My son Matt with his son, Emerson, took us to the July 1 Rockies baseball game which included a fireworks show after. We didn’t win the game, but I’m pretty sure we won the fireworks!

4th of July: it’s a day to celebrate what my friend Mike Metzger calls a long-forgotten world. He writes in part:

…the Founding Fathers included religion in ordering our new freedom. They sought to establish a republic formed by a golden triangle: Religion is necessary for Virtue which is necessary for Liberty which is necessary for Religion. It’s a never-ending cycle from which we form “a more perfect Union,” as the Preamble of the US Constitution puts it.

And if we don’t form it? Legend says a woman asked Benjamin Franklin a question as he exited Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention. “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” Franklin supposedly replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Franklin’s qualifier—if you can keep it—suggests July 4^th is part of a long-forgotten world. – Mike Metzger, July 3, 2023

I recommend Mike’s 2-page article in its entirety.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20.7, ESV)

O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults! … For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. (Psalm 21.1, 7, ESV)