In October 1789, President George Washington issued a thanksgiving proclamation “to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor….” This proclamation was thus not merely a self-congratulation whereby the President and others applauded themselves for creating a new government provided by our Constitution. At that point, we were transitioning from the Articles of Confederation which had neither three distinct branches of government nor the idea of federalism embodied in its organization. Would the new Constitution work? Would the misgivings of some leaders prove to be legitimate? In answer to these questions the proclamation expressed its reliance on the providence of Almighty God, not on a self-conscious and presumptuous self-confidence of those who created the Constitution. Despite the learning and brilliance of many of the Constitution’s promoters (think particularly of the vision and skills of James Madison, the key figure in its writing), Washington determined to put the success of the venture in the hands of Almighty God. He understood that true thankfulness and radical humility go hand in hand.
But Washington did not stop there. In an almost ecstatic frame of mind, he goes on to speak of God as a “great and glorious Bein ...
