I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts. Psalm 119:45
The Pennsylvania State House was hot, humid, and charged with emotion in June and July of 1776, when representatives for the thirteen colonies came together for a second time to redress their grievances with Great Britain, their mother country, now considered an oppressive government.
The Second Continental Congress reached a climax on July 2, when the representatives of the colonies voted in one accord to sever their ties with Britain. Two days later, the Declaration of Independence, officially called the Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America, was ratified, and would be signed later that summer.
In making their Declaration, the signers had taken a radical step. They had pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor and risked conviction for treason in order to gain liberty for themselves and posterity.
July 4, 1776 is a date more important than most of us realize. On that day, a nation was born, whose citizens have enjoyed a greater degree of civil liberty than any other previous nation in history, since the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.
How to celebrate Independence Day with your family:
- Fly your flag.
- Sing patriotic songs such as The Star Spangled Banner, My Country ‘Tis of Thee, and God Bless America. Sing all of the verses and discuss the meaning.
- Discuss the meaning of liberty using Webster’s 1828 Dictionary.
- Define and discuss the concepts of internal and external liberty.
- Read the history of the Declaration of Independence.
- Read the entire Declaration and discuss important phrases such as “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”; “endowed by their Creator”; “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”; “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world”; “and with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.”
- Read and discuss the sacrifices that were made by the signers.
- Talk about strategies for the preservation of our liberties—especially religious liberty.
“Almighty God, who has given us this good heritage, we humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves 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 out of many kindreds and tongues. Endow with the spirit of wisdom those who in Thy name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be peace and justice 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 prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail. Amen”
Prayer by George Washington for our Nation