“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people mourn.”

— Proverbs 29:2

The United States’ Constitution was signed September 17, “in the year of our Lord,” 1787. Today, we are often led to believe that it was a product of secularism. But that is not true.

Before the founding fathers ever sat down to write a Constitution, they had behind them more than 150 years or so of constitution-making of sorts by various Christian settlers of this country. The Mayflower Compact of 1620 was the first such example. The Pilgrims put on paper a political charter based on the biblical concept of covenant. This was the first of about 100 or so charters, compacts, frames of government, paving the way to the Constitution. In 1639, a Puritan colony produced the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, which mentions the importance of “the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.” That document was inspired by a sermon and was a key step on the way to the U.S. Constitution. That is why Connecticut prides itself as being “the constitution state.”

A study of the 55 founders who met in Philadelphia in 1787 and produced what has been called “the miracle in Philadelphia” found that at least 52 of them were men in good standing with Trinitarian churches. These were not secular men, but Christians. While John Adams was not present during the proceedings, he nonetheless played a pivotal role in the nation’s founding. He said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Pray for America to get back on the right track.

Oh, Lord, help us to live our lives pleasing to You, so that we, too, may influence the people around us and build something strong and lasting in Your name…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN HELP
RETURN THIS NATION TO HIM.