God, Providence and The USA

 

God, Providence and The USA

Psalms 33:12-22

Introduction: America the Beautiful, by Katherine Lee Bates 1913

In 1893, at the age of 33, Katherine Bates, who was an English professor at Wellesley College, took a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for a new job at Colorado College. On that train trip she saw America almost from Sea to Shining Sea and what she saw inspired her. She was so inspired that she wrote a poem about the America she saw as she traveled. From the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, she wrote about the "alabaster cities,” see the wheat fields in the heartland of Kansas she wrote about “amber waves of grain, as her train passed them on July 16. Once in Colorado Springs she took a trip to the top of Pike’s Peak and put it in her poem as “purple mountains majesty.” The Poem was written and first published in 1895 for the celebration of that year’s Independence Day. It was revised several times until 1903 and has had 75 different melodies attached to it. Finally, in 1910 it was combined with the melody it has today, which was written earlier by church organist Samuel A. Ward. 

The first verse says, “O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties. Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood. From sea to shining sea!”

It is a beautiful hymn about a nation that God has blessed, many still today wish that it was our national anthem. It is easy to see why. But let me ask today, are the words and sentiment of this moving song about our nation still true? Did God really shed his grace on our country?  Was it ever true that “pilgrim feet made a thoroughfare for freedom across the wilderness!”

 I believe that was true then and that we can clearly see the evidence of both the blessing and the reason why we were blessed. Our country is unique in that it alone is a Gentile country founded upon the principles of God's Word. It was not founded solely on the Bible. There were many other sources as well, but even those other sources agreed with the principles of morality and freedom found in the Bible.

Our nation was never a theocracy, nor could it or any other nation ever be a theocracy this side of the return of Jesus and His Kingdom. But this was a nation and a people carved out of the wilderness, to create a place for the free worship of God. It has been this founding, and the subsequent revivals or awakenings which returned us as nation to that original foundation. It is that foundation that has been the major reason for the prosperity and blessings in our country. 

Many today many deny this foundation and the words and live of our founding Fathers. Yet, the evidence plentifully recorded throughout our history. It is written in the documents that brought our nation to life and still sustains that life. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence of being "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." The Colonial Congress and the Constitutional Convention were opened daily in prayer. Even the motto of our country that is imprinted upon our coins is "In God We Trust."  

Providential Proof – Psalms 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 

Early Evidence

Is there more evidence than the Declaration of Independence, that our nation in its beginning believed that it was a nation that would be blessed by God, if we built a nation that looked to God?

The Colonies

November 3, 1620 - King James I grants the Charter of the Plymouth council.

"In the hope thereby to advance the enlargement of the Christian religion, to the glory of God Almighty."

November 11, 1620 - The Pilgrims sign the Mayflower Compact aboard the Mayflower, in Plymouth harbor.

"In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith,

Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord,  King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."

When our colonies were first being founded and becoming states, eleven of the first 13 States required faith in Jesus Christ and the Bible as qualification for holding public office.

The Revolutionary War

In the Summer of 1775, in the midst of the Revolutionary War, the war for independence, the  Continental Congress issued a call to all citizens to fast and pray and confess their sin that the Lord might bless the land. "And it is recommended to Christians of all denominations, to assemble for public worship, and to abstain from servile labor and recreation on said day."

"We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power… millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force… we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles…” Patrick Henry

Speaking on the 4th of July 1783 - Why is it that next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? Is it not that in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior?—that it forms a leading event in the progress of the gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth?—that it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity and gave to the world the first irrevocable [absolute] pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets six hundred years before? - John Quincy Adams

Ben Franklin declared: "In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain...we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection...All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending Providence in our favor."

George Washington - He (Washington) was shot at by an expert marksman and survived. In a letter to his younger brother John, the future first president wrote, "By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability and expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side."

George Washington before attacking the British Army in New York - The fate of unborn Millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army—Our cruel and unrelenting Enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission; this is all we can expect—We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our own Country’s Honor, all call upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world.     

Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions—The Eyes of all our Countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings, and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the Tyranny meditated against them.    

 Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and shew the whole world, that a Freeman contending for LIBERTY on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.

The Constitution

At least 50 out of the 55 men who framed the Constitution of the United States were professing Christians. (M.E. Bradford, A Worthy Company, Plymouth Rock Foundation, 1982).

Benjamin Franklin, at the Constitutional Convention

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 man." And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?

We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in the political building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little, partial local interests; our projects will be confounded; and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war or conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business.

(Historical note to above: the convention was then adjourned for three days of prayer, Bible reading and special church meetings, following which the Constitution was discussed and adopted.)

James Madison (primary architect of the Constitution)

We have staked the future of government not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions on the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.

The Supreme Court

First chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Honorable John Jay, who had also served as governor of New York. He wrote:

"Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty ... of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." --1816.

In 1892, Justice David Brewer, writing for the majority in the case of the Church of the Holy Trinity vs. the United States, said this:

"This is a religious people. This is historically true.  From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation ...

We find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth ... These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation. --1892 (15)

Justice William O. Douglas wrote succinctly:

"We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being." --1952 (16)

One of our more liberal Supreme Court chief justices, Earl Warren, left no doubt about what he believed in a 1954:

"I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses ... Whether we look to the first Charter of Virginia ... or to the Charter of New England ... or to the Charter of Massachusetts Bay ... or to the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut ... the same objective is present ... a Christian land governed by Christian principles. I believe the entire Bill of Rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the Bible and their belief in it: freedom of belief, of expression, of assembly, of petition, the dignity of the individual, the sanctity of the home, equal justice under law, and the reservation of powers to the people ... I like to believe we are living today in the spirit of the Christian religion. I like also to believe that as long as we do so, no great harm can come to our country." --1954

The Presidents

George Washington, Inaugural Address

No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency . . . We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.

(Historical note to above: Washington added the pledge, "So help me God," to his inaugural oath. He then kissed the Bible to affirm his submission to the King of Kings.)

John Adams, our first vice president and second president, wrote:

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --1798

Thomas Jefferson, our third president and one of the principle framers of the Constitution D.C.:

"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?" --1781

Our sixth president, John Quincy Adams, said this:

"Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the Foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?" --1837 

For sake of time I’ll not quote any others but there are hundreds if not thousands from Abraham Lincoln to Ronald Reagan that we could and others have filled books with the evidence that God in His providence working through our founding fathers brought about a Christian nation.

Abraham Lincoln’s quotes by themselves would fill a book about his beliefs on God and country.

It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

"Unless the great God who assisted [President Washington], shall be with me and aid me, I must fail.   But if the same omniscient mind, and Almighty arm, that directed and protected him, shall guide and support me, I shall not fail ... Let us pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake us now." --1861

April 30, 1863 - President Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation for a National Day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer.

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven.  We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace,  and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the ascended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.- Proclamation of Thanksgiving, October 1863

Calvin Coolidge, our 30th president, said this about America's founding fathers:

"They were intent upon establishing a Christian commonwealth in accordance with the principle of self-government. They were an inspired body of men.    It has been said that God sifted the nations that He might send choice grain into the wilderness ... Who can fail to see it in the hand of Destiny? Who can doubt that it has been guided by a Divine Providence?" --1923

Here are the words of Woodrow Wilson, our 28th president and governor of New Jersey:

"America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture." -1911

Franklin Roosevelt prayed this prayer on a national radio hookup on D-Day, June 6, 1944, as our troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France:

"Almighty God ... with Thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogance.   Lead us to the saving of our country. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen." --1944 

Harry Truman, our 33rd president, wasn't known to be a deeply committed believer. Nevertheless, he understood the spiritual heritage of this nation:

"If men and nations would but live by the precepts of the ancient prophets and the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, problems which now seem so difficult would soon disappear ... That is a supreme opportunity for the church to continue to fulfill its mission on earth. The Protestant church, the Catholic church, and the Jewish synagogue -- bound together in the American unity of brotherhood -- must provide the shock forces to accomplish this moral and spiritual awakening. No other agency can do it. Unless it is done, we are headed for the disaster we would deserve.  Oh, for an Isaiah or a St. Paul to reawaken a sick world to its moral responsibilities." --1946

Gerald Ford, 38th president, quoted a 1955 speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower on December 5, 1974: "Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first--the most basic--expression of Americanism. Thus, the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God's help, it will continue to be." --1974 (31)

Though such statements are badly needed in our day, how far have we come since those days?  How long since a president even mentioned God in a speech much less called for a national day of fasting, prayer and repentance? 

 Providential Power – Psalms 33:13-16

The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.  16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. …

The Psalms says there is no safety in armies or might or machines or strength.

The only hope Israel ever had was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The only hope the United States of America ever can have is in Jesus the creator, savior, Lord and King.

Samuel Adams one of the most influential of all the founding fathers, said this after he signed the Declaration of Independence. “We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom alone men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven, and with a propitious eye beholds his subjects assuming that freedom of thought and dignity of self-direction which He bestowed on them. From the rising to the setting sun, may His kingdom come!” – After signing the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Another quote often contributed to Adams is “We recognize no Sovereign but God and no King but Jesus.”

But what King do we believe in today in our nation. The king of ease, the king of socialism, the king of higher education, the king of political power, the king of the government? Today it seems as though we will bow before any and every king except the only true king, King Jesus.

If we lose the foundation upon which our nation was birthed, and we are close to tearing it to the ground today, then all will lost and the USA will be nothing more than a footnote of history

The Bible clearly tells us that it is God who determines the greatness of a nation and how long it will endure.

Proverbs 8:15-16 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. 16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

Romans 13:1 ​1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Daniel 2:20-21 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings:
he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Nebuchadnezzar's vision as interpreted by Daniel

Daniel 2:31-35 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 

Providential Promise – Psalm 35:18-19

Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

There Must Be Faith In The Sovereign God

A nation is made up of people, leaders and citizens. Only when we, our leaders, our lawmakers, and our judges know God or at least know the principles of His word, can our nation experience the continued blessings God promises.

Belshazzar the King learns God Is Sovereign Over Babylon Daniel 5:22-31 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; 23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: 24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. 25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

We Need To Heed The Lesson - And as important as it is that our nation was founded upon the principles of God’s word and have reaped the blessing of that foundation, even more important is that each and every one of us know God and have experienced the promise, the hope and the blessing of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Nations cannot be redeemed; nor can nations cannot experience salvation. Jesus did not give His life for the United States, but for the people of this nation and all the people of all nations. We can be redeemed, we can be justified, we can be saved by faith in Jesus, and we must. For what does is matter if we live in a Chrisitan nation but die without Christ and go to a Devil’s Hell?

Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?  21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Our nation today is like that rich fool, believing we have all we need and we can eat, drink and be merry with no regard for God. As a nation we are under the same warning as the rich fool, “This night your life is required.” At any moment God could require our nation to come before Him and give reason for ignoring His Word, His blessings and His promises.

Conclusion: Providential Hope

Psalms 33:20-22 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. 22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us,
according as we hope in thee.

The Hope of Israel and The Hope of America

The last few verses of Psalm 33 express the hope of Israel in the God who has chosen them to be His nation. It was needed most when Israel was the furthest from their God. It was the hope that no matter how greatly they had failed God, God would not fail them.

I believe that the hope Israel had in their God is the only hope we have. Israel was chosen by God and His promises to them are unfailing and unshakeable. The United States of America was not chosen as a nation by God, instead our nation chose to follow God. The blessing and promises of Israel are not ours, but the blessings and promises of God’s word to any person or any nation that puts their faith and trust in His word are ours. May we never lose our hope in God. May we always be a nation whose God is the Lord and will always be able to say, “In God we trust.”