Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

A Call to Prayer

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It has been my custom over the past few years during the week of Thanksgiving to post one of the Presidential Decrees of Thanksgiving in order to be reminded of our blessings as a nation, and of our constant need to turn to God in praise and thanksgiving.

This year, as we approach Thanksgiving in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I know many of us will have to celebrate differently than we have in the past. Many families cannot come together because of travel restrictions and concerns for spreading the virus. Some live in places where gatherings or more than 2 households are prohibited. Even if you celebrate in a normal fashion, there is a cloud hanging over our heads that is unavoidable.

This year I thought I’d take a slightly different approach at Thanksgiving, and post a Presidential call for Prayer. COVID isn’t the first pandemic to hit our nation. Recently, we’ve seen the H5N1 (Avian Flu) and H1N1 Flu viruses. In 1918 there was the Spanish Flu.

But even before that, in the 1830-40’s, the world was gripped with a Cholera Pandemic. Originating in polluted water sources in India, Cholera moved through Africa, Asia, and Europe, before finally coming to the US. In Russia alone, cholera killed over one million people, including the famous composer, Tchaikovsky. Over 20 years, more than 200,000 Americans died of Cholera.

On July 3, 1849, President Zachary Taylor proclaimed a National Day of Fasting and Prayer, writing:

At a season when the providence of God has manifested itself in the visitation of a fearful pestilence which is spreading itself throughout the land, it is fitting that a people whose reliance has ever been in His protection should humble themselves before His throne, and, while acknowledging past transgressions, ask a continuance of Divine mercy.

It is therefore earnestly recommended that the first Friday in August be observed throughout the United States as a Day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer. All business will be suspended in the various branches of the public service on that day; and it is recommended to persons of all religious denominations to abstain as far as practicable from secular occupation and to assemble in their respective places of public worship, to acknowledge the Infinite Goodness which has watched over our existence as a nation, and so long crowned us with manifold blessings, and to implore the Almighty, in His own good time to stay the destroying hand which is now lifted up against us.

(Source: Benjamin Franklin Morris, Christian Life And Character Of The Civil Institutions Of The United States, from Internet Archive)

As we gather this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, may we recall before God all for which we have to be grateful. We praise God for His providential care, for the blessings that He has bestowed upon His creation, the mercies of God which are new every morning, and the love that He has lavished upon those He has redeemed in Christ Jesus. May we speak of His glory, His grace, His wisdom, and His faithfulness toward us. And may we humbly, reverently, and passionately plea for God’s hand to stay the destruction of this virus which is now upon us.

A Note for Thanksgiving

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This Thanksgiving Eve, I thought I’d take a break from the study of Jeremiah Burroughs’ work on the Causes, Evils, and Cures of Divisions in the Church, and offer, instead, a brief word from John Calvin on Gratitude.  This comes from the “Golden Book of the True Christian Life,” which was originally part of Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion, and is a wonderfully practical devotion on  basic Christianity.  I share today just a couple of his concluding points as a guide to gratitude in the coming celebrations.

Earthly things are gifts of God.

  • The first principle we should consider is that the use of gifts of God cannot be wrong if they are directed to the same purpose for which the Creator himself has created and destined them. For He has made the earthly blessings for our benefit, and not for our harm.
  • If we study why he has created the various kinds of food, we shall find that it was His intention not only to provide for our needs, but likewise for our pleasure and for our delight. If this were not true, the psalmist would not enumerate among the divine blessings “the wine that makes glad the heart of man, and the oil that makes his face to shine.”
  • Even the natural properties of things sufficiently point out to what purpose and to what extent we are allowed to use them. Should the Lord have attracted our eyes to the beauty of the flowers and our sense of small to pleasant odors, and should it then be sin to drink them in? Has he not made the colors so that one is more wonderful than the other? Has he not made many things worthy of our attention that go far beyond our needs (Ps. 104:15)?

True gratitude will restrain us from abuse.

  • Let us discard, therefore, that inhuman philosophy which would allow us no use of creation unless it is absolutely necessary.  Such a malignant notion deprives us of the lawful enjoyment of God’s kindness. And, it is impossible actually to accept it, until we are robbed of all our senses and reduced to a senseless block. On the other hand, we must with equal zeal fight the lusts of the flesh, for if they are not firmly restrained, they will transgress every bound.
  • If we want to curb our passions we must remember that all things were made focus, with the purpose that we may know and acknowledge their Author. We should praise his kindness toward us in earthly matters by giving Him thanks. But what will become of our thanksgiving if we indulge in dainties or wine in such a way that we are too dull to carry out those duties of devotion or of our business? Where is our acknowledgement of God, if the excesses of our body drive us to the vilest passions and infect our mind with impurity, so that we can no longer distinguish between right and wrong?
  • For many so madly pursue pleasure that their minds become enslaved to it. Many are so delighted with marble, gold, and painting, that they become like statues. The flavor of meats and the sweetness of odors make some people so stupid that they have no longer any appetite for spiritual things. And his holds for the abuse of all other natural matters.  Therefore, it is clear, that the principle of gratitude should curb our desire to abuse the divine blessings.

In short, enjoy the bounty of creation, this is God’s good gift to you. But always keep in mind it is His gift, meant to direct our devotion and gratitude, not to the gift, but to the giver.  Let gratitude keep you from taking God’s gifts for granted, and from overindulging in His gifts.

Have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

SDG