Thy Liberty in Law

The lyrics in America the Beautiful are worth reading once in awhile. Unlike other patriotic songs that focus on our revolutionary victories, the stanzas in America the Beautiful point to a land worth saving and protecting.

Winning a battle or war is one thing, but preserving and cherishing the new land is another.

The lyrics:

..confirm thy soul in self- control, Thy liberty in law…

remind me once again of the importance of planting seeds of law in the land that desires to remain free.

Now, as a minister, I am referring to Higher Law, that includes reasonable laws of Man as well.

King David certainly expressed his deepening passion for law, as he began to understand after submitting to a righteous God.

In fact, in Psalm 119:137-144 David “magnifies the law” (Matthew Henry).

David delights in it, writing ” thy law is the truth.”

I spent years in the New Testament and delighted in reaching new heights of understanding Agape love.

Then, to my surprise, when I studied and inwardly digested principles and truths in the books of the prophets, I felt like David must have felt when he wrote in Psalm 119:130: When thy word goeth forth, it giveth light and understanding unto the simple.

I added a new layer in my Spirit.

A layer that reminds me love and law complement each other. For the heart alone can steer us to do unjustly; and the God I look to is Just.

Believers are accustomed to the Gospel message; how the love of Jesus Christ can convict, convert, and save a soul.

We probably rarely think about the power of God’ s law to do the same; not necessarily out of fear, but out of awe at the beauty and purity of a compassionate, righteous, just God who delights in the progress of Man’ s soul.

David writes The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, (Psalm 19:7).

When I speak of the law, I speak from my own journey with God, which led me to a universal understanding of “learning to do justly.”

An inward submission is the beginning; a submission to the love of Jesus Christ, and/ or a submission to the law of God.

” Submission” is not always a popular word in modern America.

The American spirit is fierce and independent!

That is a good thing when it doesn’t completely abandon Law.

All you have to do is watch all the True Crime shows to see that a person who refuses to submit, or even consider Higher Law is a person that will eventually lose their freedom.

…Thy liberty in law...

Lawlessness leads one down a different path that dead ends into less freedom.

America the Beautiful emphasizes self-control, something we don’t always want to hear.

But a total lack of it and disrespect for reasonable, humane laws puts America at risk; those are qualities that lead to a peoples’ downfall.

So much is taken for granted.

We know kingdoms rise and fall.

So how do you choose to anchor your soul?

I, like David, learned Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth, (Psalm 119:142).

And that truth is liberty indeed.

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