Jesse Goens

“July 4—Independence Day Read Ps. 137:1-6 THE CHALLENGE OF PATRIOTISM If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. —Ps. 137:5 The Fourth of July is no time for a shallow celebration. Patriotism is too sacred for that. The man who said, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning,” was far from home and in a strange land. The uppermost thought in his mind was his own country, his city, his home. He had been asked to sing a song of his native land while in captivity, and he had refused on the grounds that it might appear that he was forgetting his own dear city. This man of Bible times was willing to consecrate his all—whatever it might be—for love of his country. We remember this day the values that are included in true patriotism— all those things which have made our country the greatest on earth, those things for which we should be willing to die. There is something almost divine in true love for one's country. Religion and patriotism are woven together. Love to God means love for those high things which He has created.”
― Norman E. Nygaard, Strength for Service to God and Country