The Story Of The Star-Spangled Banner
–From The Legal Alert
The United States was engaged in a second war with England from June 1812 to the spring of 1815. The war was creatively called the War of 1812. Many naval battles were fought, and by 1814 the British were attempting to split this country in half. Washington D.C., was captured and burned. This was the time when President James Madison’s wife, Dolly Madison, became famous for courageously staying behind in the capitol as the British were approaching until she was assured that vital state documents and, most notably, the famous portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, had been removed to safety and were saved from destruction.
After taking Washington D.C., the British marched toward Baltimore where a mere handful of 1,000 patriots were manning the cannons at Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If Baltimore was to be captured, the British would have to take Fort McHenry first. The attack began on the morning of September 13, 1814, as nineteen British ships began pounding the fort with rockets and mortar shells, and continued their bombardment for the next twenty-five hours.
Surprisingly, on board one of the British ships was a young American lawyer named Francis Scott Key, who had been sent to negotiate for the release of Dr. William Beanes, an American prisoner of the British. Even though the British captain agreed to the release, the two Americans were required to stay aboard until the attack on Baltimore was over.
The bombardment continued during the entire night of September 13th, as the two Americans heard the bombs bursting, saw the red glare of rockets, and waited to see what the outcome would be. They knew the Americans were resisting. But toward morning, the bombardment ceased and a dreadful silence fell. The men knew that either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag now flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag would still be flying.
The lawyer and the doctor waited eagerly together for the dawn. On the morning of September 14th, Key and Beanes were overjoyed to see that the American flag was still flying over Fort McHenry. Francis Scott Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night, which was published in newspapers and swept the nation. It was later put to music, and in 1931, Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.
Now that you know the story, here are the words. You probably already know the first stanza, but have you ever heard the last?
Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto – In God is our trust.
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
What God Hath Promised!
God hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives through;
God hath not promised
Sun without rain
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.
But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing kindness,
Undying love.
—Annie Johnson Flint
SHARINGHow To Be Busy Without Going Crazy!
—From Pulpit Helps
Almost everybody agrees that one must be busy to be healthy and happy. But many Christians become frustrated and frantic because they are too busy. I don’t know how many times people have said to me, “I have so much to do I don’t know where to begin. The pressure is driving me crazy!” The answer is sometimes found in cutting back on responsibilities, but this isn’t always possible. Nor is it always necessary. Many people would accomplish more, with less strain, if they would make some mental and spiritual adjustments.
1. Take time for God–Take time for private devotions. If it means getting up 15 minutes earlier in the morning, do it. As a Christian, you belong to the Lord, and so does your day. So commit yourself and your time to Him.
2. Determine your priorities–Sit down and take a look at what you have to do. Ask yourself, “What should come first?” You’ll be more efficient than you ever imagined.
3. Plan and trust–Set up a schedule for tackling work duties and consciously trust God’s provision. It will be wise to look well ahead, to set up a timetable, and to work systematically. Don’t worry about tomorrow’s demands. Concentrate upon what you must do today, and leave the future in God’s hands. As you trust Him and as He enables you to fulfill today’s responsibilities, you will gain assurance that He will also be with you tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. A combination of planning and trust will produce amazing results.
4. Do little things immediately–Get right at those small details that need attention–like making an appointment with the doctor, sending someone a card, or dropping clothes off at the cleaners. If you don’t, you’ll find an uneasiness lurking just above your subconscious, and this will tend to sap your energy. I know this from personal experience. When you get the little things behind you, you’ll work better and more efficiently.
The trouble with most of us is not that we have too much to do, but that we aren’t going about our duties the right way. Once we put God first, establish a good set of priorities, plan and trust, and quit procrastinating, we’ll begin to get more done. And we won’t drive ourselves or our loved ones crazy in the process!
SHARINGRead It And Believe It
“If ye then have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.” 1 Corinthians 6:4
There is much to be said in favor of a “layman’s understanding” of the Bible. Once a person has been born again, they enjoy the privileges of spiritual discernment: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12. From then on, it is a matter of desiring the sincere milk of the Word that one may grow thereby–reading the Bible, hearing the Word, and trusting it for what it says.
I was saved September 1954, have been in a Bible teaching New Testament Church ever since, and full-time in the ministry since 1968, teaching and preaching God’s Word. Yet I find many articles written about the Bible that contain expositions that I have to say, “Where did that come from–I never saw that in the reading of the scriptures.”
I have always found the truth of God’s Word to be self-evident in the way the Bible reads. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” 2 Peter 1:19-20. We all depend on light to reveal what is, and then we act upon what we see. If you turned your garage light on and there sat a new car, you would not have to call a mechanical engineer to explain to you what you are looking at. So, when you read your Bible, accept and believe what it says. Beware of anyone who discourages you from doing this, and rather leads you to believe that you need someone of “higher understanding” to interpret the scriptures unto you.
Rather than turn to what men have to say about the Bible, we need to look into the Bible to see what it says about what men are saying: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11.
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20. Faith only exists where God’s Word is being accepted as God delivered it–“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17
SHARINGAll It Takes Is One Hole
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10
Visualize a giant ship with all its strong structure, engineered for efficiency, safety and comfort; with state of the art equipment and extremely sea worthy. It can have the best crew and the most able captain, whose knowledge is unsurpassed. This ship meets or exceeds all maritime regulations. But all it takes is one hole to sink it!
A gigantic tank, that is built to withstand storms and earthquakes; that is constructed out of materials that will last for decades, and is theft proof, all it takes is one hole for it to lose all its contents. Just one hole in a dam can lead to the collapse of the entire dam.
“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines.” Song of Solomon 2:15
James 2:10 challenges Christians to be sober and vigilant in, and about all things. We can have strong convictions on many things, and we can take confidence that we are strong on many things. We can tout our stand and challenge others with our strong position on many things. But all it takes is negligence in one thing to become the leak that will sink our spiritual ship and drain our tank of spiritual integrity. “A little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump.” Galatians 5:9 “Do not err my beloved brethren.” James 1:16
Whatever it is that we are doing faithfully, will not answer for the things we leave undone. A farmer can build the best fence, but if he fails to shut every gate, the livestock will still escape, the same as if there was no fence at all. It is the thing(s) we leave undone that will be that hole that can sink our spiritual ship. “These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Matthew 23:23
“Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” Galatians 3:10 All it takes is one sin to condemn the soul, the same as all it takes is one hole to sink the ship! Thus, a person’s good will not outweigh or redeem them from their bad, any more than the good things of the ship will prevent water from entering into the hole. To be saved, one must have an account for their soul that has no sin whatsoever, and only the righteousness of God. This is impossible for man to achieve. That is why God foreordained the substitutionary offering of Christ to be the account by which the believer’s soul is made acceptable to God.
SHARING
