For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• Romans 6:23

“In 1723, a Native American boy was born in a wigwam in the village of Mohegan in Connecticut. He was named Occom. He later wrote, ‘My parents lived a wandering life, as did all the Indians at Mohegan. They chiefly depended upon hunting, fishing, and fowling for their living.’ Occom was a teenager at the time of the Great Awakening, and his heart was opened to the gospel. He committed his life to Christ and sought to learn to read the Bible. Hearing about a school (later named Dartmouth) started by Rev. Eleazer Wheelock, a Congregational pastor, Occom enrolled. Wheelock taught the boy to read, mentored him, and prepared him to serve Christ.
“On August 29, 1759, Samson Occom was ordained into the Presbyterian ministry. …
“His best-known moment came when a fellow Mohegan, Moses Paul, asked Occom to preach his execution sermon. Paul had been convicted of murder, and in those days it was customary to have a sermon before the hanging. On September 2, 1771, a crowd gathered at the First Church of New Haven as Moses Paul was escorted by guards and Occom stood in the pulpit.
“It is an unwelcome task for me to speak upon such an occasion, but since it is the desire of the poor man himself, who is to die a shameful death this day, in conscience I cannot deny him….

The sacred words I have chosen to speak from, upon this undesirable occasion, are found in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, 6:23: ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Death is called the king of terrors, and it ought to be the subject of every man and woman’s thoughts daily. We must all come to it, how soon we cannot tell. …
“Sin has made man proud, tho’ he has nothing to be proud of.  Sin is the cause of all the miseries that attend poor sinful man, which will finally bring him to death, death temporal and eternal. …
“But heaven and happiness is a free gift; it comes by favor … this life is given in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. It could not be given in any other way, but in and through our Lord Jesus Christ; Christ Himself is the gift. …
“O poor Moses, see what you have done! And now repent, repent….
“O fly, fly, to the blood of the Lamb of God for the pardon of all your aggravated sins. 0 Moses! This is good news for you on this last day of your life; here is a crucified Savior at hand for your sins.   0, poor Moses, now believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart, and thou shall be saved eternally.”

• Robert J. Morgan, 100 Bible Verses That Made America

In my recent trip to visit the grandchildren, the oldest of them went with me to Nashville, to sell used books and games.  One of the books that I purchased in return was 100 Bible Verses That Made America by Robert J. Morgan.  As we approach the 250^th anniversary of the birth of the USA, I thought I would do a condensed mini-series on some of these verses, four posts per week for a few weeks – maybe not all 100 verses.

The Great Awakening did not restrict itself to the colonists.

I became a born-again Christian in Mississippi.  The Holy Spirit was strong in the high school where I attended my junior and senior years of high school.  The Holy Spirit was not limited to some hippies in California during the Jesus Revolution.  It was nationwide.  And from that awakening, missionaries went overseas.

For a couple of years in college, I went on Lay Witness Missions at least one weekend each month.  Others from my class became missionaries or started inner-city missions of their own.

In the case of Samuel Occom, he was a Native American who was saved during the Great Awakening.  He learned how to read and write at Dartmouth.  He became a Presbyterian minister, ministering to the Native Americans.

What was significant about this sermon was that he wrote it down and it was printed and published, the oldest surviving writing of a Native American in the English language.

He was not thinking of that at the time.  He wanted his friend to have the assurance of salvation before he was executed.

There is still debate whether Moses Paul had been given a fair trial.  At the time, all Samuel Occom was concerned with was the eternal soul of his friend.

Happy

Fourth of July

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.