Tags: A House Divided, Abraham
Lincoln, Civil War, Union, Confederacy, Slavery, the Founders, modernist, modernism,
Christian heritage, Civil War, Abe Lincoln, Peter Cartright, deist, deism, Carl Sandburg,
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Kingdom of God, Bishop Ames, Methodist, Eliza P.
Gurney, Jesse Fell, Holy Spirit, Gettysburg, Gettysburg Address, Judge J. S. Wakefield,
Commander and Chief, Union Army, Robert Todd, Governor Dick Yates, A. G. Hodges, Chicago
Tribune, Calvin and Hobbes, General Lee, Robert E Lee, Appomattox, Richmond, a tree is
best measured
There has been a considerable amount of
question regarding whether or not Abe Lincoln was a Christian at all. In 1846 he
successfully ran for Congress against Peter Cartright, a famous frontier evangelist and
circuit rider. During the campaign, Cartright's men kept the notion going that Lincoln's
wife was a high-toned Episcopalian; while Lincoln himself held drunkards to be as good as
Christians and church members, was a deist who believed in God but did not accept Christ
or the doctrines of atonement and punishment, and said "Christ was a bastard."
The bold Lincoln went to a religious
meeting being held by the preacher to hear the words usher from Cartright's mouth,
"All who desire to give their hearts to God, and go to heaven, will stand." Now,
every one in the building stood but Mr. Lincoln.
This drew the rebuttal, "I observe
that many responded to the first invitation to give their hearts to God and go to heaven.
And I further observe that all of you save one indicated that you did not desire to go to
hell. The sole exception is Mr. Lincoln, who did not respond to either invitation. May I
inquire of you, Mr. Lincoln, where you are going?"
To this the politician replied, "I
came here as a respectful listener. I did not know I was to be singled out by Brother
Cartright. I believe in treating religious matters with due solemnity. I admit that the
questions propounded by Brother Cartright are of great importance. I did not feel called
upon to answer as the rest did. Brother Cartright asks me directly where I am going. I
desire to reply with equal directness: I am going to Congress."
How was it, then, concerning Abraham's
personal salvation? Was he the deist that he was accused of being by Brother Cartright --
the humanists of this day? Was he a man dominated by his own political ambitions as
suggested by our current modernist progressives? Was he no more than a charlatan who
perpetrated his self-image of a Godly man to the nation for his own political advancement?
Was there sincerity in what he said as it pertained to the God of the Bible?
Carl Sandburg wrote, "Continuously
Lincoln gave no definite impression that he belonged to any particular church or endorsed
any special faith or doctrine. That he was a man of piety and of deep religious belief was
conveyed to large numbers of people by unmistakable expressions in his speeches and
messages. The President and his wife usually drove to the New York Avenue Presbyterian
Church but sometimes walked, accompanied by a guard, arriving punctually and never
delaying Dr. Gurley's opening of the services. . ."
But going to church regularly doesn't
make one a Christian any more that standing in a garage makes him a car.
In October '63, Lincoln spoke to a group
of Presbyterian ministers who came to pay their respects as those who "belonged to
the Kingdom of God, and each loyal to the Government." The President replied, "I
have often wished that I was a more devout man than I am. Nevertheless, amid the greatest
difficulties of my Administration, when I could not see any other resort, I would place my
whole reliance in God, knowing that all would go well, and that He would decide for the
right."
To delegations of Methodists and
Baptists he spoke, "I now humbly and reverently, in your presence, reiterate the
acknowledgment of that dependence, not doubting that, if it shall please the Divine Being
who determines the destinies of nations that this shall remain a united people, they will,
humbly seeking the Divine guidance, make their prolonged national existence a source of
new benefits to themselves and their successors, and to all classes and conditions of
mankind."
But trusting the Lord for the national
welfare does not make one a Christian either.
Lincoln's feelings towards the church
ran deep, and he always had a very close relation to the churches during the years of his
troubled presidency. To Bishop Ames, chairman of a large Methodist delegation in May 1864 Lincoln
replied, "God bless the MethodistChurch - bless all the churches - and blessed be
God, Who, in this our great trial, giveth us the churches."
Acknowledging a Baptist delegation
during the same year the President uttered, "I have had a great cause of gratitude
for the support unanimously given by all the Christian denominations of the country."
Late in the summer of that year a
committee of black people presented Lincoln with a richly wrought Bible to which he
thanked, "It has always been a sentiment with me that all mankind should be free. .
.To you I return my most sincere thanks for the very elegant copy of the Great Book of God
which you present."
And to a Quaker woman, Eliza P. Gurney, Lincoln
corresponded, "I am much indebted to the good Christian people of the country for
their constant prayers and consolations; and to no one of them more than yourself. The
purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may fail
to accurately perceive them in advance. We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible
war before this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge His
wisdom and our own error therein. Meanwhile we must work earnestly in the best lights He
gives us, trusting that so working still conduces to the great ends He ordains. Surely He
intends some great good to follow this mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make, and
no mortal could stay."
Yet
the love for the church and God's people, a benevolent heart for the downtrodden with a
belief in inalienable rights for all mankind, the knowledge and love of the proclamation
of God's Word and a constant reading of it in even the most ornate of Bibles, the earnest
work of an honest man, a trust in the ends that God ordains, the anticipation of God's
goodness in action, or the conviction that God knows best will not afford one with the
opportunity of an eternal existence in heaven.
At a later time, a clergyman attempted
to formulate a creed that would accurately describe the beliefs of this foremost President
of the United States. Part of it read, "I believe in national humiliation, fasting,
and prayer, in keeping a day holy to the Lord, devoted to the humble discharge of the
religious duties proper to such a solemn occasion. . .I believe in Him whose will, not
ours, should be done. I believe the people of the United States, in the forms approved by
their own consciences, should render the homage due to the Divine Majesty for the
wonderful things He has done on the nation's behalf, and invoke the influence of His Holy
Spirit to subdue anger. . .I believe in His eternal truth and justice. I believe the will
of God prevails; without Him all human reliance is vain; without the assistance of that
Divine Being I cannot succeed; with that assistance I cannot fail. I believe I am a humble
instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father; I desire that all my works and acts be
according to His will; and that it may be so, I give thanks to the Almighty and seek His
aid. . .I believe in praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the
Universe."
These are words of immeasurable
importance to a nation that desires to live under the cloak of God's blessing. Fortunately
for all of us the man who held those views, Abraham Lincoln, was President during the
greatest national disaster that America has yet witnessed. However, they speak very little
about his personal beliefs concerning the salvation that was offered to him by the death
of Jesus Christ.
One of the steadfast and loyal friends
of Lincoln wrote that it was a "well-known fact" that when it came to religion
"Mr. Lincoln seldom communicated to anyone his views."
To Fell though, the President confided
much, inspiring the scrupulous recorder to write, "On the innate depravity of man,
the character an office of the great head of the Church, the Atonement, the infallibility
of the written revelation, the performance of miracles, the nature and design of present
and future rewards and punishments (as they are properly called) and many other subjects,
he held opinions utterly at variance with what are usually taught in the church. I should
say that his expressed views on these and kindred subjects were such as, in the estimate
of most believers, would place him entirely outside of the Christian pale. Yet to my mind,
such was not the true position, since his principles and practices and the spirit of his
whole life were of the very kind we universally agree to call Christian; and I think this
conclusion is in no wise affected by the circumstance that he never attached himself to
any religious society whatever."
Christianity flowing out of the spirit
of a man is the Christian world view we have been talking about. It is the perspective of
life that drives the moral fiber of an individual in a manner that causes his actions and
words to reflect nothing other than the mind of Christ, regardless of what his personal
standing before God is as it relates to eternal salvation.
It is a moral consciousness that brings
about blessing in anyone's life. These blessings come to the one who will conform to an
acknowledged LAW of God -for God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. (Rom 11:29 niv) It
is the obedient moral stance that will bring God's favor upon any nation, regardless of
their personal religious persuasion. To acknowledge and obey the inerrant and unchanging
LAWS of the Creator is to be blessed. To ignore and defy what God has established from the
foundations of the world is to be cursed. It is that simple.
In the case of Abraham Lincoln, Jesse
Fell may well have had an acute insight into the President's heart as he wrote of his
actual spiritual state. But while looking at the graves at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln
began to see his need for a personal savior.
Actually, the invitation to have the
President speak at the sight of that historic battlefield was an after thought. After the
main orator, Edward Everett, spoke, Mr. Lincoln was "to formally set apart these
grounds to their sacred use with a few appropriate remarks."
These "appropriate remarks"
were scratched on a piece of scrap paper with a memorandum that Lincoln kept tucked safely
in his hat. It was a difficult trip for the President to make, and his mind was wandering
towards his family as he boarded the train to Gettysburg. His son Tad was sick and his
wife was hysterical over the infirmity. They had already lost their beloved son Willie,
who had died just a month before.
The loss of his favorite son had left
Abraham inconsolable as well. When the youngster died, a nurse had stood with them
day-after-day to tell Abe that God's comfort would not be found in doing good works but in
personal faith in Christ.
Lincoln resisted. In fact it was after
the death of his son that Lincoln wrote in a letter to Judge J. S. Wakefield, "My
earlier views of the unsoundness of the Christian scheme of salvation and the human origin
of Scriptures, have become clearer and stronger with advancing years and I see no reason
for thinking I shall ever change them."
Nonetheless Lincoln felt an imperative
to make the journey to Gettysburg, as if he was being called to the spot by pressing duty
and conscience. The fact was that God was drawing him to that place that saw the slaughter
of so many young men, for a Divine purpose that no one could have ever anticipated.
The principal speaker addressed his
squirming audience for one hour and forty-five minutes. The yawns from the captive crowd
could do little more than convince the President that he should depart from the platform
none too soon. As it was, Lincoln's speech was so brief that the photographer wasn't even
able to take a photograph. Now we can only wonder what this distinguished Commander and
Chief looked like as he delivered his infamous words on the spot where the Union Army had
fought so bravely for the cause he believed in so much.
Only a few moments after it began, the
Gettysburg Address concluded, "That the nation, under God, have a new birth of
freedom, and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not
perish from the earth."
It was a high price that our nation paid
during those perilous times to assure future generations they would inherit the freedom
that was won on that battlefield. It was a confrontation covered with the prayers of the
deliverer of this famous address to his war torn nation. He was a man thoroughly convinced
that God is a God of black and white and right and wrong -- that God is One who will
deliver justice to those who will obey Him.
Interestingly, Lincoln was convinced
that his speech had bombed as he commented to his dear friend, "Lamon that speech
won't scour. It is a flat failure and the people are disappointed."
However, Harper's weekly observed,
"The oration by Mr. Everett was smooth and cold. The few words of the President were
from the heart to the heart."
Lincoln was a man who put his heart into
his convictions. For that reason he was able to touch people right where they lived,
reaching into their inward parts to draw them towards the truth of the matter. Our nation
needs men like that today; men of honesty and integrity who, rather than transforming
themselves into whatever they feel will make them appealing to those they wish to impress,
will stand up for what they believe in -- will build a podium for the Word of God
regardless of the cost.
But as Abe looked upon the sepulcher of
fallen men, he began to see a reality of the Word that he had never realized before. God
appeared to him that day as He never had.
Now the personal feelings of Abraham
Lincoln are items that he seldom divulged to anyone. However, many of Lincoln's personal
effects were turned over to his son, Robert Todd. Rather than releasing them to the
Library of Congress, Robert instructed that they were not to be opened until 21 years
after his death. He died in 1926.
So on July 25, 1947, 200 historians
gathered to look at the 194 volumes of 18,350 pages to discover the missing information of
Lincoln's life. In it they found Lincoln's testimony; how the many who died at Gettysburg
induced him to drop to his knees in repentance. He later wrote a letter, as recorded in
his personal effects, which declared, "When I came to Springfield, I was not a
Christian. When I left Springfield for Washington and asked you to pray for me, I was not
a Christian. When I went to Gettysburg, I was not a Christian. But at Gettysburg, I
consecrated my heart to Christ."
The whole world could see the
encouragement that filled the heart of the President from that time on. Governor Dick
Yates commented to a group of Methodists in Illinois in 1863, "I have visited old Abe
and urged him to use more radical measures and he has said to me, 'Never mind, Dick, it
will be all right yet. Hold still and see the salvation of the Lord.'"
Yes, Lincoln had witnessed the saving
hand of the Lord Jesus Christ on the day he visited Gettysburg, to discover the message of
the Gospel. The One whose words he had read so many times over-and-over again became true
for his life.
So it was at the end of 1863 with this
decisive victory in his pocket and the beginnings of a new view of God in his mind, that Lincoln
began in his annual message to Congress with "renewed, and profoundest gratitude to
God" for another year "of health, and of sufficiently abundant harvests."
Just looking back on the war of all wars
was a testimony of God's hand working in our nation in order to affect His will. Knowing
the conviction from which it originated; the results alone of this great conflict should
bring this nation to its knees before the Almighty
Abraham Lincoln confided to A. G. Hodges
early in 1864, "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that
events have controlled me. . . Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's
condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim
it. Whither it is tending seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and
wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our
complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find a new cause to attest and revere the
justice and goodness of God."
The fact that we have equal rights for
the black man today goes back to the faith of one man, Abraham Lincoln. Within the context
of that faith was a true belief in the overriding justice and goodness of God who brings
about the benefits of value to any society.
The Chicago Tribune wrote, "So far
as can be gathered. . . God meant him to be President, or the nation is deceived."
Now either Lincoln was a man of faith,
or he managed, through manipulative tactics, to deceive an entire nation of his
contemporaries. . . And this deception would have included everyone from the height and
breath of America to his closest friends.
Early in 1864, Governor Yates spoke of
him, "I stand up here to say that from long acquaintance with him, that he is not
only one of the honestest men of God ever made, but in clear, cool, statesmanship
judgment, he is without peer in the history of the world."
Today, we are faced with a barrage of
views that proclaim to us that those who gave us our country were other than what we
always have believed they were. In particular, they desire to deface the Founding Father's
Christian stance. The Christian base of our country stands as a road block between them
and how they desire to live there lives. Changing history is how they justify the
application of immoral behavior as a fitting employment of inherent, inalienable rights.
* * *
It is like the Calvin and Hobbes comic
strip that finds our hero sitting at a table with pencil and paper to discuss his profound
insight to his loyal companion. "We really don't understand what really causes events
to happen," he explains to his attentive friend. "History is the fiction we
invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has direction and
order."
Now standing erect with hands waving in
the air the young wizard continues, "That's why events are always reinterpreted when
values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices."
The tiger ponders on. "So what are
you writing?" the fluffy mammal inquires.
"A
revisionist autobiography."
* * *
What is the truth of history? Who is
this Abraham Lincoln? Was he a man motivated by political lust, or a man after God's own
heart who truly sought the Almighty in envisioning a brighter future for America?
In making any judgment regarding an
individual, one must listen to the testimony of those who witnessed the actions of the
man. To know the truth of Lincoln, one must go back to the source, to search out the
opinions of his contemporaries. They will explain that Lincoln was exactly the man who
transferred the concept of equality as established in the Constitution to us today from a
position of profound integrity, insight and Godly character. Carl Sandburg in his
biography of Lincoln stated, "A tree is best measured when it's down."
The liberal college professors of today
desire to pull what ever incident out of Lincoln's life they can, in order to uphold their
paganistic view that supports their claims that our past is filled with Christian
hypocrisy. They desire to cut the tree down and burn it! They love to focus on a few
isolated statements or occurrences to promote their stance, and thus justify their sins.
Yet the Bible indicates that one will
know men according to the fruits of their lives. To look back on the accomplishments of
our most prominent President, is to see a work that guaranteed the preservation of liberty
of such a magnitude that it still stands un-paralleled in American history. Convinced by
the Word of the Lord he had grown up with, Lincoln lugged our nation into a conflict of
unforetold proportions to assure freedom would remain for our children, and children's
children.
Emerson's analysis saw the person of Lincoln
in the whirlwind of war as, "no holiday magistrate, no fair-weather sailor. . . He is
the true history of the American people in his time. Step by step he walked before them;
slow in their slowness, quickening his march by theirs, the true representative of this
continent; and entirely public man; father of his country."
Russia's Leo Tolstoy, who could only
yearn for the freedom in his country that America has always enjoyed, wrote that Lincoln
had become a folk legend through "peculiar moral powers and greatness of character. .
. . If he had failed to become President, he would be no doubt just as great, but only God
could appreciate it." Of all great national heroes and statesmen of history, "Lincoln
is the only real giant. . . . Lincoln was. . . Christ in miniature, a saint of humanity
whose name will live thousands of years in the legends of future generations. We are still
too near his greatness, and so can hardly appreciate his divine power; but after a few
centuries more, our posterity will find him considerably bigger than we do."
John Hay, who knew the man better than
any other, called Lincoln "the greatest character since Christ," that even the
modernist Hofstadter admitted is "a comparison one cannot imagine being made of any
other political figure of modern times." Today's intellectuals are attempting to
diminish the man in an attempt to augment their Godless beliefs in our minds so that they
might be profaned amongst us. They call the saga of Lincoln a "legend" that
surpasses any other in "political mythology."
Who shall you believe? The arm-chair
historian who is looking back a hundred years through the lens of his own prejudices? The
one who uses isolated facts and quotes out of context to make his point? Or are you going
to listen to the people knew Lincoln during his time?
Believe the ones who finally witnessed
the conclusion of the great Civil war. General Lee ultimately surrendered at Appomattox on
April 9, 1865. One man who had been celebrating quite extensively climbed up on top of the
bar at Willards to proclaim, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." Twenty
thousand businessmen in New York took off their hats while singing the psalm "Praise
God." Lincoln himself addressed the nation to herald, "we meet this evening, not
in sorrow, but in gladness of heart. . . a call for a national thanksgiving is being
prepared, and will be duly promulgated. . ." This was a nation who knew where to give
the glory for their victories, peace, and freedom. Where can one find such individuals
today?
While Lincoln was assessing the damage
done to Southern Capitol Richmond, an old timer sprang up upon Lincoln to exclaim,
"Bress de Laws, dere is de great Messiah!" while falling to his face with the
other blacks prostrate before this great man.
Lincoln gazed down at this spectacle of
humility, while knowing everything he had done for these people. Rather than receiving
glory for himself he pronounced, "Don't kneel to me. You must kneel to God and thank
Him for your freedom."
These profound words from the one who
preserved liberty for all ring out their cadence throughout our land now filled with
decadence and decay. They are words that must be heard. They embody the only truth worth
considering.
Don Wigton
is a graduate of the prestigious music department at CSULB where he studied under Frank
Pooler, lyricist of Merry Christmas Darling, and sang in Pooler’s world renown
University Choir alongside Karen and Richard Carpenter. During this time Don was also the
lead composer of the band, Clovis Putney, that won the celebrated Hollywood Battle of the
Bands. After giving his life to God, Don began attending Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa to
study under some of the most prominent early Maranatha! musicians. Subsequently he toured
the Western United States with Jedidiah in association with Myrrh Records.
Eventually
Don served as a pastor at Calvary Chapel Bakersfield to witness thousands of salvations
through that ministry. As the music/concert director, Don worked for seven years with most
major Christian artist of that time while producing evangelical concerts attended by
thousands of young people seeking after God. Don’s Calvary Chapel Praise Choir
released the album Let All Who Hath Breath Praise the Lord on the Maranatha! label.
The next
years of Don’s life were spent as the praise leader of FirstBaptistChurch in Bakersfield
during a time of unprecedented church renewal. Don teamed with the leadership to
successfully meld the old with the new through a period of tremendous church growth.
During this exciting time, Don’s praise team, Selah, produced the CD Stop and
Think About It.
Today Don is
the leading force behind Wigtune Company. This
webbased project located at www.praisesong.net has provided several million downloads of
Don’s music and hymn arrangements to tens of thousands of Christian organizations
throughout the world. More music can be found at Don's Southern
Cross Band website at www.socrossband.com.
The book Holy
Wars represents Don’s most recent effort to bless the church with biblical
instruction and direction in praise and worship. This heartfelt volume is an offering not
only to God’s people, but also to God Himself.
An Incredible revival is occuring
in Northern India and Nepal. CLICK
HERE to find out more!
More Wigtune Blogs
This
first of five books looks into a pivotal moment in American history that changed the world
forever. It was a time when the United States was on the brink of destruction. It was and
era when an American prophet and patriot stood up to eco the words of Christ: "A
house divided cannot stand." Today we live in a similar era today where America is
torn asunder between truth and error. And the wrong decision will bring dire
consequences!
Click Here to
purchase the E-book edition for only 99 cents!
We pray that these materials have provided
all of you with untold blessings!
"I might not be a religious
man myself but I know good music when I hear it, and this is very good! . . . I don’t think that I have ever given such high
ratings to so many songs before. But the fact is that they are well deserved
because the music is amazing. Simply wonderful religious ballads and they
really get to your heart. . .everytime." Fredrik Cole: Trax In Space
was formed as a service to the body of Christ to encourage scriptural
worship. To accomplish this goal Wigtune Company offers free contemporary Christian praise
and worship music, contemporary Christian rock and hymn mp3 and chart material along with
a free on-line worship study book for personal devotions, Bible study groups, Sunday
schools, pastors, music ministers and ministry training. In order to bridge the gap
between the old and the new the worship study book gives solid theological and
historical support to the use of traditional Christian hymn-singing in conjunction with
praise chorus singing.
Click on one of the links below for praise and worship, praise
tabs, worship chords, praise chorus mp3, hymn stories, pro tools studio, worship leader
materials to enter into the area of the Wigtune site that interests you !
was formed as a service to the body of Christ to encourage scriptural
worship. To accomplish this goal Wigtune Company offers free contemporary Christian praise
and worship music, contemporary Christian rock and hymn mp3 and chart material along with
a free on-line worship study book for personal devotions, Bible study groups, Sunday
schools, pastors, music ministers and ministry training. In order to bridge the gap
between the old and the new the worship study book gives solid theological and
historical support to the use of traditional Christian hymn-singing in conjunction with
praise chorus singing. 
Vision Statement 
Wigtune Story 
Check out this powerful Southern Cross song! 
