O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25

We devoted two Sunday messages to “lamenting” over our personal sins, and lack of intimacy with the Lord. It occurred to me that as we celebrate the 4th of July this week, we might be wise to think about lamenting over our national sins. Our nation is still swimming in the backwash of our first national sin: slavery. At least that sin was outlawed, though it took a civil war to do so.

Then there is our current and ongoing national sin of abortion. To give a sense of the magnitude of this current sin, 620,000 lives were lost in the Civil war. 63,000,000 babies have been aborted since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973. 63,000,000 is over 100 times 620,000. And the war over abortion is still being waged.

My wife and I read the book of Amos this morning, a prophecy about God’s judgment on Israel. God’s judgment on the people He blesses, but who turn from Him, is greater than His judgment on nations that never acknowledged Him. The U.S. is arguably the most blessed nation in human history. We have turned from God. May we lament over our national sin, and plead with God to have mercy on the United States!