How Shall We Define “Constitutional”?

“In Samuel Rutherford’s day, the debate was, is the King the Law, or the Law King to which the King is a subject? Today we must ask, are our Judges the Constitution and Law or are they subject to the Constitution and Law? Some of our judges act as if they are the law. The late Justice Anthony Scalia summed it up in his dissent to the Supreme Court’s infamous 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which dared to redefine marriage: I write separately to call attention to this Court’s threat to American democracy … Today’s decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court … This practice of constitutional revision by an unelected committee of nine, always accompanied (as it is today) by extravagant praise of liberty, robs the People of the most important liberty they asserted in the Declaration of Independence and won in the Revolution of 1776: the freedom to govern themselves.1 The U.S. Supreme Court has become untethered from the Constitution and exercised authority that it does not have, like abolishing prayer, bible reading, and the display of the Ten Commandments in our schools.  The Court has legalized unlimited abortion, same-sex marriage, seizure of property for commercial use, and much, much more.” (Pierre Bynum)2

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6; NASB)

Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:2

  • Ask God to move mightily to overhaul our judicial system.
  • President Trump has gathered many believers around him who are ministering to Christ constantly. He appears to be responding to the Spirit of God. Therefore, pray that he and each member of our Supreme Court be moved by the Holy Spirit to draw near to Him who is our King.
  • Intercede that our President will choose men and women who hold to the Constitution, originalism and Judicial restraint, but who also hold to our Creator, the Supreme Judge of the World, our Savior and only King. May they revere His word, which He has magnified above His Name.
  • May He choose justices and judges who are fully equipped, ready as stewards to be faithful to their oath and calling to the very end, rightly dividing the Words of the Constitution and the Word of God as it pertains to men, the law, and nations.

A prayer you can pray:

Father, continue to overhaul our judicial system. We need many more righteous judges in place from local courts to the Supreme Court. Continue to work on President Trump’s heart. Draw Him close to You. Don’t let him grow weary in well-doing or give in to outside pressure. He has encircled himself with godly advisors—men and women who know You well. Let their counsel on this matter be respectful and full of Your wisdom. We ask for justices and judges who fear you and will remain true to the U.S. Constitution. May our President choose men and women who hold to the Constitution, originalism and Judicial restraint, but who also hold to You, our Creator, the Supreme Judge of the World, our Savior and only King. May they revere Your word, which You have magnified above Your Name. May they rightly interpret the Constitution and the Word of God, bringing the two together to affect those who come before them, with potential impact into the states and, at times, to the nations of the earth. In Jesus’ honored Name. Amen.

Today’s decree:

We say our nation’s judges are subject to the U.S. Constitution, not the other way around!

1 Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584, 2626-27 (2015) (Scalia, J., dissenting).

2 Learn more about Pierre Bynum here.