First Prayer In Congress
"Lord our Heavenly Father, High and Mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech thee, on these our American States, who have fled to thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent on Thee, to Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give; take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle! Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst Thy people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. all this we ask In the Name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior. Amen."
The First Prayer offered in Congress
September 7th, 1774 by Jacob Duche in Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia
What a prayer to have offered in a Congress in which the majority now scorns the idea of dedicating our nation's work to a higher power! What powerful words to tear down the false opinion that our nation was not founded on Christian morals, by Christian men. Oh, to have such Godly men in Congress today! May we seek to set the men who went before us as examples in our governing today.
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5 comments:
Jen..
I like the new photo in the sidebar...'Ol Mama Deuce!! Hope you are having a good year so far!!
MDG
well, we're not all Christian anymore. Keith Ellison is Muslim, Charles Schumer is Jewish. As is Joe Lieberman.
You are absolutley right, Jennifer. We do need more Godly men in Congress, and in the Executive and Judicial branches as well.
Kim, it is true that not every memeber of Congress is a christian. It is also true that there are many members of Congress who identify themselves with various christian denominations. However, some of these individuals,despite thier claims to 'religious faith' refuse to stand up for the unborn, the elderly and the disabled. Nor do they stand up in defense of the institution of marriage. I often wonder how they can call themselves believers.
Despite what revisionist historians would like us to believe, America was founded by christian individuals. Although they differed in some matters of theolgy, these individuals believed in God,and they publicly acknowledged their belief in Him, and in His ultimate control of the universe. They also believed in the concept of religious freedom. In fact, freedom of conscience is a christian idea. Patrick Henry, who was a commited christian, put it this way,
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ! For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."
Yes, Jennifer, we need more statesmen in America who will put principles ahead of politics.
Paragraph 3 of Article 6 of the US Constitution:
"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
So why do we need an all christian govornment? This document made by our founding fathers said it shouldn't be that way. There are good people in every religion...and good people who belong to no religion. Likewise, there are bad people of all religions as well. So the issues are inportant...not their faith. Faith is a personal matter...not a govornment issue.
Please stop breathing this propoganda down my throat. If you must be faithful...please do so with you and your family. I am happy that you have faith...and I am happy that I don't have to have one. Let's just live together in peace like it was intended.
BTW...I don't think Jesus would vote if he were alive today. He would see behind all the masks our "faithful" canidates use to get us to the voting booth.
And I can't wait for a Jewish or atheist president. That is in no way to insult the Jewish faith.
Interesting - and even more so for how non-denominational it is. Except for the very last line, it's something that could have been delivered by a member of any faith!
How great our country is that today the daily invocation before Congress can be delivered by a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jew - or any Person of Faith.
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