It is the eve of the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hoshanna if you look on your calendars. It is referred to as the Jewish New Year and it is as such. In the ancient Kingdom of Israel the ascension of kings was reckoned from this day. In the Bible it is day when the trumpets were sounded to announce the celebrations. The sound of trumpets was also an alarm that danger was approaching.

This year Trumpets comes two days after the sixth anniversary of 9/11 and on the same week General David Petraeus delivered his assessment of the war in Iraq to Congress. For those of us who observe time by God's timetable it is indeed a period of evaluation, observance and assessment. We are living in challenging times. If ever there was  time to watch, it is now.

Earlier this year I wrote two articles on the role of a watchman in the Bible. It was an interesting study for me and I received a number of comments from readers of the timeliness of the articles. One scripture in Isaiah is fitting as we approach the Feast of Trumpets...

" I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." (Isaiah 62:6-7)

This is not a time to keep silent on the great dangers that confront America and the West today. While the focus is on the danger from Islamic jihadists who have demonstrated an ability to strike with deadly consequences there are other, internal dangers that are equally viral and capable of bringing down our nation. We are a nation divided politically, crippled by deep moral sins and wounded psychologically. Our pride as a people and will to act has been compromised.

This was prophesied by God when he laid the legal moral and ethical basis by which  the descendants of Abraham would be judged through history. Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 detail the blessings that would follow for obedience and the curses caused by disobedience to God's commandments. These ancient words are alive and have direct impact on our national state today. Our problems as a people are caused by direct disobedience to the teachings of the true God. Until we return and acknowledge that truth we will continue to spiral down into an abyss of tribulation.

An analysis from Stratfor yesterday refers to the deep psychological breakdown America is facing from this prolonged war. Here is a part of that report...

The effect on the United States is much more profound. The war, both in Iraq and against al Qaeda, has worn the United States down over time. The psychology of fear has been replaced by a psychology of cynicism. The psychology of confidence in war has been replaced by a psychology of helplessness. Exhaustion pervades all.That is the single most important outcome of the war.

What happens to bin Laden is, in the end, about as important as what happened to Guevara. Legends will be made of it -- not history. But when the world's leading power falls into the psychological abyss brought about by time and war, the entire world is changed by it. Every country rethinks its position and its actions. Everything changes.

That is what is important about the Petraeus report. He will ask for more time. Congress will give it to him. The president will take it. Time, however, has its price not only in war but also psychologically. And if the request for time leads to more failure and the American psychology is further battered, then that is simply more time that other powers, great and small, will have to take advantage of the situation.

The United States has psychologically begun tearing itself apart over both the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq. Whatever your view of that, it is a fact -- a serious geopolitical fact.The Petraeus report will not address that. It is out of the general's area of responsibility. But the pressing issue is this: If the United States continues the war and if it maintains its vigilance against attacks, how does the evolution of the American psyche play out?

America is crumbling under the relentless onslaught of this war. It's moral foundation is shaky and many voices understand th is. What they do not understand is why! They cannot see the deep moral and spiritual crisis our people are in due because they have forsaken the laws of the living God and do not understand who He is nor what He requires of us. We are in a critical period of world history and now is a time for the watchman to mount the walls and declare the good tidings of God's message. It is not a time to remain silent.