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I Samuel 8:18-19 “And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us.”

Thomas Paine argues that a monarchy is sinful because it supersedes the authority of God, but is also onerous because it overreaches into the lives of men. Such is the case with a government that exceeds its underlying limited function of security and restraint against our own vices.

An overreaching governor takes our sons and appoints them for himself. He takes our daughters “to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.” He takes the best of our fields, vineyards, oliveyards, and flocks. Paine reminds the reader that “neither do the characters of the few good kings which have lived since, either sanctify the title, or blot out the sinfulness of the origin.”

Excessive government is onerous, and burdens the people more than it benefits them. Such has been the case since the monarchical foundation, and such is the case today. It prompted our forefathers to revolt, though it has once again ensnared us today by our ignorant acquiescence.

PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WOULD RETURN TO A GOVERNMENT CHARACTERIZED BY BENEFIT AND NOT BURDEN. If we refuse to obey God’s plan for government, then we must expect continued onerousness instead of opportunity.

Judges 8:23 “And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.”

Thomas Paine (see 2 prior posts) describes the desire for monarchy as “one of the sins of the Jews” because it “invades the prerogative of heaven.” After quoting Judges 8:23, Paine goes on to state:

“Words need not be more explicit; Gideon doth not decline the honor, but denieth their right to give it; neither doth he compliment them with invented declarations of his thanks, but in the positive style of a prophet charges them with disaffection to their proper Sovereign, the King of heaven.”

There is only one who should rule our affections. There is only one who should rule our thoughts. There is only one who should rule our emotions. There is only one who should rule our worldview. There is only one who should rule our society. There is only one who should rule our nation – the One, the proper Sovereign, the King of heaven!

PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WOULD RETURN THE REAL KING OF AMERICA TO HIS THRONE. Ruling over us is the prerogative of heaven, and nothing else should supersede Him.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that our nation’s prosperity is so tenuously linked to others), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

I Samuel 8:5-7 “And said unto him, Behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”

Thomas Paine continued on in his argument by outlining the pitfalls that faced Gideon and Samuel as the people clamored for a government that matched those of the heathen. Paine stated “As the exalting of one man so greatly above the rest cannot be justified on the equal rights of nature, so neither can it be defended on the authority of scripture; for the will of the Almighty, as declared by Gideon and the prophet Samuel, expressly disapproves of government by kings.”

America was formed as a nation with a government distinct from all others; our structure created an outcome distinct from all others. Yet, our fellow citizens now want us to be “like all the nations.” Being the same as others was never the intent of our founders nor was it the intent of our Lord for the leaders of Israel. Being different and distinct was exactly what Paine suggested should prompt our separation from the Old World.

PLEASE PRAY FOR TODAY’S AMERICANS TO STRIVE FOR THE DISTINCTION ENVISIONED BY OUR FOREFATHERS. Being like all the other nations was reason for revolution, not resumption of our olds ways. We were designed to be different from all the nations, not like all the nations.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

On January 10^th, 1776, Thomas Paine published a landmark document that fanned the flames of independence in colonial America. A brilliantly written pamphlet, Common Sense swept through the colonies as a well-reasoned rationale for separation from the British Empire. In his own words, Paine described his endeavor in the following way: “In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense.” These simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense rested upon several underlying premises that will form the next six PLUS posts.

Paine began his argument by establishing the purpose of government – to restrain our natural vices. He states:

“Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.”

Based on this rationale for government, Paine contends that this institution must be as small as possible to meet its limited role. He calls government a “necessary evil” with a small government being “preferable to all others.” Short terms in government would help minimize its power by allowing officials to “return and mix again with the general body of electors” and prevent the elected from having interests separate from the electors. Nevertheless, the entire institution is only necessary because of our lost innocence through sin.

We have created a government that now ignores its underlying and limited purpose. As we allow it to grow into areas beyond its restraint of our vices, we continue to “furnish the means by which we suffer.” PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR GOVERNMENT TO RETURN TO ITS ONLY REAL PURPOSE – TO RESTRAIN OUR VICES.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that in diverging from the Constitution we also diverge from our Biblical basis), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

Joshua 6:20 “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”

Yale President Ezra Stiles called General Washington the “American Joshua.” In a 1783 sermon, Stiles marveled at the miraculous hand of God that enabled victory in the Revolutionary War. About the victories at Trenton and Princeton, Stiles wrote the following:

“While oppressed by the heavy weight of this combined force, heaven inspired us with resolution to cut the Gordian Knot; when the die was cast irrevocable in the glorious act of Independence. This was sealed and confirmed by God Almighty in the victory of General Washington at Trenton, and in the surprising movement and battle of Princeton; by which astonishing effort of generalship, General Howe and the whole British army, in elated confidence and in open-mouthed march for Philadelphia, was instantly stopped, remanded back, and cooped up for a shivering winter in the little borough of Brunswick. Thus God turned the battle to the gate; and this gave a finishing to the foundation of the American republic.”

Christians Americans may be oppressed by the heavy weight of the combined force of our adversaries. Yet, victory can be sealed and confirmed irrevocably by God Almighty. The enemy can be instantly stopped.

PLEASE PRAY FOR HEAVEN INSPIRED RESOLUTION TO STRIVE TOWARDS SPIRITUAL VICTORY IN 2016. The Gordian Knot of our current situation can only be cut by God’s power and our faithfulness.