The First Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

(From a tract by Faith, Prayer & Tract League)

“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 implore His protection, aid and favors… 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, and for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.” George Washington, 1789.

George Washington said: “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” Our founding fathers openly recognized God. They knew that if the nation was going to work, its people needed to voluntarily live by God’s rules. Times have changed. We may be the only culture in the world that openly acknowledges God in our constitution, on our money, and on Thanksgiving, but refuses to allow God to be named in any of our public institutions. As a nation we are working hard to push God out of our lives. Ignoring God isn’t unusual. The history of the world is a story of people turning away from God. Amazingly, God hasn’t turned away from us – yet. But if we do not repent, He will.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy.” Psalm 33:12,18.

Government cannot turn us back to God.
Turning back to God requires a change of heart.

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” [Ezekiel 36:26]

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” [2 Chronicles 7:14]

“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” [Psalms 9:17]