In honor of Independence day I thought I would just share a few interesting quotes:

The first amendment to the Constitution (the first 10 amendments are also known as The Bill of Rights)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Patrick Henry
There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. … Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Ben Franklin in a speech to the Constitutional Convention – June 28, 1787
I’ve lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth — that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that except the Lord build the House they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this, — and I also believe that without his concurring Aid, we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our Projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a Reproach and Bye word down to future Ages.

James Madison is called the Father of the Constitution.
It is claimed he discovered our three branches model of government in Isaiah 33:22 which says:
For the LORD is our judge(Judicial Branch), the LORD is our lawgiver (Congress), the LORD is our king (Executive Branch); it is he who will save us.

John Adams – First VP and Second President of the US
Because we have no government, armed with power, capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our Constitution, as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Samuel Adams – organizer of the Boston Tea Party and patriot
We have this day [July 4th] restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven. … From the rising to the setting sun, may His kingdom come.

George Washington – October 3, 1789 – Proclaiming a national day of thanksgiving
It is the duty of all Nations 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

And from two more current presidents from different parties.

John F. Kennedy – Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961
For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. The world is very different now. … And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe – the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.

Ronald Reagan
If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

I’m convinced that today the majority of Americans want what those first Americans wanted: A better life for themselves and their children; a minimum of government authority. Very simply, they want to be left alone in peace and safety to take care of the family by earning an honest dollar and putting away some savings. This may not sound too exciting, but there is something magnificent about it. On the farm, on the street corner, in the factory and in the kitchen, millions of us ask nothing more, but certainly nothing less than to live our own lives according to our values — at peace with ourselves, our neighbors and the world. (July 6, 1976)

Happy Independence Day!
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Leviticus 25:10 – (the Inscription on the Liberty Bell)
Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.