“The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.” (Psalm 135:6, NIV)
“Unbossed and unbought” was the slogan of the late Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005).
Chisholm was the first black woman elected to the U. S. Congress (New York – 1968); the first black candidate from a major political party (Democratic) for the U. S. Presidency (1972); and the Democratic party’s first female nominee for President.
Although I was too young to vote in 1972, I remember well the appeal of Congresswoman Chisholm: Direct, truthful, principled, and — of course — “unbossed and unbought.” Many in the electorate who were on the margins of political influence and financial power were energized by Chisholm’s history and her message.
The psalmist’s description of God is of One who is truly sovereign. Sovereignty is defined as “the quality of having supreme, independent authority” in a particular realm; or, as the psalmist says: Doing “whatever pleases him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.”
It should cheer us to worship a God who is sovereign over (and in) everything because He can never be “bossed,” and He can never — ever — be “bought.” – Luther
