Not Entirely Gone
Liturgy and Worship - Exhortation
Written by Douglas Wilson
Saturday, July 02, 2011
As you know, tomorrow is the 4th of July. This is the day on which we as Americans commemorate our independence from the tyranny that was being driven by the Parliament of England, but which was allowed by the king—who was constitutionally bound to protect us from all such usurpations. Because he failed in this fundamental constitutional duty, we no longer owed him our constitutional allegiance.
Now that declaration of independence had particular political details tangled up with it, tied to that time and place. Now I trust that when you set off your fireworks tomorrow night, you will teach your children to shout, “Down with the House of Hanover!” At the same time, the House of Hanover is not the present threat.
Though the names of the villains change, and their seats of power and influence move around, and the circumstances vary, the problem of usurpation is a problem that confronts every generation. In the centuries since that first Fourth, the problem has grown significantly worse. Statist idolaters today grasp at far more than the old-timey usurpers ever did, whether in matters great or small. George III never even attempted to confiscate everybody’s incandescent light bulbs, and George III never maintained that the practice of dismembering unborn children was a constitutional right.
One of the most obvious features of the American Founding is that our fathers knew that Americans (like all other sinners) were not to be trusted with unlimited power. They put padlocks on everything they could see . . . because they knew that Americans are not to be trusted. That ability was an exceptional grace, but in our day we have lost it. Instead of trusting in God, as our money claims, we have learned to trust in man—that broken reed!—instead. As you celebrate tomorrow, do not be superficial. You are celebrating a freedom that is not yet entirely gone.
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