“With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
The quote above comes from the last line of the Declaration of Independence, signed nearly 250 years ago. It is easy to forget the signers put their lives at great risk. Congress voted on July 4 to approve the text, but the signing did not begin until August 2, under very tense conditions.
Thirty-five years later, Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote to John Adams about those trying moments. “Do you recollect the pensive and awful silence which pervaded the house when we were called up, one after another, to the table of the President of Congress to subscribe what was believed by many at that time to be our own death warrants?”
It was clear both Rush and Adams never forgot that day. Other accounts of the day circulated in the decades that followed. Historian Jared Sparks published a work in 1840 quoting John Hancock. “We must be unanimous. There must be no pulling different ways; we must all hang together.”
Sparks wrote that the comment led to Benjamin Franklin’s famous words, “Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” [1]
Because they did “hang together,” the United States is about to celebrate its 250th birthday. Were the fears the signers endured that summer of 1776 realized? Although they did experience many hardships, interestingly, not a single signer was hung or executed by the British. What can we learn from their example?
Hang together. When we hang together — whether friends, a marriage, a church, a denomination, or even a nation — we accomplish so much more. Further, we are safer when attacked by the evil one (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12), because others have our back.
Be unanimous or of one accord. The founders knew a house divided would not stand (Mark 3:25). When we are of one accord (Philippians 2:2), focused on the primary mission, we are more likely to survive and be successful in building relationships, rearing children, reaching our communities, and elevating Christ.
Rely on God. The founders realized without “divine Providence” they would not succeed. Neither will we when we rely only on our own efforts. Only God can give us true success.
