We must ever be vigilant, ever be prepared to defend our freedoms, lest evil, self-serving men come and enslave us.”
–Chris Bennett (Breakout)
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
–Proverbs 14:34(NKJV)
——————————————
40 — How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert!
41 — Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 — They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy.
43 — When He worked His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 — Turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink.
45 — He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 — He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust.
47 — He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost.
48 — He also gave up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to fiery lightning.
49 — He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, by sending angels of destruction among them.
50 — He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the plague,
51 — And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, the first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 — But He made His own people go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 — And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 — And He brought them to His holy border, this mountain which His right hand had acquired. (NKJV)
Psalm 78 reflects the plight of the people in Israel. It seems as if many had forgotten God’s provisions; they had forgotten how He had kept them in the past. Many times throughout Scripture, God says to remember your past, remember from whence you came. They had forgotten God.
Our great nation, one founded on biblical principles, is in the midst of great trial. It’s interesting that it is not a foreign war that is causing the turmoil, but the people within the country. There are forces who would demean the United States, and they seek to tear it apart not knowing that they will be tearing apart the life that they know as well. Israel was the same, by forgetting God they were facing the troubles that He was now allowing to come upon them. We think that we only have troubles when we are in desolation, in the times of war–a wilderness so to speak. However, “Spiritual failures do not occur only in wilderness moments when we are desolate and desolated: They happen when we enjoy life to the full.” (George O. Wood) There never has been a nation blessed like America, yet we are in the midst of ideological turmoil that is causing myriad problems emanating from the spiritual realm.
What has happened? I read recently that only 81% of the people in the country believe in God. That’s the lowest it has ever been. That only 37% of the ministers have a biblical worldview, and even lower among Catholics. No wonder we are in trouble. Where are the men of God? Oh that’s right–they have been abolished in the name of feminism. We are now in a “woke” society, transgenderism is the key world now. No wonder we have grieved God; no wonder His patience has been tested. Charles Spurgeon said, “It must have been difficult to forget [God’s power]. Such displays of divine power as those which smote Egypt with astonishment must have needed some more than usual effort to blot from the tablets of memory.”
This Fourth of July, go back and remember those dark days of the Revolution when it was win or be hung. Remember the bloody footprints left in the snow by soldiers without proper footwear who continued to fight on. Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Yorktown–revisit them in your mind. Don’t let the pundits cause you to think of the flaws of those fighting for freedom, recognize the valor and honor and courage they had in fighting for our freedom–and, gaining it! I think it was Paul Harvey who said that we had an “abundance of great men” to lead this country: Washington, Henry, Adams both John and Samuel, Jefferson, Greene, Knox and many, many others. Compare them to the leadership (?) of our country today. My mercy…!
Remember then, this Fourth, those years of turmoil that brought forth this nation into the world. A nation dedicated to freedom, a nation dedicated to the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This nation was indeed to be a “city on a hill,” a bright light shining for all to see. Now there are those who would put a bushel over that light. Do your part so that it will not happen.
“When all thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In wonder, love, and praise.”
–Joseph Addison
——————————————
40 — How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert!
41 — Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 — They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy.
43 — When He worked His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 — Turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink.
45 — He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 — He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust.
47 — He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost.
48 — He also gave up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to fiery lightning.
49 — He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, by sending angels of destruction among them.
50 — He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the plague,
51 — And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, the first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 — But He made His own people go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 — And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 — And He brought them to His holy border, this mountain which His right hand had acquired. (NKJV)
Psalm 78 reflects the plight of the people in Israel. It seems as if many had forgotten God’s provisions; they had forgotten how He had kept them in the past. Many times throughout Scripture, God says to remember your past, remember from whence you came. They had forgotten God.
Our great nation, one founded on biblical principles, is in the midst of great trial. It’s interesting that it is not a foreign war that is causing the turmoil, but the people within the country. There are forces who would demean the United States, and they seek to tear it apart not knowing that they will be tearing apart the life that they know as well. Israel was the same, by forgetting God they were facing the troubles that He was now allowing to come upon them. We think that we only have troubles when we are in desolation, in the times of war–a wilderness so to speak. However, “Spiritual failures do not occur only in wilderness moments when we are desolate and desolated: They happen when we enjoy life to the full.” (George O. Wood) There never has been a nation blessed like America, yet we are in the midst of ideological turmoil that is causing myriad problems emanating from the spiritual realm.
What has happened? I read recently that only 81% of the people in the country believe in God. That’s the lowest it has ever been. That only 37% of the ministers have a biblical worldview, and even lower among Catholics. No wonder we are in trouble. Where are the men of God? Oh that’s right–they have been abolished in the name of feminism. We are now in a “woke” society, transgenderism is the key world now. No wonder we have grieved God; no wonder His patience has been tested. Charles Spurgeon said, “It must have been difficult to forget [God’s power]. Such displays of divine power as those which smote Egypt with astonishment must have needed some more than usual effort to blot from the tablets of memory.”
This Fourth of July, go back and remember those dark days of the Revolution when it was win or be hung. Remember the bloody footprints left in the snow by soldiers without proper footwear who continued to fight on. Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Yorktown–revisit them in your mind. Don’t let the pundits cause you to think of the flaws of those fighting for freedom, recognize the valor and honor and courage they had in fighting for our freedom–and, gaining it! I think it was Paul Harvey who said that we had an “abundance of great men” to lead this country: Washington, Henry, Adams both John and Samuel, Jefferson, Greene, Knox and many, many others. Compare them to the leadership (?) of our country today. My mercy…!
Remember then, this Fourth, those years of turmoil that brought forth this nation into the world. A nation dedicated to freedom, a nation dedicated to the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This nation was indeed to be a “city on a hill,” a bright light shining for all to see. Now there are those who would put a bushel over that light. Do your part so that it will not happen.
“When all thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In wonder, love, and praise.”
–Joseph Addison