Firm May She Ever Stand With the Lord

Some say there are two Americas. One America sees any use of force as a sin, any limits put on civil liberties an outrage. The other America sees any state use of power (and those who wield it) as almost godly and anything that promotes security as self-evidently good.
America, America. Land of the slogan and home of the simplification. That type of thinking breeds a policeman in Ohio who fathers children from several women and ends up accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend. That type of thinking condones the most outrageous and offensive public displays of sex, violence and profanity. “We’ve got to make America strong,” both sides shout.
Well, I want America to be strong, too, but I know a gun in every dresser drawer or an indecent T-shirt on every back isn’t going to do it. America can only be strong if she stands with the Lord. I am going to take you to look at some history of another country, about 2900 years ago, biblical Israel. If we look at what made Israel weak, we should be able to learn what can make America strong.
Firm May She Ever Stand with the Lord.
1.Pledge your heart to him.
2. Seek to promote his peace.
Here’s the summary of 37 years of Israel’s history.
Jeroboam, the first king of the break-away nation, Israel, had died. His son, Nadab, came to the throne. After two years Baasha heads up a conspiracy and successfully assassinates young Nadab. But to solidify his position, Baasha goes to the extreme of killing all Jeroboam’s descendants. The whole family was exterminated. Strong man Baasha reigns for over twenty years, but upon his death, his son, Elah, rules weakly for two years. A general, Zimri, assassinates drunken Elah. Like Baasha did to Jeroboam’s family, Zimri executes all of Baasha’s family and even friends! Within seven days the military reorganizes and, led by another general, Omri, they attack the capital city. When Zimri sees the city captured, he commits suicide by burning down the palace around himself. After a civil war, Omri becomes king for a dozen years, transferring the capital to a new city which he builds, Samaria.
Five kings, four dynasties, two assassinations, one suicide, two genocides and two civil wars, all in 37 short years. That is a great way to weaken any nation. It almost makes today’s Italian government look stable!
These things just don’t happen. What were the underlying causes of this instability and violence? A recurring theme throughout the history of these years is, “He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols (1 Kings 16.27).”
Worthless idols of Jeroboam. When Jeroboam broke away from Judah, he worried that the people would go to Jerusalem and worship the one true God at the Temple served by God’s priests. He worried they might think, as authentic worship took place in Jerusalem, so the legitimate government was in Jerusalem under King David’s family. So he refused to let his people go to Jerusalem to worship. He set up a rival priesthood and two golden calves and told Israel to worship these as their gods. Worthless. What could those golden calves do? Each one of these kings who sat on the throne of Israel followed Jeroboam’s religious policy. Instead of pledging their hearts to the one, true God, they pledged their hearts to a lie, and an absurd lie at that.
The other recurring theme that hits us is the violence of these men. To wipe out your rival’s entire family. Women and children, young and old. To wipe a whole prominent family from the face of the earth. It would be like the Bush family hunting down the Clintons. It would be like the next president tracking down ailing Barbara to hang her, and while he is at it, hunt down Carl Rove, Scooter Libby, Vice-President Cheney and Tom De Lay to have their heads, too. What could permit a husband, a father, to become so ruthless that he would execute innocent people?
Let’s not hide our heads in the sand. Most of the other tyrants of the 20th century did the same thing, all of them on a much larger scale. What did the paper say the other day, 200 million died at the hands of totalitarian states in the past 100 years? If the ruler’s heart is not with the Lord, his number one goal is to use his power to promote himself, not peace. And the people let them. And the people cooperated with them. And the people stood by and watched it all go down.
Here we are, ready to celebrate America’s 231st birthday, the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What are we Christians in America to work for?
We must realize this great nation of ours will stand firm with the Lord. We have had one government since 1781, with peaceful transitions of power to different political groups at the direction of the voting public. We have witnessed a rising tide of both power and prosperity in our private and our national life. We have come from a nation clinging to the Atlantic seaboard to the undisputed world power, our military, business and personal interests spanning the globe.
These things just don’t happen. What are the underlying causes of this stability and tranquility?
Christians in America have pledged their hearts first to God. They have sought to worship the Triune God as the Bible directs them to worship him, unfettered by government restrictions, taxation or influence. It shows in our lives today. The land our church sets on was for sale to any church. The City of Henderson did not cast a jaundiced eye toward our building plans. Bosses and neighbors do not keep us locked up in home or workplace so we cannot attend church. No thought police monitor the motions of our soul as we lift up prayers of faith to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I’m not saying everybody in America does that. I’m not saying the majority of our own membership does that every Sunday. I’m not even saying you and I do that consistently enough. But I am saying it is important for each one of us to do that. You can’t have a strong family, you can’t have a strong moral life, you can’t have a strong community and nation unless the Lord is backing it up.
We also seek to promote his peace.
Israel 900 BC was a bloodthirsty land because in abandoning the Lord, they abandoned God’s primary role of government: to promote peace--tranquility within its borders and harmony outside its borders.
America has had better than average results on this score. We recognize a sacred duty to uphold the peace. Murder even of the most seemingly inconsequential person is pursued by the justice system. No house, no matter how humble, is permitted to go without fire protection. Wars have been fought, of late, anyway, more for the restoration of law and order throughout the world rather than personal and national enrichment (I pass over how we treated Native Americans and wars fought early in our history with Mexico and Spain). We recognize a need to be a force for peace in the world rather than a protagonist of war without end. And if methods and strategies may differ, the goal of all Americans is the same. Secure peace and liberty for all our citizens and work for those goals for as many outside our borders as possible.
Again, it boils down to you and me, how we show our faith in our lives, because a nation in very many ways, is simply the sum of its parts. Will we strive to live at peace in our families, in our marriages, in our neighborhoods, in our church? Will we use God’s law as a mirror to show us our faults, to let us know how far we are from perfect and what terrible consequences could be around the corner for us if we continue to lead a life led for self instead of seeking the peace and happiness of others? Will we hear that sweet message of Jesus the Savior, the message of sins forgiven that can restore our relationship with God and give us the virtues and strength to be in restored relationships with family, friends and our fellow man? If that is the type of American we intend to be, then
Firm May She Ever Stand with the Lord.
1.Pledge your heart to him.
2. Seek to promote his peace.
I see one America—my America, where people believe in our Lord, Jesus Christ and consistently enjoy the grace he sheds upon this beautiful country. And if someone wants to argue with my vision and say, “That’s not the way things are,” well, then, tell me, why not?