In God We Trust: America's Declaration of Dependence
Please listen to this background music while reading the quotations / poem:
https://youtu.be/69yfusFIMII?si=sYOMEUnQp7VWeQ-1
In God We Trust:
America’s Declaration of Dependence
It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible. *
It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor. *
Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.1
It's been written that the most sublime figure in American history was George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge. He personified a people who knew that it was not enough to depend on their own courage and goodness, that they must also seek help from God - their Father and preserver. Where did we begin to lose sight of that noble beginning, of our conviction that standards of right and wrong do exist and must be lived up to? Do we really think that we can have it both ways, that God will protect us in a time of crisis even as we turn away from him in our day-to-day life? 3
Our National Motto - 'In God We Trust' - was not chosen lightly. It reflects a basic recognition that there is a divine authority in the universe to which this nation owes homage. 4
With quill and parchment, they declared liberty;
Marched to fife and drum and a dream to be free.
Aged and youth and those in between
Pledged sacred honor, paid the cost that would mean.
Washington prayed*, beseeched God’s protection;
Said the sole way to be a happy nation
Was for us, by enablement Divine,
Humbly to imitate Christ the sublime.
Oh, God, help us; in You we trust!
If we’d survive, Your blessing’s a must.
Americans have believed, Americans have prayed,
By Providence’s hand, our nation’s been stayed:
From Pilgrims who landed on New England’s shores,
To statesmen working within Independence Hall’s doors,
And Fort McHenry’s soldiers, who wouldn’t take the flag down.
Then pioneers moving West, whose courage formed towns,
And a sad Civil War with good men on each side.
A new century dawned: inventions crested the tide,
Then Great Depression families made it through together,
And World War II’s sacrifice forged freedom stronger.
Prosperity yet unrest, 9/11, the IT explosion –
Components of the current generation.
And just as true today as it was ever,
We need God’s hand on the American endeavor.
Therefore to God alone, bend your knee,
Proclaiming the Almighty’s Authority.
More than our money or military might,
We trust in Him Whose Book brings light.
Our motto’s a clarion call to dare
To stake our all on the Father’s care.
Heroic times demand heroic faith
And sacred honor that naught can scathe.
Then let us, Americans of the 250th year,
Rise up in courage, despite cultural fear.
Our Friend and Savior is the God Whom we trust;
Dependence on Him maintains freedom’s thrust.
With quill and parchment, they declared liberty;
Marched to fife and drum and a dream to be free.
Oh, God, help us; in You we trust!
If we’d survive, Your blessing’s a must.
_______________
Written by MaryBeth Hall for America’s 250th
Birthday: July 4, 2026
As suggested
by Celia Van Buskirk (and highly recommended
by the author), please read the quotes / poem while playing this
background instrumental version of “The Minstrel Boy”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69yfusFIMII&list=RD69yfusFIMII&start_radio=1
*Washington quotation sources:
Beginning quotations:
https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-author/george-washington-quotes/
Prayer referenced:
Reagan quotation sources:
1 United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan)., Ronald Reagan, United States. Office of the Federal Register (1982). “Ronald Reagan”
2 Remarks at a Dallas Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast, delivered 23 August 1984 at Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX
3 https://bibleapologetics.org/ronald-reagan-quotes-about-god/
4 Reagan, Ronald (1982). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan, 1981”, p.268