"Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me" Psalm 101:6.

If David spoke thus, we may be sure that the Son of David will be of the same mind. Jesus looks out for faithful men, and He fixes His eyes upon them, to observe them, to bring them forward, to encourage them, and to reward them. Let no true-hearted man think that he is overlooked; the King Himself has His eye upon him.

The Baptists have been active in many fields of service, in addition to establishing hospitals, orphanages, and homes for the aged. The Baptists have made , an honorable contribution to the world of literature. They have written a number of our greatest hymns.
There is little doubt that the Baptists have been the champions of religious freedom in this and other lands. The Collier's Encyclopedia says, "The ideals of the Republic were their own, and they became the leading protagonists of separation of Church and State which, in the Bill of Rights, became a fundamental principle in the Constitution of the United States." Skeats, the English historian, declared, "It is the singular and distinguished honor of the Baptists to have repudiated from their earliest history all coercive power over the consciences and actions of men with reference to religion. They were the protoevangelists of the voluntary principle."
Thomas Carlyle asserted, "The history of the world is but the biography of great men." And when you study the history of religious freedom you will discover that it is largely a biography of great Baptists. For this they have paid a great price. They were drowned, beheaded, burned at the stake, their eyes were gouged out, melted lead was poured over their bodies and they were publicly whipped. Collier's Encyclopedia says, "They were the victims of determined persecution on all sides, and this persecution was carried on with more violence by Protestants than by Roman Catholics." Though this may be disputable, the fact remains, in Protestant as well as Catholic countries, the Baptists paid the price of freedom with their blood.

Though Luther, Zwingli and Calvin appealed to the Scriptures as the final and supreme authority in matters of religion, not one of them advocated the freedom of the church from secular control. While Calvin believed in punishing dissenters with death and exile, Luther said of the Anabaptists, "Let the sword exercise its rights over them." The champions of liberty in Germany were not the Lutherans, but Baptists such as Balthasar Hubmaier, a learned man with a doctor of theology degree from the University of Ingolstadt. This great Baptist was hounded from city to city, until he was banished to Moravia where he became the leader of thousands who fled from the Zwinglian persecution and thousands of Moravian converts to Anabaptist views. He was burned at the stake by order of the Emperor in 1528, and three days later his wife, with a stone tied to her neck was thrown into the Danube by the Roman Catholic authorities. Throughout his career as an Anabaptist leader, Hubmaier insisted upon the separation of the Church and State, the authority of the Bible and the baptism of believers. In 1535 Charles V issued an edict ordering all rebaptizers in the Netherlands to be put to death by fire. During the next eleven years 30,000 Baptists were put to death. Religious freedom in England did not originate with the Episcopalians or Presbyterians but with Baptists, such as, Thomas Helwys, John Murton and their followers who organized the first English Baptist Church in 1612 and began to spread from there the principles of liberty. Our own country is not exempt from the guilt of persecuting the Baptists. When nine of the thirteen colonies had state supported churches, hundreds of Baptists were jailed or beaten in the streets.

On June 4, 1768, the sheriff of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, arrested Lewis Craig, John Waller, James Childs, James Reed and William Mash. The prosecutor charged them with being disturbers of the peace, alleging, "They cannot meet a man upon the road, but they must ram a text of Scripture down his throat." They were kept in prison in Fredericksburg forty three days for quoting the Word of God.

In 1773, Jeremiah Moore was arrested for preaching and was told by the judge, "You shall lie in jail until you rot." Patrick Henry was brought to Alexandria to defend Moore, and in a great impassioned speech said, "Great God, gentlemen, a man in prison for preaching the Gospel of the Son of God." Moore was later released.

Many others like Obadiah Holmes were stripped to the waist and beaten, it is said, "Until the blood ran down his body and then his legs until his shoes overflowed." For days Holmes could not rest except upon his knees and elbows, not able to let his body touch the bed.

Baptist John Leland became a friend of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, enlisting their support in his fight for religious freedom, and strengthened their own convictions. Leland determined to become a member of the Virginia convention called to ratify the United States Constitution, to force Baptist views of freedom into the document. He was opposed in the Orange County election by James Madison. He knew he had the election won, but recognized in Madison a more persuasive political voice. So the two met at a place that is now known as the Leland Madison State Park. There, Madison agreed to introduce an Amendment to the Constitution assuring separation of Church and State, if Leland would withdraw. Leland withdrew. Today, the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights guarantees the citizens of the United States freedom of religion.

Now you know why I am proud to be a Baptist. You should be proud to be a Baptist, and we must earnestly guard our principles which have been purchased by the blood of martyrs. Evil efforts are being made to violate some of the principles today. You should have firm convictions concerning the things that have made Baptists great, and stand for those things, whatever the cost may be.