Birthdays and anniversaries are held for one reason: To remember origins, connection, or a founding. And on this very special day, the 250th anniversary of the signing of The Declaration of Independence, we have been doing just that.
Beau made a sign for this day that points to the reason why this “great experiment” in the United States has endured for this long, and spread her influence all over the world.
Liberty, or true freedom, comes from God, and that liberty exists within the boundaries God has given us. For when we are just given the opportunity to do whatever we want without boundaries, we quickly become slaves again. Without the change of heart that Jesus gives us when we trust Him, we lack wisdom, and will use the gift of freedom selfishly, and it will end up hurting us the most.
Our nation has been abundantly blessed according to every metric. And for that, we must give credit to the One who has been there from our birth, who has protected us all of these years.
How do I know God did it? (That’s a hot topic these days.) Because they asked and He answered.
The “they” is the representatives from twelve of the original thirteen American colonies. Below this is the prayer they prayed at the First Continental Congress, a gathering called to decide on a coordinated response to the Intolerable Acts, and what to do about the blockade of Boston harbor that followed the Boston Tea Party. The representatives met at Carpenters Hall in Philadelphia, in the fall of 1774.
Yep, 1774 (!) which means it was before The Declaration of Independence. The gathering included just about every kind of protestant Christian among those representatives, but they were so aware of their differences that they could barely even agree to have a prayer!
But Samuel Adams, founder of the Sons of Liberty, and second cousin to John Adams (future second president of the United States) stood to say that he would listen to any prayer prayed by a “gentleman of piety and virtue who is a friend to his country.”
This reminded all present of the truths they held in common, and so Rev. Jacob Duché, famous author, clergyman and educator, (who is now primarily remembered for delivering the following prayer) got up to pray. He first read Psalm 35 aloud, and then raised his voice:
“O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments;
“Look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these our American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. To Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give.
“Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle!
“Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst the people.
“Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.
Amen.
If you go over that prayer you will see all the ways he credited God with the present success of the colonies, and declared utter dependence upon God. Then he asked for wisdom, protection, the quick defeat of their enemies, a sure foundation, and health and prosperity.
Everyone there was profoundly moved, and some wept. The prayer was so powerful that it inspired the tradition of starting each session of congress with prayer.
So I know God founded this nation because they asked God for His help, and He gave it. (And they continue to ask for His help.) Not only did the American revolution prevail, but we are still here, two hundred and fifty years later.
How else can one explain what happened? God is the only one who could have done it. The continental army didn’t even have uniforms, shoes, or enough weapons. They were farmers, merchants, and pioneers; yet they were going up against the sons of wealthy gentlemen. The British army was composed of educated, well-trained and well-paid professional soldiers. The colonists didn’t know how to fight; they knew how to farm, fish and trap. They spent long months waiting for pay because there wasn’t money available. They ran out of provisions and nearly starved. And when their clothes and shoes wore out during winter, they nearly froze. But most of them never gave up. They knew they needed divine help, and when they asked for it, they got it.
“Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)
I praise God on this very special day! I want to declare openly, that we Americans are only able to celebrate because our Abba Father, our loving Father God, guided clueless, poverty-stricken, and mostly uneducated men into victory against the most powerful army in the world. It wasn’t luck, or heart or the desperate will to win that did it:
It was done by the inspiration of God, by the power and guidance of God, and the new nation was born under the protective hand of God. Many men sacrificed their lives for the cause of American liberty, but whether those men as individuals believed in Him or not, God empowered them all. And He did it because it was His will for America to exist.
And it wasn’t the first time God had empowered a group of former slaves (or in this case indentured servants) so that they could form a new nation!
God loves to work when the odds are completely against victory. He uses the weak, the humble, and the outnumbered to do great things. He is the God of David, who beat Goliath. He is the God of Gideon, who prevailed against thousands with only 300 men. He used a single prophet, Elijah, and his servant, to defeat four hundred prophets of Baal.
God built the United States of America in response to the pleas for assistance from godly men, who asked Him in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s legendary response to those prayers is evident to those who study our history.
We will remain a free America only as long as we give God the glory for what He has done, instead of taking that glory for ourselves. Everything that we have done was accomplished with the breath of God in our lungs, with the Spirit of God giving us life, and with the hand of God’s protection covering us from the attacks of those who would enslave us and take our liberty away.
“For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
Our inalienable rights are given by God. Men who stepped out in faith on those principles, believed that God gave them to us. That is why they petitioned God explicitly in the name of His Son. And that is why they were so confident when they stood upon them in order to fight the oppressor: They were backed up by Divine Power. Never forget that the abundance of what is now America was once just the dream of a slave, but God did it!
Celebrate your liberty by using it wisely! Cherish it. Think about what your life would be like without it, if you need that clarification. For liberty is a fragile thing, much easier to lose than to win. But just as we didn’t win it for ourselves, we cannot hold it by ourselves; it is the gift of God.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12)
I am so, so thankful, and determined to do good with what I have been given! God bless each one of you reading this! And if you are not free in your country, I pray God will set you free in your heart and mind! I pray for all of us to be free one day, for if Christ has set us free, then we are free, indeed!
God Bless America!
*Read about the First Continental Congress prayer here.
(And go see the movie Young Washington if you are able before July 9th. It’s amazing!)
*I edited this post extensively since I first published it. I hope this is clearer, and I apologize for the errors in the first one.
The Fullers Four 