America’s independence and dependence

July 4, 2007

By William E. Richardson

“For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us” (Isaiah 33:22, NKJV).

The men who penned the Declaration of Independence and those whose signatures approved it had strong feelings about two ruling powers. America’s famous document is a lasting statement of faith in one power and lack of faith in the other.

The signers of the Declaration challenged the policies of George III, king of England. His governing style provoked the American colonists to extreme actions. Yet, every act of defiance in the colonies seemed to fall on deaf ears in Great Britain. Our founders concluded Britain’s leader to be a tyrant.

God, on the other hand, received our Founding Fathers’ highest respect. While protesting the dictatorial actions of England’s human ruler, they praised universal rights granted by a benevolent God.

They filled over half of the document with “a long train of abuses” from King George’s government. Rather than elaborate on the details of those firm statements, let’s examine the signers’ clear descriptions of the God of the Bible.

“Nature’s God”: The signers acknowledged God as the creator of the natural world. Like the apostles, they believed God “made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them” (Acts 4:24). God had blessed America with abundant natural resources. They enjoyed those resources and thanked God for creating them.

“Creator”: Whatever else their faith did or didn’t include, our Founding Fathers weren’t atheists. One of the inscriptions on the Jefferson Memorial quotes Thomas Jefferson as saying “God who gave us life, gave us liberty.” The first belief led to the second one.

“Supreme Judge”: Earthly judges, even after accumulating all the facts, can make mistakes. God, however, is always a just judge. He’s never fickle. He’s never biased. He’s never wrong in any decision.

Abraham asked, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). The answer: He’ll do only what’s right, every time!

“Divine Providence”: The Declaration concludes with the words, “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” The signers trusted so strongly in God’s guidance, based on His biblical attributes of power, knowledge, and presence, they were willing to risk everything.

Clearly, the Declaration of Independence was a declaration of dependence on God. Amid all that may be imperfect about America 231 years later, God has not changed.

It’s right to celebrate our God-given freedoms as Americans. It’s right to remember the divine source of those freedoms — God upon whom it is right to keep declaring our dependence.

William E. Richardson is senior pastor of Afton (Iowa) Assembly of God.