THIS IS AMERICA'S HOUR
A Sermon on America's Opportunity
TEXT: "The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all humankind. From where he sits enthroned he watches all the inhabitants of the earth ... and observes all their deeds." -Psalm 33:13-15
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 33:1-17
A teacher of American History asked the following question of her class: "A distinguished foreigner was a big help to the American colonists during the Revolutionary War," she said. "Can anyone give me his name?" [Of course, all of you know the answer because our neighboring county is named after him. He was General Lafayette.] One young fellow felt he knew the answer. "It was God." he said.
That’s a pretty good answer, "a distinguished foreigner who helped the colonists." Is there anyone in this sanctuary this morning who is not thankful for our God-given freedom as Americans?
Please don’t misunderstand. I am not confusing America with the Kingdom of God. I was amused to read that an English lady accosted George Beverly Shea after a Billy Graham Crusade in London. She felt it was in poor taste for
One of our members said to me that he had learned a new big word. The word was "anthropomorphism." It is a good word for students of the Bible to know. It means to attribute to God human characteristics. When the Bible speaks of "the right hand of God," or when we read that God hid his face from Moses, it is an anthropomorphism.
Some people seem to think there is something wrong with an anthropomorphism, but as long as we know that God is Spirit -- as long as we know that God is Spirit -- that God’s ways are not our ways and God’s thoughts are not our thoughts -- as long as we remember that, there is nothing wrong with describing God in human terms. Since we are finite humans, what other way do we have to describe the nature of God?
I am sure that God must smile at the many anthropomorphisms, figures, similes and pictures we have put together in our attempt to describe God and His attributes. We have pictured God as a Ruler upon a throne, as a Father in the heavens providing for his children, as the Lord of Hosts leading his army to battle, as a Judge upon the bench pronouncing his judgments. God has been pictured as a Mother bending over the cradle of humanity and taking care of her children.
One anthropomorphic picture that I have seen is one where God was sitting at the table of the universe playing chess. He is playing a great game of strategy. His aim is to build the Kingdom of Righteousness. He has given humankind "free will" so that he cannot determine their moves. Sometimes the moves that are made upon the chessboard are made to intentionally thwart God’s plans. Yet one knows that, whatever moves are made, the ultimate victory belongs to God. The final maps of the nations will be made in heaven.
Use this picture of the chess table as you listen to the reading of the 33rd Psalm:
The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all humankind.
From where he sits enthroned he watches
all the inhabitants of the earth --
he who fashions the hearts of them all,
and observes all their deeds.
a king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
. . . . . . . . . .
The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
And then there is this great truth:
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.
As nations served His divine purpose they remained on the chessboard of history -- BUT WHEN THEY GOT IN HIS WAY, OR IN THE WAY OF THE GOOD OF HUMANKIND, HE REMOVED THEM FROM THE BOARD.
I don’t know if you are familiar with Arnold J. Toynbee’s monumental books, a Study of History. It is an ambitious history of all of the civilizations that have inhabited the earth. According to Toynbee., 19 great civilizations have been removed from the chess board of history.
Benjamin Franklin, at the framing of the American constitution, when he was 81 years old, spoke these words: "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? 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."
History has been my favorite subject, and at the risk of boring you who don’t like history, I want to share with you what I think is a panoramic scan of all of history. My point is to show how the great chess master has been active in the whole scope of history. I believe God has been moving among nations and peoples.
Israel was the first of the "chosen people;" that is, they were chosen for the accomplishment of God’s purpose. First Israel must be tutored. She must learn obedience to God. This obedience had to be learned in captivity. Thus Babylon is raised up and becomes a mighty nation. Israel is carried away in the Babylonian captivity. It is there in the suffering of captivity that most of the Old Testament was collected and set down in writing. It was there that the prophets began to be appreciated. It was there that God’s people learned obedience and reached out a hand to God’s guidance.
So what happened? Persia now rises to power. Cyrus, the great Persian king, is called by the prophet Isaiah, a "tool of Jehovah," Isaiah calls him "God’s chosen one." Cyrus restores Israel.
Then Persia disappears and Greece is born. a light of hope is soon to break. "Immanuel" -- God with us -- is soon to be born. The whole world needs to hear him, and the Greeks are used by God to bring a common language and a common culture to the world. Do you think it is just an accident that the New Testament is written in Greek? Greek is the language of philosophy -- the language that can express ideas more adequately. Even today, we say "The Greeks have a word for it."
But the Greeks lack certain spiritual qualities and Greece will fall. The Romans come to power. What a contribution Rome makes to prepare for the Christian era! Rome will give to the world a sense of world empire. Rome will build, for her empire, a system of roads that will carry God’s message to every nation. Paul wanted to preach the gospel in Rome because he knew it would flow from there to the ends of the empire.
I hope you are still with me. God’s hand in the destiny of nations did not end with the closing of the pages of sacred scripture. God continued to work in history as he had always done ... as he continues to do.
Rome fell to the Goths and the Huns. These Germans were barbarians, but they had the potential for spiritual insight. The great German mind builds universities that will become the center of Christian thought. It is no accident that the Reformation began with the German, Martin Luther.
England was used by God in powerful ways. Her greatest queen held in her hand a Bible and said, "England is the land of the book." Her empire carried the Elizabethan English of the King James Bible to the four corners of the world.
But listen. I have told this thumbnail account of history to say this: AMERICA IS NOW ON THE STAGE OF HISTORY; THIS IS AMERICA’s HOUR.
If we have learned anything from history, we should know that this is nothing to boast about. It is an opportunity and a challenge. God has put His hand on us. He can use us for advancement of the fulfillment of His purpose.
The founders of this nation, better than we, recognized that we were placed here by God for a purpose. The pilgrim fathers, by the light of the smoking lamp on the Mayflower, before landing at Plymouth, inserted these words in the Mayflower Compact: "We whose names are underwritten have undertaken for the glory of God to establish in Virginia the first colony for the advancement of the Christian faith."
Ten years later, in 1630, other Pilgrims said in the New England Federation Compact: "We all have come into these parts of America with one and the same end, namely to advance the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Franklin, Jefferson and Adams were appointed as a committee to design a seal for this nation. What did they choose as a symbol of our national goal? They chose the fall of Pharaoh’s army at the hand of Moses and the Israelites as they were led by God into the new Promised Land. Our fathers recognized that in some way we were being led by God. They recognized that in some way our purpose as a nation was God’s purpose.
The principles on which America was founded were born in the Bible: all people are equal before the law; peace is more desired than war; all races of humankind are of one blood; the dignity and importance of the individual; liberty and justice for all.
On this, the 231st anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, let us celebrate America during America’s hour upon the stage of history! Let us give thanks for our heritage. Let us remember with gratitude those men and women who have sacrificed to make us a great nation.
But let us also pray that we shall be faithful to the fulfilment of God’s purpose for us. Let us pray that we shall have a rebirth of the spirit of liberty and justice.
Let me read again from our text:
"The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all humankind.
From where he sits enthroned he watches
all inhabitants of the earth ...
And then the Psalmist adds:
Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
On those who hope is in his steadfast love.
Let me close this celebration of America with the prayer of George Washington:
"Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer, that thou wilt keep the United States in thy holy protection, that thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to the government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. Amen."
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
