God Armeth the Patriot

By Kathryn Ann Hill

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, men who risked their lives to rescue others were lauded as heroes. Tales of their self-sacrifice brought tears to our eyes. Why do hero stories move us like no others?

For people raised in the Church, the answer must be, at least in part, because they remind us of our first and best Hero, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To rescue us from sin and death, He willingly laid down His life and then took it up again, that He might continue to serve us.

The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter is a hero story if ever there was one. The novel brings to life the brave deeds of Sir William Wallace, a Scottish knight who lived and died to free his homeland from English invaders between A.D. 1296 and 1305. You may know the story of Wallace from the 1995 film Braveheart. There are important differences between the book and the movie, but both show us a young man who sets aside any hope for private happiness in this life in order to free his countrymen from murdering, plundering usurpers.

“God armeth the patriot” is the unabashed theme of The Scottish Chiefs.These brave words were first spoken by Wallace as encouragement to the loyal Scots he would muster to the cause of freedom. His message was that, though small in numbers and bereft of wealth and fortress by their enemies, yet they could trust God to supply them with strength for their just cause.

“God armeth the patriot” sounds very much like Psalm 18:32, “It is God who arms me with strength.” Remember the Psalmist David, who in his youth slew Goliath, the Philistine giant who defied the army of Israel? David could not bear the heavy armor King Saul lent him for his battle with Goliath; instead he trusted God to give him victory through his sling and a stone.

While the situations of patriots David and Wallace are similar, there is an important difference. Out of His unfathomable wisdom and ineffable love, God chose the Israelites, from all the peoples on earth, to be His own. God promised these descendents of Abraham that from their seed the Savior of the world would be born. Because God had thus chosen Israel, when Goliath defied Israel’s army, he was actually defying the living God (1 Samuel 17:25, 36, 45-47). God was bound to defend His people, and He graciously chose to do so through David. Wallace’s Scotland was not God’s chosen nation. The same is true for 21st-century Scotland, and England, and America, and Germany, and France, and the modern-day state called Israel—none may rightly claim to be God’s chosen nation.

In our day, God calls and gathers into His Holy Catholic Church believers from all nations. He does not identify Himself exclusively with any one nation.

While it is a mistake to claim that America is a Christian nation, we Christians who are Americans have much for which to thank God. We live in a democracy that protects religious freedom. In America, the preaching of the Gospel, which plants and nurtures saving faith, is not restricted. Our government protects our liberties through armed forces and other agencies who thwart terrorist plots in order to keep our homeland safe.

God uses heroes, in the uniform of soldier or policeman or fireman, to protect citizens. It is a part of their vocation that they may lay down their lives to protect us. At such times, these uniformed heroes remind us of our Christ. Their Christlike behavior does not guarantee these brave persons eternal life, however. That gift of God comes only to those who trust in the forgiveness of sins won for them by the perfect sacrifice of our Lord upon the cross.

How shall we understand the claim that “God armeth the patriot”? Those Christians in uniform who live to serve their countrymen may indeed trust God to arm them for their daily tasks, even as He strengthens all Christians in their various callings in this life. Hero stories like The Scottish Chiefs take on new interest for us when America engages in armed conflict. As you reflect on the recent war in Iraq, use this story of William Wallace to help you ponder the relationship between faith and patriotism.

Kathryn Ann Hill, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is wife of the Reverend Michael James Hill and copyeditor of Gottesdienst: A Quarterly Journal of the Evangelical-Lutheran Liturgy.

How to Raise a Genius: A Note to Parents

Jane Porter, author of The Scottish Chiefs, was a carefully sheltered English spinster. She wrote vividly of bloody battles, thrilling escapes, secret passageways, treachery and disguise. How did a quiet-living lady conceive this compelling tale? Through early nurture. She heard lullabies of “Wallace Wight” in her Edinburgh nursery, and wondrous battle tales from family servants and neighbors. Their early, lasting impressions fueled her later study of the history that informed her 500-page novel.

Likewise Howard Pyle, writer and illustrator of volumes of knightly adventure, was inspired by early nurture. As a lad he lay upon the family hearth rug, poring over his mother’s copy of Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur. Pyle grew up to author books that have in turn become classics.

Here is a variation on the theme of Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”: Surround a child from infancy with the best of art, literature, and music, then see if he does not grow up, sooner or later, to produce some fine art himself. Better still, bring your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, surround them with the finest sacred art, and then give glory to God when they produce Christian art which has eternal value.

For more about The Scottish Chiefs, send a message to kahill74@cheerful.com