Tag Archives: providence

Our Declaration of Dependence

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“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.

All things work together for good!

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And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28

“In a word, whatever affliction we bear shall be for our soul’s gain. God’s rod and love go together. This is a sweet and blessed lesson indeed; it quietens the heart and supports the soul under its burdens (2 Cor. 4:16). What we lose in our bodies we gain in our souls. What we lose in our estates we receive back in grace. Thus we can bear up and comfort ourselves in our deepest sorrows. When God takes away creature comforts, by secret impressions of love upon the heart he strengthens the soul. We become ‘more than conquerors through him who loved us’ (Rom. 8:37). God teaches us in affliction that one thing is necessary. Affliction reveals how mistaken we are about our ‘must-bes’ and necessities. In our health and liberty we think this thing must be done. When think riches and honours are necessary and we must have our estates and lay up large portions for our children. But in the day of adversity, when death looks us in the face and God causes the horror of the grave, the dread of the last judgment, and the terrors of eternity to pass before us, then we put our mouths in the dust and sigh; ‘O how I have been mistaken! I have fed upon ashes, and my deceived heart has turned me aside.’ We can now see how the pardon of sin, an interest in Christ, a sense of God’s love, and the assurance of glory, are the only indispensables. Christ alone is the one thing necessary, and all others are but ‘maybes’ at best. All the world has is but loss and dung in comparison with the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. Without him the soul is undone to all eternity. They that do not learn this lesson in the school of the Word shall learn it in the school of affliction, if they belong to God.”

— Thomas Case
A puritan devotional reading From Voices from the Past
recently published by The Banner of Truth Trust