“The Highest Glory of the American Revolution”
"One can only imagine the range of emotions present in Independence Hall when the Declaration of Independence was signed. In the classic book, The Light and the Glory, Peter Marshall and David Manuel offer the following account:
“The magnitude of what they had done began to weigh upon them, and they realized that they and their countrymen were no longer Englishmen, but citizens of a fledgling nation barely a few minutes old. Many stared out the window. Some wept openly. Some, like Witherspoon, bowed their heads and closed their eyes in prayer. John Hancock broke the silence: ‘Gentlemen, the price on my head has just been doubled!’
“A wry chuckle followed, and then Samuel Adams rose: ‘We have this day restored the Sovereign, to Whom alone men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and … from the rising to the setting sun, may His Kingdom come.’”
It is ridiculous to suggest that these Founders did not believe God was involved in this endeavor. John Quincy Adams, son of John and Abigail Adams and sixth president of the United States, made the profound statement on the 45th anniversary of the signing, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity” (July 4, 1821)
Adams’ belief in this indissoluble bond never waned. On America’s 61st birthday, July 4, 1837, he made the following staggering declaration, connecting the birth of our nation to the birth of Jesus Christ:
“Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? [July 4th]. Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth?”
Adams wasn’t equating America’s birth with Christ’s birth; he was saying that America’s birth was linked to His Birth. Our destiny involved announcing Christ’s birth as the Redeemer of humankind. This patriot knew why God raised up America!
The Price of Freedom
The signers of the Declaration of Independence understood the potential cost of their actions. This is why they ended the document with the words: “For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
John Quincy’s dad, John Adams, one of the signers and our second President, spoke of the probable cost to his wife, Abigail: “I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration and support and defend these states. Yet through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means.”
Signer Lewis Morris’ half-brother tried to dissuade him from signing the Declaration, warning him of the potential cost. Morris’s eloquent response? “Damn the consequences. Give me the pen!” I’ve often wondered if General George Patton was one of his descendants!
Signer Sam Adams, mentioned above, was a second cousin of John Adams, a distant uncle of John Quincy, and a key voice for liberty. Thomas Jefferson referred to him as “the patriarch of liberty.” Boston newspapers eulogized him as “the Father of the American Revolution.” (The Adams clan was certainly a bunch of freedom-loving warriors!) Speaking of the possible cost of freedom and declaring where he had placed his trust, Sam Adams said: “We have proclaimed to the world our determination ‘to die freemen, rather than to live slaves.’ We have appealed to heaven for the justice of our cause, and in Heaven, we have placed our trust.”
Cousin John was such a passionate pioneer of liberty that Jefferson referred to him as a “colossus of independence.” On July 1, 1776, just before the signing of the Declaration, he spoke to the delegates at the Continental Congress:
“Before God, I believe the hour has come. My judgment approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it. And I leave off as I began, that live or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment. Independence now, and Independence forever!”
Though John Adams and Jefferson didn’t always see eye-to-eye, their passion for America enabled them to set aside their differences, and they died as close friends—on the same day! Most people are unaware that Adams and Jefferson, in an incredible phenomenon that could have only been caused by Providence, both died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1826. Incredibly, God honored their love for America by allowing them to live until that landmark day. Their passion to see the survival of this “holy experiment,” as many described America at that time, and God’s divine favor kept them alive until this milestone was reached. Adams, too weak to attend the national Fourth of July celebration, asked to be seated in a chair by his window in order to watch the festivities. While watching the celebration, he drifted into unconsciousness and died later that night. Two of his last words before he graduated to Heaven were “Independence forever,” restating his words from 50 years earlier. This was, indeed, his dying sentiment.
Passionate in life; passionate in death.
When the Declaration of Independence was signed, Adams said it “will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever.”
And so it is. As we celebrate this monumental day, the 250th birthday of America, I leave you with the words of Founding Father Joseph Warren, quoted by Ronald Reagan in his First Inaugural Address. Reagan shared:
“On the eve of our struggle for independence, a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, ‘Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of.... On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon which rest the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.’”
Reagan continued, “Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children, and our children’s children.”
Happy Independence Day!
Pray with me:
Father, we give thanks for our freedom. Americans are an immeasurably blessed people. We make our heavenward appeals today, asking for the courage to “act worthy of” this blessing and of our holy calling (Ephesians 4:1).
Give us hearts of iron, nerves of steel, holy zeal, and supernatural endurance. Fill us with fresh resolve to answer destiny’s call. Give us hearts that bow low, but dream high. Make us the Joshuas and Calebs, the Adams, Warrens, and Reagans of our time, fearless in the face of spiritual giants and of those who war against Your planned harvest.
May this be Your Ekklesia’s finest hour, Your Kingdom’s greatest advance on planet earth. We will represent our great Redeemer until we can say with our brother, Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7 NASB). And in our great Redeemer’s name, Jesus, we pray, amen.
Our decree:
We WILL “act worthy” of our calling, and the purposes of God for America WILL be accomplished!" .......
"One can only imagine the range of emotions present in Independence Hall when the Declaration of Independence was signed. In the classic book, The Light and the Glory, Peter Marshall and David Manuel offer the following account:
“The magnitude of what they had done began to weigh upon them, and they realized that they and their countrymen were no longer Englishmen, but citizens of a fledgling nation barely a few minutes old. Many stared out the window. Some wept openly. Some, like Witherspoon, bowed their heads and closed their eyes in prayer. John Hancock broke the silence: ‘Gentlemen, the price on my head has just been doubled!’
“A wry chuckle followed, and then Samuel Adams rose: ‘We have this day restored the Sovereign, to Whom alone men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and … from the rising to the setting sun, may His Kingdom come.’”
It is ridiculous to suggest that these Founders did not believe God was involved in this endeavor. John Quincy Adams, son of John and Abigail Adams and sixth president of the United States, made the profound statement on the 45th anniversary of the signing, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity” (July 4, 1821)
Adams’ belief in this indissoluble bond never waned. On America’s 61st birthday, July 4, 1837, he made the following staggering declaration, connecting the birth of our nation to the birth of Jesus Christ:
“Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? [July 4th]. Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth?”
Adams wasn’t equating America’s birth with Christ’s birth; he was saying that America’s birth was linked to His Birth. Our destiny involved announcing Christ’s birth as the Redeemer of humankind. This patriot knew why God raised up America!
The Price of Freedom
The signers of the Declaration of Independence understood the potential cost of their actions. This is why they ended the document with the words: “For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
John Quincy’s dad, John Adams, one of the signers and our second President, spoke of the probable cost to his wife, Abigail: “I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration and support and defend these states. Yet through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means.”
Signer Lewis Morris’ half-brother tried to dissuade him from signing the Declaration, warning him of the potential cost. Morris’s eloquent response? “Damn the consequences. Give me the pen!” I’ve often wondered if General George Patton was one of his descendants!
Signer Sam Adams, mentioned above, was a second cousin of John Adams, a distant uncle of John Quincy, and a key voice for liberty. Thomas Jefferson referred to him as “the patriarch of liberty.” Boston newspapers eulogized him as “the Father of the American Revolution.” (The Adams clan was certainly a bunch of freedom-loving warriors!) Speaking of the possible cost of freedom and declaring where he had placed his trust, Sam Adams said: “We have proclaimed to the world our determination ‘to die freemen, rather than to live slaves.’ We have appealed to heaven for the justice of our cause, and in Heaven, we have placed our trust.”
Cousin John was such a passionate pioneer of liberty that Jefferson referred to him as a “colossus of independence.” On July 1, 1776, just before the signing of the Declaration, he spoke to the delegates at the Continental Congress:
“Before God, I believe the hour has come. My judgment approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it. And I leave off as I began, that live or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment. Independence now, and Independence forever!”
Though John Adams and Jefferson didn’t always see eye-to-eye, their passion for America enabled them to set aside their differences, and they died as close friends—on the same day! Most people are unaware that Adams and Jefferson, in an incredible phenomenon that could have only been caused by Providence, both died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1826. Incredibly, God honored their love for America by allowing them to live until that landmark day. Their passion to see the survival of this “holy experiment,” as many described America at that time, and God’s divine favor kept them alive until this milestone was reached. Adams, too weak to attend the national Fourth of July celebration, asked to be seated in a chair by his window in order to watch the festivities. While watching the celebration, he drifted into unconsciousness and died later that night. Two of his last words before he graduated to Heaven were “Independence forever,” restating his words from 50 years earlier. This was, indeed, his dying sentiment.
Passionate in life; passionate in death.
When the Declaration of Independence was signed, Adams said it “will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever.”
And so it is. As we celebrate this monumental day, the 250th birthday of America, I leave you with the words of Founding Father Joseph Warren, quoted by Ronald Reagan in his First Inaugural Address. Reagan shared:
“On the eve of our struggle for independence, a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, ‘Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of.... On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon which rest the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.’”
Reagan continued, “Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children, and our children’s children.”
Happy Independence Day!
Pray with me:
Father, we give thanks for our freedom. Americans are an immeasurably blessed people. We make our heavenward appeals today, asking for the courage to “act worthy of” this blessing and of our holy calling (Ephesians 4:1).
Give us hearts of iron, nerves of steel, holy zeal, and supernatural endurance. Fill us with fresh resolve to answer destiny’s call. Give us hearts that bow low, but dream high. Make us the Joshuas and Calebs, the Adams, Warrens, and Reagans of our time, fearless in the face of spiritual giants and of those who war against Your planned harvest.
May this be Your Ekklesia’s finest hour, Your Kingdom’s greatest advance on planet earth. We will represent our great Redeemer until we can say with our brother, Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7 NASB). And in our great Redeemer’s name, Jesus, we pray, amen.
Our decree:
We WILL “act worthy” of our calling, and the purposes of God for America WILL be accomplished!" .......
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“At levels no one has ever seen before!
Yes and Amen, King Jesus!
more:--Lance Wallnau
What a great time to be alive and living our American Destiny!
Jeremiah 29
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Thank You, Lord!
BREAKING NEWS: Seventy-Two Killed Resisting Gun Confiscation In Massachusetts.
ReplyDeleteNational Guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned assault weapons were ambushed by elements of a Para-military extremist faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimate that 72 were killed and more than 200 injured before government forces were compelled to withdraw.
Speaking after the clash, Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage declared that the extremist faction, which was made up of local citizens, has links to the radical right-wing tax protest movement.
Gage blamed the extremists for recent incidents of vandalism directed against internal revenue offices. The governor, who described the group’s organizers as “criminals,” issued an executive order authorizing the summary arrest of any individual who has interfered with the government’s efforts to secure law and order.
The military raid on the extremist arsenal followed wide-spread refusal by the local citizenry to turn over recently outlawed assault weapons.
Gage issued a ban on military-style assault weapons and ammunition earlier in the week. This decision followed a meeting in early this month between government and military leaders at which the governor authorized the forcible confiscation of illegal arms.
One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed out that “none of these people would have been killed had the extremists obeyed the law and turned over their weapons voluntarily.”
Government troops initially succeeded in confiscating a large supply of outlawed weapons and ammunition. However, troops attempting to seize arms and ammunition in Lexington met with resistance from heavily-armed extremists who had been tipped off regarding the government’s plans.
During a tense standoff in the Lexington town park, National Guard Colonel Francis Smith, commander of the government operation, ordered the armed group to surrender and return to their homes. The impasse was broken by a single shot, which was reportedly fired by one of the right-wing extremists.
Eight civilians were killed in the ensuing exchange.
Ironically, the local citizenry blamed government forces rather than the extremists for the civilian deaths. Before order could be restored, armed citizens from surrounding areas had descended upon the guard units. Colonel Smith, finding his forces over matched by the armed mob, ordered a retreat.
Governor Gage has called upon citizens to support the state/national joint task force in its effort to restore law and order. The governor also demanded the surrender of those responsible for planning and leading the attack against the government troops.
Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock, who have been identified as “ringleaders” of the extremist faction, remain at large.
And this, My fellow Americans who do not know your History, this is how the American Revolution began on April 20, 1775.
History. Study it, or repeat it.
"There they now stood, side by side...with arms in their hands, silent and fearless, willing to shed their blood for their rights...John Parker, the strongest and best wrestler in Lexington, had promised never to run from the British troops; and he kept his vow. A wound brought him on his knees. Having discharged his gun, he was preparing to load it again, when he was stabbed by a bayonet, and lay on the post which he took at the morning's drumbeat..."--Historian George Bancroft, founder of the Naval Academy, on the Battle of Lexington Green, where 70-some Minute Men faced 700 British Regulars, Apr. 19, 1775.
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