accomplished: the redemption of a holy people who in time would gladly, gratefully, and perfectly fulfill his will of precept throughout endless ages to come!
In the midst of our disappointment, let us therefore take comfort. Yes, we devoutly wish that the election had turned out better: that the sovereign God might have softened more hearts, enlightened more minds, and awakened more consciences, so that slothful citizens who didn’t vote would have, and that those who did vote would have done so with an eye to the laws of nature and nature’s God. But Scripture assures us he had wise and benevolent reasons for ordaining otherwise. And we may be certain that future events—including the chastening of the Body of Christ, the growth of the Church, and dreadful judgments falling upon an increasingly depraved world-system—will make those purposes clear.
Therefore, in the midst of the great maelstrom, let us strive for a healthy biblical balance.
With one eye on God’s will of precept, let Christian leaders teach their flocks how to glorify Christ by serving as godly citizens; and let all such citizens study the issues carefully (especially those surrounding the sanctity of human life), prophesy boldly to the powers that be, vote, and—as the Spirit may lead—even run for public office. Perhaps through all this the Lord will give us our heart’s desire, strengthening the things that remain and granting us and our children a season of national renewal.
But even as we honor Christ by serving as engaged citizens in the kingdom of this world, let us also pledge our supreme loyalty to the Kingdom that is not of this world, and to the heavenly King who rules over it. Let us therefore drink in his Word, walk in his Spirit, obey his commands, faithfully proclaim his gospel, solemnly warn our generation of the wrath to come, and fervently urge it to receive the Christ to come. As the pillar and support of the truth in the earth, the Church is commissioned to summon all men to join her in bending the knee to the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly Ruler of the kings and nations of the earth.
However, even as we thus fulfill God’s two-fold will of precept for his children, we must also keep our other eye on his will of purpose for universal history; on the future historical events that he ordained in eternity past, and that he has revealed to his people for their equipping and comfort.
This will require honesty and courage on our parts. For Scripture makes it clear that the fallen world-system—presently governed by the evil spiritual ruler of this world—is destined to grow worse and worse; that history is heading toward a Last Battle between God and Satan, Christ and the Antichrist, and the Church and the World; that far from human government ever bringing in global Paradise, it will finally and completely go over to Satan and his counterfeit messiah; but that just when the Domain of Darkness will seem to have triumphed once and for all, the Lord of glory, with all the holy angels, will return to raise the dead, judge the world in righteousness, and bring in the eternal Kingdom of God: the true City on a Hill for which all true Americans truly long.
Beloveds, God has blessed us to be born in these United States, and to enjoy the rich fruits of the American Experiment. For this we owe him great thanks; and to the wise principles that made our nation great we owe great loyalty, together with our best efforts to preserve the things that remain.
But again, God has unmistakably taught us that one day even these United States will go the way of all flesh, and that those who understand this must therefore make it their supreme ambition to see their elect neighbors rescued from the City of Destruction and transferred safely into the eternal City of God.
Therefore, being aware of God’s will of purpose for his world and his holy City—yet simultaneously desiring the very best for our struggling homeland—let us press on in obedience to God’s manifold will of precept, carefully balancing our duties as citizens of these United States against our higher duties as citizens of heaven and subjects of its High King.
If our loyalties, priorities, passions, deeds, and infectious joy reflect these stupendous realities, we may confidently join with Julian of Norwich in affirming:
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”