Author: John Page 136 of 172

Judges 2:20-22 “And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.”

Speaking about faithfulness, Noah Webster wrote the following:

“The history of the Israelites is full of instruction. God chose that nation to be the depositaries of his laws; delivered them from bondage in Egypt; performed many miracles for their preservation and protection; sent one prophet after another to warn the nation against forsaking God; gave them able and wise kings to conquer the land of Canaan and established the state; but many of the kings apostatized to idolatry; the people became corrupt; and at last, God executed judgment upon the nation by the captivity of the king and most of the people, and putting an end to the state. Such or similar has been the fate of all corrupt nations; and such will be our fate, if we neglect the worship and service of God. God’s moral government requires that men and nations, renouncing his authority, should meet with exemplary punishment.”

The history of God’s people is full of instruction. They prospered when they were faithful because the Lord was with them. Yet, when they became corrupt and fell into idolatry their nation faltered and failed. As Webster stated, “such or similar has been the fate of all corrupt nations.” He feared that such would be our fate if we ever drifted from the Lord’s preeminence in our land.

Our nation must return to an understanding of God’s preeminence; we must do so as individuals as well.   We must desire His miracles for our preservation and protection as we have enjoyed in the past. PLEASE PRAY THAT THIS NATION WOULD LEARN FROM THE INSTRUCTION OF GOD’S WORD AND THE HISTORY OF GOD’S PEOPLE. The lessons can make the difference between preservation and protection or exemplary punishment.

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.”

Speaking about liberty, Noah Webster wrote the following:

“Almost all the civil liberty now enjoyed in the world owes its origin to the principles of the Christian religion. Men began to understand their natural rights, as soon as the reformation from popery began to dawn in the sixteenth century; and civil liberty has been gradually advancing and improving, as genuine Christianity has prevailed. By the principles of the Christian religion we are not to understand the decisions of ecclesiastical councils, for these are the opinions of mere men; nor are we to suppose that religion to be any particular church established by law, with numerous dignitaries, living in stately palaces, arrayed in gorgeous attire, and rioting in luxury and wealth, squeezed from the scanty earnings of the laboring poor; nor is it a religion which consists in a round of forms, and in pompous rites and ceremonies. No; the religion which has introduced civil liberty, is the religion of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government”

As the founders were creating this nation, they recognized the importance of liberty. In fact, the reason they recognized liberty itself was because they had experienced liberty through Christ. They desired a form a government that would prevent the entanglement of bondage that comes from the strict hierarchy of monarchy and the strong hand of governmental power. They had seen such entanglement before, through the rigid structures of the church and through the rigid structures of the state. They never wanted to be entangled again.

We owe our free constitutions of government to the first-hand reaction of the founders to what they had experienced of liberty and bondage. They wanted all of the former and none of the latter. They created our government around the liberty of Christ, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence and that bestows equal rights to every citizen.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICANS AND AMERICAN LEADERS WOULD CLING TO THE LIBERTY PROVIDED ONLY BY CHRIST. That liberty extends beyond the temporal to the eternal, and our founders acknowledged such liberty as the originating principle of our nation.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

In 1834, Noah Webster penned the following:

“The dignity of man, in the view of the world, consists in elevation of rank in society, superior intelligence, and high minded notion of honor. These are qualities which make men respected in society, and are of real value to the possessor. But these qualities may be and often are united, in the same character, with the foulest vices. There is another species of dignity which consists in the abhorrence of every vice, and in aiming at the excellence which has a resemblance to divine perfections. God is the only perfect being, the only model of all excellence; and no man can be possessed of true dignity of character, without purity of heart, and a divine principle which elevates the affections above the love of that which God abhors and forbids. Whatever God forbids is degrading, however fashionable it may be, and however esteemed among men. It is our first duty to seek the honor that comes from God.”

We are to cling to the principles esteemed by God regardless of whether they are esteemed by man. Being faithful does not mean that we will be fashionable.

Webster provides the important warning that the same characteristics elevated by the world may be linked to the foulest vices. Thus, in order to avoid such a character trap it is necessary to seek God first. As the only model of all excellence, the Lord and His characteristics should be first and foremost in our minds. With a goal of continually striving towards divine perfections, the right characteristics will be added unto us.

PLEASE PRAY FOR A GOD-FIRST MINDSET IN THE LIVES OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANS, INCLUDING YOURSELF. However fashionable the things of the world may be, true dignity of character only comes by placing the Lord first.

James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

Noah Webster is known as the ‘Father of American Scholarship and Education.’ He was an author, an abolitionist, a lexicographer, and an outspoken supporter of the Constitution. Later in his life, this Founding Father wrote two must-read books for children and adults alike:

• The Value of the Bible and Excellence of the Christian Religion for the Use of Families and Schools (1834)
• History of the United States (1833)

The next four PLUS posts will use thoughts from these great works.

Webster wrote the following:

“The great difference between the maxims of the world and the doctrines of the gospel, is, that human opinions spring from pride, and tend to foster it; whereas the doctrines of the gospel teach humility, and self-abasement. The maxims of the world serve to encourage self-dependence in men, inducing them to rely on their own strength and resources for success, in business or policy, without seeking aid from the Almighty source of power. The gospel inculcates the opposite doctrine; it teaches that ‘God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.’ It serves to make men humble, and to rely wholly on God for success, not only in spiritual concerns, but in the ordinary occupations of this world. In the pagan world, bravery and human efforts are everything; and God is nothing. In the Christian system, human strength is nothing, and God is every thing. In a Christian community then, all government should be founded on Christian principles or should be directed to support them; and to such a system God will give success. All governments of a different kind will produce, as they have ever produced, innumerable evils while they last, and will ultimately sink into corruption and be ruined. All history is a tissue of facts confirming these observations.”

This Founding Father recognized the need to embrace humility and to shun pride. He recognized that this applies to the personal level and to the governmental level. He recognized that the former would bring grace and the latter would bring resistance.

This nation is great because it didn’t spring from the maxims of this world, but instead from the doctrines of the gospel. The Founders recognized that human strength is nothing and that God is everything. PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERCIA WOULD ONCE AGAIN TURN TO GOD AS OUR EVERYTHING. By doing so, may we avoid the innumerable evils and inevitable ruin that come from the world’s maxims.

Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

The theologian and writer William Arthur Ward reminds us of an important precept:

“Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”

The fourth Thursday of November is designated as Thanksgiving Day. It is a wonderful day on the calendar to remind us of the importance of thankfulness and gratitude, primarily directed toward the Lord. Yet in reality, a true Christian spirit should prompt us toward thankfulness and gratitude on the other 364 days as well.

With a Lord that deserves our constant gratitude, every day should be Thanksgiving Day. Our routine should be filled with joy. We should feel blessed by the ordinary. As we wake on any given day, we should remind ourselves that “this is the day which the LORD hath made.” There are many reasons for which we should rejoice and be glad in it.

PLEASE PRAY FOR A CONSTANT, DAILY SPIRIT OF GRATITUDE.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving Day, filled with thankfulness and gratitude directed toward the source of all our blessings. Do the same on the day to follow, and the days and the weeks after that. Do so every day, common or not.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Please see this previous post for President Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation: https://prayatlunch.us/give-thanks/
Please see this previous post for thoughts on the 1621 day of thanksgiving: https://prayatlunch.us/a-good-god/