You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
- Psalm 68:35
“On December 6, 1884, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Casey of the US Army Corps of Engineers, wearing a derby hat and perched on scaffolding 555 feet above the ground, supervised the placing of the capstone atop the Washington Moment, which he then crowned with an aluminum tip bearing the Latin phrase Laus Deo-‘Praise be to God.’ When the sun rises every day over the nation’s capital, its first rays strike those words,”
- 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 250th 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 author takes a tour of Washington. DC at this point. He talks about how the Washington Monument towers over the White House and the Capitol building. And the words to Praise God are above those structures. Bible verses are etched in the walls of the obelisk.
In the Lincoln Memorial, his second inaugural address is etched in stone, containing references to God and four Bible verses quoted. The National Archives features the Ten Commandments as well as the Supreme Court.
In various places in the Capitol, you will find “In God we trust.” “America! God shed His light on thee.” “This nation under God.” And Psalm 16:1” “Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust.”
The Library of Congress has two items on permanent display: The Giant Bible of Mainz and the Gutenberg Bible. On the ceilings and walls, you can find inscribed Bible verses. To name a few, there is John 1:5 and Proverbs 4:7. In the Reading Room near a bronze statue of Moses, you can find Micah 6:8; Leviticus 19:18 and Psalm 19:1.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial features Proverbs 28:1 and the Holocaust Memorial Museum features Isaiah 43:10. “You are my witnesses.”
This chapter of the book ends with the author stating that he barely scratched the surface of the references to the Bible and Christian principles displayed all over the USA capitol city. But he ends with a statement etched in the wall of the Jefferson Memorial:
GOD WHO GAVE US LIFE GAVE US LIBERTY. CAN THE LIBERTIES OF A NATION BE SECURE WHEN WE HAVE REMOVED A CONVICTION THAT THESE LIBERTIES ARE THE GIFT OF GOD?
Those who wish to remove the Constitution and deny we were founded as a Christian nation are obviously blind.
The proof is all over the buildings where they preside, etched in stone.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
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