EnduringBlessing

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is Lech-L'cha, which means "Go!", or "Leave!" This title comes from the first group of verses from Gen. 12: "Now the LORD had said to Abram, whom we now know as Abraham: 'Get out (yalak/halak - go, depart, follow, proceed, to walk, carry, bear, bring, carry away, spread, vanish, starting point/to lead, to bring, lead away, carry, be at the point) of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you." (v. 1).

     Abram's father, Terah (tarah - delay) had removed his family from Ur of the Chaldeans in Mesopotamia previously and came to Haran to live. Ur, the family's place of origin, means "flame, light of fire, brightness of fire, revelation, become light, glorious". Ur/or refers to the supernatural light spoken into being by God in the beginning of creation, but the city became the center for moon worship at the time. The family's original destination had been the land of Canaan, but they settled at Haran. Haran or Harran was an ancient city of strategic importance located in southeastern Turkey. After Abram's father died, Abram left Haran at the command of the LORD to go to Canaan at the age of seventy-five with His wife, his nephew Lot, and all of the people and possessions that they had acquired in Haran. (Gen. 11:27-32).

     We understand the command "Go out!" in English as issued by the LORD to Abram, but as we see in the Hebrew meaning above, it also means "to bring, to carry (away), to bear" while one "goes out". What was Abram carrying with him to Canaan? We will see more about this later, but we can find an important clue in the meaning of Abram's name. Abram/abiram/rum has the meaning: "exalted father"/Exalted One is my father, father of height/to rise, rise up, set on high, to be raised, be uplifted, to be lifted, heave, to rise or raise, set up on, sound of the trumpet, to offer sacrifices." Jesus said, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.' This He said, signifying by what death He would die." (Jn. 12:32-33). Not only was Jesus "lifted up" in His death, but He was raised up in resurrection life after His death. He was also hidden within Abram's name.

     The LORD told Abram that He called Abram out of Mesopotamia into Canaan to be a father of a multitude and a great nation, even though Abram and his wife Sarai were old, and she was barren: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing...And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed...for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth...Arise, walk (halak/yalak - see above) in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you." Gen. 12:2-3, Gen. 13:15-17). The blessings that God spoke over Abram at this time would change the lives of billions yet to come.

     So Abram brought or carried (see yalak/halak above) the eternal but physically yet unborn Messiah/Christ Jesus, who was concealed within Abram's future generations, to the land that would inevitably and unstoppably become the nation of Israel by the Word of the LORD.  Of course, we find Jesus, or Yeshua in Hebrew, listed in scripture as a descendant of Abraham. (Mt. 1:1, Lk. 3:34). As far as establishing a nation of Israel is concerned, the prophetic Word of God says that out of Zion, not Ur of the Chaldees nor Haran of Asia Minor, comes the Deliverer (see Rom. 11:26, Isa. 59:20, Joel 2:32). The prophet Jeremiah, in another reading portion for this Sabbath, said that Jerusalem "shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts." (Jer. 3:17). One nation, Israel, created from one man, Abraham, as promised by the LORD would gather all nations to it and to the Throne of the LORD and to the name of the LORD.

     Jesus, speaking of Abraham, said: "Your father Abraham rejoiced (agalliao/hallomai - exceedingly glad, to exult, to jump for joy, to rejoice exceedingly/leap, spring up, to jump, to gush) to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." (Jn. 8:56). Jesus let us know that Abraham was either given a prophetic vision or revelation of his descendant, Jesus, as the Savior of the world, or saw it fulfilled from Paradise, and jumped for exceeding joy when he saw it. We can picture the scene when Abraham saw this wonderful thing and began "jumping for joy"!

     From another reading portion of this Sabbath, the LORD identifies Himself as the One who called the generations of Israel forth: "Who has performed and done it, calling (qara - call, cry out, preach, bidden, appoint, call and endow, give name to, address by name, call forth, proclaim, publish) the generations (dor/dur - all, many, an age as a period of time, dwelling place, evermore, posterity/in a circle, everlasting) from the beginning? I, the LORD, am the first; and with the last I am He...you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham, My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends (qasa - lowest, uttermost part, edges, extremity, from the whole of) of the earth, and called from its farthest regions (asil/asal - support, origins, rooted, from ancient and noble stock, deep roots into the earth/reserved, kept, set apart, separated, selected, a root joined and connected), and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isa. 41:4, 8-10).

    

     The LORD called forth the generations of Abraham by name from the beginning, the time of creation, before Abraham physically existed. The LORD's promise to old Abram and barren Sarai of many descendants was based upon the fact that the LORD had already fulfilled the promise before time began. Because of this purposeful prophetic calling of each by name from the beginning, the LORD can say this to the descendants of Abraham, and to us, his adopted descendants through Messiah/Christ: "...Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing. For I the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you." (Isa. 41:12-13). Scripture states: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law...that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we may receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Gal. 3:13-14). God set apart Abraham as His friend in one of the verses above. Jesus called His disciples His friends in the same manner if we do as He commands us to do. (Jn. 15:13-15). Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. (Gen. 15:5-6, James 2:23, Rom. 4:3). In the same way, our faith in Christ is directly joined in scripture to the faith of Abraham and as having the same result of righteousness. (Rom. 4:16-24, Gal. 3:6-9). Galatians 3:8 says that Abraham was preached the Gospel beforehand in the blessings promised to him (Gen. 12:2-3) as a prophetic promise of our salvation.

      In another reading portion from this Sabbath, the LORD directly connects His blessing spoken over Abraham and Sarah to righteousness and salvation: "Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the LORD...Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him. For the LORD will comfort Zion...Listen to Me, My people; and give ear to Me O My nation: for the law will proceed from Me, and I will make My justice rest as a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth...My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished...Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law....My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation." (Isa. 51:1-6 excerpt, and v. 8). 

     We often consider the blessings and promises that God spoke to Abraham as an "old" covenant, however, I hope we can see that the blessings spoken over Abraham by the LORD in Gen. 12 and the subsequent works that the LORD performed in Abraham's life still live and still produce the fruit of righteousness and salvation throughout all future generations of Abraham and all families of peoples (see again Gen. 12:2-3 above).

     If you would like to know more about the everlasting blessings of God of righteousness and salvation spoken over Abraham, his generations, and all families in the earth, you can join me in my prayer: "Heavenly Father, You called Abraham's generations forth by name from the beginning. You ordained a nation to come from Abraham, and You also promised that all families would be blessed because of it. Father, I hold onto those promised blessings of righteousness and salvation for my own family near and far, but also for all of the families of the earth, and especially Abraham's family. You said that all who bless Abraham would be blessed, and all who curse Abraham would be cursed. I bless Abraham and his descendants today as You blessed them. I bless the powerful omniscient work that You foresaw and accomplished for all of us through Your friendship with Abraham. I bless the Messiah/Christ Jesus who saved me and whom You called forth in due time from the generations of Abraham. I join Abraham, Father, in jumping for joy in all that You brought forth through him, and I pray that You bring forth the same kind of fruit from my life. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

 

3Nations

In this week's Sabbath reading from Deuteronomy Chapters 8-11, Moses delivers the Word of the LORD to the children of Israel as they are about to cross the Jordan River into the land that God promised to them. They are about to become a nation. As a nation, the LORD has certain insights and warnings for Israel. Moses speaks from the LORD about the land saying: "...you shall keep every commandment which I command you today...that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year." (Deut. 11:8-12). The land into which the Israelites were about to go was not like other lands. This new land was supernaturall provided for from heaven. This land had a very special meaning to God, and that continues to this day, and will continue through the return of Christ, and beyond. It was a land specifically promised to the fathers, but it is also the land to which the Son of God, the Messiah, would be sent to save the children of Israel (Mt. 15:24, Mt. 10:5-8, Rom. 1:16), and from this land, the world and its nations will be changed and ruled by Him (Zech. 14:4-9). Because of all of these things, it is the land of promise in more ways than one. Moses continued to say that if the Israelites as a nation continued to obey God's commandments given to them that day, "to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled." (v. 13-15). Not only was the nation of Israel to follow this command, which is part of the Shema (Deut. 6:4-5), but they were to wear the command on their bodies, and place it upon their homes. They were to be faithful and diligent to teach this commandment to their children in every circumstance as well (v. 18-20). Another benefit that would be upon them as a nation, as they kept this commandment of God, was that all of the occupying nations currently in the land would be driven out from before them by the LORD, even larger and greater nations than themselves, and these nations would have fear and dread of the nation of Israel placed upon them (v. 23-25). If the nation of Israel failed to serve the LORD in love, and turn to other gods, the blessings of the new land would dry up, and the people would perish quickly from the land (v. 16-17). There is great blessing when the countenance of the LORD is lifted upon a person or nation, and great hardship when His glorious face is turned away (Num. 6:23-27, Prov. 16:15). Understanding these same truths, our nation, which is the second nation referred to in the title of this entry, also called upon God from its beginning, and wrote of its commitment to God's precepts in its founding documents. Our first document, the Declaration of Independence states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." We began our independent nationhood with the premise that all men have been equally created by the Creator. Man did not come into being as an accident of circumstances, our documents declare, and man did not create himself. Also, the idea that men were equal was an earthshaking concept for its time. The other nations of the era did not hold that belief. Could an common man be equal to a king? This was a ridiculous thought to most at that time, but we declared men to be equal because they were all a divine creation of God. These same founders wrote that they would rely upon God, as the Supreme Judge of the world, to determine if their intentions in forming a new nation were right in His eyes: "We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown." Finally, they vowed in this document that they would rely upon God for protection: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence , we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." We believed the precepts of God in forming this nation. We called upon God to judge our intentions, and we relied upon God for protection in this hazardous step of independence. In the writing of our second founding document, The Constitution, we published our belief that liberty did not originate with men, but was a blessing from God to be valued and defended: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." As we became a nation, we did so swearing our belief and reliance upon God. We have also written this same affirmation upon our public buildings, and even on our currency, down to the smallest denomination, the penny. However, as our nation, has turned our back on these declarations and affirmations on many occasions, we have seen, as the LORD warned Israel, that our blessings from God have begun to dissolve. Our extreme weather has caused problems with crops, causing shortages. Cattle have been slaughtered early because there is a shortage of hay and feed. In becoming like the other nations who do not depend upon the LORD for their protection, nor heed His commandments, we have seen a pestilence cover our land. Also, for a nation who never saw a defeat in war, we have had few victories in the last 70 years or so. Enemies no longer have a dread of us, as God promised the nation of Israel if they would love Him and heed His Word. Inspite of the fact that we have the greatest military force money can buy, our enemies have become confident from experience that they can out-wait us, out-last us, and out-fight us. A third nation that carries an obligation before God is a spiritual nation. In a Torah portion before this Sabbath's reading, God said of His people: "For you are a holy people (Hebrew am - "people, tribe, nation") to the LORD your God: the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you or choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the land of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments." (Deut. 7:6-9). Peter wrote a similar description of those who belong to Christ: "They (those who do not accept Jesus) stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. His own special people (Greek laos - "people, group, tribe, nation") that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10). Believers in Christ are not only The Church, His Body, and His Bride, but we are also a nation of God in Christ. It is still necessary, and will always be necessary for the believers in Christ to love God, and obey His commandments. As God instructed the nation of Israel, Jesus taught the same part of the Shema as being the greatest commandment (Mt. 22:36-40). Jesus also said, as God taught Israel: "If you love Me, keep My commandments." (Jn. 14:15). To Israel, to America, and to the nation of believers in Christ who have turned away from their love of God, the LORD asks these questions from our haftarah portion of this Sabbath's reading: "Thus says the LORD: 'Where is the certificate of your mother's divorce, whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, and for your transgressions your mother has been put away. Why, when I came, was there no man? Why, when I called, was there none to answer? Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?..." (Isa. 50:1-2). The LORD waits for us to turn back to Him. He waits for our nation's answer to His call. He is looking for an opportunity to redeem and deliver both individuals, and His nations. The title of this week's Sabbath reading is Eikev, which means "If/Because (you follow)". Who or what are we following? The LORD commands us to follow Him. If you would like to follow the LORD your God in love, heeding His commandments, you can pray: "Heavenly Father, You have asked us to love and follow You. Your Son has asked us to love Him, obey His commandments, and follow Him. You have called me as an individual, and You have called me to be part of a holy nation. You sent Your Son to die for my sins, and to rise from death for my everlasting life: to bring me out of darkness and bondage, and into Your marvelous light. Forgive me of my sins. I turn back to You, and place my life in Your hands. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Sanctify me and cleanse me, and teach me Your commandments. I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen."

Thanksgiving

 

This Thanksgiving season of 2013 is a very unusual one.  For the first time since 1888, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will begin at the same time (Hanukkah beginning on the night before at sundown). It is calculated that this exact convergence will not happen again for over 70,000 years. So this special timing should capture our attention.
Hanukkah comes from the Hebrew word "to dedicate" and refers to a miraculous historical event that occurred in 165 BC. A generation before this date, Antiochus lll the Great, the Syrian King, was victorious in battle over the Egyptians and won the Judean territory from Egyptian control, and incorporated it into the Seleucid Empire. At the time, the king guaranteed the Jews the right to keep their ancestral customs, and practice their religion in the Temple in Jerusalem without interference.
However, when this king died, his son, Antiochus lV Epiphanes, did not keep that commitment. He outlawed Judaism, looted the Temple in Jerusalem, banned circumcision, erected an altar to Zeus in the Temple of God, and ordered the sacrifice of pigs on this pagan altar, which would have been a normal practice in that ancient Greek idolatry. These actions caused a rebellion among the Jews, led by a priest's family. The leader of the rebellion was Judah "the Hammer", or HaMakabi. From this we call the rebellion leaders "The Maccabees". The details of their victory over the Seleucid Empire is recorded in 1st and 2nd Maccabees in the Apocrypha, and by the historian, Flavius Josephus.
After their victory, as the Jews cleansed the profaned Temple, and rededicated it to the worship of God, they found only one sealed container of holy oil used to keep the Menorah, or Lamp, in the Temple lit. This amount of oil would only keep the Lamp lit for one day, and the Law of Moses said that the Lamp must stay lighted night and day, continually. A miracle occurred and the Lamp stayed lighted from this small amount of oil for eight days, until a new supply of special holy oil could be made. This miracle and rededication of the Temple of God is commemorated by Hanukkah.
Imagine the thanksgiving to God in Judea over this event. God had confirmed and blessed the victory, and His presence in the Temple among His people, by keeping that Lamp lighted miraculously.
Jesus also observed Hanukkah, as noted in John 10:22-23. It is called in scripture "the Feast of Dedication". At this time, Jesus was in the Temple and the Jews questioned Him again, and said to Him,"If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe...My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."    Jn. 10:24-30
Jesus made a powerful declaration, and "dedication" that day at the Feast. He declared that His sheep will never perish, and can never be snatched from His and His Father's hands. Like that lighted Menorah in the Temple, the Light of Christ and in His sheep will never be extinguished! The Father will keep that light burning with all of His power, because He is "greater than all".
What a powerful thing to celebrate, and for which to give thanksgiving.  It is perfect that Hanukkah and Thanksgiving coincide this year, and, in our hearts, every year.
Our nation is one of the few in earth that have instituted the concept of Thanksgiving to God as a law of this land. Though it may be to many just a day to eat and celebrate with family, to the people of God, it should continue to be a time of true thanksgiving to our Father, to our Creator, who supplies us with all things for our physical and spiritual lives, to the One who keeps our lamps lighted in everlasting life.
At least three of our Presidents have given specific commands to the nation to recognize and honor God with thanksgiving (you can read these proclamations below). It also happens that these proclamations came at turning points in the history of this country. Again, our nation seems to be at a turning point.
The first proclamation, under the presidency of George Washington, came at a time when this country was new and trying to unite and govern itself for the first time. How important it was for us to begin that journey in thanksgiving to God.
Another proclamation was given by Abraham Lincoln. It came as the nation was engaged in a terrible civil war that would effect our history for generations after the war would end. Rebuilding, and reunification would require the help of God. The President asked the nation to offer up a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Him.
The third proclamation was by Franklin Roosevelt. It came as WWll was ending. The history of the world would be changed by that war forever. Old empires crumbled, and the United States would become the premier world power. Europe was in a shambles, and would require rebuilding for years, and at great expense. It was obvious that even as that war ended, the world would have to now deal with the rise of aggressive communism, both in Europe, and in Asia also, with the coming end of the Japanese empire. The President of the United States again called the nation to prayer and thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is an elemental principle in scripture. Sometimes thanksgiving to God comes with a great victory and with joy. Sometimes it comes as a sacrifice in times of trouble. It is a powerful spiritual weapon of warfare, and is a beacon for a mighty move of deliverance from God.
The prophet Jonah, in a powerful prayer, offered the sacrifice of thanksgiving to God as he was being enfolded in the dark terror and power of the waters of death. After that sacrifice of thanksgiving, God delivered Jonah miraculously from what seemed a hopeless situation 
(Jonah 2).
Thanksgiving transforms our situation from darkness into light.
At this time of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving, and every day in our lives, let us lift up a declaration of thanksgiving to our Father, whether we are in joy, or in despair, whether we have plenty or lack. Let us "rededicate" ourselves as His temples, cleansed and purified from the profane of this world, set apart for His purpose, filled with the unending holy oil of the Spirit of God, as lamps lighted and standing in the Holy Place being the "light of the world", as Jesus is, and has commanded us to be.
"O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good;
For His mercy endureth for ever."
                                                              Psalms 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1  
 

Our Father is Thanksgiving.

"I Just Want to Thank You, LORD"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb1Op5Wo8k0


Three Presidents' Thanksgiving Proclamations:

A. Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863:

The year that is drawing toward 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 can not 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 theater of military conflict, while that theater 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 defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our 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 battlefield, 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 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 imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, 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 3d day of October, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

  Abraham Lincoln
By the President:
William H. Seward
Secretary of State.

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Issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3, 1789

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favor, able interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go. Washington

A Proclamation by Franklin D. Roosevelt It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord." Across the uncertain ways of space and time our hearts echo those words, for the days are with us again when, at the gathering of the harvest, we solemnly express our dependence upon Almighty God. The final months of this year, now almost spent, find our Republic and the Nations joined with it waging a battle on many fronts for the preservation of liberty. In giving thanks for the greatest harvest in the history of our Nation, we who plant and reap can well resolve that in the year to come we will do all in our power to pass that milestone; for by our labors in the fields we can share some part of the sacrifice with our brothers and sons who wear the uniform of the United States. It is fitting that we recall now the reverent words of George Washington, "Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy Protection," and that every American in his own way lift his voice to heaven. I recommend that all of us bear in mind this great Psalm:"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. "He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." Inspired with faith and courage by these words, let us turn again to the work that confronts us in this time of national emergency: in the armed services and the merchant marine; in factories and offices; on farms and in the mines; on highways, railways, and airways; in other places of public service to the Nation; and in our homes. Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby invite the attention of the people to the joint resolution of Congress approved December 26, 1941, which designates the fourth Thursday in November of each year as Thanksgiving Day; and I request that both Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1942, and New Year's Day, January 1, 1943, be observed in prayer, publicly and privately. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT