“God is our refuge and strength: a very present help in trouble.”
Jeremiah ate it. David meditated on it. This president kissed it.
On March 4, 1917 Woodrow Wilson stood before Chief Justice White and took the oath of office for the second time. Having barely squeaked out a second-term victory in the Electoral College, 277-254, Wilson was facing the prospect of a world war and navigating frustrations at home.
These were not easy days!
German U-boats were attacking and sinking merchant ships at will. Americans were losing their lives. At home, a peace delegation pressed the chief executive to maintain neutrality and stay out of the war. At the same time, former President Teddy Roosevelt — always ready for a fight — was waging a public campaign against the peace-seeking Wilson,
“He is yellow all through in the presence of danger . . . . I don’t believe he is capable of understanding what the words ‘pride of country’ mean. . . .”
What Roosevelt did not know was this: Wilson was going through the soul-anguishing process of changing his position on the war. He had fought for peace. He had labored to keep the United States out of war. But no more. Now was the time to fight and Wilson was doing his best to lay the groundwork that would prepare the country emotionally and militarily to enter the world conflict.
It wasn’t easy. A handful of discordant Senators were employing a filibuster to halt a bill championed by the President and approved by the House.
It was in the midst of this national and international malaise that Wilson stepped forward for his second inaugural ceremony. The event was simple. Few people were present. No festivities followed.
Wilson took the oath, then did something quite unusual. He kissed the Bible, “which was opened to the Forty-Sixth Psalm: ‘God is our refuge and strength: a very present help in trouble.’”
This was no photo op. This was Wilson, the Presbyterian President who had read the Bible since childhood and as President “read every night from a khaki-covered pocket edition of the Bible that a soldier had sent him,” and who also prayed for the hostilities to end.
The Bible shaped his life. It shaped his presidency.
He is not alone.
Just today I received the results of Daniel Pink’s survey, “The 10 books that mattered most to you (over your life).” Pink is an author of numerous best-selling books about business, work, and behavior. 2117 people cast votes in the Pink survey. Here are the results in reverse order:
10. To Kill a Mockingbird
9. Good to Great
8. The Alchemist
7. Quiet
6. Getting Things Done
5. Mindset
4. Thinking Fast and Slow
3. Man’s Search for Meaning
2. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
1. The Bible
Apparently Pink’s readers discovered what Wilson did. Many books are worthy of a read, but only one is worthy of “the kiss.”
Are you facing your share of trials and uncertainties? Put your hand on the Good Book. No matter your circumstance, let your heart rest where Wilson’s did — in God.
“God is our refuge and strength: a very present help in trouble.”
Notes:
“He is yellow all through . . .” from Wilson, by A. Scott Berg. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 2013. Page 426
“which was opened to the Forty-Sixth Psalm . . .” from Wilson, p. 426.
He “read every night from a khaki-covered pocket edition of the Bible . . .” from Wilson, page 461-462.