Trying Times

TRYING TIMES Psalm 25:1-22 1. Then and Now. Then: December, 1776: George Washington and his withering army had been pushed out of New York and were facing depressing times. Within two weeks, the agreed-upon-time for the soldiers’ service would be up. That could mean the end of the Revolutionary cause. Washington required his soldiers to hear the reading of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, “The American Crisis.” The first line was, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” The soldiers stayed with Washington, they crossed the Delaware River, and the struggle went forward. Now: The Coronavirus has become a pandemic. As of 8/19/20, in U.S. there have been 5.25 million cases; 167,000 have died; and all of this since the first death of the virus on 2/29/20. As in 1776, we can say, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”