The Waters of Shiloah
Sunday, January 24, 2010
By Hope Smith
CD Votionals
Dear friends,
"It is essential to recall that, throughout this century, Anglo-American
principles, traditions, and, above all, RESOLVE proved to be the sole
intractable impediment to those who sought control of the world.
...Whether going about such intentions with brutal honesty, or portraying
themselves as the new 'Messiah', all of them came up against one
intractable impediment: the English-speaking world, more specifically
Britain and the United States." [Balint Vazsonyi, 1995, "The Price of
Survival," from "America on My Mind," emphasis added] Why? Because
Britain and America have been steeped in the Christian, Biblical law of
liberty and Gospel of peace as the foundation of civil government and
society. Early Americans brought the legal and civil traditions of
England to these shores, amending and expanding on them in the
establishment of their own local governments.
We are in danger of losing both the heritage and the resolve today,
because we are (and have been for several generations already) being
steeped in atheism and a denial of God, Christ, and the Bible--which are
the very foundations of the liberty and prosperity which we have enjoyed
and which has attracted people from every nation to come here to live.
Vice is exalted and extolled and promoted, while virtue is mocked and
scorned and despised.
"Jehovah spoke also to me again, saying, 'Forasmuch as these people refuse
the waters of Shiloah which go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's
son: now, therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the waters of the
river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory--and he
shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks, and he
shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach
even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the
breadth of your land, O Immanuel.' " [Isaiah 8:5-8] I believe the Lord is
speaking here of their refusal of His rule over them and His gracious
protection, in favor of "an arm of flesh"--as the military might of Rezin
and Remaliah's son... Originally, Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah,
the son of Remaliah (king of Israel), were raised up as enemies to Judah
to bring God's judgment and correction to an unfaithful people. [2 Kings
15:37; Isaiah 7:1] Instead of receiving the correction, however, they
apparently adopted the ways of the oppressor and called on Assyria's king
and military power for deliverance.
"...the waters of Shiloah which go softly..." Just as there are two kinds
of people, there are two types of government: that which acknowledges the
supremacy or sovereignty of God and His law, and that which does not. The
waters of Shiloah are the waters of government that issue from the throne
of God and bring no oppression or burden with them, but liberty, peace,
and blessing--they "go softly," watering all things in their path and
causing them to flourish. These were the waters preferred by our American
forebears when they chose "no king, but King Jesus" and founded a nation
on the principles of Christianity and the eternal rule of God and His
moral law.
The people of Judah turned to the Assyrians for help, and the same
scripture contrasts "the king of Assyria and all his glory" to the softly
flowing waters of Shiloah which they have refused, describing the
Assyrians as a river overflowing its banks and rising even to the neck
throughout Judah. We can envision the destruction and ruin that come in
the wake of such an overflowing river--it washes away all that is in its
path, rather than simply watering it and causing it to flourish. That is
the difference between the rule of God and the rule that denies God and
claims itself to be in His place--the difference between liberty with
peace and tyranny with terror.
In seeking to restore the Constitutional foundation of this nation, we
must first of all restore the foundation of the fear of God and a zeal for
His law and glory. We can be one nation under God, or one nation under
the most ruthless and despotic who seek power.
John Witherspoon
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John Witherspoon, in May of 1776, preached a sermon titled "The Dominion
of Providence over the Passions of Men," and I think we can draw benefit
from that exhortation today: "...if your cause is just, if your principles
are pure, and if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude
of opposing hosts...you may look with confidence to the Lord and intreat
Him to plead [your cause] as His own. ...He is able to write
disappointment on the wisest human schemes, and by the word of His power
to frustrate the efforts of the greatest monarch on earth. ...I have
said, if your principles are pure--the meaning of this is: if your present
opposition to the claims of the British ministry does not arise from a
seditious and turbulent spirit, or a wanton contempt of legal authority;
from a blind and factious attachment to particular persons or parties; or
from a rapacious disposition, and a desire to turn public confusion to
private profit--but from a concern for the interest of your country, and
the safety of yourselves and your posterity...
[If] to the justice of your cause,and the purity of your principles,
you add prudence in your conduct, there will be the greatest reason to
hope, by the blessing of God, for prosperity and success. By prudence in
conducting this important struggle, I have chiefly in view union,
firmness, and patience. Everybody must perceive the absolute necessity of
union. ...Remember the vicissitude of human things, and the usual course
of Providence. How often has a just cause been reduced to the lowest ebb,
and yet WHEN FIRMLY ADHERED TO, has become finally triumphant...
Suffer me to recommend to you an attention to the public interest of
religion, or in other words, zeal for the glory of God and the good of
others. ...NOTHING IS MORE CERTAIN THAN THAT A GENERAL PROFLIGACY AND
CORRUPTNESS OF MANNERS MAKE A PEOPLE RIPE FOR DESTRUCTION. A good form of
government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but
beyond a certain pitch, even the best constitution will be ineffectual,
and slavery must ensue. On the other hand, when the manners of a nation
are pure, when true religion and internal principles maintain their vigor,
the attempts of the most powerful enemies to oppress them are commonly
baffled and disappointed. ...What follows from this? That he is the best
friend to American liberty, who is most sincere and active in promoting
true and undefiled religion, and who sets himself with the greatest
firmness to bear down profanity and immorality of every kind. Whoever is
an avowed enemy to God, I [do not hesitate] to call him an enemy to his
country...
It is therefore your duty in this important and critical season to
exert yourselves, every one in his proper sphere, to stem the tide of
prevailing vice, to promote the knowledge of God, the reverence of His
name and worship, and obedience to His laws. ...It is as genuine and
perhaps a more culpable hypocrisy to appear to have less religion than you
really have, than to appear to have more. This false shame is a more
extensive evil than is commonly apprehended. We contribute
constantly, though insensibly, to form each others' character and
manners; and therefore, the usefulness of a strictly holy and
conscientious deportment is not confined to the possessor, but spreads its
happy influence to all that are within its reach. ...But I cannot content
myself with barely recommending a silent example. There is a dignity in
virtue which is entitled to authority, and ought to claim it. In many
cases it is the duty of a good man, by open reproof and opposition, to
wage war with profaneness...
Upon the whole, I beseech you to make a wise improvement of the present
threatening aspect of public affairs, and to remember that your duty to
God, to your country, to your families, and to yourselves, is the same.
True religion is nothing else but an inward temper and outward conduct
suited to your state and circumstances in providence at any time. And, as
peace with God and conformity to Him adds to the sweetness of
created comforts while we possess them, so in times of difficulty and
trial, it is in the man of piety and inward principle, that we may expect
to find the uncorrupted patriot, the useful citizen, and the invincible
soldier. God grant that in America true religion and civil liberty may be
inseparable, and that the unjust attempts to destroy the one, may in the
issue tend to the support and establishment of both." ["Political Sermons
of the American Founding Era: 1730-1805," Ellis Sandoz, ed., emphasis
added]
For the truth and the glory of the God of truth,
Hope Smith
“Be of good courage, and let us act the men for our people, and for the
cities of our God: and Jehovah do that which seems good to Him.” [2 Samuel
10:12]
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