Common Sense by Thomas Paine: "But where says some is the king of America? I'll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal of Britain. Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards arise, let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished, and scattered among the people whose right it is. "
Yes, that is the same Thomas Paine that in later years wrote "The Age of Reason." At the time of his participation in forming the foundations for our government, he wrote the above. People can sometimes grow more cynical over time. You have to understand their thoughts at the historical time. If even a religious cynic like Thomas Paine saw our Government of laws as founded on the law of God, I do nee how you can argue that was not the intent of the Founders.
And I suppose you understand what Thomas Paine meant when he said “the word of God”. Deists at the time belived in natural law given to us by God by observing nature and not hearsay revealations from the Bible.
As Paine said in The Age of Reason
“ The Creation speaks a universal language, independent of human speech or human language, multiplied and various as they be. It is an ever-existing original, which every man can read. It cannot be forged; it cannot be counterfeited; it cannot be lost; it cannot be altered; it cannot be suppressed. It does not depend upon the will of man whether it shall be published or not; it publishes itself from one end of the earth to the other. It preaches to all nations and to all worlds; and this Word of God reveals to man all that is necessary for man to know of God.”
Thomas Paine