Psalm 67:5-7
May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Last winter, We took a long
weekend trip up to the Yosemite National Park area of the Sierra Nevada
mountains in California to visit my dad, who retired and moved to the pine tree covered slopes and
crystal-clear water of Bass Lake some thirty plus years ago. One of the days
there, we drove down to the hill to poke around the Antique shops of “ole town”
Clovis, and in one of those emporiums of treasures from bygone eras, in an old
oak display case, I found a small “Book of Common Prayer”, titled simply:
“Campaign Prayer Book” published in 1897 and distributed to American Servicemen
of the Armed Forced, deployed for Duty, with these words handwritten on the
inside cover: “What breath is to the lungs and sap is to the tree, Christ is to
the human souls. May God bless you and keep you always.” This 400+ page canvas
covered Prayer Book, measuring a mire 2 5/8”x5”x1/2” with an American flag
embossed on the cover, went into battle in the pockets of soldiers for comfort
and strength.
As America AMERICA
My country, ‘tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty; Of
thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died! Land of the pilgrim’s
pride!
From ev’ry mountain side! Let freedom ring!
My native country, thee, Land of the noble free, Thy
name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed
hills;
My heart with rapture thrills, Like that above.
Let music swell the breeze, and ring from all the
trees, Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake; Let all that breathe
partake;
Let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.
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!
God bless America America
In Christ, Brian
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