In God’s Country
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Introduction
Introduction
As civil war broke out in America, the question of America’s survival as one nation entered the minds of many. A concerned pastor, Rev. M. R. Watkinson, wrote the Secretary of the Treasury asking:
Dear Sir … You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation?
He therefore prompted Secretary Chase to add an official recognition of God to American coinage, saying:
This would make a beautiful coin to which no possible citizen could object. This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed.
Secretary Chase agreed and immediately wrote the Director of the Mint to prepare such a coin. He wrote:
No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on national coins.
He therefore instructed the Director to construct the coin “without unnecessary delay.” The Director submitted three proposals to Secretary Chase, who rejected all three and submitted his own design: our national motto, “In God We Trust.” By 1873, the motto was authorized for printing on all coins.
In 1931, Congress made the Star-Spangled Banner the official National Anthem. Its final stanza reads:
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just.
AND THIS BE OUR MOTTO - “IN GOD IS OUR TRUST.”
In 1954, President Eisenhower heard a sermon preached by Rev. George Macpherson Docherty in which Docherty urged adding the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. So moved was President Eisenhower, that a proposal was immediately introduced and passed in Congress. Eisenhower signed the law, announcing:
From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty … In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future — in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace or in war.
Even state supreme courts affirmed America as a nation “under God.” in 1950, the Supreme Court of Mississippi declared:
Our great country is denominated as a Christian nation … It cannot be denied that much of the legislative philosophy of this state and nation has been inspired by the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount and other portions of the Holy Scriptures.
Similarly, in 1959, the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared:
It is well settled and understood that ours is a Christian nation, holding the Almighty God in dutiful reverence. It is so noted in our Declaration of Independence and in the constitution of every state of the Union … [W]herein those documents recognize the existence of God, and that we are a Christian Nation and a Christian State.
Of course, these declarations which spanned the course of a century were nothing new, but firmly rooted in the beliefs of the Godly men who founded this great nation. President George Washington said:
It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor.
Likewise, President John Adams agreed, saying:
The safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and the blessing of Almighty God, and the national acknowledgement of this truth is … an indispensable duty which the people owe to Him.
1 Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings. 3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. 4 For the word of the Lord is upright, And all His work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. 10 The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; 14 From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works. 16 The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, 19 To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. 22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, According as we have hoped in You.
Reclaiming our national calling requires us as Christians to …
I. Obey God’s Will (v. 8-12)
I. Obey God’s Will (v. 8-12)
A. Notice how it says blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
The Hebrew word for Lord here is the name of God, Jehovah. This name means ‘the unchanging, eternal, self-existing God.’ So, it does not mean just any god that a nation chooses to follow, it means the one true God.
What is an example of a nation whose God is the Lord?
14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
The phrase ‘seek My face’ really encapsulates the actions of a nation whose God is the Lord.
Staring into someone’s face requires intimacy. But if I just walked up to a random person on the street and stared at their face, they would think I was weird or creepy. However, if I stare into the face of my wife, it is an intimate act.
So, a people who are seeking God’s face are a people who have an intimate relationship with Him.
This is really why I said reclaiming our national calling requires Christians to obey God’s will.
So goes the Church, so goes the city. So goes the city, so goes the state. So goes the state, so goes the nation.
If Christians aren’t intently seeking God’s face, then how can we ever expect our culture to choose to do good? What does this look like for us then? Well, let’s look to what one of our founding fathers, John Adams, had to say concerning this matter.
B. John Adams, letters to his son:
John Adams said he would read 4-5 chapters, totaling about one hour, every morning because “[it] seems to me the most suitable manner of beginning the day.” Not only that, but for many years he made it a practice to read through the entire Bible “with the intention and desire that it may contribute to my advance in wisdom and virtue.”
So great is my veneration for the Bible, and so strong my belief that when duly read and meditated on it is of all books in the world that which contributes most to make men good, wise, and happy; that the earlier my children begin to read it — the more steadily they pursue the practice of reading it throughout their lives — the more lively and confident my hopes that they will prove useful citizens to their country, respectable members of society, and a real blessing to their parents.
In John Adams’ mind, what determined whether his children would grow to become “useful citizens to their country, respectable members of society, and a real blessing to their parents,” was how much they soaked up the Word of God.
A sponge is useless without water. But when you soak it in water, all of a sudden it can be used effectively.
He wanted his children to be a spiritual sponge, overflowing with the truth of God’s Word so they could be properly used.
C. Black Robe Regiment
A derogatory term that was used to describe the many pastors during the American Revolution who led regiments of young men in the fight for freedom.
In 1776, on a seemingly normal Sunday morning, Rev. Peter Muhlenberg preached from Ecclesiastes 3.
1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—
At the end of his sermon, Muhlenberg said, “In the language of the holy writ, there was a time for all things, a time to preach and a time to pray, but those times have passed away. There is a time to fight, and that time is now coming!”
He then proceeded to strip off his robes revealing, to the shock of the congregation, a military uniform. Marching to the back of the congregation he shouted, “Who among you is with me?”
That day 300 men joined Peter, eventually becoming the 8th Virginia Brigade.
Peter’s brother, Frederick, was against this action by Peter. Peter responded to him saying, “I am a Clergyman it is true, but I am a member of the Society as well as the poorest Layman, and my Liberty is as dear to me as any man, shall I then sit still and enjoy myself at Home when the best Blood of the Covenant is spilling? … So far am I from thinking that I act wrong, I am convinced it is my duty to do so and duly I owe to God and my country.”
In 1898, Bishop Charles Galloway said this concerning the men of the Black Robe Regiment:
Mighty men they were, of iron nerve and strong hand and unblanched cheek and heart of flame. God needed not reeds shaken by the wind, not men clothed in soft raiment, but heroes of hardihood and lofty courage to be the voice of a new kingdom crying in this Western wilderness. And such were the sons of the mighty who responded to the Divine call.
Can you imagine how powerful it would be if just a fraction of our pastors had a mindset like this today?
What God needs today from American pulpits is not reeds shaken by the wind (i.e., wherever the cultural winds blow).
What God needs today from American pulpits is not men clothed in soft raiment (i.e., men who act Godly but have no substance).
D. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
If the truth will make you free, what is everyone who does not know the Truth?
They are in bondage! They are slaves!
But Christ came that we may have freedom. In Christ is liberty, both for the individual and the nation.
Reclaiming our national calling requires us as Christians to …
II. Acknowledge God’s Providence (vv. 13-17)
II. Acknowledge God’s Providence (vv. 13-17)
A. Divine Providence
According to Founding Father Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary, providence means ‘the care and superintendence which God exercises over His creatures.’
B. Benjamin Franklin to Congress, July 28, 1787:
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 can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that "except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it.” [Psalm 127:1] 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: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall be become a reproach and a bye word down to future age. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human Wisdom, and leave it to chance, war, and conquest.
I therefore beg leave to move -- that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service.
C. No political party, no political leader, and no military will ever save this country nor any other. In fact, our text today tells us hoping in these things is a false hope.
If we truly want to Make America Great Again, it will require nothing short of returning to the One who made it in the first place.
Who was it that saw the Pilgrims safely to the shores of America on their harrowing journey across the Atlantic? Who was it that preserved a remnant of those weary travelers that first winter? Who was it that sustained a hungry, freezing, unorganized army battling against the most powerful empire the world had ever known? Who was it that kept America from fracturing after a bloody civil war?
Reclaiming our national calling requires us as Christians to …
III. Gratefully Recognize God’s Benefits (vv. 18-19)
III. Gratefully Recognize God’s Benefits (vv. 18-19)
A. Christians must always rejoice in the wonderful benefits our God provides for us.
1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
We are spoiled rotten as Americans. We live in a nation unlike any other in the world.
A nation where all men are free
A nation where all men are viewed as equals
A nation where we can worship publicly
A nation where we can speak freely
A nation where anyone can make something of themselves
Yet, the society we live in today is profoundly ungrateful. They view America as a stain on the world’s stage and desire to tear down everything that makes it great.
Certainly America is on a dangerous trajectory, and that should sadden every American. But as Christians, whether America rises or falls, our future is secure. If the economy fails, if the cities descend into anarchy, if the food disappears, we rest assured in the glorious hope that the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him.
B. Founding Father, John Hancock, speaking at the 1774 commemoration of the Boston Massacre, only weeks after the Boston Tea Party, ended his speech by saying:
I have the most animating confidence that the present noble struggle for liberty will terminate gloriously for America. And let us play the man for our God, and for the cities of our God; whilst we are using the means in our power, let us humbly commit our righteous cause to the great Lord of the Universe [Psalm 37:5], who loveth righteousness and hateth iniquity [Hebrews 1:9]. And having secured the approbation of our hearts by a faithful and unwearied discharge of our duty to our country, let us joyfully leave our concerns in the hands of Him [1 Peter 5:7] Who raiseth up and pulleth down the empires and kingdoms of the world as He pleases [Daniel 2:21]; and with cheerful submission to His sovereign will [Job 22:21], devoutly say, ‘Although the fig tree shall not blossom nether shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail and the field shall yield not meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet we will rejoice in the Lord, we will joy in the God of our salvation’ [Habakkuk 3:17-18].
Reclaiming our national calling requires us as Christians to …
IV. Humbly Implore God’s Protection and Favor (vv. 20-22)
IV. Humbly Implore God’s Protection and Favor (vv. 20-22)
A. Past examples of calls to repentance
On April 15, 1799, John Adams issued this statement:
[This day] be observed throughout the United States of America as a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that the citizens on that day abstain, as far as may be, from their secular occupation, and devote the time to the sacred duties of religion, in public and in private; that they call to mind our numerous offenses against the most high God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, implore his pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer, for our past transgressions, and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit, we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience to his righteous requisitions in time to come; that He would interpose to arrest the progress of that impiety and licentiousness in principle and practice so offensive to Himself and so ruinous to mankind; that He would make us deeply sensible that "righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." [Proverbs 14:34]
After the Revolutionary War, the British failed to uphold their promises made. They continued to force American seamen into the British navy, stir up Indian tribes to attack the Americans, and looted American ships for goods during the War of 1812. Many governors called on their citizens to confess their sins before God and call upon His intervention.
One such governor, Caleb Strong of Massachusetts, in his call for prayer explained:
[I]t becomes us, in imitation of our Fathers in their times of perplexity and danger, with deep repentance to humble ourselves before … the God of our Fathers, Who was their defense in danger and to Whom they never sought in vain, and beseech Him, through the merits of His Son , that He would forgive us of our ingratitude and the innumerable transgressions of which we have been guilty.
2024 Tennessee House of Representatives:
[BE IT RESOLVED] … that the period of July 1, 2024, through July 31, 2024, be recognized as a time of prayer and fasting in Tennessee … that we recognize that God, as Creator and King of all Glory, has both the authority to judge and to bless nations or states … that we, as public servants in the Tennessee General Assembly, seek God’s mercy upon our land and beseech Him to not withdraw His Hand of blessing from us … that we recognize our sins and shortcomings before Him and humbly ask His Forgiveness … that we ask the Lord Jesus to heal our land and remove the violence, human-trafficking, addiction, and corruption … that we ask the Holy Spirit to fill our halls of government, our classrooms, our places of business, our churches, and our homes with peace, love, and joy … that we call upon those who are physically able and spiritually inclined to do so to join in a thirty-day session of prayer and intermittent fasting as we begin a new fiscal year as a means of seeking God’s blessing and humbling ourselves to receive His Grace and Mercy, transforming ourselves, our communities, our State, and our Nation.
https://legiscan.com/TN/text/HJR0803/2023
B. Accountable to God and posterity
Rev. Matthias Burnet
To God and posterity you are accountable [for your rights and your rulers] … Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights and prostrating those institutions which your fathers delivered to you.
Patrick Henry
Whether this [the American Revolution] will prove a blessing or a curse will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God hath bestowed upon us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation. Reader! — whoever thou art, remember this! — and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself and encourage it in others.
11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You. 12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.
As Christians, we must remember that our action or inaction here does not merely effect us, but generations to come. My high school Spanish teacher said:
Kids do not understand the permanence for tomorrow of their decisions today.
If I were to change this around to apply to us as American Christians, I would say:
American Christians do not understand the permanence for tomorrow of their decisions today.
To the Israelites, Joshua offered a choice:
14 “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The same choice exists before every Christian in America. Choose today, O Christian, whom you will serve. We can either serve the eternal, unchanging God, who built and sustained this nation. We can choose to obey His will, to acknowledge His providence, to gratefully remember His benefits, and to seek His protection and favor. We can choose to reclaim our national calling.
Or we can continue to turn our face from God, and He will turn His face from us.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Our national history ascribes Christianity and faith in Jesus Christ as the foundational elements necessary for the building and sustaining of this great nation. 55 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Bible believing, God-fearing Christians. Their Godly influence was left imprinted on our national documents, our monuments, and our heritage. The very rights America promises, namely Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, are found purely in nothing other than the Christian religion and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are a nation built upon four simple words: In God We Trust. That alone makes America and her birthday a day worth celebrating.
Yet, despite our simple foundation, we are a nation who has largely forgotten the God we claim to trust.
And thus, we as the Church, we as Christians here in America, are tasked with the moral obligation and duty to reclaim our national calling: namely to glorify Jesus Christ and to proclaim the freedom which can only be found in Him.
I would like to conclude with a challenge, an invitation, to each of you to join with Tennessee this month of July in prayer and fasting and intercession and repentance for our nation.
So, I invite you to stand, and I would like to lead you in a prayer for as we begin this most wonderful month of July, looking forward to the celebration of our nation’s birth and in anticipation of its future. I will lead and I ask you to repeat after me.
Lord Jesus
We are asking You
To pour out Your Holy Spirit
Not only on Tennessee
But in Iowa as well.
We are asking You Father
To renew the covenant
Of faith in Jesus Christ.
And we recognize that this country
Was dedicated to Your Word.
So God we present ourselves
To join with Tennessee
In intercession
For America and our States.
We present ourselves
To within our ability
Reclaim our national calling.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen