Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,1
Those words penned by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow helped to immortalize the efforts of Paul Revere when he rode to Lexington, Massachusetts from Boston to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British were on the move and enroute to arrest them as well as impound the cannon, gunpowder and ammunition stockpiled in Concord.2
Both Hancock and Adams were staying with the Reverend Jonas Clark.3 Clark’s home was familiar territory in that Hancock was the cousin of the young pastor’s wife.4 In addition, Clark was a passionate supporter of America’s quest for freedom. His sermons often referenced the tyranny represented by King George and how America’s pursuit of liberty was something that could be validated as a Biblically-based perspective.
You can hear that in the sermon he published the day after Revere completed his journey entitled, “The Fate of Bloodthirsty Oppressors, and God’s Tender Care of His Distressed People.”
On the 19th of April, 1775, many of the minutemen that had squared off against His Majesty’s soldiers were members of Clark’s congregation. When the smoke had cleared, eight were dead and another ten were wounded.5
Pastor Clark’s text was Joel 3:19-21. He began by saying:
Next to the acknowledgement of the existence of a Deity, there is no one principle of greater importance in religion, than a realizing belief of the divine government and providence, to realize that God is Governor among the nations, that his government is wise and just, and that all our times and changes are in his hands…6
In other words, God is in charge. And it’s because of His Supervision that we can trust that His Justice will ultimately prevail, even when circumstances would suggest otherwise.
By referencing God’s Sovereignty, Clark wasn’t merely offering some general, pastoral comfort. He was reminding his congregation that however evil might be able to function despite the laws and ethics that would otherwise prevent it from happening, oppressors are ultimately defeated by God’s Divine Power and Justice.
In his sermon, Clark referred to the British as having shed innocent blood and calls them “sons of oppression and violence.”7 He then went on to say that the word spoken by the prophet Joel could be applied to the United States.
How far the prophecy before us, may be applicable, upon this solemn occasion, and with what degree of truth, or probability, it may be predicted, in consequence of the present unjust and unnatural war, “that Great-Britain shall be a desolation, and England be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of America, because they have shed INNOCENT BLOOD in their land: But America shall dwell forever, and this people from generation to generation. And the LORD himself will cleanse their blood, that he hath not already cleansed.” —How far (I say) this prophecy may be applicable, in the present interesting contest, and how far it may be accomplished in the issue thereof, God only knows, and time only can discover.—But of this we are certain, if we “humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God upon us, we shall be exalted, in his due time:” and if we rightly improve his dealings, “accept the punishment of our sins” and religiously trust in his name, we shall see his salvation. 8
There are times when a church sanctuary functions as an Emergency Room, where wounds are treated, and victims are placed on the road to recovery through the restorative Power of the Holy Spirit (Ps 6:2; 34:18; Jn 14:27; Jas 5:16).
But there are other instances where it’s a Locker Room, where strategies are being rehearsed, mistakes are being addressed and players are being encouraged so they’re sufficiently equipped to take the field and make a difference (2 Sam 5:24; Dt 31:6; Mk 11:23; Jn 14:12).
In his sermon, Clark would not merely utter spiritual sounding condolences nor would he advocate for a forgiving disposition to be extended to the British. Rather, he would reinforce the Scriptural Substance upon which America’s resolve to be free was based and it was that Foundation that would provide both the courage and the endurance necessary to win the Revolutionary War.
There is a time for all things (Ecc 3:1). There is a time to weep (Ecc 3:4), there is a time to wait (Ps 27:14) and there is a time to win (Ex 17:15; Josh 6:5; Lk 10:19; 1 Jn 4:4).
Do not miss the victory that is yours to claim because you’re focused more on the way you would define your circumstance according to what you can do rather than the way God defines it based on what He can do.
1. “Paul Revere’s Ride”, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, https://poets.org/poem/paul-reveres-ride, accessed February 20, 2023
2. “The Real Story of Paul Revere’s Ride”, paulreverehouse.org, https://www.paulreverehouse.org/the-real-story/, accessed February 20, 2023
3. “Paul Revere’s Letter to Jeremy Belknap, ca. 1798 (abridged)”, “The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History”, https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/Revere%20to%20Belknap%20abridged.pdf, accessed February 20, 2023
4. “Jonas Clarke – The Pastor Who Fired the Shot Heard Around the World”, “Christian Heritage Fellowship”, https://christianheritagefellowship.com/the-pastor-who-fired-the-shot-heard-around-the-world/, accessed February 20, 2023
5. “The Battles of Lexington and Concord”, Isaac Merrill, “Digital History”, https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=129, accessed February 20, 2023
6. “Sermon – Battle of Lexington – 1776”, Wallbuilders, https://wallbuilders.com/sermon-battle-of-lexington-1776/, accessed February 20, 2023
7. Ibid
8. Ibid