One in Messiah Congregation
קָּהָל
אֶחָד
בְּמָּשִׁיחַ
Part of the Congregation of Israel
עֲדַת
יִשְׂרָאֵל
Shabbat Shalom
שַׁבָּת
שָׁלוֹם
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Let’s pray
--------------------------------
Today we use the Gregorian calendar from Pope Gregory; from
the 1500’s,
November 22th, 2014
November -- the ninth month (now the 11th month)
Middle English Novembre
Latin November
Latin Novembris mensis "ninth month"
Novembris had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29
days, until Julius when it became 30 days long.
----------------------------------------------------
Yehovah has His own calendar
We are now in the 8th month called בּוּל Bool, 28th
day
Soon more rain – Bul /Bool, the eighth month
1Kgs.6 [38]… in the month
Bul, which is the eighth month
Judaism calls this month Cheshvan or Marheshvan
This is not in the Hebrew Scriptures.
-------------------
For your
convenience, all my studies may be viewed at these websites below:
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We are in the One in Messiah room in the Christianity section on paltalk.
----------------
Remember, “tis the season to
be pagan”
Lies are all around us, beware!
Beware of the false image
of love and the false feelings and emotions that run wild.
These feasts that are not
scriptural bring on loneliness, depression and suicide and oh yes, debt for
years to come.
We are commanded by God
Learn not the way of the heathen
Jer.10 [2] Thus saith Yehovah, Learn
not the way of the heathen , and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven;
for the heathen are dismayed at them. The customs of
the people are vain [3] For
the customs of the people are vain:
-------------------------
It seems Sunday evening is the new moon.
We will be in the 9th month of God called
Chislev כִסְלֵו
Zech.7
[1]
And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Yehovah came unto Zechariah in the fourth day
of the ninth month, even in Chisleu / Chislev
---------------------------------
Today's Topic:
“Thanksgiving”
to the God of Israel
We don’t just decide all together to
pick one day to thank God; we thank the God of Israel always, every day!
------------------------------------------
תּוֹדָה
todah
- properly
an extension of the hand, that is, (by implication) avowal, or (usually)
adoration; specifically a choir of worshippers: - confession, (sacrifice of)
praise, thanks
(-giving, offering).
Thanksgiving to the God of Israel in the Psalms
Pss. 26 [7] … I may
publish with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all thy wondrous works
Pss. 50 [14] Offer unto
God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto
the most High:
Pss. 69 [30] I will
praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving
Pss. 95 [2] Let
us come before his presence with thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.
Pss. 100 [4] Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Pss. 107 [22] And
let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare His works with rejoicing.
Pss. 116 [17]
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and will call upon the name of Yehovah.
Pss. 147 [7] Sing unto Yehovah
with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the
harp unto our God:
Pss.92
[1] It is a good thing to
give thanks
unto Yehovah, and to sing praises unto thy
name, O most High:
[2] To shew forth thy lovingkindness
in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
[3] Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the
harp with a solemn sound.
[4] For thou,Yehovah, hast made me
glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
[5] Yehovah, how great are thy works! and
thy thoughts are very deep.
Pss.97[12] Rejoice in Yehovah, ye
righteous; and give thanks at the
remembrance of his holiness.
Pss.105[1] O give thanks unto Yehovah; call upon his name: make known his deeds
among the people.
Pss.106[1] Praise ye Yehovah. O give
thanks unto Yehovah;
for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
[47] Save us, Yehovah our God, and gather us from among the
heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy
name, and to triumph in thy praise.
Pss.107[1] O give thanks unto Yehovah, for he is good: for his mercy endureth
for ever.
[22] And let them sacrifice
the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and
declare his works with rejoicing.
Pss.118[1] O give thanks unto Yehovah; for he is good: because his mercy endureth
for ever.
[29] O give thanks unto Yehovah;
for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Pss.119[62] At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.
Pss.122[4] Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of Yehovah, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of Yehovah.
Pss.136[1] O give thanks unto Yehovah; for he is good: for his mercy endureth
for ever.
[2] O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth
for ever.
[3] O give thanks to Yehovah
of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
[26] O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth
for ever.
Pss.140 [13] Surely the righteous
shall give thanks unto thy name: the
upright shall dwell in thy presence.
Pss.18
[46]
Yehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let
the God of my salvation be exalted.
[47] It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth
the people under me.
[48] He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea,
thou liftest
me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the
violent man.
[49] Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, Yehovah,
among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
[50] Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth
mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
Pss.30
[1] I will extol thee, Yehovah; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made
my foes to rejoice over me.
[2] Yehovah my God, I cried unto thee,
and thou hast healed me.
[3] Yehovah, thou hast brought up my
soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the
pit.
[4] Sing unto Yehovah, O ye saints of his,
and give thanks
at the remembrance of his holiness.
[5] For his anger endureth but a
moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for
a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
[6] And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
[7]Yehovah,
by thy favour
thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was
troubled.
[8] I cried to thee, Yehovah; and unto Yehovah I made supplication.
[9] What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall
the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy
truth?
[10] Hear, Yehovah, and have mercy upon me:Yehovah,
be thou my helper.
[11] Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off
my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
[12] To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be
silent. Yehovah my God, I will give thanks
unto thee for
ever.
Pss.35[18] I will give thee thanks
in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.
Pss.69[30] I will praise the name of God with a song, and will
magnify him with thanksgiving.
Pss.75[1] Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks,
unto thee do we give thanks: for that
thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.
Pss.79[13] So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee
thanks for ever: we will shew
forth thy praise to all generations.
Pss.100
[1] Make a joyful noise unto Yehovah,
all ye lands.
[2] Serve Yehovah with gladness: come
before his presence with singing.
[3] Know ye that Yehovah
he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people,
and the sheep of his pasture.
[4] Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and
into his courts with praise: be thankful unto
him, and bless his name.
[5] For Yehovah is good; his mercy is
everlasting; and his truth endureth to all
generations.
-------------------------
Other thanksgivings:
Neh.12 [27]
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of
all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with
gladness, both with thanksgivings, and
with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
2Sam.22[50] Therefore I will give thanks
unto thee, Yehovah, among the heathen, and I
will sing praises unto thy name.
1Chr.16[8] Give thanks unto Yehovah, call upon his name, make known his deeds
among the people.
[34] O give thanks unto Yehovah;
for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
[35] And say ye,
Save
us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the
heathen, that we may give thanks to thy
holy name, and glory in thy praise.
[41] And with them Heman
and Jeduthun,
and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to Yehovah,
because his mercy endureth for ever;
1Chr.25
[1] Moreover David and the captains of the host
separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman,
and of Jeduthun,
who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the
number of the workmen according to their service was:
[2] Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur,
and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah,
the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph,
which prophesied according to the order of the king.
[3] Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun;
Gedaliah,
and Zeri,
and Jeshaiah,
Hashabiah,
and Mattithiah,
six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who
prophesied with a harp, to give thanks
and to praise Yehovah.
2Chr.31[2] And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the
Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests
and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to
give thanks, and to praise in the gates
of the tents of Yehovah.
Ezra.3[11] And they sang together by course in praising and
giving thanks unto Yehovah; because he is good, for his mercy endureth
for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when
they praised Yehovah, because the foundation of
the house of Yehovah was laid.
Neh.12
[8] Moreover the Levites: Jeshua,
Binnui,
Kadmiel,
Sherebiah,
Judah, and Mattaniah,
which was over the thanksgiving, he and
his brethren.
[24] And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah,
Sherebiah,
and Jeshua
the son of Kadmiel,
with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of
David the man of God, ward over against ward.
[27] And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the
Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the
dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings,
and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
[28] And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together,
both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi;
[29] Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of
the fields of Geba and Azmaveth:
for the singers had builded them
villages round about Jerusalem.
[30] And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified
the people, and the gates, and the wall.
[31] Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed
two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon
the wall toward the dung gate:
[32] And after them went Hoshaiah, and half
of the princes of Judah,
[33] And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
[34] Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and
Jeremiah,
[35] And certain of the priests' sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah
the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of
Mattaniah,
the son of Michaiah,
the son of Zaccur,
the son of Asaph:
[36] And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael,
Milalai,
Gilalai,
Maai,
Nethaneel,
and Judah, Hanani,
with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe
before them.
[37] And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up
by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the
house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
[38] And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and
I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower
of the furnaces even unto the broad wall;
[39] And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and
above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the
tower of Meah,
even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.
[40] So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I,
and the half of the rulers with me:
[41] And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah,
Miniamin,
Michaiah,
Elioenai,
Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;
[42] And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah,
and Eleazar,
and Uzzi,
and Jehohanan,
and Malchijah,
and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah
their overseer.
[43] Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God
had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced:
so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
[44] And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the
treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for
the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of
the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for
the Levites that waited.
[45] And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God,
and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, and of
Solomon his son.
[46] For in the days of David and Asaph of old there
were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.
[47] And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel,
and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters,
every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and
the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron
-----------------
Thanksgivings in the
Gospels
Matt.15 [36] And Yeshua took the seven loaves and the fishes,
and gave thanks, and brake
them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
Luke.2 [38] And she coming in
that instant gave thanks likewise unto Yehovah, and spake of him to all them that looked for
redemption in Jerusalem.
Luke.17 [12] And as he
entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which
stood afar off:
[13] And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have
mercy on us.
[14] And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go
shew
yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were
cleansed.
[15] And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and
with a loud voice glorified God,
[16] And fell down on his face at his feet, giving
him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
[17] And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten
cleansed? but
where are the nine?
[18] There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this
stranger.
[19] And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee
whole.
[19] And he took bread, and
gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto
them, saying, This is my body which is given for you:
this do in remembrance of me.
----------------
Thanksgiving to the God of Israel in the letters
Rom.14 [6] He that regardeth the day, regardeth
it unto Yehovah; and he that regardeth
not the day, to Yehovah he doth not regard it.
He that eateth,
eateth
to Yehovah, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth
not, to Yehovah he eateth
not, and giveth God thanks.
Rom.16[4] Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom
not only I give thanks, but also all the
churches of the Gentiles.
Rom.7 [25] I thank God
through Yeshua
the Messiah our Lord. So then with the mind I myself
serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
1Cor.1 [14] I thank God
that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
2Thes.1 [3] We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is
meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly,
and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
2Tim.1 [3] I thank God,
whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I
have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
1Cor.10[30]
For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I
give thanks?
2 Cor.9 [12]
For
the administration of this service not only supplieth
the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
Col. 3[15] And let the peace of
God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye
thankful.
1Cor.11[24] And when he had given thanks,
he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you:
this do in remembrance of me.
1Cor.14[16] Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how
shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say
Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth
not what thou sayest?
[17] For thou verily givest
thanks well, but the other is not edified.
1Cor.15[57] But thanks be to
God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Yeshua
the Messiah.
2Cor.1[11] Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the
gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks
may be given by many on our behalf.
2Cor.2[14] Now thanks be unto
God, which always causeth us to triumph in Messiah,
and maketh
manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every
place.
2Cor.4 [15] For all things are
for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Cor.8 [16] But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care
into the heart of Titus for you.
2Cor.9 [11] Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
[12] For the administration
of this service not only supplieth the want
of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings
unto God;
[15] Thanks be unto God for his
unspeakable gift.
Eph.1[16] Cease not to give thanks
for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Eph.5[4] Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting,
which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
[20] Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the
Father in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah;
Phil.4[6] Be careful for nothing; but in every thing
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God.
Col.1[3] We give thanks to
God and the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, praying always for you,
[12] Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us
meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col.2[7] Rooted and built up in him, and stablished
in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Col.3[17] And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in
the name of Lord Yeshua, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Col.4[2] Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
1Thes.1[2] We give thanks to
God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
1Thes.3[9] For what thanks can
we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes
before our God;
1Thes.5[18] In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Messiah
Yeshua concerning you.
2Thes.2[13] But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for
you, brethren beloved of Yehovah, because God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth:
1Tim.2[1] I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks,
be made for all men;
Heb.13[15] By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to
God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
-------------------------
Rev.4 [9] And when those beasts give glory and honour
and thanks to him that sat on the
throne, who liveth for ever and ever, [10] The four
and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him
that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their
crowns before the throne, saying,
[11] Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour
and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and
were created.
Rev.11[17] Saying, We give thee thanks,
Yehovah God Almighty, which art, and wast,
and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast
reigned.
In
closing:
Say Amen: Blessing, and glory, and
wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power,
and might, be unto our God (of Israel) for ever and ever.
Amen.
Remember, “tis the season to be pagan” Lies are all around us,
beware!
Beware of the false image of love, the artificial lights, false
get-togethers, music and the false feelings and emotions that run wild.
These feasts that are not scriptural bring on loneliness, depression and suicide and oh yes, debt for years
to come.
Shabbat Shalom
שַׁבָּת
שָׁלוֹם
--------------------------
Before we go, let's talk a little about the world’s Thanksgiving; there are many different accounts on
the net.
**Notice it is “one day’ out of
the year they decided
The Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, on September
6, 1620 for the New World.
Although filled with uncertainty and peril, it offered both civil and
religious liberty. Arriving in Massachusetts in late November, the Pilgrims
sought a suitable landing place. 1621
The Pilgrims were a specific group of Calvinist Messiahians.
After King Henry VIII separated the Church of England from the rest of
the Catholic Church, many English subjects were dissatisfied with the king
acting as the highest church authority.
Encouraged by the Protestant Reformation in
Germany, Holland, and Switzerland, these
dissatisfied subjects separated from the Church of England in favor of a type
of Christianity without a church hierarchy with
the Bible as the only authority (as they interpreted
it).
One group, originally called the Leiden
Congregation (because they left England and lived in Leiden, Holland for
several years), believed that they could not successfully live with their
beliefs among the English (and the English authorities also pressured the
government of Holland to remove them).
This group set out to live as a congregation in the new world.
They became known as the Pilgrims because they saw themselves as settlers in a promised land with a
promised future.
The Pilgrim Church no longer exists as a single entity. They were a type of Calvinists and puritans. Their religion is
similar to today's Baptists, Congregationalists, and Methodists.
Just step children of the Catholic Church, none
are of the God of Israel
Fast forward a bit in time...
In 1789, following a proclamation issued by President George
Washington, America celebrated its first Day of Thanksgiving to God under its
new constitution.
That same year, the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which President
Washington was a member, announced that the first
Thursday in November would become its regular day for giving thanks,
"unless another day be appointed by the civil authorities." Yet, despite these early
national proclamations, official Thanksgiving observances usually occurred only at the State level.
For thirty years, she promoted the idea of a national Thanksgiving
Day, contacting President after President until President
Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last
Thursday of November as a national Day of
Thanksgiving.
Over the next seventy-five years, Presidents followed Lincoln's
precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day.
Then, in
1941, Congress permanently established the fourth
Thursday of each November as a national holiday.
-----------
Thank god? Which god?
Whatever religion you have or do not have, family gets-together, drinking beer, eating turkey, eating your left over Halloween pumpkin pie and watching the football game and the parade. - No God of Israel there.
----------
Sad to say, not many people celebrate or even know about the
"Feasts of Yehovah".
--------------------------
Proclamation of Thanksgiving by the President Abraham Lincoln
This is
the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of
Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders
similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government
departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.
Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine
editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the
"day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union
Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years
past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the
Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National
recognition and authoritive fixation,
only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."
Prior to this, each state scheduled its own
Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other
Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale's request
immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions
altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating
a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey's Lady's
Book. George Washington was the first president to proclaim a day of
thanksgiving, issuing his request on October 3, 1789, exactly 74 years before
Lincoln's.
The document below sets apart the last Thursday
of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." According to an
April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's
secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward,
and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet
member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his
work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The year that is drawing towards its close, has
been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these
bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the
source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so
extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the
heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of
Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity,
which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their
aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been
maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed
everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has
been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful
industry to the national defence,
have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the
borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the
precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population
has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the
camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the
consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect
continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath
devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the
gracious gifts of the Most
High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our
sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper
that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with
one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my
fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at
sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the
last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our
beneficent Father who dwelleth
in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions
justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also,
with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend
to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or
sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged,
and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds
of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine
purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my
hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day
of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three,
and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State