The Fog Of War (Bible Verses That Made America) Day 3 of 5

God’s Instructions to a New Nation (Bible Verses That Made America) Day 5 of 5

From Bible Verses That Made America by Robert Morgan December 11, 1783 In his book Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers, Daniel L. Dreisbach observes that the leaders of the American Revolution repeatedly referred to Micah 6:8. “The literature of the founding era has numerous references and allusions to this biblical text,” he wrote. This includes John Winthrop, John Adams quoted it frequently, and George Washington. It was also a key text used by George Duffield, a Presbyterian minister in Philadelphia who served as chaplain of the Continental Congress. Duffield’s story is interesting. He was appointed pastor of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in 1771, but when he arrived at his church on his first Sunday the door had been locked by a group opposed to his appointment. His supporters pushed him into the sanctuary through an open window, and thus he began his ministry. The Colonies were in turmoil, trying to decide whether to sever their ties with England, and Duffield became a vocal advocate for independence. So many of the Founding Fathers crowded into his pews that Pine Street became known as the Church of the Patriots. During the Revolutionary War, the British put a price on Duffield’s head, and when Philadelphia was occupied, his church was converted into a hospital and the pews were burned to keep the wounded British soldiers warm. Duffield put his gifts to work as chaplain of the Continental Congress and chaplain of the Pennsylvania regiment. He also counseled and comforted General George Washington at Valley Forge. After the War was won and peace established, Congress appointed December 11, 1783, as a Day of Thanksgiving, and Duffield gave a powerful sermon praising God for His providence: Who indeed hath heard such a thing? Who, but a few years back, would have believed the report, had a prophet himself declared it? . . . Who since time began, hath seen such events take place so soon? The earth has indeed brought forth, as in a day. A nation has indeed been born, as at once. . . . Let us look back, on what God hath done; and contemplate the prospect He opens before us. Then, like so many other early American preachers, he referenced Micah 6:8 and reminded us of our greatest obligations as citizens of a great nation and as followers of God: Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? It is, that we love the Lord our God, to walk in his ways, and keep his commandments, to observe his statutes and his judgments. That a sacred regard be maintained to righteousness and truth. That we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Then shall God delight to dwell amongst us. And these United States shall long remain, a great, a glorious, and a happy people. Which may God, of his infinite mercy, grant. Amen.[1] To Duffield, Micah 6:8 represented God’s instructions to the new nation. In a world adrift with moral confusion and ethical lapses, there’s no better instruction for any nation—or for any of us as individuals—than the proclamation of the prophet Micah. God isn’t as interested in our rituals as He is in our righteousness. “The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). If this plan encouraged you or deepened your appreciation for God’s Word in history, continue the journey with Robert J. Morgan’s book, 100 Bible Verses That Made America. Through compelling stories, historical insight, and biblical encouragement, you’ll discover how Scripture has influenced the heart of a nation and why it still matters now more than ever. Check it out for more. __________ [1] George Duffield, “A Sermon Preached on a Day of Thanksgiving” (sermon, Philadelphia, PA, December 11, 1783), https://www.consource.org/document/a-sermon-preached-on-a-day-of-thanksgiving-by-george-duffield-1783-12-11/ [https://www.consource.org/document/a-sermon-preached-on-a-day-of-thanksgiving-by-george-duffield-1783-12-11/].

The Victory Sermon at Yorktown (Bible Verses That Made America) Day 4 of 5

From Bible Verses That Made America by Robert Morgan October 19, 1781 The Battle of Yorktown effectively ended the American Revolution. British General Charles Cornwallis, badly outnumbered and isolated, sent out a white flag and surrendered to George Washington. Israel Evans was there to preach a sermon of victory to the American forces. A native of Pennsylvania, Evans had served as a chaplain throughout the War. His sermons had strengthened George Washington at Valley Forge, and he was standing beside Washington at Yorktown when they were both nearly hit by a cannonball. On October 20, 1781, the day after the victorious battle, Evans preached to the euphoric troops from 1 Samuel 7:12, which is a quotation from the prophet Samuel after a battlefield victory over the Philistines. 1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” Samuel wanted to commemorate the victory, so he established a monument and called it Ebenezer, which meant, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” “Praise the Lord, who hath redeemed us from our enemies, for His mercy endureth forever!” Evans shouted to the generals and all the troops gathered before him. He also reminded them of the twists of providence and the rather miraculous moments that had saved America from expected disaster. That the colonial army, ragtag and unproven and outmatched, should defeat the greatest military power in the world was a remarkable exhibition of providence, virtually unseen since the days of Samuel. Israel Evans’s sermon on October 20 looked backward at God’s providential hand over the course of the War. But later he preached another victory sermon in New York City, in which he looked ahead and painted a picture of what America could be. His words were almost prophetic, and they picture America as she should be. The great Continent of America . . . is now free and independent! The blood and treasure of the sons of freedom have purchased these privileges.. . . Oh, blessed day which brings us to the possession of all we have been contending for and enables us to erect the standard of liberty and glory upon one of the four great divisions of earth! Hail auspicious morning of the rising empire. Hail arts and sciences, America is the new theatre of your improvements. . . . Commerce and trade shall spread their sails and waft the riches of distant lands to this great continent. Now, without fear of an insulting enemy, the industrious husbandman shall sow his enlarged fields and reap his rich and joyful harvests. Here the oppressed shall find a secure retreat from all the poverty and misery of merciless tyranny. Religion and learning shall raise their drooping heads and flourish again. Now shall the brave soldier claim the honor of being a free and independent citizen of the United States of America. The blessed soil of independence shall strive to reward him for his persevering valor. . . . May peace and love and human affection be once more planted in the human mind, and there grow and flourish till time shall be no more.[1] The Revolutionary leaders of America understood the meaning of Ebenezer— hitherto has the Lord helped us! There wasn’t a better word in the dictionary to describe their feelings on that day of final victory. And those among them who understood the role of providence knew that the God who had helped them thus far was needed now more than ever for the future. We all have Ebenezer moments in our lives. Looking back, we can see God’s help; and looking forward we can see God’s hand. Hitherto has the Lord helped us. ___________ [1] John Calvin Thorne, A Monograph of the Rev. Israel Evans (monograph, Sixtieth Annual Meeting of the Concord Congregational Union, October 20, 1902), 12.

The Fog Of War (Bible Verses That Made America) Day 3 of 5

From Bible Verses That Made America by Robert Morgan August 29, 1776 After their humiliation in Boston, the British fleet retired to Canada to lick their wounds and repair their vessels, then sailed straight for New York City. Washington also moved his troops to New York and began building siege works along Brooklyn Heights. When British ships, carrying thirty- two thousand troops, sailed into New York, their masts tilting with the tides, they looked like a forest of trees swaying in the wind. One observer said, “I thought all London was afloat.”[1] It was “the largest, most powerful force ever sent forth from Britain or any nation.”[2] Washington didn’t stand a chance. The British invasion began before dawn on Thursday, August 22, and within days the Revolutionary Army was trapped in Brooklyn across the East River from Manhattan and facing annihilation, which would have ended the War less than two months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Late on the afternoon of August 29, Washington gave the order to retreat. The escape of nine thousand weary, rain-soaked troops across a mile-wide river was a desperate gamble. If the British caught on, the entire army would be decimated. Many of the men wrote their last wills and testaments on the spot. Just after nightfall the weakest warriors headed for the ferry landing as the retreat began. Immediately the weather became an ally. A strong northeast wind kept British ships from venturing into the area; yet at about 11:00 p.m. the wind died down, allowing Washington’s hastily assembled armada to cross the river without danger. Sympathetic New York sailors and fishermen mobilized, loading soldiers, horses, wagons, cannons, and all manner of equipment onto boats. Wagon wheels were wrapped in cloth to muffle their sounds on the cobblestones and not a word was spoken. The soldiers were told not to cough or make any sounds, and orders passed through the ranks by whispers. Campfires were kept burning to deceive the enemy. All night, boats silently ferried the army back and forth across the river, yet when the sun arose, a large portion of the army was still trapped. But a fog had rolled in during the night, thick as velvet, shielding the remaining evacuees, and it remained until the evacuation was completed. One soldier wrote: In this fearful dilemma fervent prayers went up to Him who alone could deliver. As if in answer to those prayers, when the night deepened, a dense fog came rolling in, and settled on land and water. . . .Under cover of this fog . . . Washington silently withdrew his entire army across to New York.[3] When the fog lifted, the Americans were gone. Historian David McCullough wrote, “The immediate reaction of the British was utter astonishment. That the rebel army had silently vanished in the night under their very noses was almost inconceivable.”[4] James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. The “fervent prayers” of the army were answered. Thirteen years later, General Washington took the presidential oath of office at the old Federal Building in lower Manhattan, just a few moments’ walk from the spot he had stepped ashore in 1776, divinely shielded by the fog of war. America was forged by men and women who believed in fervent prayer. That adjective has largely been lost to us today. It means earnest, warm, persistent prayer. Imagine the silent but strong prayers rising to heaven from Washington’s desperate army. The Lord responds to prayers like that, for the Bible says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective”. __________ [1] Thomas Balch, Papers Relating Chiefly to the Maryland Line During the Revolution (Philadelphia: Seventy-Six Society, 1857), 40. [2] David McCullough, 1776 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005), 148. [3] J. T. Headley, The Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution (New York: Charles Scribner, 1864), 169. [4] McCullough, 1776, 191.

The Shot Heard Round the World (Bible Verses That Made America) Day 2 of 5

From Bible Verses That Made America by Robert Morgan April 19, 1775 The opening shots of the American Revolution were aimed at a preacher and his congregation, who, bolstered by Scripture, were ready for the moment. Jonas Clark preached in the village of Lexington, Massachusetts, “with uncommon energy and zeal.” His voice “extended far beyond the bounds of his meeting house and could be heard distinctly by those who were anywhere in the immediate neighborhood.”[1] Many of his sermons lasted an hour, and one of his public prayers extended beyond two hours.[2] But he preached Scripture, and he preached freedom. As the British occupied Boston, General Horatio Gates took out after Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were sequestered in Pastor Clark’s farmhouse. Late on April 18, Paul Revere galloped in with news the British were coming. Adams and Hancock turned to Clark and asked if the people of Lexington would stand up to the invaders. The pastor replied, “I have trained them for this very hour. They will fight and, if need be, die under the very shadow of the house of God.”[3] The village awoke, and the seventy or so men mustered at the church. As the sky turned from black to gray, hundreds of scarlet uniforms appeared. For a moment the two sides were frozen in silence. Then a gun fired— the shot heard round the world. After the battle seven of Pastor Clark’s members lay dead under the windows of the church. Their innocent blood drenched the ground. “The teachings of the pulpit of Lexington,” it was said, “caused the first blow to be struck for American Independence.”[4] A year later, on the first anniversary of the Battle of Lexington, Clark preached a sermon from Joel 3:19–21, a passage in which the prophet condemned the nations of Egypt and Edom because they had attacked Judah and “shed innocent blood” in the land. Joel 3:19-21 “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.” To Clark, the attack of the British Army had been against innocent farmers and church members who wanted nothing more than peace and liberty. The American Colonies faced the same kind of hostile treatment Joel had condemned long ago, but the same God who helped Judah would help America. Clark went on to reassure his people that God was still in control. In the eloquent language employed by the colonial New England clergy, he said, To be impressed with a sense of the divine providence, to realize that God is Governor among the nations, that His government is wise and just, and that all our times and changes are in His hands and at His disposal, will have the happiest tendency to [produce] the most grateful acknowledgments of His goodness in prosperity, the most cordial resignation to His paternal discipline in adversity, and equanimity of mind in all the changing scenes of life. Inspired with this divine principle, we shall contemplate with grateful wonder and delight the goodness of God in prosperous events, and devoutly acknowledge and adore His sovereign hand in days of darkness and perplexity and when the greatest difficulties press. . . . Yea, however dark and mysterious the ways of providence may appear; yet nothing shall overwhelm the mind or destroy the truth and hope of those that realize the government of heaven . . . that an all- wise God is seated on the throne and that all things are well appointed for His chosen people— for them that fear Him.[5] In our days of sound bites and tweets, I find this old language refreshing. Apply these thoughts to your own life today— be impressed with a sense of God’s providence and remember He is Governor among the nations. Remind yourself that your times are in His hands and at His disposal. This will have the “happiest tendency” to produce grateful acknowledgment in your heart when things go well, and cordial resignation when things don’t go as you’d like. Nothing will overwhelm the mind of those who remember an all- wise God is still on His throne. __________ [1] William Buell Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, vol. 1 (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1866), 515, https://archive.org/details/annalsofamerican01spra/page/515 [https://archive.org/details/annalsofamerican01spra/page/515]. [2] Sprague, Annals, 516. [3] Eleanor Lexington, “Clark,” The Spirit of ’76, vol. 11, no. 4 (December 1904), 41. [4] Headley, The Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution, 82. [5] Jonas Clark, “The Fate of Blood-Thirsty Oppressors and God’s Tender Care of His Distressed People” (sermon, Lexington, KY, April 19, 1776) (Boston: Powars and Willis, 1786), 3–4, http://ota.ox.ac.uk/tcp/headers/N11/N11617.html [http://ota.ox.ac.uk/tcp/headers/N11/N11617.html].

The First Prayer of the Continental Congress (Bible Verses That Made America) Day 1 of 5

From Bible Verses That Made America by Robert Morgan September 7, 1774 Amid fear and rising tensions, delegates from across the Colonies arrived in Philadelphia on September 4, 1774, to convene the First Continental Congress. Before tackling the weighty issues of the day, they acted on a motion by Thomas Cushing from Massachusetts to begin their business with prayer. Samuel Adams nominated a local Anglican pastor, Jacob Duché, to lead in prayer, and the delegates agreed. About the same time, a rumor swept through Philadelphia, which later proved untrue, that Boston was being shelled by British cannons. So the next morning when the delegates assembled in Carpenter’s Hall for the agreed- upon prayer, they were tense and confused. In that room were such icons as George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Patrick Henry. Duché opened his Anglican prayer book to the prescribed reading for the day, and the delegates instantly sensed the selection of scripture was providential. Psalm 35:1-4 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help! Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!” Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me! Duché then led in a powerful prayer, lasting about ten minutes, which has been called “the most famous prayer of the American Revolution.” [1] He said, in part: O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings and Lord of lords, who dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires, and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these our American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee . . . . Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation that the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored; and truth and justice, religion and piety prevail and flourish amongst the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and the vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.[2] According to accounts, many of the delegates were in tears, and some were on their knees.[3] It was as though the Lord Himself had come down into the room to receive the prayers of the frightened but determined revolutionaries. Duché’s prayer so braced the Continental Congress that he henceforth started each day’s session in prayer, becoming, in effect, America’s first Congressional chaplain. __________ [1] Kevin J. Dellape, America’s First Chaplain: The Life and Times of the Reverend Jacob Duché (Bethlehem, PA: Lehigh University Press, 2013), xiii. [2] Office of the Chaplain, “First Prayer of the Continental Congress, 1774,” United States House of Representatives, https://chaplain.house.gov/archive/continental.html [https://chaplain.house.gov/archive/continental.html]. [3] Dellape, America’s First Chaplain, 2.