Thank God for Being American
In a few weeks we will be celebrating the birthday of our nation. I would have to say that this holiday is one of my favorites. When I was a kid…it was because I got to blow stuff up! This was back before fireworks were illegal in most parts of the south, and a self respecting Cajun boy could still have a proper bottle rocket fight with his close friends.
In high school, I became intrigued by the holiday because it meant an extended weekend and fun on the lake skiing. On Tuesday we all got to share our crazy stories and compare tans.
It wasn’t until my early twenties that I fell in love with the historical significance of the Fourth of July; I did an in-depth study of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and their life stories – and was amazed at all that they risked, what some of them lost, and the faith that drove their passion for freedom. Then came the turning point for me…
A few years ago, about this time of year, I heard a pastor giving a speech on the Star Spangled Banner; It completely blew my mind. I always thought Francis Scott Key wrote the song about his experience during that battle and how he witnessed our flag throughout the night. I thought the point was that in spite of the bombs and fire taking place around the banner…it remained in flight.
The pastor began to share a conversation that took place between Mr. Key and an associate, years later as he wrote the song; and what exactly transpired that night.
It was September, 1814. Dr. William Beanes was held captive on the British ship Tonnant, accused of unfriendly acts toward British soldiers. People in nearby Georgetown were frantic. They were sure the British would hang the old man. The townspeople needed a lawyer to negotiate with the British. They called on a respected local lawyer with a thriving law practice: Francis Scott Key.
Francis had been taken out to one of the British ships to negotiate for the release of the political prisoners when the fighting began. He was ordered to remain on the ship, and would be allowed to depart in the morning if all went well. A message went out to Ft. McHenry that they should surrender and remove the flag from its perch as a sign of defeat. If the flag was removed…then the bombing would cease.
In courageous defiance, the flag remained high in the air, no matter how fierce the bombardment. Throughout the night the British continued to shell the fort relentlessly. At one point, the armada literally focused the cannons directly on the hill where the flag was raised and tried to blow it down.
Relentlessly, every time it would fall the American soldiers would upright it once more. What Francis Scott Key witnessed was the heart and faith of a people who stand in the face of death, and declare their identity as a free people under God.
In the morning, as the sun began to rise and the smoke clear from cannon fire—our flag was torn and tattered, yet remained aloft; its perch held upright by the bodies of the men who ran into shell fire to stand her up in the face of the enemy.
I don’t know about you…but I thank God that I am an American. I thank God that I am free; and I want to personally thank everyone who has run into enemy fire for me and my family. May God truly bless you. Happy Fourth of July and here is one for you…
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 thru 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 through 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?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth 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 home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it 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!