---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I tremble for my country when I reflect…"
description: "\"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever: that, considering numbers, nature, and natural means o..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/thomas-jefferson-43_almighty_i-tremble-for-my-country-when-i-reflect_2515535.jpg"
---

#  I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just…

![“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever: that, considering numbers, nature, and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situation, is among possible events: that it may become probable by supernatural…” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/thomas-jefferson-43_almighty_i-tremble-for-my-country-when-i-reflect_2515535.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/thomas-jefferson-43_almighty_i-tremble-for-my-country-when-i-reflect_2515535.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/thomas-jefferson-43_almighty_i-tremble-for-my-country-when-i-reflect_2515535.jpg)

> “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever: that, considering numbers, nature, and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situation, is among possible events: that it may become probable by supernatural interference! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in such a contest.”

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Jefferson expresses fear that divine justice will eventually punish injustice, acknowledging human powerlessness against divine will.

**In simple terms:** Divine justice will eventually act against injustice.

Key Takeaway

Recognize limits of human control.

Themes

justice divine will human limitation

Mood

reflective serious

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- political discourse
- ethical debates
- historical analysis

Key Concepts

theology philosophy political thought

Questions to Reflect On

- How do we act when divine justice seems distant?
- Can human law reflect divine fairness?

A Different Perspective

Human agency cannot alter divine outcomes.

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## Related quotes

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> [Withersoever the wheel of Fortune turns, Virtue stands firm upon her feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benvenuto-cellini/withersoever-the-wheel-of-fortune-turns-virtue-stands-firm-upon-her/)

[Benvenuto Cellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benvenuto-cellini/)

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> [If 'Bio-Man' dies, maybe I'll go on and work on something that becomes the next 'Wheel of Fortune.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haim-saban/if-bio-man-dies-maybe-i-ll-go-on-and-work-on-something-that-becomes/)

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> [I watch 'Jeopardy!' every night and 'Wheel of Fortune' follows. And every time I'm like, 'Whoa, it's still on! This is still happening!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-macisaac/i-watch-jeopardy-every-night-and-wheel-of-fortune-follows-and-every/)

[Martha MacIsaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-macisaac/)

> [“Maybe this was simply how the Wheel of Fortune spun. You were pinned to it at birth and sent rolling away into your life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-eirik-clark/maybe-this-was-simply-how-the-wheel-of-fortune-spun-you-were-pinned/)

Stephan Eirik Clark

> [Life's a wheel of fortune and y'all can't buy a vowel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-kim/life-s-a-wheel-of-fortune-and-y-all-can-t-buy-a-vowel/)

[Lil' Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-kim/)

> [Wheel of Fortune was an important SAT prep for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-rocca/wheel-of-fortune-was-an-important-sat-prep-for-me/)

[Mo Rocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-rocca/)

> [Life's a wheel of fortune and it's my chance to spin it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-a-wheel-of-fortune-and-it-s-my-chance-to-spin-it/)

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[Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/)

> [Even an attorney of moderate talent can postpone doomsday year after year, for the system of appeals that pervades American jurisprudence amounts to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/even-an-attorney-of-moderate-talent-can-postpone-doomsday-year-after/)

[Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/)

## More by Thomas Jefferson

> [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/)

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> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

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> [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

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> [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/)

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## More Almighty quotes

> [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/)

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> [When you hear somebody justifying a war by citing the Almighty, I get a little worried, frankly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-reagan/when-you-hear-somebody-justifying-a-war-by-citing-the-almighty-i-get/)

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