CatHouse Chat

God bless Kyle Busch and M&Ms - NASCAR #18 car!!!

Tomorrow night, September 10th, the Richmond International Raceway is hosting the NASCAR Wonderful Pistachios 400 (??? OK, crazy name...), and my Beloved and a friend of his are up there enjoying a guys' weekend out. Well, earlier today, they tweeted this photo to me:

Kyle Busch, who drives #18 (sponsored by M&Ms), is apparently the favorite to win, and I pray he does! Because not only is he racing in the Red White and Blue, M&Ms and Busch have stripped ALL corporate sponsorship logos from the car so that she can race in honor of the fallen of 9/11.

God bless you, sir. Thank you, M&Ms (I am so glad that they are my favorite candy already!)

My Beloved tells me that the tailgate reads,

 

"Never forget!"

In preparation for Resurrection Day (also known as Easter *grinz*)

You know, technology can be a pain and it can be dangerous - but it can also be a blessing. I was listening to my Christian "channel" on Pandora today, and a song by Shane and Shane came up that was PERFECT for today: "Before the Throne of God Above."

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

Isn't it amazing that the God who created all the "infinite" universe - all the stars and galaxies, all the cells and atoms, all the people and animals that exist - would care so much for humanity that He came down to us and lived among us? Isn't it incredible that the God we sin and rebel against every day would still love us so much that He, in the Person of His Son, stands before the Father every moment, interceding for His children? Doesn't it fill you with awe that this perfect, holy, transcendent God would still be so involved with His creation and so desiring to reconcile us to Himself that He would bear all the punishment for our sins and pay the penalty in full on our behalf?!

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

Christian, do you realize that nothing you do can ever make God love you more? Do you realize that nothing you do can make Him love you LESS? Do you realize that He has loved you with an everlasting love and has chosen you as His child from the foundations of the earth? Do you - and I - really understand that no matter how intensely and truthfully Satan may accuse us and bring up all our sin, the sacrifice of the only begotten Son of God as a propitiation for our sins has completely removed all the filthiness of sin? We stand efore God clothed in the perfect righteousness of His Son,m who loved us and gave Himself for our salvation.

Unbeliever, do you understand that God's mercy is deeper than the depths of the sea and more vast than all the heavens, and that He is willing and eager to gather you into His family and into eternal joy - if you will only listen to His Spirit calling your name and repent? The Perfect Father is waiting with open arms and will hold you close in His arms and pour out His love upon you if you will only come to Him!

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.

Satan is no longer my master; I have a new Master who desires only my eternal good. Satan has been defeated, and my new Master will no longer allow Satan to steal, kill and destroy me. Satan's power over me is broken forever, and if I resist him, he will flee. Instead of a callous slavemaster, I am now under the care and authority of the Loving Father who holds me in His hand and will never leave me nor forsake me. Though the devil may accuse me, I look upon the Author and Finisher of my faith: Christ Jesus, whose Spirit dwells within me... And greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world!

Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Jesus cried out on the Cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" The very Son of God, who always did all that the Father commanded and in whom the Father was well-pleased, prayed to His Father for my forgiveness - for your forgiveness! How could God not have heard His Son's prayer and granted it with all His heart?!

Jesus cried out, "IT IS FINISHED!" All the infinite debt for our sins has been completely satisfied - paid in full. Jesus' work on the Cross has fully appeased the just wrath God had toward us, and now His resurrected life brings us into the very presence of His Father. We are now clothed in the spotless white of Jesus perfection and are presented before the Throne of God without stain or blemish.

No further sacrifices, no other acts of atonement are required of us - they would, indeed, be blasphemous! Since Jesus' perfect, complete, and finished work of atonement has been accomplished, Christians are now free to live before Him in grateful love and joy. We can now follow Him in liberty, desiring to do His will out of love rather than fear. We have been loosed from the terror of the penalty of the Law and follow the Spirit of God because the Law is now written on our hearts.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,
Risen Son of God!

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace!

One in Himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God

So I look back to yesterday, Good Friday, and can mourn: it was MY sin that nailed Him to that Cross. But I also look back to Good Friday and rejoice, because Jesus knew my sin before I ever lived - and He loved me enough to provide the only way to gather me into His eternal kingdom.

I contemplate the stillness of this Saturday, when Jesus' body lay in the Tomb and Satan had apparently defeated God... I see that sad stillness and I look forward to Sunday, Resurrection Day, when Jesus rose from the grave in triumph over sin, death, and Satan. Jesus' resurrection is the proof of His completed work on the Cross - proof that God the Father had fully accepted the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf.

It. Is. FINISHED!

He is risen - He is risen indeed!

Christ has triumphed over my sin, and I can only live a life of loving gratitude and joy for all He has done for me.

Do you know Him? Have you bowed before Him to say "thank You"? Have you laid your life and hopes and dreams at His feet, knowing that He will remake them into an everlasting hymn of praise and glory to His name? Do you understand that though you give up your life to Christ, He will give it back to you transformed into holy perfection and multiplied to an eternal expression of His abundant life?

All I can do is echo His praises and point you to His perfection and love...

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,
Risen Son of God!

(crossposted to Virginia Virtucon)

Passover

Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.

‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you.

So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. (Exodus 12:1-28, NKJV)

A few thousand years ago, God called His chosen people out of Egypt - but not before He had brought a series of judgements upon the land where they lived. Most people think that these judgements were only against Egypt, but here you see that the Jews who did not listen to and obey God's command would also suffer the consequences of the wrath of God.

The blood on the doorposts pointed to the sacrifice required to pay for the consequences of sin "for without shedding of blood, there is no remission" of sin. (Hebrews 9:22) Someone, something, must be given up to placate the wrath of the Holy and Perfect God against the sins of man.

This past Sunday, Christians celebrated Palm Sunday commemorating  Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

God presented His perfect, unblemished Lamb - His only begotten Son - to His chosen people. At the exact right time, in precisely the right manner, Israel's rightful Lord and King entered Jerusalem to the shouts of praise from thousands of people:

Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

       “ Tell the daughter of Zion,
      ‘ Behold, your King is coming to you,
      Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
      A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

      “Hosanna to the Son of David!
      'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
      Hosanna in the highest!”

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:1-11)

God had returned to Jerusalem!

But only a few days later was Passover, the reminder of God's mercy in sparing the firstborn of Israel - and this time, God had provided His own Lamb, His judgement fell on that Lamb, and the Wrath of God wase poured out upon His Son who had offered Himself up as a propitiation for us all.

I would ask my brothers and sisters in Christ to keep His willing, loving sacrifice before us each and every day of our lives. Because Jesus suffered the full wrath of His Father in our place, we now walk in joyful freedom and loving obedience - or, we SHOULD. Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our salvation, and run with perseverance the race He has set before us - looking only unto Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.

And I would ask - humbly, with earnest love - that my Jewish friends would turn their eyes upon Jesus and see that their long-awaited Messiah has come! He awaits them with open arms, longing to circumcise their hearts as they have circumcised their flesh. Just as God provided Abraham with the ram, so He has provided His own Lamb for the sins of His people so that the Law will no longer be a curse but a blessing!

As Paul - a Pharisee of Pharisees, a persecutor of Christ, and finally Christ's chosen apostle to the Gentiles - says of his people the Jews:

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Romans 10:1-13)

And in the meantime, I wish everyone a Passover and Easter filled with thanksgiving and joy, friends and family, and prayerful contemplation of all that our generous, loving and sovereign God has done for us.

SHALOM!

Hi, I'm Gomer, the sheep...

Yeah, a weird title, I know. But it came out of listening to two different Christian programs today that really run together quite well. The first program was from Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church:

The second program is from Ravi Zacharias' program, "Just Thinking," from a four-part series called "Worship: A Clue to the Meaning in Life."

Pastor Mark speaks of the parable of the Lost Sheep, wherein the Good Shepherd leaves 99 sheep who are not lost to go search out the one who is lost and carries it home. Dr. Zacharias mentioned the prophet Hosea, who God called to marry a harlot named Gomer as a picture of God's relationship with Israel.

So, hello - I'm Gomer the sheep.

Sheep are dumb. They're weak, they're not very tough, and they often like to wander off and get lost. They're really too stupid to find their way back home, and when they're out away from the flock and the Shepherd, they tend to get into trouble and get beaten up, abused and into some really bad situations. Fortunately, if they belong to the Good Shepherd (in other words, if they really ARE a sheep and not a goat), He always searches them out, puts them on His shoulder and carries them back home. My Shepherd is always on the lookout for me, ready to rescue me from danger, clean me up and get me back with the flock so I can be safe, close to Him.

Gomer was a harlot. Hosea married her and loved her and had two children with her - and she left a happy, secure and loving home and went back to her prostitution. Pretty confusing, isn't it? Why would she leave a good situation to go back to the filth and degradation of whoring herself out? Certainly one could understand if Hosea threw up his hands and had nothing else to do with her - but he doesn't. In obedience to God's command and as a beautiful picture of God's love for His wayward and rebellious people, Hosea searches Gomer out and takes her back as his wife. He never stopped loving her, and he returns her to her home and cherishes her. Just like God keeps searching out His sinful people and keeps pouring out grace into our lives, even when we don't deserve it!

So, hello again: I'm a stupid, weak, wandering, rebellious and sinful sheep named Gomer.

But my Husband, my Savior, my Shepherd keeps searching high and low, chasing after me and carrying me back to Himself, showing me His eternal love and pouring out His infinite grace upon my life. He holds me tight to His heart, and that small reflection in His eye - the one you have to get very, very close to see - that's where I am. He has clothed me in the righteousness of His Son, not for anything that I've done, but just because for some unfathomable reason He has chosen to set His love upon me!

And so, I'm happy to be a stupid sheep named Gomer - and by the grace and guidance of my Beloved Shepherd and Husband, I will get better and walk ever more closely to Him in love and worship.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
(REPEAT)

Romans 8

I think that Romans 8 is the most glorious, the most freeing, the most comforting, and the most uplifting chapter in the whole Bible (well, for me, anyway!). For ten years and more, Romans 8 is where I go when I need reassurance, when I need to remember God's love, and when I need to be reminded of just why I really do want to forsake sin and obey the infinite, awesome and holy God who loves me and gave Himself for me.

Earlier today, I'd posted on Facebook (via my Android YouVersion app) Romans 8:30 -

Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

This prompted a couple of "likes" and and a comment from a friend, and here is what I replied:

Romans 8 is probably my mostest favoritest in the whole Bible ;-) The picture of God's infinite kindness and mercy in forgiving all who come to Him through His Son is amazing!

And He doesn't just do that, but He also adopts us and gives us the right to call Him Father - DADDY! He promises us that He will work everything out to make it bring forth good things... He promises us that He will bring us to Himself (see the verse quoted above), and He promises that He is FOR US - and so nothing can really be against us.

Most of all, at the end of the chapter, He promises us that NOTHING can separate us from the love He has for us through His Son - nothing created, nothing above or below, no powers of angels or demons - NOTHING can separated us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!

When I meditate on this chapter - and I've returned to it many, MANY times over the past 10 years - it keeps getting deeper and richer and more wonderful to me. I read it and praise the God who made me and who brought me out of darkness and into the glory of His salvation and His kingdom...

I meditate on these words and am astonished that people can refuse this glorious and beautiful eternal gift. How could anyone not see the infinite love that sent Jesus, willingly, to the Cross to die for the sins of His sheep?! How can anyone be told of this marvelous thing and NOT run to God and fling themselves at Him so He can catch us and hold us in His love forever?!

Oh, how I long for God to send His Spirit for the conviction of sin and the resurrection of some particular souls in my life! I know that I need a continual revival in my heart, and I know that I need to live a life of continual repentance and rejoicing in God's great goodness and mercy towards me, but how I long for His blessed and irresistable call to come to... my someone!

God has been BEYOND good to me... and His mercy is over all the earth

Cooking dinner tonight and chatting with my Beloved about "whatever"...Teasing and joking quips bouncing between him, our daughter and me... Seeing our darling daughter make good choices with a wonderful attitude... Getting hugs and love from the BEST hubby and daughter... Being HONORED to teach Sunday School for my group tomorrow... Having good health, a job with a superior boss, a roof over our heads, enough to supply our needs and many wants, an embarrassing amount of truly excellent friends...

God has been so good!

Crystal Lewis proclaims my gratitude PERFECTLY -

God's been good to me
Oh God's always been good
God's been good to me
Oh God's always been good

I don't always say the right things
Boy I try
I don't always live my life the right way
But God is faithful to forgive me
When I fail or fall
I am unworthy of it all
Still He keeps on givin

God's been good to me
Oh God's always been good
God's been good to me
Oh God's always been good

My God has given me
More than I ever dreamed
A precious family
And friends who care for me
Why should he love me so
Oh that Ill never know
I am unworthy of it all
Still He keeps on givin to me

God's been good to me
Oh God's always been good
God's been good to me
Oh God's always been good

It would take hours and days at a time
For me to sit down and write down
All the things Hes done
Let me say this that its nothing I've done
But its the grace He gives freely to everyone

Tell everybody
Tell everybody 'bout it
Tell everybody
Everybody 'ought to know

"God's Been Good to Me" was brought to mind because I heard Crystal's version of "Be Thou My Vision," an old, glorious hymn that I pray - ONE DAY - I may live to the fullest:

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

 

 

 

A joy from the past - Kender podcasts the Carnival of Christmas (2009)

For those of you listening to his re-broadcast of the awesome job he did recapitulating the 2009 Carnival of Christmas, here is the original link...

Unfortunately, I could not post a Carnival this year due to the general craziness of life. God willing, I will have the opportunity to upload some sort of Christmas blessing to the blogosphere... but *sigh* no guarantees!

(UPDATE: I suppose I should link to Kender's site for the broadcast, right? You can find him here and here.)

Have a blessed Thanksgiving! (UPDATED)

This past year has been a very full one for me. Between my glorious trip to Israel and the sadness of my father's death, it seems to have flown by with barely a pause for breath.

Today, as a nation, we make ourselves pause to take that breath and to return thanks to our sovereign God and King. All that He has given us, both through trials and blessings, come from His hand to turn us to Him and to teach us to reflect His glory and holiness. God sheds His grace on both His children and those who hate Him; He is patient and kind in showing forth His love so that all men know His eternal godhead and power - even if they refuse to acknowledge it.

This Thanksgiving, as you enjoy your dinner or football game and the company of family and friends, I pray that you will take some time to reflect on God's love and kindness and the blessings He has poured out into your life. If you have not already bowed your head and trusted in Him with your whole heart, I pray that you will take this opportunity to do so and become His true child, destined for eternal blessing.

Father, as we come before You today, we lift up our voices in praise and gratitude to the only wise God. We offer You our thanks for the protection and provision You have given to us throughout the year, and we humbly ask that - if it be Your will - You continue to set a hedge of protection around us.

You provide for all our needs, Father, and so many of our wants! Help us to remember Your generosity so that we become generous people in response.

Thank You for this prosperous and free country we live in; please allow us to continue to grow in freedom. But more importantly, please send Your Spirit to revive our hearts and turn them towards You so that we may grow in righteousness and holiness. Help us to show our gratitude to You by obeying You and reflecting Your love and glory to the world.

UPDATE: Ah, I've been reminded of George Washington's proclamation of the first day of Thanksgiving, and am reproducing it here. President Washington says it far better than I ever could!

WHEREAS 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 favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleafed to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington