Restoring the Foundations

How ironic that a fort named after a man born in Ulster, Northern Ireland, would inspire the American national anthem and become a powerful symbol in a conflict with his own native land.

When he was 18, James McHenry decided to emigrate from Northern Ireland to the New World, where he studied medicine. He served as an apprentice to America’s foremost physician, Dr. Benjamin Rush, who also encouraged him to support American independence.

McHenry went on to have a distinguished career. He served as a physician in the Revolutionary War, was a member of the Continental Congress, and signed the Constitution. Later, he was Secretary of War under Presidents George Washington and John Adams. Because of his faithful service, a fort in Baltimore was named after him. It was at Fort McHenry that the “Star-Spangled Banner” was written in 1812, and the song later became America’s national anthem.

McHenry was a strong Christian, and after his retirement from government he became president of the first Bible society in Baltimore. As he had throughout his life, he championed the Bible as the cornerstone of any successful nation and the foundation of a stable society. He argued that it was a book “fitted to every situation.” It alone could secure “order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government, purity, stability, and usefulness.”

Today, some are trying to remove the Bible from public life and silence those who would declare its truths. More than ever, the world needs people who, like James McHenry, recognize that God’s Word must be the foundation of our lives. Make sure you know the Word. Stand boldly for the Christian faith. Don’t compromise or be silent.