The Author of Liberty

On the steps of the Park Street Church on July 4, 1831 a group of children from the church gathered to sing a new song in celebration of the Independence of America. That song, "My Country Tis of Thee", was sung with joy as people celebrated their liberty as Americans. The man who wrote the words to the German melody was Samuel Francis Smith, a student at Andover Theological Seminary, and he wrote those words in fulfillment of a request by his friend, Lowell Mason. This songs praises the blessings of liberty and the God of liberty. Listen to the last verse: "Our father's 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." There was no mistake in the ears and hearts of those who heard this song where their liberty originated. It wasn't with the government, it wasn't founded within themselves, or Mohammed, or Buddha, or any other false god. The Author of liberty was the one true God as revealoed in the Holy Bible. Early colonists had declared during the Revolutionary War that they had no king, but Jesus. And herein is something that is a very simple, yet extremely profound concept to understanding liberty. Liberty is a gift from God. This was plainly stated in the opening statement of our own Declaration of Independence. Whether it be internal spiritual liberty, liberty of conscience (which our government and planned parenthood are demanding our doctors of conscience to violate by mandating abortions or the possibility of losing your doctoral license), or religious liberty (the freedom to worship God according to the scriptures), or political or economic liberty, these liberties are all a gift from our Creator God. And because government is not the author of liberty, then government, nor any other institution, has the right to remove our liberties from us. And let us not be naive, every other religion that man has invented produces not liberty, but bondage. The Islamic religion is not a religion of freedom but a religion of bondage and despotism. To put it on the same plane as Christianity would be uttter deception indeed. Jesus said in John 8:32 - "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." He also said in John 14:6 - "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me." True freedom comes as one enters into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As a person does that, he expresses true internal liberty which eventually results in the expression of external liberty. May we, who have internal liberty in Christ, live in such a way, that others may see and come to know the glorious liberty that there is in Christ. May we be used of God to preserve the liberty that He has given us in this land. May God bless this "sweet land of liberty" from the onslaughts that would seek to take our liberty and the blessings of liberty from us!