Turn with me please to the one hundred and forty-forth Psalm, as we speak today on the subject; "Happy is that people whose God is the Lord." Reading the 144^th Psalm, "Blessed by the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. My goodness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me. Lord, what is man that Thou takest knowledge of him, or the Son of Man that Thou makest a count of him. Man is like vanity. His days are as shadow that passeth away. Bow thy heavens O Lord and come down. Touch the mountains and they shall smoke. Cast forth lightening and scatter them. Shoot out thine arrows and destroy them. Send Thine hand from above, rid me and deliver me out of great waters; from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity. In their right hand is the right hand of falsehood. I will sing a new song unto thee, O God. Upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings do I sing praises unto thee. It He that giveth salvation unto kings; who delivereth David from the hurtful sword. Rid me and delilver me from the hand of strange children whose mouth speaketh vanity; in their right hand is the right hand of falsehood. That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace; that our garners may be full, affording all manor of store; that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets ; that our oxen may be strong to labor; that there be no breaking in or going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. Happy is that people that is in such a case. Yea, Happy is that people whose God is the Lord."

Will you bow with me, please, for a moment of prayer. Heavenly Father, we pray that as we think, today, upon our nation and the great happiness that we've enjoyed so many ways, for so many years. As we think, dear Lord, that there are many forces like many winds, blowing across our land. Some of them are destructive forces that would take away all the blessing of God from this land. And yet, O God, there are other forces. There are the people of God who stand; there are still the people of God who are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. There are still people of God whose prayers rise to Thy throne of grace. And O Lord, we pray that Your people will continue to walk before Thee in such a way that You'll be pleased to continue a hand of blessing instead of a hand of judgment on this nation. We ask this in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen.

I would like to speak to you first of all this morning about the greatness of America. I believe the United States of America was founded on God. The Spanish were the first to come to America. They came to America for gold, but God did not give America to the Spanish.

The French were the next to come to America, and they came to America for gain. But God did not give America to the French. The English came. Their first excursion was also for gain, but God did not give America to those who came for gain. The Pilgrims came to America for God, and God gave America to the Pilgrims.

When our Pilgrims came in that cold month of December, 1620 , I believe it was, the little boat with which they came ashore was overturned. They would not light a fire because it was what was to them the Sabbath day . They would not violate their convictions, as they understood them, of breaking the Sabbath day. So they walked up and down, all night long, on the shoreline. They could freeze to death but they could not violate their convictions. They went aboard the Mayflower. They penned the Mayflower Compact, which began with these words; "In the name of God, amen,. Having undertaken, for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith, do by these present, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic." My friends, the Puritans came, not only to establish a political government, but they came for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith. In 1636, there had not been one government in history that guaranteed religious liberty. But in that year of 1636, Roger Williams founded the first Baptist church of Providence, Rhode Island. He penned for the first time, a charter guaranteeing absolute religious liberty and civil democracy.

The first regional constitution written in the United States of America was the constitution of the New England Confederation. It was drafted in 1643. It stated very clearly, "Whereas we all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purity with peace." My friend, you can' t have a political government set up and founded on more spiritual and scriptural principles than that.

William Penn, from the great state of Pennsylvania, said in 1681, "If you are not governed by God, you will be ruled by tyrants." The great law of Pennsylvania was passed on December 7, 1682. The preamble stated, "whereas the glory of Almighty God and the good of mankind is the reason and end of government, and therefore government of itself is a venerable ordinance of God. And forasmuch as it is principally desired and intended to make an established law as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty." My friends, our very first constitutions in this land were constitutions that were founded on God. 

Written on the liberty bell in 1752 was this quotation from Leviticus 25:10, "Proclaim liberty through all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof."  Samuel Adams asserted in 1772, "The rights of the Colonists as Christians may be best understood by reading and carefully studying  the institution of the great law-giver, and head of , namely the laws of nature and natures' God, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.  Appealing to the supreme judge of the world of the rectitude of our intentions with firm reliance on protection of divine providence."  A year later, on September 11, 1777, the Continental Congress voted an expenditure of $300,000.00 to buy copies of the Bible and distribute them throughout the original thirteen colonies. 

Our national constitution was based on Bible principles, drafted in prayer in 1787.  For some five months, there were fifty-five men who had come together and had labored to bring forth the constitution, and they had been unable to do so because of disagreement.  You see, the small states wanted equal representation, and the larger states wanted representation on a population basis.  It seemed that the representatives at the Constitutional convention were at loggerheads and agreement was absolutely impossible.  Then, Benjamin Franklin rose to his feet and made a motion that each session begin with prayer.  "I have lived, Sir, a long time.  And, the longer I live, the more convincing proof I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of man.  If a sparrow can not fall to the ground without