The Prayers of the Founding Fathers

By: American Decency Staff

[Today], the 112th Congress will open with a prayer that will probably sound nothing like this: “O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these our American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. To Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle! Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior. Amen. If you hadn't guessed, this was the prayer that opened the First Continental Congress on September 7, 1774.It was spoken by the Reverend Jacob Duche', the minister of the Anglican 'Christ Church' in Philadelphia. This prayer, according to John Adams, was preceded by a reading of Psalm 35, a Psalm which asks God for defense against oppressive enemies. The Psalm opens with the words,  "¹ Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me. ² Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. ³ Also draw out the spear, and stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.â€Â The context in which Congress heard these words and this prayer is especially interesting. On Sep. 1, 1774, 6 days before the launching of the First Continental Congress, British troops raided a Boston magazine which held a large supply of gunpowder. Word of this had just reached the members of Congress gathered in Philadelphia, but the story of the stealing of gunpowder had become a story of a British attack on Boston by the time it reached Congress' ears. At the time that Jacob Duche' prayed this prayer, the members of Congress were under the impression that the British had launched an attack on one of the most important trade cities in the colonies. The closest feeling in my memory that I can compare to their experience is the feeling after the attacks on 9/11. I wanted nothing less than put on my boots, grab an M-16, and wipe out the people responsible. Yet these men did not pray for the destruction of their enemies.  They prayed that God would convince the British that they were in the wrong, and if not that, then that He would take away their courage to fight. "[C]onvince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle!" This continues very much in the spirit of Psalm 35. " Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who rejoice at my hurt; let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who exalt themselves against me." Psalm 35:26 Another telling thing about this beautiful prayer is the reaction of the members of that first congress to that prayer. In the politically correct atmosphere of Washington in the last few decades, merely closing a prayer with the words, "in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and Savior," would have many Congressman clutching their chests and calling for a lawyer, let alone Duche's statement that the congress desires, "to be henceforth dependent only on Thee." At the least, Duche' would never stand before Congress again. However, that was not the reaction of the First Continental Congress. Instead, Duche' became the official chaplain of Congress for the next 3 years, and several members of that first congress attended his church. Under Duche' as chaplain, members of the second Congress would have sat under another touching prayer, this one almost a year later on July 20, 1775 – one week after the1st National Day of Prayer. It's a little long, but well worth the read. "O THOU eternal and exhaustless source of light, and life, and love! In thee we live and move and have our being! Every moment deals to us a portion of thy bounty, and demands the tribute of unceasing praise! Thy name is LOVE! And LOVE the essence of thy nature! The religion thou hast taught us is a religion of love! And love is the principle and end of all thy dispensations! NEVER dost thou send thy judgments abroad into the world, never dost thou suffer thy chastising hand to fall heavy upon thy children, but when they become insensible of that endearing relation, in which they stand to thee and to each other, and thus violate thy eternal living law of love! WE acknowledge, therefore, and adore thy wisdom and goodness in the infliction [iii/iv] of national punishments upon national guilt! Our eyes must be blinded, and our hearts hardened indeed, if we do not see and feel, under our present visitation, the manifest tokens of thy divine displeasure! WE own and lament, that the dark cloud of judgment, which now hangs over our heads, hath risen from our unnumbered sins and rebellions against thee! Against thee only have we sinned! To thee only have we been disobedient and ungrateful. We have neglected to improve under thy past corrections. We have shamefully slighted thy past loving-kindnesses. Our prosperity hath rendered us forgetful of thee our GOD, regardless of thine holy ordinances, inattentive to the precepts of thy gospel! BUT yet, spare us, good LORD, spare thy people, who thou hast redeemed, and let not thine heritage be brought to confusion! Recall thy ministers of vengeance! [iv/v] And put a stop to the unnatural effusion of christian blood! FROM our present grievous calamities, not our merits, but thy mercy, not our foresight but thy providence alone can deliver us. Accept, therefore, the prayers and supplications, that have this day been offered at the foot-stool of thy throne! Accept, for thy WELL-BELOVED’s sake, our public acts of penitence and humiliation! GIVE us grace seriously to lay to heart the great danger we are in from our present unhappy divisions! Take away all hatred, bitterness and resentment from our breasts. Enable us to forgive our offending BRETHREN, even as we ourselves look for forgiveness at the hands of our offended GOD! AND O thou, who alone canst make men to be of one mind in an house! Restore that brotherly union and concord, [v/vi] which ought ever to subsist inviolate in the great family to which we belong! And as there is but one body, and one spirit, and one hope of our calling, one LORD, one faith, one baptism, one GOD and FATHER of us all, so may we henceforth be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity! FOR this purpose we pray, that thou wouldst give thy blessing to a preached gospel! Enable thy ministring servants of every denomination to be instant in season and out of season, in promoting the great work of christian love: And whilst they are faithfully employed in planting and watering, do thou, LORD of the harvest! crown their labours with a blessed increase! ALL this we ask for the sake and through the merits of thy well-beloved son JESUS CHRIST our LORD, in and through [vi/vii] whom we have the high and inestimable privilege of addressing Thee, as Our Father which art in Heaven, &c." These prayers paint a beautiful picture of the spirit, or rather Spirit, that this nation was founded in. The prayer that opens the 112th Congress tomorrow may not be as eloquent or as meaningful as that which opened the first, but let us, the citizens of this nation, pray it for them. "Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst the people."Amen

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