God’s Covenant With America

GOD’S COVENANT WITH AMERICA

But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt falsely with me. Hosea 6:7

All of life is covenantal. In God’s creation of the world, He established a covenant with Adam and Eve, seen in Genesis 2:15-17 and clearly referenced in Hosea 6:7. Therefore, all the key relationships of life, basic institutions and human society are covenantal in nature. The proof of this is found in the giving and taking of oaths and vows that seal these vital relationships and make life functional. People take marriage vows. Children are baptized with vows. Individuals join churches and take vows. Church officers, elders and deacons and clergymen are ordained with vows. Policemen, military personnel (both enlisted men and commissioned officers), appointed officials, and even the judges, congressmen and President of the United States take vows. Why? Because we recognize that all of life is covenantal and, as such, all of life necessitates mutual responsibilities. Duty is an unavoidable part of being human, of being made in the image of God: “I will be a God to you and you will be My people” (See Genesis 17:1-8).

This is why our Westminster Confession of Faith includes an entire chapter on “Lawful Oaths and Vows” (chapter 22). Please notice that this chapter comes after the one on “Christian Liberty” and “Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day” and before the chapters on “The Civil Magistrate,” marriage and the church. The Westminster Divines were acknowledging that all of life is covenantal.

We who are members of the PCA and who embrace both the Confession of Faith and reformed theology have no trouble accepting Covenant Theology and applying it to the Church. But are we willing to recognize that God has a Covenant with America? The Nation? Our forefathers thought so. Puritan leader and governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop, had no problem acknowledging God’s Covenant with New England. He clearly states this aboard the ship Arbella, anchored in the Massachusetts Bay in 1640. In a sermon to his fellow English pilgrims he spoke of both a Covenant with God and a City on a Hill:

Consider that wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eies of all people are uppon us; soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our god in this worke wee have undertaken and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a byword through the world.

What the American pilgrims acknowledged the American presidents have reaffirmed. After taking the oath of office of the President of the United States on January 20, 1965, Lyndon Baines Johnson gave his inaugural address to the American people. In it, he spoke of The American Covenant. He said this:

They came here—the exile and the stranger, brave but frightened—to find a place where a man could be his own man. They made a covenant with this land. Conceived in justice, written in liberty, bound in union, it was meant one day to inspire the hopes of all mankind; and it binds us still. If we keep its terms, we shall flourish.⁷

I recently read where President Obama denied that America is any longer a Christian nation. Most all of us would agree. So many see no need to seek the fulfillment of Winthrop’s vision of that City Upon a Hill. But the nature of any covenant is that it binds fathers and sons “to a thousand generations”––Abraham and Israel, a married couple and their great-grandchildren, pilgrims and an American Dream, presidents and the people. In fact, to transgress the covenant is simply to renounce God’s claim upon us and to reject the vows our forefathers took before God.

The prophets are indeed “God’s covenant prosecutors” who call us to revival through a renewal of our covenant with God. Please read Hosea 6:1-3.

In the wake of last week’s National Day of Prayer––instituted by President Lincoln and our forefathers and set to law by Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan––let us seek the word of the prophet in order to return to our Covenant with God; renew our marriage vows; refresh our church vows; remember our civic duties; restore our love and devotion to America. Seek the favor of God found in the blessings of the Covenant. Please read Psalm 33:10-12 and Psalm 144:12-15.

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

CEP: Pray for our Regional Trainers. These men and women make themselves available throughout the denomination offering training for teachers, Christian Education directors, small groups.

CC: Pray that current capital projects will proceed on schedule and within budget. Also, pray for the Lord to direct the planning of future projects.

MNA: Please pray for Ted Powers in his role as Church Planting Coordinator for MNA. Specifically, please pray for him as he casts vision for key leaders in PCA church planting around North America, provides resources for them in their Kingdom building endeavors, and as he coordinates efforts with others in presbyteries, church planting networks and churches around the denomination. Finally, pray for laborers for the harvest. There are many needs and opportunities for church planting ministries in a variety of settings around North America. Ask God to provide the resources necessary.

PCAF: Pray for the PCA Foundation’s many grant recipients, that their respective needs will continue to be met, and that God will encourage them in their ministry.

RH: Pray for the spiritual health and vitality of the Ridge Haven staff, that each one will give daily attention to their personal relationship with the Lord and continually look to Him, rest in Him and serve Him.