As with the neutral stance of his contributions to my early posts on the EU Referendum, David Chapman offers his thoughts for our information and prayers. He lives in the UK and to my knowledge isn’t an American citizen. Dave’s post is timely – prophetic even – in view of deep concerns over a constitutional crisis in the event of a Clinton victory, (as in last post’s link).:

THE AMERICAN ELECTION

I am sure you appreciate my thoughts are at best very incomplete, but whilst doing very little ‘work reading’ during this last month’s stay in New Zealand, I did carefully read the American Constitution, called the “Constitution of the United States”, and also a book out of Morning Star Ministries (Rick Joyner) by Karla Perry – ‘Back to the Future’. With some of my own thoughts also, these are some of the findings. I hope they may be useful in considering and praying for the American Presidential Election due on 8th November.

The American Constitution

This is the opening Statement, word for word, of their Constitution and, therefore, it does not include the 7 Articles (which are just 9 pages laying out essentially how Governing is to operate, including its structure); nor does it include The Amendments, (which are 27, and just 7 pages), though some of these – all of these of course if you are American! – seem particularly vital.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Lets dissect this a little.:

1. “We the people”…..

This clarifies WHO are establishing, and seeking to abide by, the Constitution. The Constitution of the United States lies in the hands of all those who are Americans.
This simple but profound statement found its roots in the democratic freedoms earned on British soil.
Whilst this provides great freedoms for its citizens, it clearly also lays great responsibility in the hands of each of those citizens. Only an individual vote ‘for someone, or for another’ engages with that responsibility.

2. to “establish Justice”

Wow! …. that is its first priority of purpose and responsibility.
Noun: justice; plural noun: justices
1. just behaviour or treatment.
“a concern for justice, peace, and genuine respect for people”.
In practice this means:-
fairness, justness, fair play, fair-mindedness, equity, equitableness, even-handedness, egalitarianism, impartiality, impartialness, lack of bias, objectivity, neutrality, disinterestedness, lack of prejudice, open-mindedness, non-partisanship; honour, uprightness, decency, integrity, probity, honesty, righteousness, ethics, morals, morality, virtue, principle, right-mindedness, propriety, scrupulousness, trustworthiness, incorruptibility.
“ideas of social justice”
validity, justification, soundness, well-foundedness, legitimacy, legitimateness, reasonableness. (I wish to acknowledge an internet definition here – no web ref available though).

These Bible-based ethics, values and morals lie at the heart of their Constitution.
This is all to be carried out under officially appointed administrators of the Law, their judges, magistrates, and the people, using a similar Jury make-up to our own.

3. to “insure domestic Tranquility”

I am sure we would use the word “peace” to interpret this. That is, peace within their borders, including their homes, cities and communities.

Therefore, there lies with THEM a responsibility to ensure (our English word!) best conditions internally – within the Nation that is – for the benefit of the whole Nation to live at peace.

4. to “provide for the common defense”

It is THEIR responsibility, under their form of Government, to provide the necessary defence of and for their Country against attack from outside or within. That’s pretty plain and simple.

It will include by military means through policing at home, and also by monitoring its own borders.

5. to “promote the general welfare”

That is, by making decisions as well as by policy, through educating and training by all means possible to ensure the care and development of all its citizens.

6. “and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”

That is, to ensure all the results (blessings that come from) of liberty for the present and future generations.

Maintaining liberty is a cause not to be taken lightly.

In our case this was won at national level through the Civil War (1642 to 1651), though the Magna Carta (June 1215) had stated our freedoms centuries before, and in their case also through Civil War (1861 to 1865), though this Constitution was made and signed in September of 1787.

It is worth reiterating that ALL of these freedoms and responsibilities issue out of Bible-based, and understood, principles and practice.

The Candidates for this Election

Well, their main two parties – Republican and Democrats – have thrown up their choices. For the Democrats stands Mrs Hillary Clinton. She is aged 69 before the end of this October, while Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, is already aged 70. That’s the easiest detail regarding them both to record!

Mrs Clinton has served in the front line of American politics for longer than she would like to think, including at her husband’s side (?) during his own political career and Presidency which ran from January 1993 – January 2001.

Meanwhile Mr Trump ran his father’s business from 1971, but his ’empire’ is now run largely by his children. He does have a Bachelor’s degree in economics, but this has not always protected him against some business failures. Nevertheless the 72-storey ‘Trump Tower’, completed in 2001, sits across from the United Nations’ main building in New York.

If we go by the media coverage, or their publicized behaviour, before and during this Election campaign, perhaps we wonder how on earth either candidate could possibly be the forthcoming President of the United States! How much of it all is true we cannot tell. Be that as it may, that is the choice before the American people.

The Real Choice for Americans

What really lies before all Americans at this time, is ‘which candidate is more likely to honour the key parts of the Constitution’? That to me is the real question. That is so difficult to decide given the coverage we have had. However, that is how we intend to be praying for this vital appointment, for the next leader of the free world!

Only God knows which one of these two is the best for that purpose, and therefore of His will – since it was His doing that led to the establishment of this great and powerful Nation several centuries ago along the lines outlined in their Constitution.

That Constitution, over the centuries since its inception, has overseen their development and growth internally – to such an extent that only just over a third of Americans see the point in having a passport!– as well as externally taking their place at the top of world influence, especially during this last century in so many fields, including militarily, and to their credit grew to become the greatest (Christian) missionary sending and supporting Nation on earth.

I believe, therefore, this is the most vital Election in the US for many, many years, even decades.

Our Response.:

It could be easy to close our eyes to the whole thing ‘across the pond’! But the reality for us is that we would not have won the First World War without their help, their military assistance, involvement, and financial support, neither indeed would we have won the Second World War.

Despite their President’s more recent threat to “place us at the back of the queue!” if we left the EU, there is no doubt they remain our greatest ally in peacetime, or in war, having come from the same and similar roots as our own. We share a love for liberty and freedoms, established in each Nation, at great cost, and all under Bible-based principles and behavior.

We would be foolish indeed to remove ourselves from the responsibility to pray earnestly for this great nation at this time. Our future in our nation is intertwined with theirs, and certainly will be during and after our present Brexit process.

Therefore for us, the best way we know how to pray for them is along the lines of :-

“Lord, would You cause the candidate to be elected whose heart is closest to honouring the Constitution of the United States, at this time.

“Would you defeat the forces of evil that seek to destroy this great missionary sending Nation, restore its Bible-based freedoms and liberties, lead them to lift up your name in the years to come, and to serve your purposes at home and abroad.

“Your kingdom come in this vital part of the world, in Jesus mighty name, amen”.

Dave Chapman, 21st October 2016