WHILE WE ARE "TRYING"
try WILLIAM SAMUEL JOHNSON, signer of the US Constitution::
"You this day, gentlemen, assume new characters, enter into new relations, and consequently incur new duties. You have by the favor of Providence, and the attention of friends, received a public education , the purpose whereof hath been to qualify you the better to serve your Creator and your country…
Your first great duties, you are sensible, are those you owe to Heaven, to your Creator and Redeemer. Let these ever be present to your minds, and exemplified in your lives and conduct.
………Remember, too, that you are the redeemed of the Lord, that you are bought with a price, even at the inestimable price of the precious blood of the Son of God. Adore Jehovah, therefore as your God and your Judge. Love fear and serve Him as your Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Acquaint yourselves with Him in his word and holy ordinances."
or try ROGER SHERMAN:
I believe that there is one only living and true God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the same in substance equal in power and glory.
That the scriptures of the old and new testaments are a revelation from God, and a complete rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.
or try GEORGE READ:
Signer of the Declaration of Independence, signer of the constitution, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware. Known as “the Father of Delaware,” G. Read wrote “the first edition of her laws” and the Constitution of the state of Delaware. The requirements , stated in the state’s Constitution, necessary for holding office include:
‘ DELAWARE 1776. Article XXII. Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust….shall…make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit: “I_____, do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration. :”
or try JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”
“From the day of the Declaration….they [the American people] were bound by the laws of God. Which they all, and by the laws of the Gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledge as rules of their conduct.”
A quote out of a speech in 1838, “ Sir, I might go through the whole of the sacred history of the Jews to the advent of our Saviour……….
Even at 77 years old, JQAdams says this: “The bible carries with it the history of the creation, the fall and redemption of man, and it discloses to him, in the infant born at Bethlehem, the Legislator and Saviour of the world.
And in an article he writes this:
There are two prayers that I love to say--the first is the Lord’s Prayer, and because the Lord taught it; and the other is what seems to b a child’s prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep,” and I love to say that because it suits me. I have been repeating it every night for many years past, and I say it yet, and I expect to say it my last night on earth if I am conscious. But I have added a few words more to the prayer so as to express my trust in Christ, and also to acknowledge what I ask, for I ask as a favor, and not because I deserve it. This is it:
“Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take;
For Jesus’ sake. Amen.”
or try JACOB BROOM
Signer of the constitution of the US, banker , farmer, merchant, surveyor. In the Official Papers of Delaware, written in 1909 he was described as such: ….as an accepted fact that the “foundation of all permanent prosperity is a right regard for the Divine Being”, it is proper to say that Jacob Broom was a God fearing man.
As a delegate from the state of Delaware, he would have complied with the requirements for office as stipulated by his state’s constitution, which included the oath to God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Ghost. (Article XXII)
In a letter to his son written in 1794: Do not be so flattered as to relax in your application; do not forget to be a Christian. I have said much to you on this head, and I hope an indelible impression is made.
or try RICHARD BASSETT
One of the signers of the US Constitution also a delegate from Delaware (remember art. XXII) . Converted to Methodism, freed his slaves and made them hired workers, was described by Major William Pierce of Georgia, as such:
A religious enthusiast, lately turned Methodist, who serves his country because it is the will of the people that he should do so. He is a man of plain sense, and has modesty enough to hold his tongue. He is a gentlemanly man, and is in high estimation among Methodists.
or try JAMES McHENRY
A signer of the US Constitution, a member of the Contintental Congress, US Secy of War, a physician, and a president of the first Bible society in Baltimore. He wrote this article:
Neither, in considering this subject, let it be overlooked, that public utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy Scriptures.
The doctrine they preach, the obligations they impose, the punishment they threaten, the rewards they promise, the stamp and image of divinity they bear, which produces a conviction of their truths, can alone secure to society, order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government, purity, stability and usefulness.
In vain, without the Bible, we increase penal laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions. Bibles are strong entrenchments. Where they abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses, and at the same time enjoy quiet conscience.
Consider also, the rich do not possess aught more precious than their Bible, and that the poor cannot be presented by the rich with anything of greater value. Withhold it not from the poor. It is a book of councils and directions, fitted to every situation in which man can be placed. It is an oracle which reveals to mortals the secrets of heavens and the hidden will of the Almighty…..
It is an estate, whose title is guaranteed by Christ, whose delicious fruits ripen every season, survive the worm, and keep through eternity. It is for the purpose of distributing this divine book more effectually and extensively among the multitudes, whose circumstances render such a donation necessary, that your cooperation is most earnestly requested.
or try JOHN LANGDON
A signer of the US Constitution, a US Sentator, Governor of Hew Hampshire, merchant and soldier. One of the founders and and the first President of the New Hampshire Bible Society.
Following a visit by then President Monroe, in 1817, the local newspaper reported the following:
While at Portsmouth, the President spent part of the Sabbath which was not devoted to public service, with that eminent patriot and Christian, John Langdon.
or try WILLIAM LIVINGSTON
Signer of the US Constitution, member of congress, first Governor of New Jersey, General in the militia.
In March 1776 he wrote this, as recorded in the Journal of Congress, and was passed without dissent.
‘ We earnestly recommended that Friday, the 17th day of May next, be observed by the colonies as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer, that we may with united hearts confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by a sincere repentance and amendment of life appease God’s righteous displeasure, and through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ obtain His pardon and forgiveness.’
or try JOHN ADAMS
In October, 1774 John Adams writes his wife saying: ‘ This day I went to Dr. Allisons meeting in the afternoon, and heard the Dr. Francis Allison…give a good discourse upon the Lord’s supper…
I had rather go to Church. We have better sermons, better prayers, better speakers, softer, sweeter music, and genteeler company.
In other writings he wrote: ‘The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount contain my religion…
‘As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation.’
That you and I shall meet in a better world I have no doubt than we now exist on the same globe; if my reason did not convince me of this; Cicero’s dream of Scipio, and his essay on Friendship and Old Age would have been sufficient for that purpose. But Jesus taught us that a future state is a social state, when He promised to prepare places in his Father’s house of many mansions, for His disciples.’
I have about 797 more pages but it would take a while to type them all....:o)...you just keep beating on those few that were Deists. |
