Psalms 27:14 says, “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” On the other hand, In Romans 13:1 Paul says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
There appears to be a double irony in considering the two Verses together. The Psalms come from the Old Testament which places heavy emphasis on abiding by God’s Law, yet Psalms 27:14 merely says to wait for the Lord. To do so, would be a manifest of our faith in Him. To what extent do we really need the Laws of God to show our faith in Him? Our faith in Him is a function of our love in Him, to the point where our true faith and love in him requires no Laws to live by to that end, to the extent they may be ingrained in our hearts when we think of him. In that regard, Psalms 27:14 is not a command, or a Law if you will; rather, it is merely a statement that confirms the quest of anyone who truly waits for the Lord out of one’s faith in Him.
On the other hand, there seems to be an irony in Romans 13:1. That Verse comes from the New Testament which places emphasis on our faith in God through Jesus, rather than any divine obligation to abide by God’s Laws as set in the OT. Yet Paul in Romans 13:1 calls on us to abide by the governing authorities. What are the governing authorities other than earthly creations of governing bodies who create, administer and enforce laws as a measure of their governance? Yet as Romans 13:1 also says these authorities are an extension of God, the inference is that the laws are needed to demonstrate our love in God. So all facets of the OT Law, including ceremonial, moral and civil, are a reflection, albeit indirectly in terms of the first two and directly in terms of the third, of our love of God. This in the NT which emphasizes a pure faith in God instead of God’s Law which is a faith in God by numbers of you will and which many see as a function of works.
Seems that in terms of these two Verses, there is no escaping the Testaments these Verses are found in, in terms of ideology. John 1:17 puts these two verses succinctly by saying, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” If our faith in God was truly manifested in out hearts, we wouldn’t need the law thar was given by Moses, and if we really needed that Law, then where does that leave our faith in God other than to yoke us to the Law of which its compliance is a matter of works?
There appears to be a double irony in considering the two Verses together. The Psalms come from the Old Testament which places heavy emphasis on abiding by God’s Law, yet Psalms 27:14 merely says to wait for the Lord. To do so, would be a manifest of our faith in Him. To what extent do we really need the Laws of God to show our faith in Him? Our faith in Him is a function of our love in Him, to the point where our true faith and love in him requires no Laws to live by to that end, to the extent they may be ingrained in our hearts when we think of him. In that regard, Psalms 27:14 is not a command, or a Law if you will; rather, it is merely a statement that confirms the quest of anyone who truly waits for the Lord out of one’s faith in Him.
On the other hand, there seems to be an irony in Romans 13:1. That Verse comes from the New Testament which places emphasis on our faith in God through Jesus, rather than any divine obligation to abide by God’s Laws as set in the OT. Yet Paul in Romans 13:1 calls on us to abide by the governing authorities. What are the governing authorities other than earthly creations of governing bodies who create, administer and enforce laws as a measure of their governance? Yet as Romans 13:1 also says these authorities are an extension of God, the inference is that the laws are needed to demonstrate our love in God. So all facets of the OT Law, including ceremonial, moral and civil, are a reflection, albeit indirectly in terms of the first two and directly in terms of the third, of our love of God. This in the NT which emphasizes a pure faith in God instead of God’s Law which is a faith in God by numbers of you will and which many see as a function of works.
Seems that in terms of these two Verses, there is no escaping the Testaments these Verses are found in, in terms of ideology. John 1:17 puts these two verses succinctly by saying, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” If our faith in God was truly manifested in out hearts, we wouldn’t need the law thar was given by Moses, and if we really needed that Law, then where does that leave our faith in God other than to yoke us to the Law of which its compliance is a matter of works?
