10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.
1st Timothy chapter 2 says:
1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Last October, the Orange County Register reported on a new billboard going up, featuring a presumed quote from Thomas Jefferson. The quote reads, "I do not find in Christianity one redeeming feature. It is founded on fables and mythology."
Bruce Gleason, whose group paid for this and other recent atheism billboards that have gone up in O.C. in recent months, said Wednesday he wasn't sure about the origin of the quote.
He agreed that Monticello was an authoritative source.
"You're absolutely right," he said. "I should have done the research before I put my billboard up."
The quote on the billboard is an abridged version of a quote that first appeared in a 1906 book called "Six Historic Americans," by John E. Remsburg, who attributed it to a "Letter to Dr. Woods."
David Barton of WallBuilders has gained a bit of attention recently with his book, "The Jefferson Lies", which highlights some beliefs and quotes from Jefferson which are not his.
During Thomas Jefferson's term as Governor of Virginia, he signed a proclamation for a day of "Thanksgiving and Prayer" to be held on December 9, 1779. Even though he did seem to express some hesitancy to do so as President, he still understood the importance of prayer. He said:
To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others.And, he said:
But the greatest of all the reformers of the depraved religion of His own country, was Jesus of Nazareth.
At his inauguration in 1801, he said this prayer:
"Almighty God, Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people, the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those whom in Thy name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth. In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
A few years before, President George Washington had called for a day of national thanksgiving, proclaiming:
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and
Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
In 1789 George Washington along with Congress attended a service at St. Paul's Chapel in New York City after his swearing in. The ceremony was presided over by Bishop Samuel Provoost. No similar service is known until 1933.
In 1863, in proclaiming a national day of prayer and fasting, Abraham Lincoln wrote:
We
have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have
been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown
in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we
have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved
us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we
have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these
blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to
feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray
to the God that made us!
We follow in the footsteps of great leaders, and can be reminded to pray for those whom God Himself has placed in leadership over us.
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