In God We Trust Ps 18:2 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

When you walk into the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., you see a remarkable testimony to God in that building.  In the Rotunda you see 8 large paintings of the Exploration and Colonization of America and of the American Revolution.

One of the paintings is of the Landing of Christopher Columbus.  In the painting is a cross. Columbus said, “It was the Lord who put into my mind… the Gospel must still be preached to so many lands.”

There is also a painting of the Baptism of Pocahontas. She was one of the first converts in the Virginia colony.  The Virginia charter proclaims that they came to propagate the “Christian religion to such people, as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God.”

Still yet another painting is the Embarkation of the Pilgrims.  They had left England and traveled to Holland to escape religious persecution.  In Holland they found religious freedom. But they decided to sail on to America because of the opportunity and need to preach the gospel.  The picture is of the prayer meeting they held before their departure.  William Brewster is holding an open Bible which clearly states, “The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.  The ship’s sail is inscribed with these words, “God with us.”

In the House Chamber inscribed in letters of gold above the Speaker’s rostrum are the words, In God We Trust.  Directly across from the Speaker’s rostrum, above the central Gallery door, is a marble relief of Moses. He is the central law-giver of the 23 law-givers depicted in the chamber.  22 of the marble reliefs are profiles.  Moses is the only one that is full-faced.

Benjamin Franklin said, as the framers of the Constitution were drafting its language, “We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little partial, local interests, our projects will be confounded and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And, what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, or conquest.”

I believe that God had something to do with the foundation of our country.  And I believe that if our country is going to survive the attempts by some of her citizens to wrest what remains of our country from the hands of God, men and women must:

Trust God – Ps 18:2 – if our country is going to survive, we must trust in God.  In God We Trust is our national motto!!  Ps 118:8-9 says, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.  It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.”  Jer 17:5-8 says, “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man… Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord…”  We cannot leave the survival of this country to men; we must trust God.

Pray – 1 Tim 2:1-3 – if you want to live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, you have to pray. And you must pray hard.

Humble ourselves – 2 Chr 7:14 – Jehoshaphat humbled himself before the Lord and the Lord wrought a victory for him.  This king had a military that numbered 1,160,000 soldiers [2 Chr 17:12-19] and yet he did not trust them to fight; he sought the Lord [2 Chr 20:10-13] and the Lord helped them [2 Chr 20:17].

Turn from our wicked ways – 2 Chr 7:14 – you cannot expect God to bless sin.  Sin killed his Son and sin will kill us.  God blesses righteousness.  Judgment begins at the house of God.  Clean up your life.  Encourage others to clean up their lives [Jas 5:20] by turning them to Jesus Christ and his righteousness.  Pray for others to come to Jesus and his righteousness.

Choose men and women who govern justly – Ex 18:21 – we are going to be governed, so, be sure to choose men and women who are going to judge according to God and not according to themselves or some godless agenda.  Like one preacher said, “There is a vacuum in leadership and it is going to be filled either with the godless or the godly.”

Conclusion: You have a responsibility to do these things in your own life and to pray for and seek men and women who will do these things in their own lives.  I believe you also need to stand with God and against those who refuse to stand with God.