Saturday, April 09, 2011 "Foundation"

Saturday, April 09, 2011

"The only true basis of all government is the laws of God and nature.  Government is an ordinance of Heaven, designed by the all benevolent Creator." - - - - Samuel Adams. Writings, vol. I, p. 269, Samuel Adams in the Boston Gazette of Dec. 19, 1768

"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?" - - - - Thomas Jefferson. 1781, in his notes on the State of Virgina, Query XVIII, 1781m 1782, p. 237.

"Has it [government] any solid foundation? – any chief cornerstone. . . ? I think it has an everlasting foundation in the unchangeable will of God . . . ." - - - - James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved(Boston: J. Williams 1766), pp. 11, 13, 16-18

"only true basis" "only firm basis" "solid foundation" "chief cornerstone" "everlasting foundation"  Our founders through some deep thought to us in those statements, let's first begin with defining the word basis.

Basis


BA'SIS, n. plu.bases. [L.and Gr.; the same as base, which see.]

1. The foundation of anything; that on which a thing stands or lies; the bottom or foot of the thing itself, or that on which it rests. See a full explanation under base.

2. The groundwork or first principle; that which supports.

3. Foundation; support.

To ensure our Founders are on the same page, let's also look at the Foundation:

Foundation


FOUNDATION, n. [L. fundatio, fundo.]

1. The basis of an edifice; that part of a building which lies on the ground; usually a wall of stone which supports the edifice.

2. The act of fixing the basis.

3. The basis or groundwork, or anything; that on which anything stands, and by which it is supported. A free government has its foundation in the choice and consent of the people to be governed. Christ is the foundation of the church.

These definitions were taken from Webster's original 1828 dictionary so we can get the meaning of the words as our Founders would have understood them.

So what can we learn, in our Founder's view the only true firm foundation; the only true firm thing on which government stands or lies; the only true firm substance at the bottom or foot of government itself; that on which it all rest; the groundwork, the first principle of government; is the unchangeable laws of God and nature and their understanding in the minds of the people.

Let's also define Ordinance:

Ordinance


OR'DINANCE, n.

1. A rule established by authority; a permanent rule of action. An ordinance may be a law or statute of sovereign power.
 
In the minds or thinking of our Founders, government found its authority; permanent rule of action from the sovereign power of Heaven.
 
Government design and gift came from the Creator mentioned in the Declaration of our Independence.
 
As our government was being formed and in its expansion throughout its early years, all the laws and ordinances enacted obviously cannot all be found in the Bible.  But they all sprang forth from those foundational principles that were laid at our foundation.

It may be that we have once again come to the place of which Lincoln spoke; "We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us . . . . and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own."

As it was in Lincoln's day, so it is with us, that this awareness cannot be instituted by government, for government is the servant, not the master.  This greatness of our nation can only return if we the people once again are moved with great devotion in our own hearts toward the faith of our foundation. 

May God bless each of you,

David