“God, our fortress and strength, is always ready to help in
times of trouble." ~ Psalm 46
The War of 1812 had raged for two
years when a 35-year-old Georgetown lawyer was summoned by U.S. officials to
help negotiate for the release of an elderly medical doctor captured by British
troops. Though rudely received, the
lawyer carried with him documents which described the care with which the imprisoned
doctor had treated injured British soldiers.
The British reluctantly agreed to release Dr. Beanes, but
worried that he’d gained valuable intelligence about British plans for attacking
Baltimore, America’s third largest city. So they detained both men aboard a British-controlled
ship while finalizing battle plans.
On September 13, 1814, an armada of British warships began
firing cannons and rockets on Fort McHenry, the fortress protecting Baltimore’s
harbor. Helpless to provide any warning,
the Americans were forced to watch the battle from behind enemy lines, a
strange paradox.
It was a ‘perilous’ fight, one which continued all day and
throughout the night. Resembling a
massive fireworks display, rockets cast a ‘red glare’ as enemy forces pounded
Ft. Henry with ‘bombs bursting in air.’ American
troops were pinned like sitting ducks; their cannons couldn’t reach British
ships.
During the night, a bomb landed in the Fort’s munitions
magazine, which stored hundreds of wooden gunpowder barrels. By the grace of God, it was a dud.
The air grew strangely quiet as the ‘dawn’s early light’
broke the next morning. A haze of smoke
and fog prevented the lawyer from seeing whose flag now flew over Ft.
Henry. But as the mist cleared momentarily
over the ramparts, he spotted a badly tilted flagpole hoisting a shredded flag.
It boasted broad stripes and spangled
stars.
So thrilled, the lawyer immediately pulled an unfinished
letter from his pocket and began writing a poem. Miraculously defeated, the British released
their prisoners. The lawyer, Francis
Scott Key, returned to Baltimore where he finished his famous poem about the
“Star Spangled Banner . . . forever waving “O'er the land of the free and the
home of the brave.”
Key was a man of great faith. He believed that America was a
heaven-rescued land and that we should "praise the Power that had made and preserved our nation. Then conquer we must when our cause is just,
and this be our motto, IN GOD IS OUR TRUST."
In 1956, 142 years after he wrote those lines, "IN GOD
WE TRUST" officially became our nation’s motto. Key went on lead the American Bible Society,
knowing that we’d remain the ‘land of the free’ only by following Biblical
principles. He made it his life’s work
to get the Word of God into the hands and hearts of as many Americans as
possible.
Lord Almighty, as believers in Christ we’re
reminded that you, Lord are our rock, our fortress, our refuge, our place of
safety, and no matter what kind of bombs or fiery darts the enemy hurls at us,
You protect us and keep us safe (Psalm
46). Amen
