One Nation Under God

Psalm 33

The Phrase / The Pledge

The Pledge of Allegiance was first published in 1892

It was officially recognized by the U.S. Govt in 1942, when it was added to the U.S. Flag Code, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Rev. George Docherty, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church preached a sermon in February 1954, attended by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in which he said:

“I came from Scotland, where we said ‘God save our gracious queen,’ ‘God save our gracious king… Here was the pledge of allegiance, and God wasn’t in it at all.”

“To omit the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance is to omit the definitive factor in the American way of life,”

“An atheistic American is a contradiction in terms… If you deny the Christian ethic, you fall short of the American ideal of life.”

Whether President Eisenhower, who was raised a pacifist Mennonite and later was baptized a Presbyterianism after serving in WWI as an officer in the U.S. Army and then entered politics and was elected president) the was moved particularly by this sermon, or whether it was a political move in a time where the great enemy of the U.S. was the atheistic communist Soviet regime, is a matter for debate.

What stands as historical fact is that we didn’t always have a pledge.

Then we had a pledge without mentioning God,

Then, in the lifetime of some of our current church members, the words “Under God” were added, and remain to this day.

The Text

The Psalms were written centuries (some maybe as many as 13) before the birth of Christ

The Psalms were written as poetry, as prayers to be sung, as worship for the Nation of Israel

The 33rd Psalm is usually categorized generally as a song of praise to God.

This psalm exalts GOd, and downplays the might of people and nations:

Psalm 33:7 “He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.”

Psalm 33:10-11 “The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.”

So then, let us look at the nation of verse 12

The Blessed Nation

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!”

v12-14

They are God’s chosen from among all the people of Earth

v16-17

They are NOT known by their might

v18-19

They are the subject of God’s particular providence

They fear and hope in God

v20-22

They rely(wait) on God

They rejoice in God

They trust God

They call upon God

They pledge faithfulness to God

Which Nation?

Old Testament Israel

Covenant ceremony at Sinai

The Psalms were written for Israel and use ‘We” and “Us”

Admittedly, they were imperfect in their fulfillment of the description in this text

Modern Israel

Not in Covenant with God (formed by U.S. and European nations in 1948)

Not recognizable by the description found n v12-22

The United States?

Not in Covenant with God (formed in the late 18th CE in rebellion to King George’s rule and being vassal colonies to England)

The Psalms were not written for the U.S.

We have no unique claim to the providence of God today

We are a nation under God in that God is supreme over our nation and government, but not uniquely so.

The One Holy Church of Jesus

The local churches are a microcosm of the whole

The Church of Jesus is the imperfect fulfillment of the Old Testament type, pointing to the perfect fulfillment on the age to come:

Hebrews 11:16 “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

The theme of the NT Church being THE continuation of OT Israel is clear in scripture:

Exodus 19:6 “and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.””

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Revelation 1:5-6 “...To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

The true Church of Christ was covenantally founded by God during the earthly ministry of Jesus, and like OT Israel imperfectly matches the descriptions of joy, worship, trust, obedience, and faith.

What should we do with this truth?

Unlike the pledge and our nation, the blessed Nation of Psalm 33:12 whose God is The Lord has always been comprised of a remnant of people, of families, of tribes, of congregations.

We need, and this message is a call to God’s People everywhere, to prioritize:

The worship of God

The study of His Word; both the Law and Gospel

Striving for Holiness, for Piety, for Righteousness and Justice

And we should do that in the context of our families and our churches FIRST.

Strengthen the home and the church by God’s enabling Spirit; in His strength; according to His Word.

The natural, organic result just may be that our society, maybe even our state, our earthly nation will be greatly benefitted.

We have no promise from God of an American national revival.

We do have a promise that the church of Jesus will remain.

To focus on the earthly nation first in hopes of benefitting the church is akin to seeking soul salvation by means of living right externally; by good works. It’s backwards.

Even if in the face of Christian faithfulness our society does not make a turn towards godliness, we have the sure hope in Christ that all of His; “the people whom he has chosen as his heritage,” from our text are the Blessed Nation whose God is the Lord.

Church Family, let us renew our allegiance to our Lord and His Church. Let us Praise God, as befits us, Let us follow, trust in, and wait upon the Lord. Let us remember whether American or no, all God’s People belong to the Blessed Nation of Psalm 33:12. Then let us seek to remind our brothers and sisters of the same to the Glory of His matchless Name, and the eternal benefit of His People.