Week of Monday June 30 – July 7
One Nation Under God – Man as Instructor
I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. … For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?—the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war[.] - Psalm 18:1-6, 31-34a ESV
The psalm before us today was written by David on the day the Lord delivered him out of the hand of King Saul. These words of celebration and victory give particular attention to the One who had made it all possible, the God David loved and served. David expressed with clarity and conviction his faith in the one true God who—by His strength, might, and faithfulness—brought deliverance and peace to the land.
This week, as we look back 248 years to our nation’s founding, we, like David, can praise God for His faithfulness and protection. Our Founding Fathers recognized God’s favor upon the events of the revolution that led to independence and voiced their gratitude.
Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, framer of the Bill of Rights, and U.S. senator, declared in 1826:
Grateful to Almighty God for the blessing which, through Jesus Christ Our Lord, he had conferred upon my beloved country, in her emancipation, and upon myself, in permitting me, under circumstances of mercy, to live to the age of 89 years and to survive the fiftieth year of American Independence, and certifying by my present signature my approbation of the Declaration of Independence adopted by Congress on the fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, which I originally subscribed on the second day of August of the same year, and of which I am now the last surviving signer, I do hereby recommend to the present and future generations the principles of that important document as the best earthly inheritance their ancestors could bequeath to them, and pray that the civil and religious liberties they have secured to my country may be perpetuated to the remotest posterity and extend to the whole family of man.
As we celebrate the 4th of July this year, may we again call attention to the God who blessed our nation with independence and also gave humanity the timeless principles of Scripture, which can and must continue to guide our beloved nation forward.
- How will the remembrance and recognition of God’s blessing on our nation’s founding be seen in your life and influence?
- As you gather as a family for the holiday, what lessons or stories will you intentionally share with your children and grandchildren? (I encourage you to use the Stand Courageous Independence Day talking points with your family this 4th of July.)
- Ask God to help you inspire the next generation to cherish and defend the freedoms we enjoy in America. I moved this part up so that it could better segway into the application to 4th of July.
One Nation Under God – Man as Instructor
I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. … For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?—the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war[.] - Psalm 18:1-6, 31-34a ESV
The psalm before us today was written by David on the day the Lord delivered him out of the hand of King Saul. These words of celebration and victory give particular attention to the One who had made it all possible, the God David loved and served. David expressed with clarity and conviction his faith in the one true God who—by His strength, might, and faithfulness—brought deliverance and peace to the land.
This week, as we look back 248 years to our nation’s founding, we, like David, can praise God for His faithfulness and protection. Our Founding Fathers recognized God’s favor upon the events of the revolution that led to independence and voiced their gratitude.
Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, framer of the Bill of Rights, and U.S. senator, declared in 1826:
Grateful to Almighty God for the blessing which, through Jesus Christ Our Lord, he had conferred upon my beloved country, in her emancipation, and upon myself, in permitting me, under circumstances of mercy, to live to the age of 89 years and to survive the fiftieth year of American Independence, and certifying by my present signature my approbation of the Declaration of Independence adopted by Congress on the fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, which I originally subscribed on the second day of August of the same year, and of which I am now the last surviving signer, I do hereby recommend to the present and future generations the principles of that important document as the best earthly inheritance their ancestors could bequeath to them, and pray that the civil and religious liberties they have secured to my country may be perpetuated to the remotest posterity and extend to the whole family of man.
As we celebrate the 4th of July this year, may we again call attention to the God who blessed our nation with independence and also gave humanity the timeless principles of Scripture, which can and must continue to guide our beloved nation forward.
- How will the remembrance and recognition of God’s blessing on our nation’s founding be seen in your life and influence?
- As you gather as a family for the holiday, what lessons or stories will you intentionally share with your children and grandchildren? (I encourage you to use the Stand Courageous Independence Day talking points with your family this 4th of July.)
- Ask God to help you inspire the next generation to cherish and defend the freedoms we enjoy in America. I moved this part up so that it could better segway into the application to 4th of July.