Sean C. Capparuccia

5 July 2026

Genesis 18:16-22 (God is the Judge of all nations); Psalm 32 (God is the Creator of all); Mattew 22:15-22 (God only claims what is His, aka. everything); Psalm 33 (God is the Director of His creation)

                   Well, we finally made it to the Semiquincentennial which really only serves to tell how fast time flies. It seems that we were just planning the upcoming birthday of our nation as though it was some far-off event; and here it is. Now I told you last week that we were going to depart from the study in Genesis for this Sunday, but I have to tell you, God is good, and when I sat down to put this sermon together, He led me right into passages that were in keeping with it. It rather turns out that this is a reinforcement sermon for what we’ve done so far.  The next passage in Genesis will be chapter 2, a more detailed account of the creation of Adam and then Eve and the fact that the human identity is rooted in God’s creation, not in self-definition. So, be sure to come back next week to meet our first parents!

About these Psalms

If you look in your Bibles, you’ll see that most Psalms have a heading of some sort: “A Psalm of David”; or “For the Choir Director”; or “to be played on the 8-stringed lyre” or some particular instrument.  But there are a few Psalms which do not have this heading because they are linked to the preceding Psalm. Our two Psalms for today are like that. We read responsively Psalm 32 which is linked to Psalm 33 because of their subjects – the mercy and the majesty of God.[1] In these two Psalms we see that the God who created the heavens and the earth, is also the God of history, who is also the God who, in His infinite mercy, redeems His people – past, present, and future. The language of this Psalm and the theme echoed throughout the pages of the Bible is that God controls the destinies not only of the universe, but of nations, and of individual men and women in particular, as we will see.  

If you have your Bible open there, let’s briefly look back at Psalm 32. It begins with an acknowledgement of sin. In fact, David used four words here for sin: transgression, sin, iniquity, and guile or deceit. In verses 3-4 he says, “I kept silent about my sin, [and] my body wasted away… day and night Your hand was heavy upon me.” This was sin-sickness and it’s what happens when we are in sin and try to ignore it and hide it. It is a very real thing, believe me. And in verse 10, “Many are the sorrows of the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness (or hesed) shall surround him.” Indeed, blessed are those whose sins are forgiven, and they are the “godly,” the “righteous ones,” of whom David speaks in Psalm 33.  Note well that the road to being “godly” and “righteous” here is not hard work and great effort – it is repentance and God’s work of forgiveness. And this applies to persons as well as to nations.  

God of Creation

:1-3                               The author of this Psalm (we don’t know that it was David because it doesn’t tell us like Psalm 32 does) begins just as Psalm 32 ended. With the godly bringing their praises before God.

:4-9                               In verses 4-9 we see the power ascribed to the word of the Lord. Hebrews 1:3 echoes this sentiment: “Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, and He upholds all things by the word of His power.” His word is the basis of our morality for it is upright and righteous and just (vss. 4-5).

                   His word is the power of creation for by it all things in heaven and earth were made (vss. 6-7). He spoke and it was done! (vs. 9). As one commentator put it: “One word from Him and the universe rushed out some fifteen billion light years into space.” And as we have said in the last couple of weeks, the sensible person, the one who has eyes to see and ears to hear, acknowledges all this and fears the Lord (vs. 8a).  As we have seen already, and will see more in weeks to come, an overwhelmingly large percentage of scientists know – in their big heads – that the only sensible explanation for all that they see and study is a Designer, a Creator, perhaps even the God of the Bible (!!) But their smallish hearts just cannot “stand in awe of Him” (vs. 8b).  Seeing is not always believing when it comes to believing that this Holy Book just might be true, for many do see but refuse to believe. It’s a scary thing indeed to acknowledge God.

Ruler of Nations

:10-12                          Up to this point the reader of the Psalm can identify as one of two groups: a believer or a non-believer.  Here in verse 10 we can subdivide the believer group into two more groups: the believer who acknowledges God’s ultimate sovereignty over man or the believer who doesn’t.

Verse 10 tells us that the Lord “nullifies the counsel of the nations and frustrates the plans of the people.” Which nations? Here the Psalmist is talking about the nations who, on the whole, reject God. In the days of the wilderness wanderings, these were the “Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites…” (Deut. 7:1, et al.)  Even greater kingdoms that once ruled the known world are today just large land masses on the world map, like Egypt (which still exists, of course, but has been ‘clipped’), and Assyria and Babylon (modern day Iraq). One of the greatest empires in history was the Persian empire, long since toppled, and now causing turmoil in the world as the soon-to-be impotent country of Iran. A little later we had the Roman empire, and Greece, now nothing more than a part of high-school history class and known for their intricate mythologies. Imagine that at one time you ruled the world, and now you are known for the “tall tales” you promulgated.

Do you think that God does not allow evil to prosper for a time? “Genghis Khan, Napolean, and Hitler all prospered for a time, but God cast them down one by one.”[2]  The point is, it is God who establishes, or sets up, and removes kings and leaders. In Daniel 2:20-22, the prophet writes, “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and power are His: and it is He who changes the times and the seasons [epochs/eras]: He removes kings, and establishes kings…”  If God has a plan and the stage upon which He must operate is a fallen world, then naturally He would use not only fallen actors, but depraved ones at that, to accomplish His will.[3] That only makes perfect sense.

                   When God created Adam, and Eve, of course, which we will start discussing next week, He created them to be and to do. God made the earth and all that is in it, the seas and all that is in them, and He made a beautiful garden for His crowning creation to call home – where they could build a clapboard house and raise a family; children by the dozens, as much as they could get… He gave Adam a job to do, but He also created them to be in relationship, with each other in the bond of marriage, and in a covenant bond  with Himself. Remember when we said last week that at the time of creation, God, who is spirit and is not limited to time and space, dwelt with His creation in the Garden.[4] By definition, then, this Eden was heaven. God did not create stuff down here and then zip back up into a galaxy far, far away to let nature take it is course, come what may. God was, and continues to be, actively involved in His creation as it continues to unfold. He is still in the business of being in relationship with His creation. He is its Ruler, its Guardian, Guide, and Stay.[5]

Christians vary on how much of an active role they believe God plays in all of this. The hyper-Calvinist might say that literally everything is caused by God; while on the opposite extreme, a Christian deist would believe that God really has no active role in what goes on down here at all. In truth, there is no such thing as a Christian deist since this kind of person would lie outside the pale of “Christian.” Arguably, the closest denomination to Christian deism would probably be the Episcopal church. But of course, Scripture plainly teaches us that God is active in this world and there are some who have a very hard time with this concept, especially as it pertains to evil. The argument is: if God could prevent evil, then why doesn’t He? A good philosophical question, to be sure, and one best answered today with the phrase “God’s will.”  So, although we do not know why God allows evil, we do know that He curbs it. As mentioned just a moment ago, Genghis Khan, Napolean, Hitler, and countless others have prospered for a time, and have exacted an immense death toll, but God cast them down one by one, and will continue to do just that until such time as He returns as He promised.

:11             “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.” This is the assurance that God is indeed more powerful than any mere nation and that His decrees, made from eternity past, are not changed. We elect congressmen and women and presidents based on their campaign promises, don’t we? And while some do better than others, some are just flat-out liars.  Our works eventually reveal our hearts. Anyway, that’s why we don’t put our trust in princes.[6] To be sure, some of our elected leaders do all they can to make good on their promises but are sometimes prevented at every turn by opposing politics; that’s the way the game works. But God is True; God is faithful; and most importantly, God is more powerful than any opposition that may even attempt to thwart Him. There is no opposition, actually, and what He decrees will be carried out from generation to generation.

:12             Now we get to the best part, the nation that subjects itself to God. “Blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.”  Naturally, in the context of this Psalm, the writer was referring to Israel. But Christ came and everything changed, or it at least got broadened. Remember in John 3 Jesus was talking to a Jewish rabbi and told him, “Nicodemus, you know that the Father loves Israel and has chosen her as His inheritance; well, listen, through Me, God so loves the whole world, that He has chosen more of His inheritance out of it” (John 3:16, my paraphrase.) And so, from that moment, when Christ ascended into heaven and He sent the Holy Spirit, God’s truth, still marching on, has been trampling throughout the whole world. Nation after nation has risen as they put their national trust in the God of the Bible. And many have fallen away as they eventually began to reject Him.

:13-19       God is truly active in the decisions that nations make. He is also actively involved in their destinies.  Looking back at our Psalm in verse 13, “From heaven the Lord looks at all people… He made them, He fashioned their hearts, and He understands the heart of mankind; He understands why they do what they do.” All men (and women) are basically the same: the same needs, the same desires. Different idiosyncrasies here and there but all basically the same. That is why we can make a study of psychology and make tests that identify various traits and characteristics that fit basic profiles. That is why we can speak in stereotypes and be basically right. People are really all about the same. God is not overly impressed by our heart’s condition; He made it and He knows it.

                   Nor is He overly impressed by the so-called “might” of man. In verse 14, the king and his army. And verse 15, the strong and speedy horse is a marvel, sure, but God is not impressed by it. God looks at the great and terrible nuclear arsenals of the world; nine nations[7] on this earth that have the power to seriously disrupt life as we know it and that for years to come.[8] But God is not impressed. Because you know what? If God says (read: decrees) that not another nuclear bomb will be launched, then not another nuclear bomb will be launched. God is not worried about the capacity for evil that nations possess, He is looking at something else.

:18             “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him; those who hope for His hesed, His lovingkindness, [those who trust that He will] deliver their soul from death. As one commentator said it, “World affairs are not decided in [Moscow] or in Washington [D.C.]… God is on the throne. The God who guides the paths of the stars, who bring them into being… who keeps them whirling and plunging at incredible velocities …. also holds the destinies of the nations in His hands.

:20             This same God who controls nations also listens to you and me when we come before Him with praise on our lips; with intercessions in our hearts. And we really should all keep a prayer journal because I think we all have a tendency to think that most of our prayers go unanswered when, in fact, the opposite is true. So start keeping a record of what God does. But, as the Psalmist says, “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our Shield. Our heart rejoices in Him because we trust in His holy name. So let Your hesed be upon us, according as we have hoped in You.”  Beloved, we wait. He asks us to do the simplest thing and yet it is the hardest: to wait on Him. How many opportunities were lost; how many blessings forfeited; how many marriages have been lost because we couldn’t simply wait on Him?  We are taught here that God does not change, He changes us. The worst thing we can do to ourselves is try to be God; to try and usurp His position in our lives. We give Him a minute to do His thing and then as soon as that timer hits zero, we are ready to take charge. “Ok, God, You had Your chance, obviously You don’t want to do anything, so here I go.  Now bless me as I jump headlong into the river of Sin and keep me from drowning.”

                   Beloved in Christ, the same God who spangled the heavens with stars and keeps them in their orbit also has control of our nations, and even control of us. It should be an immensely comforting thought that our ultimately destiny is not in the hands of a U.S. president, or a Chinese dictator, or an Iranian mullah, but rather in the hands of a loving God who truly knows us.  

                   It’s America’s 250^th birthday; 250 years since it declared to England, “We can do it on our own, we don’t need your tyranny.”  Now, of course, that’s is 250 years of history speaking. In 1776 it wasn’t so cut and dried. There was a lot more going on. Decisions like divorce – which is basically what our forefathers did to England – are fraught with nuances and blaming and, quite frankly, sometimes even embellishing the truth.  But it really didn’t make much sense for England to retain control forever anyway. Eventually it would have happened.

                   The important thing to remember here is that America, since the first European settlers began arriving in the early 1600s, was a place where God’s people could worship Him freely. There is no doubt that America was founded as a Christian nation, with Christian ideals and Christian principles that guided it.  George Washington understood well what the moral power of God’s holy Word was.  In an oft-used quote from our nation’s first president, he said,

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.”

 Let us allow that Washington is the embodiment of patriotism and that he truly understood what he was stating. This man did not read about God’s providential hand in a history book; he experienced it first-hand. To speak a bit hyperbolically, it was Washington’s prayers sent from the trenches of warfare to God’s ears that invoked God’s providence.  He is unequivocally saying that anyone who claims to love this country but then subvert the Christian religion and its Biblical morality is a liar.  Let me say that again with yet a few more layers peeled off: anyone who says xxxx

America was wholly given to the Providence of God, and the detailed histories of our nation prove that many times over.

                   And, despite what an extremely ungrateful and misinformed group of people believe, America is exceptional. It has always been exceptional and will be as long as it humbles itself before the God who made it.  As we learned from our Psalm, God will not continue to bless a nation that rejects Him – there are countless examples of that throughout history.  And though God will continue to bless a nation, or a group of people, even a family, on account of a few godly people who intercede for it, this won’t last forever either. In our Old Testament lesson we heard the beginnings   

It is difficult to tell the difference between God’s blessing and His common grace. God’s grace is poured out on the just and the unjust; on rich and poor; He causes it to rain on all people in turn. But don’t confuse this grace with the active outpouring of His grace of blessing. I fear that many continue to see God’s blessing of our nation when what they are really seeing is common grace.  They are seeing the dividends of a once very active savings account still paying out. But how long?

The Framers of our Constitution had the wherewithal to acknowledge that the rights we enjoy as Americans, rights that no one else had at the time, were rights given by God by virtue of His creation of us. The civil rights and liberties we tout are simply what God has truly given to all people. Because, as our forefathers rightly said, whatever rights the government gives you, that government can take away. But our rights are given by God and will be honored as long as we can keep our Republic.

So, here’s the scary thing: we’re not blind and we’re not stupid. Look around, from the East coast to the West coast; from Maine to New Mexico and all those very rectangular states in the middle, and tell me that our nation – as a nation – honors God.

A recent poll conducted by the Cato Institute revealed that over half of the Generation Z respondents, those who are 14 to 29 years old “expressed favorable views of socialism and nearly 40% viewed communism favorably.”[9]  Undoubtedly, next to unbelief, socialism and the inevitable next step, communism, are once again a threat to our democracy and our continued existence. Why? Because socialism and communism, by definition, reject God. There is no Christ in communism. Christ is forcibly ejected in a communist state. And a communist state is soon forcibly ejected from God’s list of nations to bless. At the same time, and let’s not overlook this: nations that have been socialist, communist, all-around rejecting of God, can still repent. Do you know where the highest rate of Christian growth is right now? Nepal, China, the UAE, Saudi Arabia… Asian and African nations that have historically rejected the God of the Bible and His Christ.  As Jesus said, the wind blows where it wills, we can’t stop it. But it will be interesting to see what God does with these nations who have not known Him and are now slowly turning toward Him, compared to a nation that was wholly dependent on Him and has been slowly declaring its independence from Him.

This is all to say, we, as the Church in America, have a lot of things to do. First and foremost, we must pray for our nation. We must take active roles in the goings-on around us; sharing the Gospel and being a witness for Christ. We must also endeavor to be holy and to live holy and help others to be holy.  We need to take a good look at the liberties we have – both as Americans, as written in our Constitution, and as Christians, as written in our Bibles – and decide how we will use those liberties and responsibilities to further Christ’s kingdom, which will inevitably benefit us nationally. 

It’s a lot to think about, but that is our role. By God’s grace He placed us in this nation of all nations at this time. We need to use our powers as Christians to make the most of it.  And let’s not neglect our greatest right – the right to worship, and be here every Sunday!  We cannot lose hope for our beloved nation, but neither can we fool ourselves into believing that we’re on the right track as a nation. We need to lead our fellow Americans in a great repentance, for “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven” (Psalm 32:1).  Amen.     

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[1] John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms, vol. 1 (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 249. This more or less has no bearing on the theme of this sermon, but knowing and teaching things like this is my subtle way of fulfilling the mandate to get off the milk and into the meat; “For every one that uses milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe” (Heb. 5:13).

[2] Henry M. Morris, “Nations That Forget God,” Institute for Creation Research, accessed 4 July 2026, http://www.icr.org/sarticle/21133

[3] Part and parcel of God’s grand plan is the restoration of Israel which is now dependent upon the “fullness of the Gentiles coming in”: Rom. 11:25, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

[4] After the Fall, God could no longer dwell in the presence of sin and so at that moment went to “heaven” as we understand it now.

[5] “Stay” meaning “to rest; to rely [upon]; to confide [in]; to trust.” Psalm 18:18, “They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.” This phrase from “God of Our Fathers,” words by George W. Warren, 1894.

[6] Psalm 118:9, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”

[7] Russia and the U.S., of China, France, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, and N. Korea

[8] Interestingly, the current scientific consensus is that, despite common assumptions more or less informed by Cold War-era films such as “The Day After,” even if every nuclear warhead in existence were launched the earth would not be destroyed. Heavily damaged, yes, but it would not be the end of all life. 

[9] Newsmax, “Cato Poll: Nearly Half of Americans Don’t Know What 250 Celebrates” https://www.newsmasx.com/newsfront/poll-americans-knowledge/2026/07/03/id/1261713/?dkt_nbr=6F01454j5lfw  accessed 4 July 2026.