Month: April 2015 Page 1 of 2

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

Prior to Washington’s inauguration (Washington’s speech will be the subject of my next four posts), Congress acted to insure that the government would be founded on prayer, strengthened in prayer, and buoyed by prayer. On April 27, 1789, the Senate approved the following resolution:

“Resolved, That after the oath shall have been administered to the President, he – attended by the Vice-President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives – proceed to St. Paul’s Chapel to hear Divine service.”

Two days later, the House approved the same. In obedience to this Joint Resolution, Congressional records documented the following as the first act of the new government after Washington’s inauguration:

“The President, the Vice-President, the Senate, and House of Representatives, then proceeded to St. Paul’s chapel, where Divine Service was performed by the chaplain of Congress.”

With a quorum of US Constitution signatories present, the new government’s first act, as required by Congressional resolution, was to attend a Christian church service that included prayers, scripture readings, and a message from the books of Psalms, I Kings, Acts, and III John. Recognizing that the success of such a new nation would rise or fall based on the Lord Himself, national leaders immediately embraced and demonstrated prayerful humility. They saw that their future hinged not upon themselves, but upon the Lord. They wanted the world to know that their God was the Lord.

Our success as a nation continues to rise or fall based on the Lord Himself. Our future hinges not upon ourselves, but upon the Lord. Yet, we have diverged from embracing and demonstrating prayerful humility. We have failed to resolve that our God is the Lord.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD ONCE AGAIN RESOLVE THAT OUR GOD IS THE LORD. Those who authored the Constitution, who formed our first government, and who led our new nation recognized the need to do so. So must we!

I Timothy 2:1-2 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

On April 23^rd, 1789 George Washington arrived in New York City in preparation for his inauguration as our nation’s first President a week later. On that same day, the New York Daily Advertiser announced the following:

“On the morning of the day on which our illustrious President will be invested with his office, the bells will ring at nine o’clock, when the people may go up to the house of God and in a solemn manner commit the new government, with its important train of consequences, to the holy protection and blessing of the Most high.”

In 1789, America stood on the brink of history. As the Constitutional based government was forming, the world was watching. After a long fought battle against the world’s superpower, and a stumbling of government under the Articles of Confederation, could this new experiment work? Much was riding on the outcome, and the subsequent train of consequences demanded an inauguration day that was bathed in prayer. The people recognized the need to commit their new government and new nation to the holy protection and blessings of the Most high.

Though 1789 was a pivotal year, we should consider 2015 no less so. We stand on the brink of history and the world is watching to determine whether this 200-year experiment will survive. We continue to fight moral and physical battles, and have stumbled on both counts. Much rides on the outcome of our way forward, and the subsequent train of consequences demands that every day be bathed in prayer. We must recognize the need to commit our government and our nation to the holy protection and blessings of the Most high.

PLEASE BATHE OUR GOVERNMENT, ITS LEADERS, AND OUR NATION IN DAILY PRAYER. An important train of consequences follows each decision, and our solemn prayers stand as the only thing that can truly make a difference.

Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

Engravings on the Rotunda and the Northwest Portico of the Jefferson Memorial include:

“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

“Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens…are a departure from the plan of the holy Author of our religion…No man shall be compelled to frequent or support religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.”

In Twenty-first Century America, there is a form of tyranny over the minds of men that would shock and appall the Founding Fathers. This newly established state religion denies freedom of thought. It influences the minds of men by burdens, punishments, and sufferings. It compels the population to worship at its altars without questioning its fundamental tenants.

The new religion uplifts self and denies moral restraint. This tyrannical force ostracizes those who would claim the preeminence of God-given truth. It swears allegiance to open-mindedness and moral relativism. This new religion insures that its precepts are ingrained into the common psyche through educational curriculum, public policy, and legal code. It reshapes history to remove the vestiges of the past. It is nothing less than tyranny over the mind of man, and those who oppose it must be strong in the Lord.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD BE STRONG IN THE LORD AS THEY STAND AGAINST THE NEWLY-ESTABLISHED STATE RELIGION. Opposition to tyranny takes a force far stronger than self-reliance. It takes humble prayerfulness.

Psalms 9:7-8 “But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.”

Colossians 3:25 “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.”

The engraving on the Northeast Portico of the Jefferson Memorial includes the following:

“Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

While the context of the above is in relation to American slavery, it certainly applies more generally. With that in mind, Christians should tremble for our country. We should tremble for the future of a land that actively, even aggressively, invites God’s judgment. We should tremble with the thought that our children may grow up in a nation that has voluntarily removed itself from the protection of God.

God is just; His justice cannot sleep forever. PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WOULD STAY HIS JUDGMENT WHILE TURNING OUR NATION BACK TO HIM. Indeed, we should tremble. That trembling should bring us to the one place we can make the most difference – to our knees.

Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Enshrined elsewhere in the Memorial, Jefferson wrote:

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”

Indeed, can our rights remain secure as our nation forgets that our liberty, like our life itself, is a God-given gift? Thomas Jefferson, relying upon his Bible-based convictions, certainly didn’t think so. Instead, he saw that removing the conviction that liberties are gifts from God would cause them to slip away. Once we trust in another source for our rights and our liberties, then they would be fleeting.

The alternative to standing fast with Christ and His freely offered liberty and freedom is returning to entanglement with the yoke of bondage. This applies to the spiritual realm, and to the national realm as well. After all, the Lord is the source of all liberty and all freedom.

As a nation, we have a simple choice. We can stand fast in liberty and freedom by trusting in the Lord as their source, or we can risk the yoke of bondage by trusting in anything else.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD RECOGNIZE THE STARK ALTERNATIVE TO GOD-GIVEN LIBERTY. Once we remove our fundamental conviction about the source of liberty, we lose liberty itself.

NOTE: Please read this prior post for related thoughts: https://prayatlunch.us/never-entangled-again/