Independence Day

This year we celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We are a nation built upon the truths that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 

In a letter to his wife, Abigail, John Adams said that the anniversary of Independence should “be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”(1)

I hope that you have the opportunity to watch or participate in a parade this year. I hope there is plenty of pomp – red, white, and blue décor and patriotic music.

I hope you get to see a good “shew,” and play some games.

I hope your evening finishes with fireworks – either in person or televised. (I hope your dogs and other animals aren’t too traumatized for that part!)

And, we might notice that before the parade, before the pomp, before the illuminations, Adams prioritized prayer. I hope you enjoy the parade and pomp and fireworks, but I implore you to pray. May this Independence Day be a day of devotion to God. I pray that you spend some intentional time in prayer for our country. Give thanks for all that is deeply good in our United States. Offer lament for the things that are not yet as they should be. Pray that God will continue to guide us to be a nation with liberty and justice for all. 

The following prayer, For our Country, is found in the Book of Common Prayer on page 820. It was written in 1882 by the Rev. George Lyman Locke. (2)

Almighty God, who hast 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 industry, 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 multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to 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 the time of our prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(1) Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 3 July 1776, "Had a Declaration..." [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/ [Adams believed the day to be remembered was July 2, 1776, when Congress voted to approve a Resolution of Independence. The Declaration was revised and approved on July 4, 1776.]

(2) Hatchett, Marion J. Commentary on the American Prayer Book. Seabury Press, 1980.