The
Affairs of Men
July
4, 2018
Psalm
33:12-15; 18-22 - Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the
people whom He has chosen as His heritage! The Lord looks down from
heaven; He sees all the children of man; from where He sits enthroned
He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the
hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. ... Behold, the eye
of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His
steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death and keep
them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and
our shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His
holy Name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we
hope in You.
On
the birthday of the U.S. of A., we could spend a lot of time speaking
about things right and things wrong in our nation. We could talk
about present leaders who are trying and those who have given up.
Instead, I would like to share some facts which have mostly been
forgotten. For example:
1.
Did you know shortly after breaking with England, the Continental
Congress voted to buy and import 20,000 copies of Scripture for the
people of the new nation?
2.
Patrick Henry was the firebrand of the American Revolution: Did he
say
a.
"I regret I have but one life to give to my country"?
b.
"We must hang together, or we will all hang separately"?
c.
"Give me liberty or give me death"?
If
you selected C, you did well. Now the bonus question. Finish the
quote. (Pause.) Most folks can't do it because the rest of what Henry
said is no longer taught. This is what he said, "An appeal to
arms and the God of hosts is all that is left to us. But we shall not
fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the
destinies of nations. The battle, sir, is not of the strong alone. Is
life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of
chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course
others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
You
should also know Henry wasn't talking about some generic god or
nebulous deity.
How
do I know? I know because Mr. Henry told me. In his will Henry wrote,
"I have now disposed of all my property to my family; there is
one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian
religion. If they have that, and I had not given them one shilling
they would be rich; and if they had not this, and I had given them
all this world, they would be poor."
No
doubt about it, the man had a gift for words.
Now
this is the point where I'm supposed to say, "Sure wish we had
people like Patrick Henry around today." Well, I'm not going to
say that because I can't. The truth is I have met many men and women
who remain committed to the Savior, who has rescued their souls from
damnation.
They
may not have Henry's flair for words, but the sincerity of their
hearts cannot be questioned. They love the Lord who first loved them,
and they faithfully share the Savior with their children. So, in this
land of freedom, the Savior's story of salvation will always be told
through all generations.
THE
PRAYER: Dear Lord, for many years the Holy Scriptures have been
attacked by puffed-up people. Today that attack is joined by those
who would write You out of all history. May they realize their
errors, so they may introduce their household to Jesus, their Savior
and Lord. In Jesus' Name, I ask it. Amen.
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