© 2019 Don Pinson | [Download]
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This time of year we often hear the words:

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with…justice
From that time forward, even forever… (Isaiah 9:6-7)

These words, taken from Isaiah 9, express the longing of every thinking person on earth.  Most everyone wants justice and order and peace:  In other words, good government.  Every conscientious person wants the kind of government which will produce these things in a society.  Every good person wants good government.  Then why is good government so hard to find?

Number one, good government is hard to find because, as William Penn, said,

“Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them; and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined [also].  Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad…But if men be bad, let the government be ever so good, they will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their turn.”

(Penn, William. April 25, 1682, in the preface of his Frame of Government of Pennsylvania | A Collection of Charters and Other Public Acts (Philadelphia: B. Franklin, 1740), pp. 10-12 | Gary DeMar, God and Government – A Biblical and Historical Study (Atlanta, GA: American Vision, 1982), p. 115.)

So governments go bad because man has Continue reading →

© 2021 Don Pinson | [Download]
(Link not working? Right-click and select “Save As”.)

The ship rode the waves in Cape Cod Bay in a restless sort of way. The voyage just completed had lasted sixty-six days. The last six weeks had been in unbelievable storms. At one point, the Mayflower had nearly gone to the bottom. Only by a miracle was a broken beam repaired with a tool that was supposed to have been left on the dock in England. There were other difficulties and the hard voyage had left the Pilgrims sea-weary and sick.

And yet, before they got off the ship, a document must be written and agreed upon by all those who would be making their home in America. The document would come to be known as the Mayflower Compact.

This government form was not Continue reading →