The Declaration of Independence was written in June 1776, by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. It was adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776, severing forever British rule, birthing the United States of America.
July 4th is observed nationally with a day off work, fireworks and picnics. Just like we celebrate people’s birthdays, July 4th is a celebration of our Nation’s birthday. Just as people’s birthdays celebrate life, July 4th celebrates the life of the Nation we live in. This Nation is not a perfect nation but it is independent, free, and self-ruling. And we celebrate its 250th birthday this coming Saturday.
Like every nation, we have symbols, all coming at various stages in our growth as a Nation. There’s the United States Seal – you should check it out. It’s beautiful and the symbolism will really make you think. There’s the American Flag – we’re all familiar with Old Glory, a symbol of the freedoms we have. And there’s the Star Spangled Banner. We display these, we wave these and we sing these proudly. As we should. All of these symbols were adopted as reminders to us of who we are, where we came from as a nation, and as a focus for our future. The Star Spangled Banner, which has caused quite the controversy, was written just down the road from us.
As I was out walking at daybreak, I noticed the sun starting to peek. And I thought, this must be a little what Francis Scott Key felt in 1814 when he penned those famous words!
Oh, say, can you see by the dawn’s early light.
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming.
Although the subject is the flag, these words mean a little something different to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a patriot through and through. We fly the colors, nearly 200 on this 250th birthday, we stand for the anthem, we appreciate our forefathers who labored long and at great cost in the birthing of our Nation. We respect the original Constitution and love our homeland.
Mr. Key was talking about the flag. He saw it in the twilight and with a battle raging, he was grateful to see it still flying in the morning. Throughout the battle, the flag was constant. It was there the night before and the morning aft. Do we know of something that constant, regardless of the battle we’ve got raging in our lives? Do we know of someone that constant? Someone there the night before and the morning aft? Of course we do. God.
The Lord guided them by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. That way they could travel whether it was day or night. And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from their sight.
Exodus 13:21-22
Who the Israelites saw in the morning, by the dawn’s early light, was the last thing they had seen at the twilight’s last gleaming. He was constant!
Oh, say, can you see by the dawn’s early light.
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming.
You know, as Christians, we can proudly sing these stanzas with another thought in mind. The meaning is the same, it’s the symbol that’s different for us. Our symbol is the Cross. The Cross of Christ. The Cross symbolizes Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Cross symbolizes for us eternal life. The Cross is constant. We never need fear that what we see in the twilight will not be there in the dawn’s early light, because Jesus is the dawn’s Early Light.