Daniel Webster (1782-1852) was an early American politician who served in both houses of Congress, was Secretary of State for three presidents, helped to settle a dispute over the boundary between Maine and Canada, was a renowned orator, and a prominent lawyer who presented numerous arguments before the Supreme Court. He was, over the course of his career, a member of the Federalist Party, the National Republican Party and the Whig Party; a diverse man, but one who certainly understood the underpinnings of our nation. He, like many of the early American patriots was a God fearing man who is claimed, on the pages of unrevised history, by various denominational churches as one of their own.
In spite of his religious moorings, Daniel Webster was not always on the conservative side of political issues. He was a man who was both praised and criticized from all sides. Whatever you might think of this colorful patriot, true historical narrative bears out the fact that his words were the sentiment of many, perhaps most, of his political predecessors and peers when he said, “If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”
We have entered a new chapter in the continuing saga of life on earth. In this generation, as never before, there is a global falling away from the eternal, universal, divine principles established by God in the beginning. Right and wrong are constantly being redefined to accommodate personal whims and faddish philosophies. Our nation, and most, are divided against themselves. Even to the untrained eye, we seem destined to ruin, or, as Daniel Webster described it, to “profound obscurity.”
But God says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)