America like Israel is a nation dedicated to God.Do you know that our first president's first official act, along with Congress and Senate was to dedicate the brand new nation, the United States of America, to Jehovah God?
America and Israel are the only two nations who at their beginnings, were and are dedicated to Jehovah God, our creator.
This is an important fact to know and understand because a nation dedicated to God is held to a higher responsibility as opposed to nations that are not.
Now it is true that there are nations who followed biblical standards and at times revival has taken place. For example England in the 1800s had a very strong revival which in turn made its way over to America and great preachers like Charles Grandison Finney, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Dwight Lyman Moody, Billy Sunday and many more preached the gospel.
That was the golden age of the American Revival.
But do you know that our nation was also dedicated to God by a King? This took place in 1606 when King James of England stated in the Jamestown charter to the major investors in the Virginia Company that the spread the Gospel of the Almighty God will be first and foremost.
Here is how the charter opened…
Wee, greately commending and
graciously accepting of theire desires to the furtherance of soe noble a
worke which may, by the providence of Almightie God, hereafter tende to
the glorie of His Divine Maiestie to suche people as yet live in
darkeness and miserable ignorance of the true knoweledge and worshippe
of God and may in tyme bring the infidels and salvages living in those
parts to humane civilitie and to a setled and quiet governmente…
Spreading the gospel was the first goal of the Jamestown settlers.
The second part of the 1606 charter is devoted to the rights of the
investors to discover and profit from…
“all the landes, woodes, soile,
groundes, havens, portes, rivers, mines, minerals, marrishes, waters,
fishinges, commodities and hereditamentes whatsoever” in Virginia. They were given instructions to “dig,
myne, and searche for all manner of Mynes of Goulde Silver and Copper
aswell within anie parte of theire saide severall Colonies.”
So not only in our conception via the Jamestown settlers, but also
when our nation officially stood on its own as a nation, we were
dedicated to God.The only other country to be dedicated to God at it's beginnings was Israel.
Even though Israel had two kings prior, it was not till the temple was built that the nation of Israel truly became a nation. It was under the reign of King Solomon who finally built God's temple, which was the symbol, the very heart of the nation.
We read in 2 Chronicles seven we the following…
2 Chronicles 7:11-22 - Thus Solomon
finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came
into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own
house, he prosperously effected.
12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by
night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this
place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
13 If I shut up heaven that there be no
rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send
pestilence among my people;
14 If my people, which are called by my
name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from
their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their
sin, and will heal their land.
15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
16 For now have I chosen and sanctified
this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine
heart shall be there perpetually.
17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk
before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I
have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;
18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy
kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying,
There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.
19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my
statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go
and serve other gods, and worship them;
20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots
out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have
sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to
be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
21 And this house, which is high, shall
be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall
say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?
22 And it shall be answered, Because they
forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of
the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and
served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.
There is a lot in these ten verses.1 - God heard the prayer of the king and accepted the king's dedication of Israel to that of God.
2 - God will chastise, but has promised that His mercy will continue based on the actions of the nation.
3 - God promises to hear the prayers and will be attentive to a humble people and will dwell with them, blessing them and watching over them.
4 - God promises to the king that He will bless the King, His rule and the nation if the King maintains God's statutes, judgments. In other words, Keep God's Word.
5 - God also states that if the nations turns away from God to serve other gods, worship them, then He will pluck the nation up by its roots out of the land and will also cast His house out of His sight.
This is just the tip of the iceberg too. There is a lot more here, but we can cover more later.
What we know is that God is not a respecter of persons, BUT he is a respecter of the office with which that person occupies.
We clearly see that the actions of the king will reflect upon the nation. If the king worships other gods, God's chastisement will "roll down hill." It will be the nation that will feel His hand against them.
1 Peter 2:17b …Fear God. Honour the king.
The office of the king is an office ordained by God and with it comes
a huge amount of responsibility to God. But because the office is
ordained by God, the king or the leader of a nation has in a sense
"God's ear."We see this in case after case in scripture. When the King sought out God and repented, God heard the prayers of the king and forgave the nation.
Jonah 3:6-10 For word came unto the king
of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him,
and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and
published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles,
saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let
them not feed, nor drink water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with
sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from
his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they
turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had
said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Because the King of Ninevah humbled himself before God and ordered
the people to follow his example, God spared Ninevah from complete
destruction.God is not a respecter of persons, but He does respect an office of responsibility which a person holds.
The birthplace of Israel is upon the temple mount in Jerusalem, but do you know where the birthplace of our nation took place?
It
wasn't in Washington DC nor was it in Philadelphia in 1776. Our nation
was conceived in Philadelphia, but we did not become an official nation
until April 30th, 1789.That was the day that George Washington was sworn in as America's first president. In fact there is a very famous statue marking the very spot where he was sworn in.
He was inaugurated on the island of Manhattan, New York City, in front of the Federal Hall located on Wall Street.
Wall Street is where our nation actually became a nation. Federal Hall was the then current home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices. The building is still there and there is a statue of George Washington standing with his hand stretched out taking the oath of office. Why was his hand stretched out? His statue was portrayed that way so that people could see and remember that George Washington took the oath of office while resting his hand on God's Word.
On this day things were planned out and seemed to be going smoothly, but as the parade was nearing Federal Hall carrying Washington in a horse drawn carriage, it was suddenly realized that a Bible had been needed for administering the oath. Why? Because it was written into the law and a bible was required to be part of the ceremony. History shows that it was Parade Marshal Jacob Morton who hurried off and soon returned with a large 1767 King James Bible, and it was that bible with which Washington swore his oath of office.
The same King James who's charter ordained this country to sharing the gospel also gave the English speaking people the only authorized bible in history, the King James Authorized Version of the Bible.
So on April 30, 1789 our first president was sworn in at Federal Hall, our first seat of government located on Wall Street, Manhattan New York.
On April 23, it was announced to the nation that at 9:00 AM the church bells across the nation will ring for a half hour, calling the entire nation come to their house of worship and to commit our new government to the Most High God.
The Daily Advertiser reported the following…
[O]n
the morning of the day on which our illustrious President will be
invested with his office, the bells will ring at nine o’clock, when the
people may go up to the house of God and in a solemn manner commit the
new government, with its important train of consequences, to the holy
protection and blessing of the Most high. An early hour is prudently
fixed for this peculiar act of devotion and . . . is designed wholly for
prayer.
The Daily Advertiser, New York, Thursday, April 23, 1789, p. 2
After being sworn-in, George Washington delivered this nation's first “Inaugural Address” to a joint session of Congress.In it, Washington declared:
"It would be peculiarly improper to
omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that
Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils
of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect.
No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which
conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."
As the newly inaugurated President, George Washington's first act as
President was to lead on foot, the Vice President and members of the
Senate and House of Representatives, proceed to St. Paul’s Chapel.It was at St. Paul's Chapel that our nation was dedicated to God. Our newly founded Government joined our President, along with the rest of the nation, upon bent knee and in solemn prayer asked for God's favor and blessing upon this nation. It was at that time that our nation was committed by our leader and the people to God Almighty.
It is at that very moment that the ground with which our nation was dedicated, became hallowed ground.
This ground was from that point on, became a special landmark to our nation and to God.
Like the temple mount where Solomon dedicated Israel and her people to God, so did our first president. Following Solomon's example his first official act as our nation's leader was to dedicate our nation and her people to God.
Saint Paul's Chapel and the land upon which it sat, is a kin to Israel's temple mount.
The ground is hallowed to our nation.
Saint Paul's Chapel
The
chapel of the Parish of Trinity Church, St. Paul's was built on land
granted by Queen Anne of Great Britain. Land owned by one who holds an
office, recognized and ordained by God.The land owned by the chapel was of good size. In fact it is recorded that The "Hearts of Oak", a militia unit organized early in the American Revolutionary War, and comprised in part of King's College (later, Columbia University) students, would drill in the Chapel's yard before classes. (1)
Another fact about St. Paul's that Washington regularly attended services at St. Paul's during the two years New York City was the country's capital.
Remove Not The Ancient Landmarks
In scripture we are told about "the ancient landmarks." In fact we are warned in Proverbs of the following…
Proverbs 22:28 Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
Over the years the land upon which our nation was dedicated to God, slowly became forgotten.Today, barely anyone except for a few history books, remember that the land which St. Paul's stands is the very same land which our nation and her people were dedicated to God.
The ancient landmark was not moved, but something worse happened… it became forgotten.
Many people have no idea what St. Paul' Chapel means to this nation. Her history, her meaning, her hallowed ground has been totally forgotten by most of the nation and her people.
Israel Turns From God
In 2 Chronicles 7 we read what will happen to Israel if she turned her back upon God.
20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots
out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have
sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to
be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
21 And this house, which is high, shall
be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall
say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?
Because Israel turned to false gods and turned her back upon God, God
did exactly as He said he would. He pulled the people up by the roots
and destroyed the temple.The hallowed ground with which the temple was built was defiled and destroyed. God's hand of protection was lifted and the enemies of God came in and destroyed the very symbol of the nation, that being the temple, the heart of the nation.
The people lamented and asked "Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land?"
Again, just as God said it, the people wondered "WHY?"
It is because the nation and her people who were dedicated to God, by their king, turned their backs upon Him.
So He destroyed the temple because they forgot the ancient landmarks and their promise to God once given on that hallowed ground from which she was dedicated.
God began His judgment upon Israel on the very ground she was founded, the temple mount.
Our Hallowed Ground
Our nation has faced God's Judgment, just as Israel's hallowed ground was stricken. So has our hallowed ground been also stricken.
Our hallowed ground with which St Paul's sits and where our nation was dedicated to God Almighty is none other than Ground Zero.
The land that was once used to practice marching and military drill, was the same land with which the twin towers stood.
Facing Ground Zero from St Paul's Chapel.
Like Israel who was briefly invaded by Assyria, our nation has also been briefly invaded by the very same terrorist ancestors.
Like Israel's hallowed ground being destroyed, our hallowed ground has also been destroyed.
We have been warned, and God's hand of providence has been lifted.
But on that day did we humble ourselves?
No we did not.
In fact, our leaders spoke a curse upon our nation right from the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 9:10 The bricks are fallen down,
but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we
will change them into cedars.
This verse in the days and months after our nation's downfall will be repeated over and over again by our elected officials.This verse is the very attitude that Israel took after Assyria invaded the land.
Instead of humbling themselves and repenting as God told them to do in 2 Chronicles 7:14, they became hardened and prideful.
They became defiant in the face of God.
God has been warning out nation. But instead of heeding His warning the people of our nation continue to be boastful, proud and defiant in the face of God.
In my next article I will show how we have followed in the same steps as Israel, as well as show the signs of God's continued judgment upon our nation.
By Ray Gano
End Notes
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul%27s_Chapel
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