Another 4th of July in America has come to pass. Explosive
pyrotechnics etched open late evening skies right before our eyes. Corollary concussive sounds played catch
with our eardrums somewhat in tune with John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and
Stripes Forever.” Sulfuric scents slid
up our nostrils. Grilled gastronomy
settled further in our stomachs. Patriotic camaraderie pulsed through crowds of
family, friends, and neighbors. And,
through it all, my heart and mind hearkened back to the original revolutionary
reasons for all such celebration, hoping for some amplifying word about God's providence and July 4, 1776.
Once again, I found
myself drawn to pay attention to the person and ministry of Rev. Dr. John
Witherspoon. Born in 1723, this native
Scotsman grew up to be wary of the power of the British Empire. The son of a preacher, he himself was
ordained to the Presbyterian Church of Scotland at the age of 22. He became a prominent evangelical through
his ministry with two different parishes over the next 23 years. During the latter part of this time period,
he was visited by soon-to-be founding fathers Benjamin Rush and Richard
Stockton. Soon after, at the age 45,
John Witherspoon emigrated here to New Jersey with his family, where his
staunch Protestantism and support of our republic earned him the post as the
sixth President of what is now Princeton University. He was later elected to the Continental
Congress as part of the New Jersey delegation and promptly appointed
Congressional Chaplain. His is the sole
clergy signature forever inked on our Declaration of Independence.
This isn’t the first
time I’ve been inspired to speak about this founding father. It is, however, the first time I’m going to
quote, at some length, a famous sermon this prominent “political parson”[i]
preached in Princeton on May 17, 1776 titled, “The Dominion of Providence Over
the Passions of Men.” Please open your hearts and minds and listen attentively
to these words about liberty being more than a secular matter, offered from a
pulpit during our nation’s birth –
“Put your trust in God,
and hope for his assistance in the present important conflict. He is the Lord
of hosts, great in might, and strong in battle. Whoever hath his countenance
and approbation, shall have the best at last. I do not mean to speak prophetically, but
agreeably to the analogy of faith, and the principles of God’s moral government. I
leave this as a matter rather of conjecture than certainty, but observe, that if your conduct is prudent, you need not
fear the multitude of opposing hosts.
If your cause is just,
you may look with confidence to the Lord, and entreat him to plead it as his
own. You are all my witnesses, that this is the first time of my introducing
any political subject into the pulpit. At this season, however, it is not only
lawful but necessary, and I willingly embrace the opportunity of declaring my
opinion without any hesitation, that the
cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of liberty, and
of human nature. So far as we have hitherto proceeded, I am satisfied that the confederacy of the colonies has not been the
effect of pride, resentment, or sedition, but of a deep and general conviction
that our civil and religious liberties, and consequently in a great measure the
temporal and eternal happiness of us and our posterity, depended on the
issue. The knowledge of God and his
truths have from the beginning of the world been chiefly, if not entirely
confined to those parts of the earth where some degree of liberty and political
justice were to be seen, and great were the difficulties with which they had to
struggle, from the imperfection of human society, and the unjust decisions of usurped
authority.”[ii]
I hear more than the bold
defense of American independence from the British Empire in this historic sermon. I hear a call to bold dependence … a bold
dependence on God’s moral government. I hear him defining this as human government
that supports instead of suppresses civil and religious liberty through the proper conduct of its people. Such are the people who truly know and trust,
who place their first confidence and hope in the power of God to bring about
justice and peace though the conflicts that result from our always imperfect
human society. This is not government
and conduct born of pride and resentment against human tyranny, but chiefly of bold
belief in the prevailing providence of Almighty God. Rev. Witherspoon also speaks to this in
part of the sermon I did not read, which urges us with great evangelical fervor
to be united to the mercy of Christ Jesus with a “lively faith” rather than
with what he called “resentment of a haughty monarch.”
This sermon is a clarion
call to have faithful humility at the foot of the Cross in every season of our totally
interdependent human life together. For
upon that Cross, Jesus liberated all of humanity from eternal bondage to the greatest
tyranny of all – the oppressive, unjust power of sin. Individually and collectively, we therefore have
the freedom to choose time-bound and timeless happiness through our obedient
living to the steadfast love of God in Jesus Christ.
How good to know and be reminded that at the
birth of our country 237 years ago, Rev. Dr. Witherspoon’s well respected and highly
charismatic voice was heralding our Lord as the one true hope of human society.
He is one founding father nobody can
claim was a deist. Have you ever heard
it said that more of our founders were deists rather than Christians? Deists believed that God created the world
and then let it operate under its own natural laws, not ever intervening in human
affairs. I’ve heard this claim many
times. And it’s something I’d love to
study in greater depth sometime. But
from what I have come to know, none of our founders were atheists, some were
deists, one was Roman Catholic (Charles Carroll) and the majority were a
diverse mix of Protestants. Messiah
College history professor, John Fea, concludes that they “all believed in an
active God who, to various degrees, governed the world by his providence.” That is, in God who remains faithful to us,
upholding and blessing and guiding us.
Witherspoon was
certainly and blessedly specific about this. Through him we hear a full echo of
Psalm 33’s declaration that “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the
thoughts of His heart to all generations.
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen
as His heritage.” We also hear in his
voice the Apostle Paul’s conviction that Jesus intercedes for us in all human
hardship, distress and persecution, and from this gracious power we can never
be separated.
Beyond affirming the
example and the preaching of Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, plus my bit of reflection on
deism, as well as expressing my desire for further study, I’m not one to speak much
from the pulpit my opinion about any ongoing American culture wars related to
whether we were founded as a Christian nation.
As with all of us, I generally trust that as our founders matured in
faith throughout their lifetimes, they varied their opinions about how it
might directly and freely influence public affairs.
I’m content to keep fundamentally teaching and reminding us as Americans
and as Christians to pop up the umbrella of God’s providence and grace in Jesus
Christ so that we find ourselves securely holding onto its protection as we go
out to diversely express our faith through personal words and deeds across the
many contexts of our lives. In doing so, I’m glad to conclude today’s
reflection with these words from Dr. Daniel Migliore, my Systematic Theology
101 professor at Princeton Seminary –
“God does indeed rule and overrule the events
of each human life and all of history.
But the way in which God rules and overrules the world of freedom, sin,
and suffering is by the power of Word and Spirit, the power of sacrificial love
that is stronger than death. This is the
way of the divine [government] in the light of the ministry, cross and resurrection
of Christ. To be in Christ and to walk
by the Spirit is to participate in the energy of God’s liberating, sacrificial
love and to be given new courage and hope by it.”[iii] Amen.
[i]
an appreciated title from http://liberty-virtue-independence.blogspot.com/2011/08/dominion-of-providence-over-passions-of.html
[ii]
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/the-dominion-of-providence-over-the-passions-of-men-excerpt/
[iii]
Faith Seeking Understanding, Daniel L. Migliore, p. 188
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