America’s Ol’ Glory Stands Test Of Time

My face lit up with childhood wonder the first time I saw fireworks bursting in the air. Such sights still catch my eye and give me childlike wonder. Such spectacular shows illuminate our Independence Day celebrations across America. “The bombs bursting in air” are not cannonballs fired from a British ship on an American fort in 1814, but dazzling contraptions designed to cause crowds to go “ooh” and “aww” as we hold our collective breath waiting for the next rocket to ascend skyward.

Inspired on Pike’s Peak in 1893, Katharine Lee Bates wrote “America the Beautiful.”

Her lyrics are a prayer: “America! America! God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.” This is a secular hymn that we heartily sing with gusto at ballparks and stadiums across our land. In that moment, patriotism has a mini-revival as red, white, and blue flags are unfurled everywhere.

Lyrics to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” written by Julia Ward Howe and published in 1862, linked the help of Almighty God in a militant but reverent way with soldiers contending for the nation’s union as the Civil war had already begun. This soldier’s patriotic marching song was heard at the National Cathedral in Washington after the 9/11 attacks. It also was used at Ronald Reagan’s funeral. In it are the oft-repeated words “Our God is marching on” (in defense of America).

When Francis Scott Key penned the words to what would become our National Anthem, he included sentiments common to that era. These were convictions held by our Founding Fathers that connected America’s birth and destiny to the providential hand of God. We know the words, “And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave, O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!” But did you know these words? “Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land, Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”

I have to admit that my heart has sunk into sad resignation as America’s institutions drift further and further away from morality, family, or faith. Are America’s best days over? Have we lost the protection and blessing of God? In thinking about this, I recalled the words of Paul as he stood on Mars Hill in Athens to address an idolatrous city. He said, “The God who … made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation…” (Acts 17:22-31). I was struck by the fact that God determines the limits of all nations. We are not autonomous as a nation, but subject to divine scrutiny. God will ultimately decide America’s lifespan.

When I was in the fifth grade, the local Gideon group sent two men to visit our public school. They presented each child a free New Testament. I treasured it! In the flyleaf was printed a fullcolor American flag. Beneath it I saw these words from the Bible: “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.” That is still true today. It is an inescapable law of cause and effect.

Sometimes folks refer to our American Flag as “Ol’ Glory.” Perhaps its glory is old and tarnished but what it stood for is still true. Yes, our nation has failed at times to practice the justice and liberty that made us great. But as individuals and citizens, we can choose to repent, forsake our wicked ways, and turn our hearts toward the Lord. We can realize that it was never our own might that made us great, but the merciful hand of Almighty God… upon whom we should still rely. RON WOOD OF FAYETTEVILLE IS A MINISTER, WRITER AND WORKS WITH EMT IN PRAIRIE GROVE. HE LIVES WITH HIS WIFE, LANA, AND A RETIRED JACK RUSSELL TERRIER, NEAR THEIR SIX LOVELY GRANDCHILDREN. EMAIL: WOOD.STONE.RON@GMAIL.COM.