Lafayette, We Are Here

In the summer of 1777, a nineteen-year-old French nobleman named the Marquis de Lafayette sailed across the Atlantic at his own expense to fight for American independence. He shed his blood at Brandywine, endured the bitter winter at Valley Forge, and forged a bond with George Washington so deep that Washington called him "the son I never had." When Lafayette returned to France, he carried with him a covenant of friendship between two nations.

That covenant was tested. Lafayette was imprisoned during the French Revolution. Years passed. Generations turned. Both men died. But the promise held.

On July 4, 1917 — one hundred and forty years after Lafayette first set foot on American soil — Colonel Charles Stanton stood before Lafayette's grave in Paris. American troops had finally come to repay the debt. Stanton spoke four words that echoed across the centuries: "Lafayette, we are here."

A human covenant, honored across five generations, still moves us. But Psalm 89 declares something far greater. The Almighty swore to David, "I will establish your offspring forever and build your throne for all generations." This was no handshake between equals. This was the Creator of heaven binding Himself by His own faithfulness — a steadfast love "built up forever," a throne enduring "as the days of the heavens."