Voting thoughtfully

Many countries around the world will this year be facing important elections: the UK, US, India and South Africa are just some of the more than 40 nations going to the polls. The Economist describes 2024 as ‘the biggest election year in history’.

As Christian voters, we have a responsibility to pray for those in authority (1 Tim. 2:1-3). But how do we choose how to cast our vote? We perhaps do not pay close enough attention to what Scripture has to say about the sort of leadership which is close to God’s heart. But one good place to start is Psalm 72. It does, of course, point to Christ – yet is not purely Messianic, for it was prayed for the reigning king and we should not therefore miss the plain meaning of these words: ‘May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!’

There is a legitimate debate to be had about the best ways of achieving these things – but we should have no doubt of the end in view: ‘The great king depicted here brings social justice to the poor and marginalised,’ Tim Keller wrote. At the same time, ‘the psalm provokes us to long for a better king than the best government has ever provided.’