"The Son's of the Revolution"
10/10/2014
First From Julie's Keyboard:
Walking Out of Our Shoes
What a beautiful week it's been with all the blessings of a Fall season! The Grand girls have been around for a few days, and the fun has been on! Every grandparent just has to tell a few of those cute little things that are said here and there by those precious little ones. While brushing my teeth, my grand girl "Aaryn" (who is 4) came into the room where my gazelle (walking machine) is kept. My custom is to leave my "walking shoes" on it, so they will be there at the appropriate visit each day. But, Aaryn found them in such fashion and came running into the bathroom with them in hand saying, "Gwanny, you walked out of your shoes!" Priceless! Like so many more things I could share with you from all eight of the Grand girls.
At any rate, isn't it amazing that such gems of truth can come from the mouths of babes? How profound to realize that we will indeed, one day, walk right out of our shoes. We'll need them no more. While we may know little about how things will consummate and our final days on this earth will be spent, it's reassuring to know the One Who has it covered. Eschatology can be such a complex study. Yet, there has to be a true interpretation.
It seems if more focus could be on what must be going on while we're still "in our shoes walking," that the "walking out of them" will take care at the appropriate time. There are scores of Scripture passages dealing with how we should "walk" in this life, or "not walk." Today I've chosen a few favorites that speak into my life.
Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Micah 6:8 "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Jeremiah 6:16 "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein."
I John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."
Psalm 119:133 "Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me."
Proverbs 16:9 "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps."
Psalm 37:23 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in His way."
May we trust Him as we walk out each step of this life and prepare to "walk out of our shoes" into eternity.
Blessed of the Lord,
Julie
_____________________________________________________
"The Son's of the Revolution"
Walking Out of Our Shoes
What a beautiful week it's been with all the blessings of a Fall season! The Grand girls have been around for a few days, and the fun has been on! Every grandparent just has to tell a few of those cute little things that are said here and there by those precious little ones. While brushing my teeth, my grand girl "Aaryn" (who is 4) came into the room where my gazelle (walking machine) is kept. My custom is to leave my "walking shoes" on it, so they will be there at the appropriate visit each day. But, Aaryn found them in such fashion and came running into the bathroom with them in hand saying, "Gwanny, you walked out of your shoes!" Priceless! Like so many more things I could share with you from all eight of the Grand girls.
At any rate, isn't it amazing that such gems of truth can come from the mouths of babes? How profound to realize that we will indeed, one day, walk right out of our shoes. We'll need them no more. While we may know little about how things will consummate and our final days on this earth will be spent, it's reassuring to know the One Who has it covered. Eschatology can be such a complex study. Yet, there has to be a true interpretation.
It seems if more focus could be on what must be going on while we're still "in our shoes walking," that the "walking out of them" will take care at the appropriate time. There are scores of Scripture passages dealing with how we should "walk" in this life, or "not walk." Today I've chosen a few favorites that speak into my life.
Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Micah 6:8 "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Jeremiah 6:16 "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein."
I John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."
Psalm 119:133 "Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me."
Proverbs 16:9 "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps."
Psalm 37:23 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in His way."
May we trust Him as we walk out each step of this life and prepare to "walk out of our shoes" into eternity.
Blessed of the Lord,
Julie
_____________________________________________________
"The Son's of the Revolution"
“Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate
ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave
and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to
represent them in the national legislature…. If the next centennial
does not find us a great nation … it will be because those who
represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation
do not aid in controlling the political forces.” ~ James Garfield, the twentieth president of the United States, 1877
Several years ago, I guess over a decade now, I read a book by the title "Never Before In History". It of course was a look into the American experience. I remember while reading that book, for the first time I was confronted in a real sense with the understanding; that this little sliver of time in which I was living, and the life I was experiencing, was something that the history of man had not before known. I suppose it could sound or seem arrogant of me to presume such of my nation. If that thought has entered your mind, please put that to rest, for I do not intend it to be so. I recognize America is far from perfect, many mistakes have been made by our people, yet it must also be recognized there is a unique aspect about our experience that has afforded a great freedom to this people. Of course with this great freedom comes great responsibility, you might call it our purpose.
In the book of Exodus when God delivered his people from Pharaoh, the scripture is specific when it says, {Exo 8:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.} There was a purpose and responsibility to the freedom that was being granted, it was to serve Him who gave the freedom. It was not just so they could be free, freedom in itself was not the purpose, it was a means to the purpose. As you study our history, if you are true to the the intent of our founders, you will find that their view of freedom was the same, a means to Glorify and serve God.
If we forget our purpose, depart from the means of which our freedom exists, then we have lost all. If freedom itself becomes the purpose, then we become its slave to maintain it, and in our weakness will inevitably lose it. In the previous post we looked at the importance of the Gospel in sustaining our nation throughout or history. It is like a web reaching out into every unique and seemingly insignificant aspect of our existence. You can not discover in our experience an element that is not sustained by the Gospel.
On February 24th, 1895 Rev. Henry Van Dyke, D.D. preached to the Society of the Son's of the Revolution stating:
Several years ago, I guess over a decade now, I read a book by the title "Never Before In History". It of course was a look into the American experience. I remember while reading that book, for the first time I was confronted in a real sense with the understanding; that this little sliver of time in which I was living, and the life I was experiencing, was something that the history of man had not before known. I suppose it could sound or seem arrogant of me to presume such of my nation. If that thought has entered your mind, please put that to rest, for I do not intend it to be so. I recognize America is far from perfect, many mistakes have been made by our people, yet it must also be recognized there is a unique aspect about our experience that has afforded a great freedom to this people. Of course with this great freedom comes great responsibility, you might call it our purpose.
In the book of Exodus when God delivered his people from Pharaoh, the scripture is specific when it says, {Exo 8:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.} There was a purpose and responsibility to the freedom that was being granted, it was to serve Him who gave the freedom. It was not just so they could be free, freedom in itself was not the purpose, it was a means to the purpose. As you study our history, if you are true to the the intent of our founders, you will find that their view of freedom was the same, a means to Glorify and serve God.
If we forget our purpose, depart from the means of which our freedom exists, then we have lost all. If freedom itself becomes the purpose, then we become its slave to maintain it, and in our weakness will inevitably lose it. In the previous post we looked at the importance of the Gospel in sustaining our nation throughout or history. It is like a web reaching out into every unique and seemingly insignificant aspect of our existence. You can not discover in our experience an element that is not sustained by the Gospel.
On February 24th, 1895 Rev. Henry Van Dyke, D.D. preached to the Society of the Son's of the Revolution stating:
"Many
of the fathers of the Revolution worshiped here in olden time. For
this is a church of that Presbyterian order, which was rightly judged
to be so favorable to liberty that a Tory wrote of it, a hundred and
twenty-five years ago, 'The Presbyterians must not be allowed to grow
too great; they are all of republican principles.
The first Bishop of this church, the Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, was a chaplain in the Revolutionary Army, and its first edifice, at the corner of Beekman and Nassau Streets, had the distinction of being confiscated and turned into a hospital and military prison by the enemies of our country. Its walls, which once echoed to the groans of those who were imprisoned for the cause of freedom, have crumbled into dust; but its ministers and its people hold fast to the faith of their forefathers, and this church has still a welcome, and a message from the Word of God for the Sons of the Revolution. . . .
Saul in Israel, and Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and Nero in Rome, and William the Silent in Holland, and Philip II in Spain, and George III in Great Britain, and George Washington in America, – all the powers that be, or have been, were ordained of God. And yet in every case the forces that have created them, and the causes that have exalted them, are to be sought in the character of the nations over which they have ruled.
God ordains the power but He ordains it to fit the people. A bandit-chief for a tribe of brigands, a tyrant for slaves, an inquisitor for bigots, a sovereign tax-collector for a nation of shop-keepers, and a liberator for a race of freemen. The ruler is but the exponent of the inmost thoughts, desires, and ambitions of the ruled; sometimes their punishment and sometimes their reward. . . . the general law which is the theme of this sermon: The people are responsible for the character of their rulers. . . .
in a republic the truth emerges distinct and vivid, so that a child can read it. The rulers are chosen from the people by the people. The causes which produce the men and raise them to office, and clothe them with authority, are in the heart of the people. Therefore in the long run, the people must be judged by, and answer for, the kind of men who rule over them.
The first Bishop of this church, the Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, was a chaplain in the Revolutionary Army, and its first edifice, at the corner of Beekman and Nassau Streets, had the distinction of being confiscated and turned into a hospital and military prison by the enemies of our country. Its walls, which once echoed to the groans of those who were imprisoned for the cause of freedom, have crumbled into dust; but its ministers and its people hold fast to the faith of their forefathers, and this church has still a welcome, and a message from the Word of God for the Sons of the Revolution. . . .
Saul in Israel, and Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and Nero in Rome, and William the Silent in Holland, and Philip II in Spain, and George III in Great Britain, and George Washington in America, – all the powers that be, or have been, were ordained of God. And yet in every case the forces that have created them, and the causes that have exalted them, are to be sought in the character of the nations over which they have ruled.
God ordains the power but He ordains it to fit the people. A bandit-chief for a tribe of brigands, a tyrant for slaves, an inquisitor for bigots, a sovereign tax-collector for a nation of shop-keepers, and a liberator for a race of freemen. The ruler is but the exponent of the inmost thoughts, desires, and ambitions of the ruled; sometimes their punishment and sometimes their reward. . . . the general law which is the theme of this sermon: The people are responsible for the character of their rulers. . . .
in a republic the truth emerges distinct and vivid, so that a child can read it. The rulers are chosen from the people by the people. The causes which produce the men and raise them to office, and clothe them with authority, are in the heart of the people. Therefore in the long run, the people must be judged by, and answer for, the kind of men who rule over them.
George
Washington is the incarnation of the Spirit of ’76, and the conclusive
answer to all calumniators of the Revolution. No wild fanatic, no
reckless socialist or anarchist, but a simple, sober, sand God-fearing,
liberty-loving gentleman, who prized uprightness as the highest honor,
and law as the bulwark of freedom, and peace as the greatest blessing,
and was willing to live and die to defend them, this is the typical
American. . . . We praise famous men and our fathers that begat us. . . .
But shall our children and our children’s children have the same cause
to thank and esteem us? Shall they say of us, as we say of our fathers,
“They were true patriots, who loved their country with a loyal,
steadfast love and desired it to be ruled by the best men”? . . .
In the crisis of liberty we see Washington has the proof that the revolution was for justice, not for selfishness; for order, not for anarchy.
In the crisis of equality we see Lincoln as the proof that the heart of the American nation was not like the King of Dahomey [an African kingdom that existed from 1600-1900], who desired that the slave-trade should be suppressed everywhere else and tolerated in his dominion, and that the war of the Union was not a war of conquest over the South, but a war to deliver the captive and let the oppressed go free.
Those two men were the central figures in the crises; but the causes which produced them, and supported them in the focus of light, while men of violence raged, and partisans imagined a vain thing, were hidden in the secret of the people’s life and working in secret through years of peace and preparation.And when the third crisis comes, - the crisis of fraternity, in which it shall be determined whether a vast people of all sorts and conditions of men can live together in liberty and brotherhood, without standing armies or bloody revolts, without unjust laws which discriminate between the rich and the poor, and crush the vital force of individuality, and divide classes, in the liberty and fraternity, I say, with the least possible government and the greatest possible security of life and property and freedom of action, when the imminent crisis comes in which this great hope of our forefathers must be destroyed or fulfilled, the leaders who shall wreck or rescue it and the ultimate result of that mighty conflict will simply represent the moral character and ideals of the American people. . . .
A noble nation of ignoble households is impossible. Our greatest peril today is in the decline of domestic morality, discipline, and piety. Show me a home where the tone of life is selfish, disorderly, or trivial, jaundiced by avarice, frivolized by fashion, or poisoned by moral skepticism; where success is worshiped and righteousness ignored; where there are two consciences, one for the private and one for public use; where the boys are permitted to believe that religion has nothing to do with citizenship and that their object must be to get as much as possible from the State and to do as little as possible for it; where the girls are suffered to think that because they have as yet no votes they have therefore no duties to the commonwealth, and that the crowning glory of an American woman’s life is to marry a foreigner with a title ,show me such a home, and I will show you a breeding-place of enemies of the Republic. . . .
he has given to the daughters of the Revolution the far higher trust of training great men for their country’s service. A great general like Napoleon may be produced in a military school. A great diplomatist like Metternich may be developed in a court. A great philosopher like Hegel may be evolved in a university. But a great Man like Washington can only come from a Christian home. . . .
Teach them to think sound and wholesome thoughts free from prejudice and passion. Teach them to speak the truth, even about their own party, and to pay their debts in the same money in which they were contracted and to prefer poverty to dishonor. Teach them to worship God by doing some useful work, to live honestly and cheerfully in such a station as they are fit to fill, and to love their country with an unselfish and uplifting love. Then they may not all be Washingtons, but to be their ruler and leader in 'The path of duty and the way to glory'. . . .
In the crisis of equality we see Lincoln as the proof that the heart of the American nation was not like the King of Dahomey [an African kingdom that existed from 1600-1900], who desired that the slave-trade should be suppressed everywhere else and tolerated in his dominion, and that the war of the Union was not a war of conquest over the South, but a war to deliver the captive and let the oppressed go free.
Those two men were the central figures in the crises; but the causes which produced them, and supported them in the focus of light, while men of violence raged, and partisans imagined a vain thing, were hidden in the secret of the people’s life and working in secret through years of peace and preparation.And when the third crisis comes, - the crisis of fraternity, in which it shall be determined whether a vast people of all sorts and conditions of men can live together in liberty and brotherhood, without standing armies or bloody revolts, without unjust laws which discriminate between the rich and the poor, and crush the vital force of individuality, and divide classes, in the liberty and fraternity, I say, with the least possible government and the greatest possible security of life and property and freedom of action, when the imminent crisis comes in which this great hope of our forefathers must be destroyed or fulfilled, the leaders who shall wreck or rescue it and the ultimate result of that mighty conflict will simply represent the moral character and ideals of the American people. . . .
A noble nation of ignoble households is impossible. Our greatest peril today is in the decline of domestic morality, discipline, and piety. Show me a home where the tone of life is selfish, disorderly, or trivial, jaundiced by avarice, frivolized by fashion, or poisoned by moral skepticism; where success is worshiped and righteousness ignored; where there are two consciences, one for the private and one for public use; where the boys are permitted to believe that religion has nothing to do with citizenship and that their object must be to get as much as possible from the State and to do as little as possible for it; where the girls are suffered to think that because they have as yet no votes they have therefore no duties to the commonwealth, and that the crowning glory of an American woman’s life is to marry a foreigner with a title ,show me such a home, and I will show you a breeding-place of enemies of the Republic. . . .
he has given to the daughters of the Revolution the far higher trust of training great men for their country’s service. A great general like Napoleon may be produced in a military school. A great diplomatist like Metternich may be developed in a court. A great philosopher like Hegel may be evolved in a university. But a great Man like Washington can only come from a Christian home. . . .
Teach them to think sound and wholesome thoughts free from prejudice and passion. Teach them to speak the truth, even about their own party, and to pay their debts in the same money in which they were contracted and to prefer poverty to dishonor. Teach them to worship God by doing some useful work, to live honestly and cheerfully in such a station as they are fit to fill, and to love their country with an unselfish and uplifting love. Then they may not all be Washingtons, but to be their ruler and leader in 'The path of duty and the way to glory'. . . .
But
what has all this to do with religion and the Church? Just this: a
free church in a free state must exercise a direct and dominant moral
influence upon the tone of domestic and political life. If not, then may
God have mercy upon such dumb, impotent, and useless parody on
Christianity. The Church is set as a light in the world. Let it not be change into a dark lantern and turned backwards upon the Scribes and Pharisees. Set it on a candle stick that it may give light unto all that are in the house.
Let the Church shed the light of warning and reproof upon the immoral citizen who enjoys the benefits of citizenship and evades its responsibilities; the dishonest merchant who uses part of his gains to purchase political protection and his good reputation to cover the transaction; the recreant preacher who denounces the corruptions of government “down in Judea” and ignores the same corruptions in the United States; the lawyers who study the laws in order to defend their clients in evading them; and the officials who profess to serve the State then add, “The State – that’s me.”
Above all let the Church shed the light of honor and glory upon the true heroes of the republic, the brave soldiers, the loyal citizens, the pure statesmen, that all men may know that the Church recognizes these men as servants of the most high God because they were in deed and in truth the servants of the people.
Let us not forget how the American Church Bore her part in the Revolution inspiring, purifying and blessing the struggle for justice and liberty. Let us not forget that she has a duty, no less sacred, in the conflicts of these latter days; to encourage men in the maintenance of that liberty which has been achieved and in the reform of all evils which threaten the purity of private and public life; to proclaim that our prosperity does not depend upon the false maxims of what is called “practical politics,” but as Washington said, upon “Religion and morality, those great pillars of human happiness, those firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.”
When the church evades or neglects this office of public prophecy, When she gives her strength to theological subtlety, and ecclesiastical rivalry, and clerical millinery, and stands silent in the presence of corruption and indifferent to the progress of reform, her own bells will toll the death knell of her influence, her sermons will be the funeral discourses of her power, and her music will be a processional to the grave of her own honor.
But when she proclaims to all people, without fear or favor, the necessity of a thorough-going conscience and regenerating Gospel in every sphere of human life, the reverence of men and the favor of God will crown the walls of Zion with perpetual and living light.
As the servant of a Church which has been loyal to this ideal in the past, I deliver her message in the present to the Sons of the Revolution.
Be not the Sons of the Revolution after the flesh only but also after the spirit. Be true to the principles of your forefathers, and to the responsibilities of the citizenship which they bought with their blood. Hold fast to the great quadrilateral of their patriotic faith: the greatest possible liberty for the individual; the equality of taxation and representation; the purity and simplicity of republican government; and adherence to God’s moral law as the only basis of national security.
And remember, brethren, as we judge and honor of our fathers by their choice of Washington to be their commander, even so will our children measure and esteem us by the character of the men whom we desire and choose to be our rulers in this free republic." ~ Rev. Henry Van Dyke, D.D. On February 24th, 1895.
Read the complete sermon at: http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=153209
May the Grace of God be upon each of you,
David
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