Theme for this week: Presidents Day
February 22, 2022 (Tuesday)
Yesterday was Presidents Day. I named all the presidents in yesterday’s blog, and promised to write about four of them on the remaining four days of this week. Today is George Washington’s birthday. It seems reasonable that his name would be among the presidents most remembered.
Washington was born 282 years ago today in Virginia. In 1775, he was made Commander in Chief of the Continental army (only 14,000 men at that time) and in 1781, after six long, hard years of battle, forced the British to surrender. Eight years later, he became our first president. He later wrote that anyone should be able to see the hand of God in these events.
He was a man of strong convictions, had a noble air about him, and is remembered as a dignified gentleman who lived on the high ground of devotion to ethical principle. He chaired the group that wrote the Constitution of the United States. After serving two terms as president, he retired to Virginia and died in 1799.
The winter of 1777-1778 was unbearably cold, and the army was suffering in many ways, but Washington inspired the men with his faith. He was quartered at the house of Isaac Potts, who later told of how he was on his way to the creek one morning when he heard the voice of prayer. He discovered the General, on his knees on the snow-covered ground, his cheeks wet with tears. When Potts told his wife about it, he said, “If there is anyone to whom the Lord will listen, it is George Washington, and under such a Commander our Independence is certain.”
On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. He insisted upon having a Bible upon which he would swear to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The ceremony began only after one was found in a nearby church and brought to the scene. Let us all breathe a prayer of thanks to God for bringing such a man to us. He is indeed the “Father of our Country.”
MY COUNTRY, ‘TIS OF THEE
1
My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From ev’ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!
2
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.
3
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
4
Our fathers’ God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom’s holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.
Wikipedia presents 13 verses of this hymn. Click here to go to the site.
