The Miracle Of Independence In 1789 as he became our nation’s first president, George Washington said the following: “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.” My friends, America and her freedom have been and are cradled in the hands of God. Now this week we will celebrate the 4th of July. But if you wouldn’t mind, may I tell you the circumstances of a certain historical July 2nd that give[s] all the meaning and heart to this wonderful holiday? At 9:30 A.M. on the morning of July 2nd, 1776, John Hancock calls the second Continental Congress to order in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. The room is hot, and the delegates are anxious. Foremost on everyone’s mind in that room today is the vote that will decide whether America will be a free and independent people, or the oppressed subjects of a distant monarch. Now what of that issue of independence? Maybe if years before, England had not fought that costly war with France, and then tried to regain that money by taxing the American colonies without their consent, or maybe if England had not so impudently refused to listen to the pleas of the colonists for their rights, or maybe if England had not been so determined to beat the upstart Americans into submission after the Boston Tea Party, or maybe a host of other things that happened, maybe independence wouldn’t be the issue that day. Or maybe if there hadn’t been so many wise men and women raised up by God living among Americans at that time in whom the fires of freedom burned so hotly, maybe independence wouldn’t be the issue in that room today. But it is the issue. This is the time, and these are the men, and this is the moment. It will the greatest decision of courage they will ever make! The day before, July the 1st, a vote had been taken late in the evening – a test vote if you will. It had stood nine colonies in favor of independence and four opposed. It was a majority, sure enough, but that was not enough. Every man in that room knew that if they did not hang together in unanimity, they would, as Franklin put it, ‘surely all … hang … together.’ There cannot be one dissenting colony. If there is, England will use it as a wedge, and split the Union apart. Finally, in the afternoon, Hancock calls for a vote on the resolution for independence. By now, the sky had grown black. Rain is coming down in sheets, and the thunder is so loud that the delegates at times cannot hear each other, when suddenly at the back of the room, the door opens, and in walks Ceasar Rodney of Delaware. Now, therein lies a story. Sitting in that room are two men representing Delaware who are on both sides of the issue of independence. They cancel out Delaware’s vote. The night before, a rider had been dispatched to Dover, Delaware with a message for Rodney to come quickly and break the deadlock in favor of independence. No one had wanted to disturb Ceasar Rodney, for you see, he was dying of cancer, and lived in constant pain. It was well known that Rodney could have gone to England for treatment, but he staunchly refused to receive aid and comfort from those he considered the enemy. Now, he stands before them still wearing his boots and spurs. He has ridden 80 miles in a chilling downpour all through the night. He is soaking wet and covered with mud. The cloth covering the large cancerous sore on his face is soaked and matted to his skin. With a fire in his eye, and a smile on his face, Rodney takes his seat amid the admiring stares of his fellows. As the vote is called, I wonder what might have been going through the minds of those men in that room. I don’t know, but maybe it was this. That very moment, there are some 130 British warships anchored in New York Harbor ready to do battle, aimed at America, the largest war fleet ever assembled in the history of the world. Moreover, tens of thousands of professional British soldiers and ruthless mercenaries stand well equipped and ready to crush the 9000 untrained farmers, merchants, and whatever that comprised Washington’s army. Surely – surely those delegates in that congress knew that of the approximately 2½ million people they represented in the colonies, one third of those are loyal to England, and they will fight from within against the patriots’ cause. The opposition was incredible, and surely they knew that England had already declared them as rebels, and if they were caught, a hangman’s noose would be their fate. The vote is called. As the night before, nine of the colonies still vote in favor. Then, the four dissenting colonies following Delaware’s lead suddenly change their vote in favor of independence. It is unanimous; it is miraculous! America, the nation of prophecy will be a land of liberty. My dear friends, the temple of American freedom was built of the bricks of divinely guided people and events, and mortared with the blood of patriots. It is precious beyond price. I do not hesitate to tell you that if we gain all the world and lose that freedom, we have lost it all. Glenn Rawson – June 2000
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 21:08:23 +0000