“BLESSED IS THE NATION…”

A sermon based upon Psalm 33

Preached by Charles J. Tomlin, Pastor

Flat Rock-Zion Baptist Partnership

June 30^th, 2019

Today, we begin this message in your pocket.

“Please take out a one-dollar bill and look at it. The design you are looking at first came off the presses in 1957. This so-called paper money is a cotton and linen blend, with minute red and blue silk fibers running through it. Money isn’t ‘paper’ , it’s actually cloth! We’ve all washed it without it falling apart. Is that what they call money laundering?  Not exactly, but you understand my pun:  When they make money, and it doesn’t grow on trees, because it’s made of cloth.  After they put this silk cloth together, a special, secret blend of ink is used. It is then overprinted with symbols, starched to make it water resistant and pressed to give it that nice crisp look.

Also, when you look on the front of the bill, you see the U.S. Treasury Seal. On the top are the scales—for a balanced budget. In the center is a carpenter’s square—a tool used to ensure an even cut and honest dealings. Underneath is the key to the U.S. Treasury. The year 1789 is when the U.S. Treasury was founded.   

BLESSED IS THE NATION….

That is all pretty easy to figure out, but what is on the other side?

 It is a “Message in Your Pocket” about the ‘blessing’ upon this nation that we all should learn before this upcoming Independence Day.  

When you turn the dollar bill on its back, you see two circles. Both circles, together, comprise the Great Seal of the U.S. The first Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a seal. It took them four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved. We need to remember these men in that congress were all working with a price on their heads, under the threat of death, if they’d been caught.

Now, to continue, if you look at the right-hand circle and check it carefully, you may recognize the picture. It is on every national cemetery in the United States. It is the centerpiece of most heroes’ monuments in our nation. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the U.S. President and always it is visible when he speaks. Yet very few of us know what the symbols mean.

The bald eagle was selected as a symbol for victory. The eagle is not afraid of storms. The eagle is strong and smart enough to soar above them. The eagle wears no material crown. When this imagery and symbol was chosen, the thirteen original colonies had just broken from the king of England.

Also, notice the shield is not supported by anything. It is independent. This was another way to declare our country would stand on its own. In the eagle’s beak, we read in Latin, E Pluribus Unum—which means, “out of many, one” or “one nation from many people.” We were coming together as one nation.

Above the eagle are 13 stars, one for each of the original 13 colonies. Notice the clouds are rolling away from the stars. As we came together as a nation, the clouds of misunderstanding and storms of conflict were hopefully rolling away.

Notice what the eagle holds in its talons—an olive branch and arrows. As a people, we want peace (the olive branch), but we never will be afraid to fight to preserve peace and defend liberty. The eagle always wants to face the olive branch; but in time of war, its gaze turns toward the arrows to defend itself.

Many will say that the number 13 is unlucky—true almost worldwide. You seldom see a room numbered 13 or hotels with a 13th floor, but notice this: 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 letters in the Latin above the pyramid, 13 letters in the Latin E Pluribus Unum, 13 stars emerging from the clouds, 13 vertical bars on the shield, 13 arrows in the eagle’s talon, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruit on the olive branch.  13 is was transformed into our lucky number.  It is now, a number that has been transformed to make us rejoice… happy, blessed! 

WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD…

If you look at the left circle, you will see a pyramid. Pyramids are the world’s greatest symbol of strength and civilization.  Notice, however, that the face of this pyramid is lighted, but the western side is dark. This is because our nation was just beginning. We had not yet begun to explore the West. We had not yet decided what we could do for western civilization. Notice also the pyramid is uncapped. This reminds us we are an experiment, and that we are not even close to being finished.

Inside the capstone is the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-watching eye—an ancient symbol for divinity or the one true God. It was Ben Franklin’s belief that one person couldn’t do it alone; but a group of people, with the help of almighty God, could do anything.  As Christians, you and I know that cornerstone of all nations is the stone the original builders rejected, that is Jesus, the Christ.

In the very middle, slightly above the center, are the words “In God We Trust.” This is our national motto. Above the pyramid in the left circle are the Latin words Annuit Coeptis, which means “Providence has favored our undertaking.” At the base of the pyramid is the Roman numeral for the year 1776. The other Latin phrase below the pyramid is, Novus Ordo Seclorum, which declares, “A new order has begun.”

The words “In God We Trust” are traced to the efforts of Pastor W.R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania. His letter of concern was addressed to the Honorable Salmon P. Chase, on Nov. 13, 1861. Seven days later, Mr. Chase wrote to James Pollock, director of the US. Mint as follows: “No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. Will you cause a device to be prepared without delay with a motto expressing in the finest and tersest words possible, this national recognition?”

Since 1863, the middle of the Civil,War, these words have been printed on the money in our pockets.  It was even printed on our money before it was adopted as our national motto.   Maybe you already knew this, but in case you didn’t, this is the message that travels with you on your money in your pocket. It isn’t just a message of independence, but it’s also a message of dependence upon God’s almighty providence and grace in establishing this great nation.

This message of national blessing goes all the way back to today’s Psalm. Psalm 33 can be divided into two parts. Verses 1-9, speak of God’s rule over His Creation; the whole earth.  In the the second section, the Psalmist observes how God overrule the plans of Kings and other nations to ‘bless’ this nation that he has called forth to bless as his special possession.  Israel of old, were a people called to be by God’s faithfulness, being delivered and shielded from destruction, because they waited upon and trusted in the Lord.

Today, the promise once given to Israel, has been extended to any people who will trust in him.  As Scripture testifies, The true ‘God is not a respecter of persons’, that is He does show favoritism, and in every nation, the person who respects him and does what is right is accepted by him (Acts 10: 35). 

This is why we can sing God Bless America, not to ask God’s blessing only on us, but to remind ourselves of the human opportunity as a nation, and as a people, to love what God loves and to do what is right so we can be part of God’s plans to bring ‘righteousness and justice’ into our world.

As we have our own opportunity to live under the motto, ‘In God We Trust’, we too must also think seriously about what doing right and just means.  Too many veterans have given up too much to let this fade. Many veterans came home to a people who didn’t seem to care. Too many veterans didn’t come home at all. On this Independence Day weekend, we do well to acknowledge that we still believe in and bear this sacred ‘trust’.   We don’t want to lose this great opportunity to rejoice and sing in our wonderful land:  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

THE PEOPLE WHOM HE HAS CHOSEN…

But there is something else, on our money and about this motto.   This ‘all seeing eye’ is looking back at us.  As Psalm 33 goes on to explain, God has ‘chosen a people to be his heritage….“The Lord looks down from heaven and see all human kind….   The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him…, who hope in his steadfast love,… who trust in his holy name.’  The ‘eye’ of divinity, of providence, and of eternal is still ‘looking down’, but what does he see?  

Alexis de Tocqueville is said to have observed about America, especially in her infancy: “I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there.

 I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her fertile fields and boundless forests, and it was not there.

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there.

 I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her public school system and her institutions of learning, and it was not there.

 I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her democratic congress and her matchless constitution, and it was not there.

Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Didn’t what de Tocqueville see in America what the Psalmist said: ‘the Lord loves justice and righteousness’?   Does America still love what ‘the Lord loves’ today?  Isn’t this what this ‘sacred trust’ means?  As verse 16 and 17 of this text declares:  It is not the might of our military, and I might add, nor is it the amount of our money, but it by the grace of our God and the humble righteousness of His people that we have been blessed.

“The highest glory of the American Revolution,” said John Quincy Adams, “was this: it connected....the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.” A few years later, Lawyer and historian John Wingate Thornton, studied the preaching and sermons of the American revolution and commented,  “God blessed America because our forefathers built their nation with reliance on Him and His Word, and because God had a Gospel purpose for our nation.”

Rev. John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian, signed the Declaration of Independence. He personally taught several of the signers of the document. Nine of the signers were graduates of the little college over which he presided at Princeton. When he took up his pen to write his name on the Declaration, he declared, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, a spark. We perceive it now before us. To hesitate is to consent to our own slavery…”

The inscription on our Liberty Bell cites Leviticus 25:10: “...Proclaim Liberty Throughout the land”.  The Constitution refers to Jesus, stating it was signed “in the year of our Lord, 1787.”

Our patriotic hymn “My Country, ‘tis of Thee” was written in 1831 by a Baptist pastor, Samuel Francis Smith. The Pledge of Allegiance to our flag was written in 1892 by a Baptist pastor, Francis Bellamy.

State legislatures and the U.S. Congress employ paid chaplains to pray at the opening of all sessions. All military branches of the U.S. government have paid chaplains. It may be illegal in our schools and in our state and municipal government buildings, but above the Speaker’s chair in the U.S. Congress hangs a portrait of Moses with the Ten Commandments. The Library of Congress displays statues of Moses and the apostle Paul. It also has large inscriptions of Micah 6:8 and Psalms 19:1 prominently displayed (try that at the next high school football game). The Lincoln Memorial has chiseled on it: “Judgments of the Lord are righteous.”

The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated to a soldier “Known but to God.” There is a prayer room in Congress. Think we can get that in our schools? Local courts and boards can no longer open with prayers, because of public opposition, but the Supreme Court opens its sessions with the words “God save the U.S. and this honorable court.” The U.S. government mandates a “National Day of Prayer” each year. Christmas is a federal holiday. What this means is that our godly heritage’ is there, but it is fading.  Why would we turn our backs on this God of righteousness and justice who has blessed us?

Of all the places you could be living today, by the grace of God you are here,  living in the USA—a nation founded with the belief in God and by those who sought a place to worship Him in freedom, seeking justice for all. He has placed you here for a purpose. That purpose is not just to live free only for yourself, but as a creed says ‘ to know Him and enjoy Him forever’, to tell others about Him, to love righteousness and justice for him, and to discover true freedom of the both soul and of spirit.  This is the message in your pocket that should also be the message in your heart!  

LOOK, THE LORD TAKES NOTICE…

But you know, don’t you, that today, we could be in danger of losing God’s blessing upon this great land.  And eventually, if we lose God’s blessing you will also lose your blessings too.   The events of September 11, the unending wars against terrorism, the decline of the west, the political impasse in Washington, the chaos growing in public schools, the anger and violence on our streets and in public places, the rapid decline in church attendance, and the continual slide of moral values, reflect major social and religious changes for our republic.

While America has never been officially a Christian nation, like the European error, we have been largely a nation of Christians, with a overwhelming majority of people who have respected and reverenced its churches.  Now, all that is changing, and changing fast.  According to Pew Research Center, from 2007 to 2014, Christianity in American has taken a sharp downward slide. The fastest growing group in America today are the ‘nones’; a new rising majority with no religious preference whatsoever.  While it is still statistically true that Christianity has is a majority ‘on paper’, the reality ‘on the streets’ and in communities and cities across this nation, is that fewer than 20 percent of Americans attend church to Worship on any given Sunday.  As we all know, it is regular church attendance, that shows where the heart is.

Our text says ‘the Lord looked down’ and observes everyone… and considers all their works (v. 15).  Interestingly, God doesn’t look with favor upon military power, or statistical strength, but it says ‘the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him”.  Notice, however, it does not say that God favors the ‘independent’, but he favors those who depend on His faithful love (18).  God will “deliver THEM from death and keep them alive in famine (19).”  And the greatest famine, is what the prophet Amos once described as: “….not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but (a famine) of hearing the words of the LORD.” (Amos 8:11 NRS). 

While this text clearly shows that a ‘war horse’ for military ‘victory’ or ‘a great army’ ‘cannot save’, it also says what will ‘save’ and what will bless, is to be a people who ‘fear him’, who ‘depend on his faithful love’, who ‘wait on him’, ‘rejoice in him’, who ‘hope in him’ and who ‘trust in his holy name’.

Isn’t this why the apostle Paul called the church, then located in its own very secular and pagan context, not to be ‘overcome with evil’ but to ‘overcome evil by doing good’ (Rom. 12: 21).  He told those first Christians, again, living in Rome under pagan governments, to ‘be subject to the governing authorities’ (Rom. 13:1), who are ordained by God.  He tells Christians to ‘pay their taxes’ and to ‘live honorably’ (13:13) and to ‘put on Jesus Christ’ in everything they do in their lives (13:14).  His premise is that Christians being Christian, that is Christ-like, and also by being good citizens, being ‘salt and light’ they would ‘shed’ light on what was right and ‘shed’ God’s grace on all the people.  

In the same vein, Jesus called us be ‘peacemakers’, by seeking a ‘higher righteousness’ that brings justice for and to all.  And this that Jesus and Paul both preached was really nothing new.  It goes all the back to, and beyond the call for God’s people everywhere to ‘do justice, to love mercy, and (to) walk humbly with our God’ (Micah 6:8). 

Isn’t this really what our great, God-given, blood-bought, blessing of freedom is about?  It isn’t a blessing to live just any way we want or wish.  Our independence, this gift from God our founding fathers acknowledged is not a gift without some important strings attached.  A great example of this responsibility comes from Bob Bartlett, when he was on a ship, exploring the Arctic.  While on that voyage, he and his crew brought back a number of caged bird. During their long trip home over the ocean, one restless bird escape from its cage. In the excitement of freedom, the bird flew away, and the crew watched it fly away out over the water until it disappeared in the blue sky. They all said, “that bird is lost!” However, after some time has passed, to their surprise, they saw that same bird flying back toward the ship at a rapid speed. Panting and breathless, the little feathered prodigal dropped onto the deck. Evidently, when it was far out over the water, lost and alone, that bird frantically searched for the ship again. Now it was was back, where the ship was no longer a prison, but a home. It had learned the hard way, that that ship was the only way safely across that wide and deep ocean (From J. Wallace Hamilton, Horns and Halos, (Revel, 1954).

Isn’t this what Psalmist means when he says we are God’s special possession.  To be claimed, possessed, or own by anyone sounds politically incorrect in our times, because so many, like that bird, wants to fly free without any historical, political, religious, or moral restraint at all.  But isn’t the gospel correct when we learn, once and for all, that we are only fully free when we are at home, on board the greatest ship of all?  This is the ‘gospel ship’ that Christ to make us free by being rooted and connected to God through him.  In Christ, the true God not only looked down, but he also came down, to make us free and blessed with his grace so that we can learn how to love righteousness and justice, just as God does.  For only when love and stay close to what God loves, can we continue to have God’s blessing.  Amen.