Today’s devotion is a special devotion for this 4th of July, our nation’s anniversary. On Sunday, July 6, 2025, God willing, we will continue to cover Scripture in its order with 2 Chronicles 20:1-13.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12.
Our nation’s hope is not in our democracy, nor in our capitalism, nor in the righteousness or other goodness of our leaders and our people.
Our hope is in God. “In God We Trust”.
“Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.” Psalm 127:1.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.
Many of us believe, hope, and seek that God has chosen us, the United States, for His purposes, to some extent to be special, to be that “nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance” and to be that “light of the world” and that “city set on a hill (that) cannot be hidden”.
We sing the song “America the Beautiful” whose first verse is:
“O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!”
What specifically should we believe, hope, and seek?
We can learn from Israel who were God’s chosen people a/k/a nation in the Old Testament. Here is what Moses asked on behalf of his nation Israel.
“For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”
The LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” Exodus 33:16-17.
In a nutshell, over time, we have seen all the blessings that the LORD has done for the United States, a land of peace and prosperity, a land overflowing with milk and honey, and most importantly a land with religious freedoms that have protected and prospered Christianity, lovingkindness, justice and righteousness, such that in summary, we have come to believe that the United States was distinguished from all the other nations.
Accordingly, over time, we have come to believe that God has chosen us, the United States, for His purposes, to some extent to be special, to be that “nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.”
So, let us look at some Scriptures to understand that God makes distinction between peoples and nations. God did not treat all peoples and nations equally. Let us look at how God treated the nation of Israel at times in the Old Testament.
“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,” Deuteronomy 7:6.
In other words, there was no virtue in Israel that was the basis for the LORD setting His love on Israel and choosing Israel. For His own sovereign reasons and pleasure, the LORD decided to do so.
Likewise, there was no virtue in United States that was the basis for the LORD setting His love on United States and choosing United States. For His own sovereign reasons and pleasure, it appears from His blessings that He bestowed on the United States that the LORD decided that United States would be that “nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.” Accordingly, United States should be humble and thankful to the LORD.
Regarding the distinction that the LORD makes between nations, consider the following Scriptures.
“But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.”’” Exodus 9:4.
“But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’” Exodus 11:7.
“And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” Joshua 21:44-45.
“Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.” 1 Kings 8:56-58.
Although there is the presence of wickedness in the United States, and we do not deserve being chosen and blessed by our own goodness or other virtue, we can more easily generally believe that God has chosen, guided, protected, preserved, and otherwise specially blessed the United States for His purposes and His pleasure of His own sovereign will which we cannot fully understand.
It is more difficult to speculate on the specific reasons. Maybe, we do not know, the LORD did so choose and specially bless the United States maybe for the sake of His elect such as the Puritans and other pilgrims who founded our nation (Christians) to give them and their descendants a good place to live, and maybe to some extent to use the United States to send out the Gospel to the rest of the world, and maybe to use the United States to maintain peace and be an example and otherwise be a blessing to the rest of the world, and maybe to generally use the United States as part of His overall plan to otherwise exercise His lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth.
We do see from Scripture the following.
We do see from the New Testament that God only shows “the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:7.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” Ephesians 1:3-4.
“He who did not spare His own Son (Christ), but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32.
“Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:23-24.
Regarding the purposes of why God chose the United States, one analogy is how God chose Rome to build roads and maintain peace through much of the world at the time of Christ by which the Gospel could be more easily spread.
Regarding the presence of wickedness in the United States, and why God would still protect, preserve and specially bless the United States despite such wickedness, another analogy can be seen through Jesus’ parable in which Jesus taught that God does not punish wickedness as quickly as some may like.
“Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” Matthew 13:24-30.
“What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.” Romans 9:22-24.
Certainly, there are Christians in other nations, and God has also to some extent guided, protected, preserved, and blessed other nations, also for the sake of those Christians in other nations.
More important than the United States is Christ’s church, His body, the elect of God from all nations.
“And they *sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10.
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10.
“But in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory. And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.” Mark 13:24-27.
In conclusion, even though some of our government leaders may be bad, we are urged to pray for them. And, even though some of the actions of the United States are bad, we are also urged to pray for the United States and give thanks to God for what God has done for our nation, the United States of America.
“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” 1 Timothy 2:1-6.
So, through God’s grace and providence, may our national motto and faith always continue to be: “In God, we trust.” May God always continue to guide, protect, and bless the United States of America!
“5 I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.
6 My soul waits for the LORD
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
8 And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.” Psalm 130:5-8.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 