Trusting God

The other day, I came across a favorite Bible passage of mine - Proverbs 3:5-6. It is such an important message to remember, so I wanted to share it with you:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

God is Our Help!

In my daily devotions for the past month or so, I have been reading through the Psalms. This morning, my reading included Psalm 121. It is a very familiar psalm to me, as I'm sure it is to many of you, but it holds such a wonderful promise that I thought I would share it with you today.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

The first verse where the Psalmist asks himself from where his help comes reminded me of another passage from the Psalms where we read, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." (Psalm 20:7) All people, I think, when in difficult or painful situations, look for help from somewhere. Unbelievers, naturally, do not look to God for help; they look to family and friends, or sometimes alcohol or drugs to drown and dull their pain. Yet none of these things can make sense of this world for them; none can fill the void in their hearts. Yet when we who are believers in the great and holy God are in difficult or painful situations, we look to Him for help. Think of the difference - looking to the finite, fragile, and powerless things or people of this world, or looking to the immortal God who created and sustains all things! That is what I hear in this passage: "From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth..." It reminds me that even when our enemies have the aid of the greatest rulers or kings or politicians, our help comes from God! Truly, He is one in whom we can place our trust! "And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)

Rooted in Christ

This morning's daily Bible verse was Colossians 2:6-7. I'm sure I've heard it before, and no doubt read it as well, since I have read through the entire Bible on occasion; yet it struck me particularly today. Sometimes, after someone is saved, they don't know where to go from there. They are stuck saying, "Now what?" To me, this passage seems to answer that question, giving us a goal - a way to live life after Jesus saves us.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Throughout the Bible, Jesus, the apostles, and other men occasionally refer to believers as "branches" or "trees". For instance, John 15:5 where Jesus teaches, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." And again, in Psalm 1:3, speaking of the man whose delight is the law of God, the Psalmist says, "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither." I've always understood this illustration, so I appreciated the way Paul wrote in this passage in his letter to the Colossians that we are to be "rooted" in Christ. I also appreciated his teaching that believers are to be "overflowing in thankfulness". I believe this is too often lacking in the modern believer, and it is a good reminder, for me as well as others, I'm sure.

Meant to Happen

This morning, I was thinking about a certain scene from the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It is when the fellowship is in Moria; they are sitting about in a passageway while Gandalf considers which way to turn. Frodo sees eyes in the darkness; startled, he runs to Gandalf and tells him someone is following them.

Gandalf: It's Gollum... Frodo: Gollum!? Gandalf: He's been following us for three days... Frodo: He escaped the dungeons of Barad-Dûr? Gandalf: Escaped, or was set loose. He hates and loves the Ring, just as he hates and loves himself. He will never be rid of his need for it... Frodo: Pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance! Gandalf: Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many. Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened... Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought...

I like this scene, because I see in it God's sovereignty in our world. It reminds me how God uses all circumstances - good and bad - to bring about His will for us and for the world. Though we often cannot see His reasoning, we know we can trust Him. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28 - "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Such a wonderful promise to those who believe in God and trust Him for their salvation! And though they are completely disconnected, this scene from the Fellowship of the Ring reminds me of it.

Set Apart by God

For about a year or so now, I have been subscribed to a website that sends me a "daily Bible verse" every day. This morning, the verse was 1 Peter 2:9-10.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

It is a very familiar verse to me, and I have often heard it read in church and read it in my own private devotions. Today, however, it seemed to strike me as it had not before. It gave me the feeling of being part of a chosen people who are set apart for a special purpose - "a people belonging to God" whose goal is to "declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light". There is so much talk these days about becoming "relevant" to present culture and of kids trying to "fit in" at school. Yet that is not what we are supposed to do; we are not the same as the masses of unbelievers. Our goals in life should not be the same. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation - a people set apart. We have the indescribable privilege of being children of God!! And this is not because of something we have done to cause God to choose us:

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

(Deuteronomy 7:6-8) It was His will to choose us and not others. When we think of this awesome and incredible gift - that we are some of the chosen, how else can we respond but to fall down in worship and praise and thanksgiving? Why would we want to "fit in" with the culture of this finite world when we can be children of the infinite and all-powerful and all-loving God?

You're My God!

Almost every day, I wake up relatively early before the sun has thoroughly heated the world, and take a walk. I take my iPod with me and listen to all kinds of up-beat music. Occasionally, I will decide to listen to one of my many favorite artists, Jaci Velasquez; her music is not only enjoyable - it is also inspiring. One of my favorite of her songs is "You're My God". It makes me look around and glory and awe at the world our great God has created. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." (Psalm 19:1) This morning when I was listening to it, I thought I would like to share the words from the song with you.

A new day is beginning

And all the birds were singing

The sun was shining up in the sky

Sometimes the world around me

Is so awesome it astounds me

It leaves me feeling mystified

Oh I just can't believe

All the beauty I see

It takes my breath away

Sometimes I've gotta say

chorus

You're my God

What You've created

So many miracles in every day

You're my God

It's so amazing

It's so incredible I've gotta say

You're my God

I can't even imagine

How He made it happen

To see the silver moon from afar

It's almost unbelievable

It's truely unconceivable

To think of all the billions of stars

When I'm watching a rose

How it naturally grows

Just takes my breath away

There's just one thing to say

Oh all the gifts You've given me

Oh what You do's a mystery, just to be,

Ya got me fallin' to my knees

Oh I just can't believe

Not What My Hands Have Done

Another hymn we sang among others last Sunday during morning worship was "Not What My Hands Have Done". The Gospel is so clearly radiated throughout the words, and I wanted to share them with you.

Not what my hands have done

Can save my guilty soul

Not what my toiling flesh has borne

Can make my spirit whole

Not what I feel or do

Can give me peace with God

Not all my prayers and sighs and tears

Can bear my awful load

Thy work alone, Oh Christ

Can ease this weight of sin

Thy blood alone, Oh Lamb of God

Can give me peace within

Thy love to me, Oh God

Not mine, Oh Lord, to Thee

Can rid me of my dark unrest

And set my spirit free

And I bless the Christ of God

I rest on love divine

And with unfaltering lip and heart

I call this Savior mine

His cross dispels each doubt

I bury in His tomb

Each thought of unbelief and fear

Each lingering shade of gloom

And I praise the God of grace

I trust His truth and light

He calls me His, I call Him mine

My God, my joy, my life

Tis He Who saveth me

And freely pardon gives

I love because He loveth me

I live because He lives

More Love to Thee, O Christ!

As a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, I have grown up singing from the Trinity Hymnal in worship. There are so many great hymns, written by men throughout the ages of church history. Sometimes when we read the lyrics of the hymns, we can only wonder at the faith of those past believers; especially when we learn the stories of the authors, sometimes learning that they went through great pain and endured great loss and still they learned to say, "It is Well With My Soul". Last Sunday in morning worship, among others, we sang "More Love to Thee, O Christ", and I wanted to share the words with you today.

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!

Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.

This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;

More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;

Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.

This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;

More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;

Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,

When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;

More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;

This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;

This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;

More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Focusing Our Thoughts

One lesson I picked up on through "The Secret Garden" was about sorrow and joy, and dealing with loss. Mr. Craven lost his wife to a dreadful accident just before his son, Colin, was born. (The young Mrs. Craven was pregnant when the accident occurred and she lived just long enough to bring her son into the world.) After her death, Mr. Craven locked the garden that his dear wife had loved (which was also where the accident occurred), and threw away the key so that no one would ever walk in it again. As the flowers in the garden were left untended, so likewise Mr. Craven withered inside. He refused to ever see his son or talk about him. Left to himself, he was consumed with his grief until it was all he could think about. It seems that his mental grief became a physical burden to him because after his wife's death he, a frail and sickly man from infancy, developed a sort of hump on his back and spent much of the time hunched over and leaning on a cane to walk.

Upon first hearing this story, one might think that Mr. Craven was selfless in his love and grief for his wife, spending all his thought and energy mourning his loss. However, I do not think that was the case. His grief for his wife's passing consumed him totally. Now, grief for a loved one is natural. In Matthew 5:4 we read the well-known verse, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." However, Mr. Craven would not be comforted, and in his grief he became selfish and self-absorbed, forgetting even the emotional needs of his son in his own bereavement. His love for his wife was no doubt true, and her death was a tragedy that should have been mourned. He would miss her for the rest of his life. Nevertheless, he should not have shut himself off from the world and from his son, so that his own home became as cold and empty as a graveyard. Also, in locking the garden, he shut out one of the greatest beauties of his home from the world, taking from others the joy they might have found in that garden because of his own grief.

The boy, Colin, was left to believe, and understandably so, that his father hated him and was ashamed of him. Consumed with his own loneliness, the boy became as self-absorbed as his father, though from a different source. He became obsessed with the delusion that he had a hump growing on his back like his father and that he would die before he was grown. His early frailty caused by his premature birth added to this delusion and made others like his housekeeper, nurse, and even doctor believe in it as well. It was only when Mary Lennox, an equally selfish, haughty, and lonely little girl, came to live in the house that he got better. Her endeavor of the secret garden and her friendship with Dickens caused Mary to be less self-absorbed, and in turn, she forced Colin's focus off himself and put it on other, more worthy things. Mary and Dickens pushed Colin in his wheelchair around in their garden and helped him to walk again over the course of many weeks and months.

I am not writing any of this as well as I should like; my thoughts are always difficult to put into writing, but hopefully their gist is communicated.

It is so easy to become selfish in one's thinking - to focus only on one's own needs and desires, and to forget about others, at least in our thoughts. I am learning more and more about focusing even our thoughts on God, and His glory, and the others He has placed in our lives. The most mundane thoughts can be altered to include a reflection of God's glory. Every thing we do, even the simplest thing, can be done in such a way as to be obedient to God's Word and how he would wish us to act. Even doing the dishes can be an act of obedience and submission if our thoughts and attitudes are God-honoring. When even our thoughts can be sinful, it is easy to become overwhelmed with our failures. Yet God forgives our sins and helps us to honor and glorify Him if we seek Him with all our hearts.

This may not seem very connected to "The Secret Garden", but it was a very natural path for me and hopefully you will be able to follow along as well. I guess it all comes down to focusing on others, even when in pain. We are not the only ones to have suffered a loss, and our suffering does not excuse our following self-absorbtion shown in both our thoughts and attitudes. We must focus our thoughts on God and on others, only then will we find peace and rest, despite the most trying and painful of circumstances.

Thistles & Roses

For the first time in a couple of years, I watched "The Secret Garden" this evening. It is a dark movie, and I never really enjoyed it as a younger child, but I got in the mood to watch it and so did tonight. I enjoyed it this time more than I have in the past, I believe. There are lessons throughout that movie, and I picked up on several of them as I watched. If they remain in my mind, I will share them with you, but for now, I want to share one scene with you. While working in their secret garden, Mary Lennox, Dickens, and Collin are talking and the old gardener, Ben Weatherstaff, who is helping them makes the comment, "Where you tend a rose, a thistle cannot grow." In the following scene, Mary speaks with Collin about this comment:

"I'm just thinking about what Ben Weatherstaff said about roses and thistles; he was talking about us."

"About us?" asked Collin.

"Yes. Ugly thoughts are like thistles, and beautiful thoughts are like roses. While my head was filled with ugly thoughts, I didn't have room for pretty ones. I was mean all the time. As long as you thought about a lump growing on your back, you were nasty and rude."

"Thistles and roses..."

"Mm-hmm, thistles and roses."

Learning God's Attributes

As I have mentioned before, over the past several weeks, I have been reading through "The Attributes of God" by Arthur Pink. It is a wonderful, enlightening, and inspiring book which I would recommend to anyone without reservation. There are so many sections worth sharing that if I posted all of them, the result would be an almost complete copy of the book. So I will reign myself in and only post sections I have already typed out for other purposes and excerpts that are especially meaningful. I will, no doubt, post more quotes a little later. Some of these excerpts will be quotes by other men found in the book, and others will be direct quotes of Arthur Pink from the book.

“[Grace] is the eternal and absolute free favour of God, manifested in the vouchsafement of spiritual and eternal blessings to the guilty and the unworthy.”

- Abraham Booth, The Reign of Grace

“Grace is the provision for men who are so fallen that they cannot lift the axe of justice, so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures, so averse to God that they cannot turn to Him, so blind that they cannot see Him, so deaf that they cannot hear Him, and so dead that He Himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection.” – G.S. Bishop

“When all Thy mercies, O my God,

My rising soul surveys,

Transported with the view I’m lost,

In wonder, love, and praise.”

- pg. 76

“It is not simply that God ‘loves’ but that He is Love itself. Love is not merely one of His attributes, but His very nature.” – pg. 77

“What was there in me that could merit esteem,

Or give the Creator delight?

‘Twas even so, Father, I ever must sing,

Because it seemed good in Thy sight.”

- pg. 78

“The wrath of God is a perfection of the Divine character upon which we need to frequently meditate. First, that our hearts may be duly impressed by God’s detestation of sin. We are ever prone to regard sin lightly, to gloss over its hideousness, to make excuses for it. But the more we study and ponder God’s abhorrence of sin and His frightful vengeance upon it, the more likely we are to realize its heinousness. Secondly, to beget a true fear in our souls for God: ‘Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire.’ Thirdly, to draw out from ours souls in fervent praise for our having been delivered from ‘the wrath to come.’ (1 Thess. 1:10)” – pg. 85

“Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued, investigation of the great subject of the Deity. The most excellent study for expanding the soul is the science of Christ and Him crucified and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity.” – C.H. Spurgeon

“A creature, considered as such, has no rights. He can demand nothing from his Maker; and in whatever manner he may be treated, has no title to complain. Yet, when thinking of the absolute dominion of God over all, we ought never to lose sight of His moral perfections. God is just and good, and ever does that which is right. Nevertheless, He exercises His sovereignty according to His imperial and righteous pleasure. He assigns each creature his place as seemeth good in His own sight. He orders the varied circumstances of each according to His own counsels. He molds each vessel according to His own uninfluenced determination. He has mercy on whom He will, and whom He will He hardens. Wherever we are, His eye is upon us. Whoever we are, our life and everything is held at His disposal. To the Christian, He is a tender Father; to the rebellious sinner He will yet be a consuming fire.” – pg. 92

Dreaming...

This morning, as I was looking through the various blog template and background options, I came across the section of pictures entitled "Travel". As is made known through my profile, I am passionate about traveling. I have been blessed in visiting many of the states of America, and I have enjoyed every one of them; however, due to limited funds and opportunity, I have done little in the way of international travel. In truth, I have only been outside the US once, and that was only to Niagara Falls when I was two years old. Needless to say, I do not remember it.

Another passion of mine is for history, both that of America and the world. As a result of these two passions, I long to travel and see the whole world. In particular, I desire to see Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. Due to certain current circumstances, it is often difficult to imagine how I would manage to carry out this desire, but I keep it in my heart and cautiously dare to dream of weeks and months spent in the ancient cities and countries.

In the meantime, every time I see pictures of Europe and the other foreign countries of the world, something inside my heart stirs and aches to see those sights, those mountains, that architecture, myself. Only God knows what my future will hold, yet I continue to hope and pray that perhaps traveling through the "Old World" will be among His plans for me.

Someday perhaps I will look back on this post as a dream fulfilled. Soli Deo Gloria!

The Declaration of Independence

The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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 to 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 most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. 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.

"...give me liberty or give me death!"

On this, the 4th day of July in the year of our Lord 2010, the day on which we celebrate the anniversary of our freedom from England and her tyranny, I thought it would be appropriate to post a certain, well-known speech. Actually, what is commonly known and quoted is the final line from this speech, and many have not read it in its entirety and therefore, miss the context. A few years ago, I looked up the speech so that I could read it completely and ever since then, it has been one of my favorite speeches from American history. Today, I share it with you. It is, of course, Patrick Henry's speech from the 23rd day of March in 1775.

"No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The questing before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? 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!"

"How Majestic is Your Name in All the Earth!!"

Having grown up in the church, and particularly the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, I am very familiar with most of the hymns in the Trinity Hymnal as well as the Psalms through the Psalter. I have been singing these tunes and lyrics for many years, and have many memories accompanying them. For example, I have fond memories of singing a song based on Psalm 8 with my grandparents and siblings when I was a little girl of four and five, before my grandfather passed away. Now, whenever I read or hear Psalm 8, the song runs through my head. As a result of these memories and of the words themselves, Psalm 8 has become a favorite psalm of mine, and this morning, I thought I would share it with you.

¹O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

² Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

⁵Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

⁷all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

⁸the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

⁹O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!