British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and United States President Franklin Roosevelt met in 1941 to issue a joint declaration that became known as the Atlantic Charter.

They anchored their warships off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

In a joint worship service, including the crews of the warships, British and American voices joined in hymns that spoke of the most sacred beliefs that the British and Americans shared.

These sacred beliefs anchored their historic proclamation:

[A]fter the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, they hope to see established a peace which will afford to all nations the means of dwelling in safety within their boundaries, and which will afford assurance that all the [peoples] in all the lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want.

In addition to inspiring the British and the Americans, these sacred beliefs inspired many other peoples (who were neither British nor American) to destroy the Nazi tyranny so that all the peoples in all the lands may establish a peace with freedom from fear and want.

In the Bible, the Psalms are “hymns” that express sacred beliefs that guide all of us who love our one God—our one LORD—with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind. (Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Matthew 22:36-38).

Who is our one and only God? Who is our one and only LORD?

—The One who overcomes Darkness with Light. (Genesis 1:1-4,31; John 1:1-5).

—The One who is the Maker of heaven and earth,

        the sea and everything in them. (Psalm 146:6).

—The LORD is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. (Psalm 136:2-3).

—By himself alone he does great wonders. (Psalm 136:4).

—By his understanding he made the heavens. (Psalm 136:5).

—He spread out the earth upon the waters. (Psalm 136:6).

—He made the great lights:

—the sun to govern the day,

—the moon and stars to govern the night. (Psalm 136:7-9).

The heavens declare his glory. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1-2).

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

     we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

(Psalm 100:3).

We will praise the LORD all our lives. We will sing praise to our God as long as we live. (Psalm 146:2).

Why?

Not only because he is the one and only Creator who is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. (Psalm 146:6).

But also because:

—The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

   slow to anger and rich in love. (Psalm 145:8).

—He upholds the cause of the oppressed

     and gives food to the hungry.

—The LORD sets prisoners free,

     —The LORD gives sight to the blind.

—The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down.

     —The LORD loves the righteous.

—The LORD watches over the foreigner

     and sustains the fatherless and the widow,

—But he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

(Psalm 146:7-9).

Therefore:

We give thanks to the LORD and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

     his faithfulness continues through all generations.

(Psalm 100:4-5; Psalm 136:1-26).

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

In what ways do the heavens declare the glory of the LORD God to you?

In what ways do the skies proclaim the work of the LORD God to you?

In what ways is the LORD God good, loving and faithful to you?

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In this blog, I was careful to include “making heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them” (Psalm 146:6) as one of the ways that the LORD God overcomes Darkness with Light. Why? Because many people now and throughout history mistakenly believe errors such as that the physical universe isn’t “real” or is inherently evil.

For more of my thoughts about the hesed of the LORD God, please read my blogs “The Hesed of the LORD Endures Forever”, “Hesed Saves and Nurtures Baby Moses”, “Hesed Saves Israel—Passover”, “Hesed Nurtures Israel—From the Red Sea to Mount Sinai”, “Hesed Nurtures Israel—Mount Sinai”, “Hesed Establishes the Work of Moses’s Hands—Mount Nebo”, “Hesed Blesses Forever—David”, “Walking Humbly With Hesed—Micah”, “Hoping in Hesed—Jeremiah”, “Hesed Returns Israel to Jerusalem”, “Jesus Embodies Hesed—The Vision of Isaiah”, “Jesus Embodies Hesed—Fulfilling the Law of Moses and the Prophets”, and “Jesus Embodies Hesed—Saving Lost Sheep, Lost Coins, and Lost Sons”.

For related thoughts, please read the “Prologue: Creating, Destroying and Saving Civilization” and the related Appendices: “Thoughts About the First Eleven Chapters of Genesis” and “Tax Law Concepts Regarding Adam, Eve, Etc.” in my book The Promised Land, at pages 17-18 and 184-194.