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| Abraham Lincoln |
Fellow-Countrymen:
At this second appearing
to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an
extended address than there was at the first. Then, a statement somewhat in
detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the
expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been
constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which
still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little
that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else
chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I
trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the
future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.
On the occasion
corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to
an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the
inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to
saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to
destroy it without war--seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by
negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war
rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather
than let it perish, and the war came.
One-eighth of the whole
population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but
localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and
powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the
war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for
which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government
claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of
it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it
has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict
might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked
for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both
read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid
against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just
God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces,
but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be
answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own
purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be
that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If
we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses 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 offense 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 bondsman'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."
With malice toward none,
with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the
right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's
wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and
his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace
among ourselves and with all nations.
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There are so many thoughts that ran through my mind as I read this address. I will choose to limit my comment to how few words he used to address his point. How short our politicians fall.
ReplyDeleteShort can be sweet. There are a lot of long-winded politicians out there. This may have been Abe Lincoln's best speech.
ReplyDeleteThis may have also been Abe Lincoln's finest sermon. You can see that Lincoln saw the sovereignty of God in the Civil War:
ReplyDelete"If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses 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 offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?"
The Lord was the Alpha and the Omega of the Civil War. The Civil War was the Lord's judgment on the North and the South. Most of the soldiers who died were from the North; most of the property destroyed was in the South.
There are different kinds of slavery. One is chattel slavery where one person is the property of another. Another slavery is what we see in America today: people enslaved to other people's taxes: welfare slavery, entitlement slavery. There is also a slavery to materialism--this includes capitalists and Marxists. In my experience, Marxists are much more obsessed with materialism than capitalists and they want to force their material salvation through government programs (transferring others hard-earned wealth under the guise of compassion); they want to guarantee food, shelter and clothing for everyone without a relationship with Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteWE NEED TO SEEK THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN FIRST!
Of course, the worst kind of slavery is slavery to sin. If you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you are a slave to sin. There are so many slaves, so many blind people in our society and they don't even know it.
thank you Tim, for the link
ReplyDeleteGriper: Your post on the Civil War was very good. I hope more people read it.
ReplyDeleteTim, most appropriate piece you've chosen to examine. Very interesting and very moving. This ties in to a blog I did some time back on the Gettysburg address and how Lincoln had the ability (I believe through the Holy Spirit) to really capture the essence of a scene or incident and bring it to light in a very profound way. And it was also very short and sweet. Mind you the keynote speaker of the Gettysburg Memorial wasn't Lincoln but a Mr. x (don't remember his name)who was then known as the greatest orator of the time and whose speech went on for several hours. I loved reading all the thoughts here. I'm left with the thought agreeing with Tim; the American civil war was God's judgement on America and Lincoln clearly recognized it.
ReplyDeleteAs we all know, Lincoln was assassinated a little over a month after this speech. Lincoln had a premonition--a dream--about his funeral a few days before he was killed. Lincoln knew that his time on this planet was coming to an end. And I believe he knew that the Civil War was definitely the hand of God.
ReplyDeleteIt was very providential that Lincoln was a moderate; he was not a conservative Republican. (I consider myself to be a conservative) Many conservatives in the North wanted to punish the South for the Civil War. I believe Lincoln thought that the Civil War was punishment enough.
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
"With malice towards none"; "to bind up the nation's wounds": beautiful words.
It would be very difficult and stressful to be President during a civil war.
Yes, Tim, my brother studied the life of Lincoln a great deal. He said the stress on him was unimaginable. There was so much going on that was against him. Imagine this, at a point in the war he was directing details a decent general should have been doing while trying to run the country. One of my brother's favorite quotes from Lincoln was, "I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day." --- Abraham Lincoln
ReplyDelete