Psalm 33:12-22
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His inheritance. The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. (14) From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; (15) He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. (16) No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. (17) A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. (18) Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, (19) To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. (20) Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. (21) For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. (22) Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as we hope in You.
Republican, Democrat, or Independent. Liberal or conservative. We Christians in America are privileged to live in a free nation. We have had liberty, prosperity, and blessing unlike any nation in the history of the world.
On this Presidential Inauguration Day, I encourage all of us to remind ourselves that it is the mercy and grace of God that has made our nation the international power that it has become. National blessing is granted by God. I like the above passage as it reminds us of the source of our accomplishments.
Let us resolve afresh to pray daily for our national leaders, from the president to the state and local leaders. Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
I leave you with these quotes that frame well what our attitude should be.
George Washington (1789)
It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors.
Benjamin Franklin – (1787)
And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
John Adams (1798)
We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John Adams (1776)
Statesmen my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand….The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our people, in a greater measure than they have it now, they may change their rulers, and the forms of government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty.
George Washington (1783 – A farewell letter to the military)
I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow Citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field, and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation.
2 Chronicles 7:14
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.