"When The Righteous Thrive, The People Rejoice, But When A Wicked Man Rules, The People Groan"

That verse is found in the Book of Proverbs, chapter 29 and verse 2 and its profundity is eternal regardless of whether or not a person or a nation believes the Bible.

Here in the United States we haven't had "rulers," as such, as other nations have had throughout the ages, Our elected officials have generally been aware of their temporal term in office and have, for the most part, submitted to the law of the land which is our United States Constitution. After all, they do take an oath to uphold that Constitution.

O' sure, we've had dishonest presidents, immoral presidents, misguided, naive and maybe even stupid presidents in my lifetime, but I don't really think any of them have been "wicked." That would be a pretty serious charge.

I won't call our current president and his ilk "wicked" but people all across the country are, in fact, groaning about the downward spiral besetting virtually every aspect of our society. Mainstream culture has become course and ribald. Language is becoming uncensored and morals are maligned as outdated and prudish. Christianity is openly mocked and God has been thrown out of any institution with government ties. Everything seems to be "upside down."

On the other hand, there are growing numbers of people who oppose abortion. Pro-life organizations have been very successful in closing down abortion clinics in recent years, but the current "ruling" party embraces abortion as if it were the most sacrosanct sacrament of their secular humanist religion. Even tax dollars are used to fund Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest provider of abortions.

But (and this is a very big but) the problems being caused by our expanding government cannot be solely blamed on the president and his willing minions. Congress is as much to blame as the Executive Branch and sadly, even more importantly, it's we the people who allowed these politicians to be elected and empowered.

Our Founding Fathers knew well of the responsibility of citizens to be well informed and engaged when it came to electing officials to positions of power. Read what Noah Webster had to say:

When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God (Exodus 18:21). The preservation of a republican government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty. If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine commands and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.

We can't sit back and bemoan the evil excesses and corruption of big government without trying to do something about it, even though it looks like we may be way beyond the point of no return. We need to be "doing the work," up until the time of Jesus' return and that "work" includes being the salt and light to the world and doing all we can to have a positive influence on society.



Posted by Rich Glasgow

"Righteousness Exalts a Nation"

Our founding fathers were well aware of the fact that godly righteousness exalts a nation. This belief was based on the Word of God in which so many of our founders were well versed. Passages throughout the Bible affirm that the righteousness of a nation is determined by how well public policies conform to God's sacred standards. Deuteronomy 28; 1 Kings 18 and 1 Chronicles 21 are but a few biblical examples.

Samuel Adams was one who believed that only God-honoring policies can exalt a nation:

(Divine) revelation assures us that 'Righteousness exalteth a nation.' Communities are dealt with in this world by the wise and just Ruler of the Universe. He rewards or punishes them according to their general character.

Frederick Douglass, a minister of the Gospel, was also a political leader long before and after the Civil War and he told his fellow citizens:

I have one great political idea...That idea is an old one. It is widely and generally assented to; nevertheless, it is very generally trampled upon and disregarded. The best expression of it, I have found in the Bible. It is in substance, 'Righteousness exalteth a nation; sin is a reproach to any people.' Sir, this constitutes my politics--the negative and positive of my politics, and the whole of my politics...I feel it my duty to do all in my power to infuse this idea into the public mind, that it may speedily be recognized and practiced upon by our people.

Pastor Francis Grimke, was born in 1850 to a slave mother in South Carolina. He served as a valet in the Confederate army until Emancipation. After the war he attended Lincoln University, Howard University and then Princeton Theological Seminary. Even though he lived through the Civil War as a boy and experienced the ravages of a terribly divided country, he was still convinced America would survive and remain united.

In a sermon given in 1909 he warned what America would become if we should depart from godly righteousness:

The Stars and Stripes--the old flag--will float...over all these states...If the time ever comes when we shall go to pieces, it will...(be) from inward corruption--from the disregard of right principles...from losing sight of the fact that 'Righteousness exalteth a nation, but that sin is a reproach to any people'...The secession of the Southern States in 1860 was a small matter with the secession of the Union itself from the great principles enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, in the Golden Rule, in the Ten Commandments, in the Sermon on the Mount. Unless we hold, and hold firmly to these great fundamental principles of righteousness...our Union...will be 'only a covenant with death and an agreement with hell' (Isaiah 28:18). If it continues to exist, it will be a curse and not a blessing.

These are a mere few of the quotes from some our forefathers who loved and feared God and His righteousness and recognized the need to look to Him and uphold His righteous ways. Our history is filled with similar examples showing how this country was built on the fundamental framework and truths set forth by God which we should follow if we wish to prosper individually and nationally.

We would be wise to revisit these eternal exhortations found throughout the Bible and put them to use in our own lives and national policies if we want to recapture the greatness of this once godly nation.


(source: The Founder's Bible, pg 958-959)


Posted by Rich Glasgow