Excerpt from President George Washington Inaugural Address April 30, 1789

"It would be perculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplication to that Almighty Being, who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States...No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the poeple of the United States.  Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency...

We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained....

I shall take my present leave: but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the Human Race in humble supplication that, since He has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the security of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which the success of this Government must depend."

This excerpt recalls the passage of 2 CHRONICLES 7:14:

If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.