"Three 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. . . .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! . . . .
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!" - Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.
During the events of this recent Covid-19 virus, much has been said here in America concerning Liberty. Some have seen the restrictions imposed to combat the virus as an infringement upon that Liberty. Others sight Constitutional rights that are being infringed upon as a reaction to the changes in our society. Wither these concerns are warranted, are not clear to me, I don't have the information to make that judgment.
I do want however to make three points in this post. The first being a reflection upon what American Liberty is and its value. Second, the real threat to that Liberty and finally an aspect of our lives that is of far greater value than that of Liberty itself.
Simply reading over the words above spoken by Henry stirs the emotions. Such noble words embody the essence of courage and bravery. The first book I read that introduced me to the uniqueness of American Liberty was a book titled “Never Before In History”, by Gary Amos and Richard Gardiner. It brilliantly details the unique period of time in which those of us here in America live.
In the Preface of that book Harry V. Jaffa comments, “There are rare times and places, in the long human story, when outburst of human genius supply human civilization with the supreme wonders of human greatness. It is the contemplation of these that raises the mass of mankind to levels not unworthy of the divine image in which we were created.
Such moments of supreme achievement are to be found in Periclean Athens, in the Florence of the Medecis, and in the London of Elizabeth and Shakespeare.
However, never before or since has political genius burst in such profusion on the human scene, as in the British colonies in America, in the latter part of the eighteenth century. The period of the American Founding, from the Revolution to the Framing, Ratification, and Inauguration of the Constitution, saw political thought and action in the service of human freedom, of a wisdom and power unsurpassed even by the glory of Greece or the grandeur of Rome. Every human good we enjoy today is, directly or indirectly, a legacy from what the Founders wrought, and Lincoln preserved.”
This Liberty is so unique that President Reagan was prompted to speak saying, “If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth. And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except to sovereign people, is still the newest and most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man.”
To those of you in other nations, it may be hard for you to understand these things, however, for us who live here, these words ring precious to our ears. So, one can understand even in the midst of the Covid-19 scare there were some who react to the slightest threat of that Liberty.
We may have recognized a slight threat during the Covid-19 scare, but we have missed the quietly ever-encroaching threat that is the greatest of all. It has been eroding our lives and Liberty for decades, and like the frog slowly being boiled in water without notice, so is our demise. It is a most difficult enemy, and it will never be eradicated this side of Heaven. It is the sickness that plagues all of mankind, the sickness of an un-regenerated sinful nature.
Jaffa speaks of “human genius” and the “supreme wonders of human greatness.” Reagan speaks of “ no other source of power except to sovereign people”. Yet of all this human greatest, man at his best is still but man. Of all his power, it is only the power of a fallen sinful corrupted human will and wisdom.
Of all the greatness and genius of this grand achievement in American Liberty, there is one great weakness. John Adams Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Second President of the United States identified it understanding that:
“It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue.” (Source: John Adams, The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, Charles Francis Adams, editor (Boston: Little, Brown, 1854), Vol. IX, p. 401, to Zabdiel Adams on June 21, 1776.)
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. . . . Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." (Source: John Adams, The Works of John Adams,
Second President of the United States, Charles Francis Adams, editor (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. 1854), Vol. IX, p. 229, October 11, 1798.)
The strength of our Liberty rests upon the foundation of Christian principles that not only formed the ideas but gave us the strength to live by them. Religious people, who may or may not be true Christians, by their religious beliefs are restrained from their depravity and enabled to be peaceful citizens. Even none believers who are raised in a culture of morality are restrained in their sinfulness by a conscious understanding of right and wrong. The slow eroding of these principles has been the weakening of our political system and our greatest threat to our Liberty.
“There are three points of doctrine the belief of which forms the foundation of all morality. The first is the existence of God; the second is the immortality of the human soul, and the third is a future state of rewards and punishments. Suppose it possible for a man to disbelieve either of these three articles of faith and that man will have no conscience, he will have no other law than that of the tiger or the shark. The laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy." (Source: John Quincy Adams, Letters of John Quincy Adams to His Son on the Bible and Its Teachings (Auburn: James M. Alden, 1850), pp. 22-23.)
“Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt." - (Source: William V. Wells, The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1865), Vol. I, p. 22, quoting from a political essay by Samuel Adams published in The Public Advertiser, 1749.)
“Public utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy Scriptures. The doctrine they preach, the obligations they impose, the punishment they threaten, the rewards they promise, the stamp and image of divinity they bear, which produces a conviction of their truths, can alone secure to society, order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government, purity, stability, and usefulness. In vain, without the Bible, we increase penal laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions. Bibles are strong entrenchments. Where they abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses,
and at the same time enjoy quiet conscience.” - James McHenry (Source: Bernard C. Steiner, One Hundred and Ten Years of Bible Society Work in Maryland, 1810-1920 (Maryland Bible Society,
1921), p. 14.)
“The primary objects of government are the peace, order, and prosperity of society. . . . To the promotion of these objects, particularly in a republican government, good morals are essential. Institutions for the promotion of good morals are therefore objects of legislative provision and support: and among these . . . religious institutions are eminently useful and important. . . . [T]he legislature, charged with the great interests of the community, may, and ought to countenance, aid and protect religious institutions—institutions wisely calculated to direct men to the performance of all the duties arising from their connection with each other, and to prevent or repress those evils which flow from unrestrained passion.” - (Source: Connecticut Courant, June 7, 1802, p. 3, Oliver Ellsworth, to the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut)
There is almost an endless supply of Founding documents readily available to secure the understanding of our Founders concerning the strength and weaknesses of our system. It is a gift to us from God in the course of His Providence. It is a gift few have experienced for a short period of time in human history. It was never promised to men, it is only a gift. If God deems in His Providence it is enough, it will no longer be. It may be in His Providence, that we again prove ourselves unworthy of such a gift as we always do and realize our Liberty was only an extension of His Mercy and Grace.
There is something much greater than Liberty, it is the humbling of ourselves in submission to the Great Providence and Purpose of God in His plan of redemption. There is a story told of two young Moravian missionaries who heard of an island in the West Indies where an atheist British owner had 2000 to 3000 slaves.
And the owner had said, "No preacher, no clergyman, will ever stay on this island. If he's shipwrecked we'll keep him in a separate house until he has to leave, but he's never going to talk to any of us about God, I'm through with all that nonsense." Three thousand slaves from the jungles of Africa brought to an island in the Atlantic and there to live and die without hearing of Christ.
Two young Germans in their 20's from the Moravians sect heard about their plight. They [were willing to sell themselves] to the British planter for the standard price for a male slave [if necessary.] The Moravian community from Herrenhut came to see the two lads off, who would never return again, having freely sold themselves into a lifetime of slavery. As a member of the slave community, they would witness as Christians the love of God.
Family members were emotional, weeping. Was their extreme sacrifice wise? Was it necessary? The housings had been cast off and were curled up on the pier. As the ship slipped away with the tide and the gap widened, the young men linked arms, raised their hands and shouted across the spreading gap, "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering."
This became the call of Moravian missions. And this is our only reason for being...that the Lamb that was slain may receive the reward of His suffering! Yes, we love our Liberty, in His Providence, we have been afforded much. Though our Liberty is lost, the great love of God prevails above all! Our life here is but a moment, time passes, so also nations and kingdoms. Yet, the Purpose of God rules from eternity, our lives are nothing, except they abide to fulfill his purpose. Let s be reminded of the understanding of our Founding Fathers, the strength and weaknesses of our nation, and commit ourselves wholly to the purpose of God. I am not yet as free as those Moravian Missionaries, but I press on.
May the Grace of God be with each of you,
David
