Curtis Dahlgren
A column to be "Much Remembered": A saga of freedom
By Curtis Dahlgren
"It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in [the Constitution] a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and singularly extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution." — James Madison
"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established . . . " — President Washington (First inaugural address)
IS AMERICA STILL BEING GOVERNED WITH "THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED"?
Only six percent of us say 'Yes," according to a recent poll. While the czar-of-czars once had an assumed approval rating of 60 percent, in reality that was tentative, and in actuality was off by one decimal point. Freedom is still in our blood!
The generation that witnessed the miracles of Providence in the 1770s first hand died off by the mid-1800s, but we are the grandsons and great-grandsons of that generation. We instinctively know the difference between Freedom and Tyranny — even though the powers-that-be tried to dumb us down to the point where many young people today would throw up their hands in utter frustration trying to read the first inaugural address of the Father of our country.
Instead of the forefinger of God's "invisible hand" pointing us the way out of the Wilderness, the high-and-mighty have contempt for their serfs, and only show us the middle finger of totalitarianism. With "executive" orders and vote-buying and a propaganda blitz, they forge on toward the Utopia that has never existed and never will exist outside of the "providential agency" Washington described.
The Ivy League elitists say that we are no longer a Christian nation — as if that were something to brag about! But the Judeo-Christian roots of this country, though somewhat dormant, still exist out there beyond the Potomac River. And the essence of that Judeo-Christian heritage is basically one of gratitude for Freedom. It all started with the first Night to be Much Remembered that our ancestors celebrated outside Egypt's border nearly 3500 years ago now. It was our first Thanksgiving Day.
The Marxists always knew that to destroy a nation they only needed five or six percent of the people on their side. Seventy years of "progressive education" was sufficient, they thought, to prepare America for this Time of Choosing (NOT). Seventy years of "absolute corrupt control" of the people in Russia failed utterly to destroy their Judeo-Christian memories, and the Spirit of Freedom could survive 70 times seven, so help us God.
"Only God can save us now," says Michael Savage, the man banned in Britain — but a man who dares read the words of our cultural heritage right over the airwaves anyway. He reads from the third chapter of Isaiah and I Kings 19 and Isaiah 5:20:
"Woe unto those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe unto those who are wise in their own eyes . . . "
In the spirit of the Season, I'd like to follow up those words with a few highlights from the book of Zechariah:
"Turn unto Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will return unto you . . . Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? . . Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways and according to our doings, so hath He dealt with us.
"Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad, and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem . . for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye . . And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts . . For who hath despised the day of small things? . .
"This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one who steals shall be cut off . . and every one who swears shall be cut off . . .
"But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped up their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law . . . Therefore it is come to pass, that as He cried and they would not hear, so they cried and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts.
"[But] Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord the holy mountain . . There shall yet dwell old men and old women in the streets of Jerusalem, and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof . . .
"And it shall come to pass that as you were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah [AND] the house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing [among all nations] . .
"These are the things that you shall do: Speak, everyone, the truth to his neighbor, and execute the judgment of Truth and peace in your gates . . .
"Ask of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain, so He shall make clouds and give them showers and grass in the field . . . And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the people; all who burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it . . The Lord shall save the tents of Judah first . .
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications, and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son." [Zechariah 1 through 12]
CONCLUSION
More and more people are beginning to see the interconnectedness of the "Feasts of the Lord" in the "old" Testament and the "new" testament Lord — because He WAS the Lord who spoke to Abraham! The growing awareness of that is one of the encouraging signs in the midst of a cynical generation. We never needed the "old ways" more, and there's an old tradition that relates to this whole story.
Did you ever get up from the table at a restaurant and go to the bathroom, only to "return" and find your plate and food was gone? According to a tradition, in ancient Israel, when someone finished his meal, he would leave his napkin in disarray so the servers would know he was not coming back. When Christ rose and left the grave, He carefully folded the napkin that had been covering His face to signify that He wasn't done yet. HE WAS COMING BACK!
Do you get it yet?
HINT: The question isn't who killed Christ, but Who raised Him up, eh? He's not dead!
© Curtis Dahlgren
April 5, 2010
"It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in [the Constitution] a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and singularly extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution." — James Madison
"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established . . . " — President Washington (First inaugural address)
IS AMERICA STILL BEING GOVERNED WITH "THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED"?
Only six percent of us say 'Yes," according to a recent poll. While the czar-of-czars once had an assumed approval rating of 60 percent, in reality that was tentative, and in actuality was off by one decimal point. Freedom is still in our blood!
The generation that witnessed the miracles of Providence in the 1770s first hand died off by the mid-1800s, but we are the grandsons and great-grandsons of that generation. We instinctively know the difference between Freedom and Tyranny — even though the powers-that-be tried to dumb us down to the point where many young people today would throw up their hands in utter frustration trying to read the first inaugural address of the Father of our country.
Instead of the forefinger of God's "invisible hand" pointing us the way out of the Wilderness, the high-and-mighty have contempt for their serfs, and only show us the middle finger of totalitarianism. With "executive" orders and vote-buying and a propaganda blitz, they forge on toward the Utopia that has never existed and never will exist outside of the "providential agency" Washington described.
The Ivy League elitists say that we are no longer a Christian nation — as if that were something to brag about! But the Judeo-Christian roots of this country, though somewhat dormant, still exist out there beyond the Potomac River. And the essence of that Judeo-Christian heritage is basically one of gratitude for Freedom. It all started with the first Night to be Much Remembered that our ancestors celebrated outside Egypt's border nearly 3500 years ago now. It was our first Thanksgiving Day.
The Marxists always knew that to destroy a nation they only needed five or six percent of the people on their side. Seventy years of "progressive education" was sufficient, they thought, to prepare America for this Time of Choosing (NOT). Seventy years of "absolute corrupt control" of the people in Russia failed utterly to destroy their Judeo-Christian memories, and the Spirit of Freedom could survive 70 times seven, so help us God.
"Only God can save us now," says Michael Savage, the man banned in Britain — but a man who dares read the words of our cultural heritage right over the airwaves anyway. He reads from the third chapter of Isaiah and I Kings 19 and Isaiah 5:20:
"Woe unto those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe unto those who are wise in their own eyes . . . "
In the spirit of the Season, I'd like to follow up those words with a few highlights from the book of Zechariah:
"Turn unto Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will return unto you . . . Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? . . Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways and according to our doings, so hath He dealt with us.
"Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad, and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem . . for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye . . And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts . . For who hath despised the day of small things? . .
"This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one who steals shall be cut off . . and every one who swears shall be cut off . . .
"But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped up their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law . . . Therefore it is come to pass, that as He cried and they would not hear, so they cried and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts.
"[But] Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord the holy mountain . . There shall yet dwell old men and old women in the streets of Jerusalem, and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof . . .
"And it shall come to pass that as you were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah [AND] the house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing [among all nations] . .
"These are the things that you shall do: Speak, everyone, the truth to his neighbor, and execute the judgment of Truth and peace in your gates . . .
"Ask of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain, so He shall make clouds and give them showers and grass in the field . . . And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the people; all who burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it . . The Lord shall save the tents of Judah first . .
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications, and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son." [Zechariah 1 through 12]
CONCLUSION
More and more people are beginning to see the interconnectedness of the "Feasts of the Lord" in the "old" Testament and the "new" testament Lord — because He WAS the Lord who spoke to Abraham! The growing awareness of that is one of the encouraging signs in the midst of a cynical generation. We never needed the "old ways" more, and there's an old tradition that relates to this whole story.
Did you ever get up from the table at a restaurant and go to the bathroom, only to "return" and find your plate and food was gone? According to a tradition, in ancient Israel, when someone finished his meal, he would leave his napkin in disarray so the servers would know he was not coming back. When Christ rose and left the grave, He carefully folded the napkin that had been covering His face to signify that He wasn't done yet. HE WAS COMING BACK!
Do you get it yet?
HINT: The question isn't who killed Christ, but Who raised Him up, eh? He's not dead!
© Curtis Dahlgren
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