HIS JUSTICE CANNOT SLEEP FOREVER (Part 2)

 

By Catherine Ulrich Brakefield

        As I wrote in last month's blog, it is up to each generation to keep our forefathers' message of liberty alive.

       

It was more than two hundred years ago that our founding fathers set out to establish a government based on individual rights and the rule of law.

        The Almighty God preordained for this United States of America to be forthcoming in Daniel 7:4 "The first was like a lion, (symbol of Great Britain) and had eagle's wings (United States). I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted off the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it."

        Some might argue this, but I cannot doubt the Word of God that two thousand years before, God knew that a band of Christian patriots would fight to their death to have God as their only king.

       

Every generation must strive to keep their liberty and Christian values. Remembering why America came into being and holding strong to their Biblical values.

        "God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever."    Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

        Throughout the perilous years of America's existence, our leaders have seen the need to humble themselves before the feet of our Lord, read the Bible, and follow its teachings.

"This is a book (the Bible) which reveals men unto themselves, not as creatures in bondage, not as men under human authority, not as those bidden to take counsel and command of any human source. It reveals every man to himself as a distinct moral agent, responsible not to men, not even to those men whom he has put over him in authority, but responsible through his conscience to his Lord and Maker."   Woodrow Wilson on May 7, 1911

As I write in my historical romance, Destiny of Heart, World War I was to be the war that would end all wars, but of course, we know differently. This Great War would test the hope and faith of President Wilson, as America joined in the first war that would test that generation’s grit, faith, and determination not to succumb to a dictator.

"I must utter my belief in the divine inspiration of the Founding Fathers. Surely, there must have been God's intent in the making of this new-world Republic. Ours is an organic law which had but one ambiguity [slavery], and we saw that effaced in a baptism of sacrifice and blood, with union maintained, the Nation supreme, and its concord inspiring. We have seen the world rivet its hopeful gaze on the great truths on which the founders wrought. We have seen civil, human, and religious liberty verified and glorified."  By Warren G. Harding

After World War I, America experienced an economic boom, which is often called the Roaring 20s. Children continued to be taught in their public schools about the strong ties of God and America.

And it was during the 1920s that the Fourth of July was more of a declaration and commitment to God rather than to fireworks and parties.

"It is but natural that the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence should open with a reference to Nature's God and should close in the final paragraphs with an appeal to the Supreme Judge of the world and an assertion of a firm reliance on Divine Providence. … It is no wonder that Samuel Adams could say, "The people seem to recognize this resolution as though it were a decree promulgated from Heaven." No one can examine this record and escape the conclusion that, in the great outline of its principles, the Declaration was the result of the religious teachings of the preceding period. The profound philosophy which Jonathan Edwards applied to theology, the popular preaching of George Whitefield, had aroused the thought and stirred the people of the Colonies in preparation for this great event. No doubt the speculations which had been going on in England, and especially on the Continent, lent their influence to the general sentiment of the times. Of course, the world is always influenced by all the experiences and all the thoughts of the past. But when we come to a contemplation of the immediate conception of the principles of human relationship which went into the Declaration of Independence, we are not required to extend our search beyond our own shores. They are found in the texts, the sermons, and the writings of the early colonial clergy who were earnestly undertaking to instruct their congregations in the great mystery of how to live. They preached equality because they believed in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. They justified freedom by the text that we are all created in the divine image, all partakers of the divine spirit."  Spoken by Calvin Coolidge on the Inspiration of the Declaration of Independence, the 150th anniversary of the signing, July 5, 1926

Then, calamity hit hard on everyone during the Great Depression, as I tell in Destiny of Heart.  Soup kitchens sprang up, like the tent cities of the homeless. Churches opened wide their door, giving away clothes, food, and spiritual help spreading with loving hearts the gospel and the hope in Jesus Christ.

"This civilization and this great complex, which we call American life… can alone survive upon the translation into individual action of that fundamental philosophy announced by the Savior 19 centuries ago. Part of our national suffering today is failure to observe these primary yet inexorable laws of human relationships. Modern society cannot survive with the defense of Cain, 'Am I my brother's keeper?' No governmental action, no economic doctrine, no economic plan, or project can replace that God-imposed responsibility of the individual man and woman to their neighbors. That is a vital part of the very soul of a people." This was Herbert Hoover's Radio Address to the Nation on Unemployment Relief on October 18, 1931

        Watch for next month’s exciting conclusion of “His Justice Cannot Sleep Forever.”

       

Destiny of Heart: Confusion and uncertainty hover around Ruby McConnell Meir's skirts like dust storms and droughts, weakening her faith. Will her husband live—or die?

The Roaring Twenties dive into the Great Depression. The McConnells' battle for survival. Collina faces insurmountable odds to rescue Shushan. Rough Rider Franklin Long loses what money could not buy. Is it too late to make right his failings?

"…I read it on my Kindle but bought copies in paperback for gifts. My friends loved it… A great book historically and a great testimony of God's faithfulness… Catherine's books just keep getting better and better." Amazon Reader

Catherine is the award-winning author of Wilted Dandelions, Swept into Destiny, Destiny's Whirlwind, Destiny of Heart, Waltz with Destiny, and Love's Final Sunrise. She has written two pictorial history books, The Lapeer Area and Eastern Lapeer, and short stories for Guideposts Books, CrossRiver Media Group, Revell Books, and Bethany House Publishers. Catherine and her husband of fifty-two years live on a ranch in Michigan and have two adult children, five grandchildren, four Arabian horses, three dogs, four cats, six chickens, and three bunnies. See CatherineUlrichBrakefield.com for more information.