Gtcotr/ws070407
It is certain that God governs in the affairs of man.
Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
234 years ago on this date 56 brave visionaries fixed their signatures to a newly written document entitled ‘The Declaration of Independence’. These men, the forefathers of our nation, deserve a high position of honor and respect for their courage and commitment. With their signatures they knew they were signing their death warrants and would be hunted down, arrested and executed if possible by the British. These men were:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Matthew Thornton
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
John Hancock
With this Declaration of Independence a new nation was birthed under the guiding principles contained therein, the most memorable and quotable being:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The last sentence of that July 4, 1776 Declaration signed by these 56 men reads:
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
This was not the first time men were willing to risk their lives for this divine cause we call, The United States of America.
I hold in my hand a book wherein is written the words spoken by Christopher Columbus as recorded in his “Book of Prophecies”. Let me read as you consider his heart and the call of God which he believed was on his life.
It was the Lord who put into my mind – I could feel His hand upon me – the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies … All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me … There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because he comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures … For the execution of the journey to the Indies I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics, or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied … No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Savior, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His Holy service … the fact that the Gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time – this is what convinces me.
As well, a little more than 100 years after Christopher Columbus sailed, there were those who formed, wrote and adopted The First Charter of Virginia, April 10, 1606, which included:
… for the furtherance of so noble a work which may by the providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the glory of His Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian religion to such a people, as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God, …
In 1620, The Mayflower Compact included such wording and reason for the undertaking of these adventures:
… having undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith …
1639, The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut contained:
… the Word of God requires … an orderly and decent government established according to God, to order and dispose of the affairs of all people …to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess … the truth of the said Gospel is now practiced among us …
On July 4, 1775, one year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, General George Washington’s Orders, as commander of the Armies of the Revolution, were thus:
The General most earnestly requires and expects a due observance of those articles of war established for the government of the Army which forbid profane cursing, swearing and drunkenness. And in like manner he requires and expects of all officers and soldiers not engaged in actual duty, a punctual attendance of Divine services, to implore the blessing of heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense …
On July 7, 1787, 81 year old Benjamin Franklin rose and spoke in an attempt to break the 5 week deadlock of the Constitutional Convention, by imploring these men to stop, pray and seek Divine guidance. In his argument he offered:
I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire cannot rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that "except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel:
John Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence, the first Vice President of the United States, and the Second President of the United States, a diplomat without equal, wrote in a letter:
The Holy Ghost carries on the whole Christian system in His truth. Not a baptism, not a marriage, not a sacrament can be administered but by the Holy Ghost.
There is no authority, civil or religious – there can be no legitimate government – but what is administered by the Holy Ghost.
There can be no salvation without it. All without it is rebellion, perdition, or, in more orthodox words, Damnation.
Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a framer of the Bill of Rights wrote:
I am grateful to Almighty God for the blessings which, through Jesus Christ our Lord, he has conferred on my beloved country.
Thomas Jefferson, credited with writing the bulk of the Declaration of Independence, who was also a signer of the Declaration and went on to become the Third President of the United States, 1801 – 1809, wrote in 1816:
I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Christ.
He would explain such doctrines in a later letter in 1822:
The Doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.
1. That there is only one God, and He all perfect.
2. That there is a future state of rewards and punishments.
3. That to love God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself, is the sum of religion.
John Jay, one of the three men most responsible for the content of the Constitution of the United States of America and the first Supreme Court Justice as appointed by President George Washington, wrote in a letter dated October 12, 1816,
Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.
It is still evident in this day that God guides in the affairs of man. And:
Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
Our nation is a Christian nation, founded on the Judeo Christian principles of the Holy Bible, God’s Word of Truth.
On this day, especially on this day, July 4th, the day on which we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America, we should not forget the lives, work and wishes of our founding fathers.
Along with them we should also be moved to pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor to preserve the ideals upon which this nation was first adopted, the ideals of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the divine guidance of the Holy Ghost.
I agree with our very first Chief Justice of the United States of America, Chief Justice John Jay, who knew the Constitution of the United States and the intent of the original framers better than anyone else who has ever lived …
Providence has been given to us, “we the people”, the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer those who embody Christian faith and practice for our rulers.
God will continue to bless America as America continues to be a blessing to Him! And listen to me people … ‘You are America!’
Happy Birthday America and Thank You God!
