Even though it has happened in the past (Lincoln, Kennedy, Reagan), it was still shocking when news media began reporting that former president Donald Trump had been shot at an open air rally in northwestern Pennsylvania. This hymn study is being written the day after that happened, with a hymn deliberately chosen to reflect the biblical perspective that Christians should embrace in the wake of that. It includes our relief that the former President’s life was providentially spared (though sadly there was the tragic death of a husband / father in the stands, and two others seriously injured). This study also seeks to be a reminder of important truths that the Bible illuminates from such events.
Here are a few thoughts about that attempted assassination. If I had been preaching the next morning, I would have changed my sermon at the last minute. Everyone in church was thinking about that terrible event, so how could I, as their pastor, ignore this divinely-ordained opportunity to provide guidance in how believers should process all this? At least one major news network has been repeatedly broadcasting interviews with people who pointed out what should be obvious to everyone … that it was God’s providence that not only spared the former President’s life, but also spared the country from unimaginable grief and trauma and confusion in the wake of such an assassination.