“We Acknowledge Our Dependence Upon Thee, O God…”
by Rev. Jason J. McGuire,
Executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional; Freedom

This weekend Americans will celebrate the 234th year of our Country’s independence. It was on July 4, 1776 that representatives from thirteen little colonies signed what was to be known as 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. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem likely to effect their safety and happiness.”

The Declaration of Independence continues on to list and explains the causes as to why these colonies felt that their decision to sever all political ties with Great Britain was justified before “the Supreme Judge of the world”. It was with this declaration that the fight for freedom officially began. Freedom always comes at a great cost. These great men understood this, for the very last statement in this Declaration is:

“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.”

As we remember our Nation’s Independence this 4th of July, let us remember that our Nation was founded on the principles of the Word of God; by men and women who had a deep reverence for the Scriptures. Let us remember that our Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, was an acknowledgment of our dependence on an Almighty God, and that true liberty is freedom to have a personal relationship with the Creator and Father of Nations.