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“…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…. 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 …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.”
Much more than a declaration of independence from Great Britain, this famous document was a declaration of dependence on the only true God, who is both “Creator and Judge” of all mankind, and by Whose hand of “divine Providence” the course of human history is guided.
Today, we find ourselves in a far darker hour than that which our forefathers faced. A careful reading of the list of grievances included in the declaration show amazing parallels to this present hour and, in most cases, the conditions today surpass—by far—those of the past.
“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….He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance….For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury….He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us….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 & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation….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…”
The little colonies of America shocked the world by rejecting political correctness and expediency, and declared their independence from the most powerful nation and military in the world at that time.
This action was seen as suicidal by most of the nations of the world. However, they failed to take into account the phrases, “…appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world…with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence….” With these words, it should have been called “The Declaration of Dependence.”
As I mentioned earlier, we find ourselves today in an even darker hour. But the resolution of our present perils remains the same as it was at the beginning of this nation. Unless and until the people of America, united in a spirit of faith, call upon the only true God with complete faith and submission, we have no hope of deliverance.
For, deliverance demands a Deliverer, and to appeal to our Creator and Judge is to humble ourselves at the feet of Him who also came as our great Substitute and Sacrifice on the cross of Calvary.
Our Mighty God and Savior is still able to deliver, the question is whether we as a people are willing to humble ourselves under His mighty hand of correction and restoration. We will never again stand as free men, until we fall to our knees in total humility and confession before His throne.
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray,
and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14
Pastor Gene Cunningham
3 July 2024