A righteous man knows the rights of the poor. – Proverbs 29:7

The National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, is often described as the largest solid granite monument in the world. It was built “in honor of those 102 brave souls who boarded the Mayflower with hopes for a better life in the New World.” The largest and most prominent figure on the monument is the Faith statue. The four figures surrounding Faith bear the names Liberty, Law, Education, and Morality.

The monument bears a dedication on its northeast side that reads: “Erected by a grateful people in remembrance of their labors, sacrifices, and sufferings for the cause of civil and religious liberty.”

The Mayflower Compact, their initial governing document, clearly stated that what they had undertaken was for “the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.” The agreement called for the Pilgrims to come together under a “civil body politic” that would be governed by “just and equal laws, ordinances, actives, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most… convenient for the general good of the colony; under which we promise all due submission and obedience.”

Many historians have referred to the Mayflower Compact as the foundation of the U.S. Constitution, which was written more than 150 years later. Without the Bill of Rights, basic civil rights such as freedom of religion and speech, the freedom to assemble and to petition, to freely publish information, and to keep and bear arms could be violated or revoked.

Thank God for the blessed liberty that remains in the United States. Ask the Lord to draw the hearts of citizens and governing officials to defend and uphold the Constitution, with “all due submission and obedience,“ so that this nation may endure.