Mr. Lincoln

Mr. Lincoln,
You called us to pray as a nation.
I think we should do it again.
For the economy and education,
Our freedoms, and enemies to befriend

We have 'nowhere else to go'
But directly to our knees
Under much weight we groan
Still, we trust God knows our needs

Image: Abraham Lincoln in Thinking Pose by Mathew Brady, 1862 (Public Domain image)

http://opensiddur.org/2012/02/memorial-prayer-for-abraham-lincoln-by-isaac-goldstein-the-levi/

Abraham's Covenant

A covenant was made with God,

Lincoln knew he would live no longer.

He surrendered for us all, 

For righteousness, merit, and honor.  

God exacts a price on freedom,

And as a nation, to Him, we have been blind.

Let us repent for what we've done, 

Let us restore love, and seek to be more kind

Let us look for the good

In ourselves and each other

Restoring brotherhood

Let us serve one another

http://web.gbtv.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=22473741&topic_id=24584158&tcid=vpp_copy_22473741&v=3

belief.net:

Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles recalled the meeting the same way Chase did. Lincoln called them together and said the slaves were to be freed. “He had, he said, made a vow, a covenant, that if God gave us the victory in the approaching battle (which had just been fought) he would consider it his duty to move forward in the cause of emancipation.” Lincoln knew his listeners might be skeptical or puzzled, but there it was. “We might think it strange, he said, but there were times when he felt uncertain how to act; that he had in this way submitted the disposal of matters when the way was not clear to his mind what he should do. God had decided this question in favor of the slave. He was satisfied he was right—was confirmed and strengthened by the vow and its results; his mind was fixed, his decision made.

Thirty years before, in the Age of Jackson, Tocqueville heard an American clergyman utter these words at a public gathering: “O Lord! Never turn thy face away from us; permit us always to be the most religious people as well as the most free.” In Lincoln’s understanding, God required, first, a guilelessness and purity of purpose, and in exchange would relieve the country of fear and sustain her through the fires of war, and the penance he was exacting. Then, and only then, might light come from darkness.

Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2006/05/Abraham-Lincolns-God.aspx#ixzz1yfZ4Xe36

THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC

In recognition of
And trust in Almighty
Lincoln prayed to God above
For victory in the fighting

Gettysburg would determine
The destiny of this great land
Realizing this he was driven
To his knees... trusting in God's hand

Then when the news reached him
That the battle had been won
He set forth Thanksgiving
To thank Him for what He'd done

Thus the American motto
Forever is: "In God we trust!"
Let this unite us also
For He will guide and defend us

...as we seek to be righteous

Prager University: Happiness is a Moral Obligation

Happiness is a moral obligation
To be altruistic no matter where one stations
It is not about me, but all about us
It is about deciding to be pleasant, thus

We have no right to inflict our bad mood upon any other
Just as we should not breath our foul breath onto another
The most miserable people, the earth has ever known
Have used power to let their unhappiness be shown

Nazis, communists, and terrorists alike
Choose to afflict mankind, that unhappiness will spike
So as you share your burdens, do not let them inflict
But, rather let them stir new thoughts to resolve conflicts

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. ~Benjamin Franklin
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. ~Abraham Lincoln
http://www.quotegarden.com/happiness.html

From these the Honored Dead

From these the honored dead
Let us increase our devotion
Unto God, equally led
With freedom, full, in motion

thoughts from Abraham Lincoln's address
click on title to read Text of Gettysburg Address

What Difference Can One Man Make?

What difference can one man make
Ponder the life of Columbus
His voyage alone to take
Discovering our country, thus

What difference can one day make
Twas life or death for Jamestown
The enemy came to overtake
But saw ships and turned around

Ever believe in miracles
In yourself and God's plan
He stands supreme and overrules
The enemy of pride at hand

Chris Stewart and his brother Ted
"Seven Miracles That Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope" (Shadow Mountain, $27.95).
When the odds were stacked against us — and there have been many times when the great experiment we call America could have and should have failed — did God intervene to save us?”
That question, posed by authors Chris and Ted Stewart, is the foundation for this remarkable book. And the examples they cite provide compelling evidence that the hand of Providence has indeed preserved the United States of America on multiple occasions. Skillfully weaving story vignettes with historical explanations, they examine seven instances that illustrate God’s protecting care:

The unlikely discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
How (and why) desperate English colonists were able to survive the “starving time” at Jamestown
The Battle of New York during the Revolutionary War
The miraculous creation of the United States Constitution
Abraham Lincoln’s desperate prayer that turned the tide of the Civil War at Gettysburg
How a series of extraordinary events changed the Battle of Midway during World War II
The preservation of Ronald Reagan’s life from an assassin’s bullet, allowing him the time he needed to help extend freedom around the world

"Never, at any of these critical junctures, was a positive outcome certain or even likely. Yet America prevailed. Why?

“No man is perfect,” write the authors. “And neither is any nation. Yet, despite our weakness, we are still, as Abraham Lincoln said, the best nation ever given to man. Despite our faults, this nation is still the last, best hope of earth.” In short, God still cares what happens here. This reassuring message is a bright light in a world that longs for such hope.

Years Ago - Abraham Lincoln

Years ago our great land
Was destitute and in need
Our leader called for fasting
In humility indeed

Hoorah for Abraham Lincoln
Who arose from poverty
To live as one righteous
And lead our poor country

Now... who will lead us
Unto a final recovery
Perhaps... none save Jesus
The greatest of all history

Who will rise up in His name
And restore this nation onto God
With a title of liberty reclaimed
Creating the shock and awe!

Proclamation of a Day of Fasting

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas a joint Committee of both Houses of Congress has waited on the President of the United States, and requested him to "recommend a day of public humiliation, prayer and fasting, to be observed by the people of the United States with religious solemnities, and the offering of fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, His blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration of peace:" --

And whereas it is fit and becoming in all people, at all times, to acknowledge and revere the Supreme Government of God; to bow in humble submission to his chastisements; to confess and deplore their sins and transgressions in the full conviction that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and to pray, with all fervency and contrition, for the pardon of their past offences, and for a blessing upon their present and prospective action:

And whereas, when our own beloved Country, once, by the blessing of God, united, prosperous and happy, is now afflicted with faction and civil war, it is peculiarly fit for us to recognize the hand of God in this terrible visitation, and in sorrowful remembrance of our own faults and crimes as a nation and as individuals, to humble ourselves before Him, and to pray for His mercy, -- to pray that we may be spared further punishment, though most justly deserved; that our arms may be blessed and made effectual for the re-establishment of law, order and peace, throughout the wide extent of our country; and that the inestimable boon of civil and religious liberty, earned under His guidance and blessing, by the labors and sufferings of our fathers, may be restored in all its original excellence: --

Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do appoint the last Thursday in September next, as a day of humiliation, prayer and fasting for all the people of the nation. And I do earnestly recommend to all the People, and especially to all ministers and teachers of religion of all denominations, and to all heads of families, to observe and keep that day according to their several creeds and modes of worship, in all humility and with all religious solemnity, to the end that the united prayer of the nation may ascend to the Throne of Grace and bring down plentiful blessings upon our Country.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed, this 12th, day of August A.D. 1861, and of the Independence of the United States of America the 86th.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President:

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.