Author: John Page 14 of 156

Exodus 5:1 “And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.”

Exodus 9:1 “Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.”

Exodus 13:21-22 “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”

As I close out this series on the spiritual basis of our Declaration of Independence, there is a closely-related historical element that is worth mentioning. On July 4^th, 1776, in addition to unanimously adopting the Declaration, the Continental Congress formed a committee consisting of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams to design the seal of our newly declared independent nation. Their designs were ultimately tabled, with a completely new design finally adopted in 1782.

Yet, their drafts are powerfully revealing as to the Biblically-minded thoughts that dominated the founder’s motivations and perspectives about independence.

Franklin’s draft displayed images of Moses and God’s people in safety on the far side of the Red Sea, with Pharaoh and his men being overwhelmed by the waters. A pillar of fire is central to this design, designating the source of power and strength for God’s people. His recommended motto: Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.

Jefferson created a draft with a similar theme, displaying the children of Israel in the Wilderness. In his depiction, they were led by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Our founders saw their departure from British rule as an analogue to the Israelites flight from Egypt. Their deliverance and ultimate success would be guided by God’s direction, day and night. It was their ultimate source of wisdom and power.

Our ultimate success today depends upon the same!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FOLLOW GOD’S PILLARS OF GUIDANCE AT ALL TIMES. Our founders trusted the Lord’s leadership in the creation of our great nation. Their power in rebellion must be ours in every element of our public and private activity – obedience to God. It is the pillar of our success!

I Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded unto you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”

I John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Our founders finished the Declaration of Independence with these powerfully-practical and spiritually-astute words: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

These were educated, experienced, courageous, and competent men. They had wisdom, might and riches. Yet, they firmly relied upon one thing as they signed that glorious revolutionary document that would be seen as a public declaration of treason in the eyes of British authorities. The firmly relied upon the Lord!

They knew that they could cast all their care upon Him, because He cared for them. They were witting that their great commission came from the One with all power and who would be with them at all times. They knew that He was greater than the powers of this world.

In their trying times, they covenanted and committed to bold action by trusting in Him, relying upon Him, humbling themselves to Him, and beseeching Him. In all our activities, so must we!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO BOLDLY LIVE IN OUR TRYING TIMES WITH A FIRM RELIANCE ON THE PROTECTION OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. Our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor hang in the balance!

II Samuel 2:10 “The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of the heaven shall he thunder upon them:  the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Psalm 98:9 “For he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.”

Hebrews 10:30 “For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”

Luke 12:48 “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required”

After outlining a comprehensive list grievances, the founders wrote the following as they prepared to close out the brilliant prose of the Declaration of Independence:

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.”

They knew that He was the “righteous judge” (II Timothy 4:8) and realized that their most poignant appeal would be to The Powerful Arbiter and The Perfect Authority.

Interestingly, however, we have forgotten that the same Judge who created the purest of liberties will judge our use of those same liberties. President Lincoln reminded his fellow countrymen of the costliness of this important truth in his second inaugural address.

Speaking of the Civil War and slavery, Lincoln quotes Matthew 18:7: “Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to the man by whom the offense cometh.” Of God’s judgment, Lincoln goes on to state the following as he incorporates Psalm 19:9: “Fondly do we hope – fervently do we pray – that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as we said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said: ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’”

All-in-all, the Civil War cost the United States over $170 billion. More importantly, it cost over 750,000 lives, about one in four who fought.

May we never forget that the Supreme Judge’s authority is characterized by righteousness, equity, and surety.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICANS TO NEVER FORGET THAT THE LORD WILL ENACT COSTLY PENALTIES FOR MISUSED LIBERTIES. He is The Supreme Judge!

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

II Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Romans 2:14-15 “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves; Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another”

Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”

Even before the Declaration of Independence described the unalienable rights that had been endowed by our Creator, it brilliantly described the foundation of the American revolutionary philosophy in its preamble:

“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

God created the heaven and the earth, and we are all subject to His power. The Laws of Nature are firmly established by Nature’s God.

All our rights stem from Him, and when we are deprived of His rightful gifts of liberty, then we are justified in separating from those who are doing the depriving. This theological truth formed the basis of our forefather’s bold statement of independence.

Where do we find the laws of Nature provided by Nature’s God?

• From God’s perfect Word that is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction.
• From God’s pricks of conscience that reinforce the laws that He hardwired into our hearts.
• From God’s amazing creation in us and all around us that powerfully pinpoints His preeminence.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGE AND ABIDE BY NATURE’S LAWS THAT ARE FIRMLY ESTABLISHED BY NATURE’S GOD. All of humanity is without excuse, and as His ambassadors, we must always direct the gaze of our fellow citizens to Nature’s God as the ultimate source of our precious predetermined liberties.

II Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

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

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”

This post amplifies the important truths detailed in the previous post about the true source of our rights and liberties in the United States. It all follows from those inspired lines of the declaration of independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Without much needed amplification, I leave the reader with some powerful truths from key figures in our nation’s history and the national dialogue about our position and responsibility in the rights and liberties which have been bestowed upon us:

• “Liberty looks upon religion as its companion in its struggles and triumphs, as the cradle of its young life, as the divine source of its claims. It considers religion as the guardian of morality, morality as the guarantee of law and the security that freedom will last.” (Alexis de Tocqueville)
• “Only patriotism and religion can carry, over a long period, the whole body of citizens towards the same goal.” (Alexis de Tocqueville)
• “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (John Adams)
• “Let me say, as a religious leader myself, religious liberty, as it developed in America, is, I believe not just a great political achievement, it is also a great spiritual achievement because it is based on humility and self-restraint, on the knowledge that this is one nation, under God.” (Rabbi Sacks)
• “I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my Country can inspire: since there is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity: Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.” (George Washington, during his first inauguration)

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR NATION TO CLING ONCE AGAIN TO THE INDISSOLUBLE UNION BETWEEN VIRTUE AND HAPPINESS, AND BETWEEN DUTY AND ADVANTAGE. We must return to these genuine maxims in order to have a future characterized by prosperity and felicity.