Joshua 4:1-3, 6-7 “And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night…That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.”
Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”
John Adams wrote the following to his wife Abigail describing his thoughts about our nation’s independence (based on the Second Continental Congress approving a resolution of independence on July 2, 1776):
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.
You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph in that day’s transaction, even although we should rue it, which I trust in God we shall not.”
Adams saw that the formation of our new nation was a Day of Deliverance deserving solemn devotion to the Lord our God. He also saw it as a responsibility that would cost greatly but be worth all the toil.
Posterity has indeed triumphed because of their transaction, benefiting from rays of ravishing light and glory.
As we celebrate our nation’s semiquincentennial, we should continue in solemn devotion to the Lord our God for our Day of Deliverance. Yet like our Founders, we should also embrace our real responsibility to toil for the cause of liberty and the continuation of our founding principles.
PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TODAY WOULD TAKE SERIOUSLY OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SECURE THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY. For future generations, it will be worth all the toil.
