Last week, headlines were filled with reports of socialist candidates gaining ground in major American cities. Fifty years ago, that would have been almost unimaginable. Today, however, socialism is becoming an increasingly influential force within the Democratic Party.

Is this America’s future? Not if we reclaim our past.

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, this is the perfect time to ask what made our country the freest and most prosperous nation in history.

Looking back over the last two and a half centuries, one would have to focus very narrowly on only a few indicators to deny that America has experienced extraordinary blessing. Despite undeniable cultural erosion in recent decades, our nation has enjoyed a level of peace, prosperity, liberty, and opportunity unparalleled in human history.

So, what was the foundation of that blessing?

Psalm 33:12 declares, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

Perhaps we can find the answer by revisiting the course set by America’s Founders. In fact, it reaches back before the founding itself. In 1630, John Winthrop described the Massachusetts Bay Colony as “a city upon a hill.” He envisioned a people who understood they lived under a covenantal responsibility before God, a vision that profoundly shaped the character of the future nation.

That same conviction appears in President George Washington’s Farewell Address in 1796. He wrote:

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports… And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion… Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its Virtue?”

What was Washington saying?

He believed America’s long-term happiness, prosperity, liberty, and security depended on the character of its people. A free nation can remain free only if it remains virtuous. Yet government cannot manufacture virtue. Laws may restrain evil, but they cannot transform the human heart. Virtue is cultivated as men and women submit themselves to God and are shaped by His word.

That brings us back to today’s headlines. Socialism is not America’s greatest problem; it is a symptom of a deeper spiritual and moral decline. Political movements rise and fall, but the endurance of a republic is ultimately determined by the character of its people.

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, we have an opportunity not merely to commemorate our history but to recover the biblical foundation that made that history possible. If, as Washington observed, the permanent blessing of a nation is connected to its virtue, then America’s renewal begins with the renewal of God’s people.

If you’re concerned about America’s future, join me on a daily journey through the book of Psalms this summer. There is no better place to cultivate grateful hearts, deepen our trust in God, and strengthen the biblical convictions that sustained those who came before us. As we thank God for His blessings on our nation, we’ll also be restoring the biblical foundation for the generations that follow.

If we want America to remain a nation blessed by God, we must first be a virtuous people, shaped by His word.

This article originally appeared here.