One Nation, Under God

George Washington said. “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts in the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinquished by some token of Providential agency…We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven cannot be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained.”

 

Let me tell you about an instance of this marvelous Hand of God in behalf of the colonists during the American Revolution.  It happened at Dorchester Heights. At the time, the British were occupying Boston, 10, 000 strong. Washington felt compelled to fortify Dorchester Heights to try to drive the British away. During the night the soldiers carried bales of hay and drove wagons with fortification supplies up the hill in darkness and utmost quietness. It was a hazy night, down at the foot of the hill, that is. Once the men got to the top, it was crystal clear and they could see to build their fortifications.

 

In the morning when the British general awoke, he was stunned to see that the colonial army occupied the hill! He was reported to have said, “The American army got more done in one night than my men would have gotten done in 6 months!

 

Still, he prepared his cannons on his ships to take the hill. The colonists had no cannons at this point. That night a “natural disaster” occurred in favor of the American troops. A terrible storm blew up such as no one had seen. It blew the British ships into disarray and broke their masts. In the morning, the General saw his ships wrecked and knew by the time he got things repaired, the Americans would have had time enough to have a real advantage.

 

Rev. William Gordon, a local preacher, later said, “When I heard in the night how amazingly strong the wind blew I pleased myself with the reflection that the Lord might be working delivery for us and thus prevent the diffusion of human blood. It proved to be so.”

 

Without the shedding of a drop of blood, the British quickly withdrew their 10, 000 soldiers from the city of Boston on March 17, 1776. The victory at Dorchester Heights gave great confidence to the Americans! 

John Quincy Adams,son of John Adams later wrote, “Posterity, you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”  That statement pierced me deeply. We have forgotten what it cost! We, in most cases, never truly learned what it cost. We are ignorant. God grant that we may change that fact and rediscover these truths, teach them to our children and pray that God will once again pour out His blessing on our land! 

~Marilyn