Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, a man who has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest US Presidents. He was born February 12, 1809 and was the 16th President of the US.
A lot of people remember him as the man who successfully led his country through the civil war, the man who never gave up on his dreams (he was unsuccessful twice in his bid to be elected to the Senate), the man who helped in the abolition of slavery, and the man that was martyred for the cause of his nation.
I, however, today, choose to remember Abraham Lincoln as a man who depended in God for guidance and strength. This was spurred by an article I read this morning and I went ahead to do a bit of study of the life and faith of this rare gem.
The day he left his friends and neighbours in Illinois to become the President, he said goodbye with the following words, “I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever I may return, with a task greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well.”
In his first inaugural address in March 1861, he said, "Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty."
The words Lincoln prepared for his second inauguration as president in March 1865 included complete citations from Matthew 18:7 and Psalm 19:9:
“The Almighty has His own purposes. ‘Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!' If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.' "
I hope I have not bored you with these quotes, I only hope as we remember Abraham Lincoln as one of the great men of our times, we also learn from him how to face our present and future with a firm belief and confident hope in God.
A lot of people remember him as the man who successfully led his country through the civil war, the man who never gave up on his dreams (he was unsuccessful twice in his bid to be elected to the Senate), the man who helped in the abolition of slavery, and the man that was martyred for the cause of his nation.
I, however, today, choose to remember Abraham Lincoln as a man who depended in God for guidance and strength. This was spurred by an article I read this morning and I went ahead to do a bit of study of the life and faith of this rare gem.
The day he left his friends and neighbours in Illinois to become the President, he said goodbye with the following words, “I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever I may return, with a task greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well.”
In his first inaugural address in March 1861, he said, "Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty."
The words Lincoln prepared for his second inauguration as president in March 1865 included complete citations from Matthew 18:7 and Psalm 19:9:
“The Almighty has His own purposes. ‘Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!' If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.' "
I hope I have not bored you with these quotes, I only hope as we remember Abraham Lincoln as one of the great men of our times, we also learn from him how to face our present and future with a firm belief and confident hope in God.
