Lawful
Authority

A short sermon

  Yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of desth, I shall fear no evil, for You
are with me, Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me….

 Although many
‘authorities’ interpret the reference to the ‘rod and staff’ as authority (the
rod) and compassion (the staff).  I have
to disagree with this interpretation given other portions of the bible and the
time this was written.

In the time of David, the rod was a unit of
measurement.  Therefore, I believe, that
the rod stood for the measure of a person’s character as dictated by (in this
instance) God’s law.  In this, David
points out that God’s law should be the measurement by which we must live
by.  For by following God’s law, we declare
ourselves part of that society belonging to and under the authority of God.

The staff (in this instance) like the shepherds staff
represents the protection of lawful authority.  
Just as the shepherd used his staff to guide his sheep, he also used it
to impose his authority over anything that threatened them, this enforcing his
lawful authority over his domain.

Lawful authority acts in accordance with law to ensure
the protection of the governed and their environment.

  True Lawful
Authority (God), by His very nature seeks to insure the best outcome for all
under His authority.   Because of this
nature, He always acts with compassion when dealing with the failings of His
human  creation, thus giving man every
opportunity to come to Him.

God, being lawful authority, also seeks to reconcile the
law breaker with the society under His protection.  This act of reconciliation or salvation is
compassion in action.   Accepting God’s
authority, we are therefore protected by His loving compassion.  As such, we have no reason to fear the
outcome of whatever we face, for we are not abandoned, He always has ultimate
control.

For God (true authority in it’s purest sense) so loved
(active compassion purified) the world (us), He gave his only begotten Son
(Jesus, The Lamb if God) ,that whom ever shall believe in Him (those who
actively follow Jesus) shall be saved (reconciled with God, have Salvation) and
have everlasting life (the right to live with God permanently in an eternal
relationship).

Because God is the Ultimate Shepherd He is the Ultimate
Authority, from which all others receive their authority, thus  we have the ultimate protection from all
evil.  Therefore as David pointed out –
we have no reason to fear the outcome of our journey through the valley we call
life.