The Rise And Fall Of Great Nations

THE RISE AND FALL OF GREAT NATIONS

Read Jeremiah 18:1-12

Read Jeremiah 18:1-12

Can I not do with you as this potter has done? Jeremiah 18:6

Years ago someone gave me a book by the title of The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, written by Paul Kennedy. The book was an historical review of the mistakes in economics, international policy and military expansion that brought one great nation after another to ruin. The thesis, of course, was that America was on that same trajectory from greatness to decline.

On December 22, 1641, one of the Divines of the Westminster Assembly mounted the steps of St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster, and delivered a sermon to the House of Commons. His text was Jeremiah 18:7-10. The title of his sermon was “England’s Looking Glass.” His thesis was simple, derived from the pages of the Old Testament: “Sin ruins kingdoms.” He was, as the English say, “Spot on”:

Righteousness exalts a nation,

but sin is a reproach to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)

As Edmund Calamy of London preached, he set before the Parliament of Oliver Cromwell a simple truth: Repentance was more crucial to the blessing of a nation than good public policy, military victories or the best men in government. One historian commented on the puritan preacher’s intent:

As Calamy preached, he emphasized the importance of repentance in their tumultuous times. He boldly claimed God’s sovereignty over nations. That morning, Calamy sought to apply his teaching to the Church, to the nation as a whole, and to Parliament in particular, because he believed that Parliament was the representative body of the kingdom. This representation was not so much to represent the people’s rights before the king as to represent its responsibilities before God. Therefore, repentance and reformation should start with them. The seventeenth-century parliamentary preachers had grasped that the greatest need for any nation was reformation according to God’s Word. When they had the ears of some of the most powerful men in the country, they preached not so much about policy as about repentance.²⁷

Jeremiah 18:1-12 is as true today as it was six centuries before Christ. And its message is just as valid for America as it was for Israel. It asks our PCA pastors a probing question: If President Barak Obama invited you to speak to the Congress during his State of the Union Address, what would you preach on?” I must admit, my first tendency would be to speak on the sanctity of life, the integrity of gender, the honor of marriage, the freedom of religion or the protection of our nation from violence, crime and war. After all, these are the first five ethical themes in the first four chapters of Genesis. But as I reflect a bit more, I think I agree with the Westminster Divines who preached to the English Parliament on a regular basis in the 1640s and 1650s.

Repentance is what we all need. For if sin is a reproach to any people and if righteousness truly does exalt a nation, then repentance is the message the preachers of any land need to carry to their people. Here is the glory of it all: We who are PCA pastors do not have to wait and hope to be invited to Washington D.C. to speak to a few hundred congressmen, senators, judges and administration officials. Every Sunday we speak to literally thousands of Americans. And we preach under the auspices of One who is greater than the President of the United States. We have the privilege and the awesome responsibility to speak for God to God’s people on behalf of the nations. As such, there can only be one repeated theme that we preach week after week. It is the message of Jesus Christ Himself:

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel

of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;

repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

CEP: Please pray for Women’s Ministries Coordinator Jane Patete. Pray for godly wisdom and direction in leadership to PCA women. Pray for Cindy Bennett, Assistant to the Coordinator. May the Lord equip and encourage her in this Kingdom ministry.

CC: Please pray for Chaplain Aaron Messner as he oversees all aspects of Covenant’s chapel program.

MNA: Pray that churches will recruit volunteers easily for English as a Second Language ministries, led by Nancy Booher, and that ESL workshops will reach the nations that God has brought to our doorstep.

PCAF: Pray that God will be encouraging to and provide safe travel for Randy Stair as he visits local churches, presbyteries, donors and prospects to present our services.

RH: Please pray for the Lord to surround each staff member with encouragement that will keep everyone going when the responsibilities are overwhelming and the rewards few.