“Those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.” In John 15:13, we read, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” No greater love than to give your life. “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.” This is one of the truly powerful, poignant statements. “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” Abraham Lincoln had absolute resolve that the nation would endure as long as he was President. The Constitution, a few years later, did differentiate by allowing slavery. “And dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Remember he’s referring to 1776 and the Declaration of Independence where it states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” There was no qualification as to different categories of men. I would rather be assassinated on the spot than surrender it.” One wonders if he had a premonition of his fate. if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle. In fact, in 1861, he said in a speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, “. When Lincoln rewrote his speech, so that there would be copies, he wrote Liberty with a capital “L.” I know this by having seen with my own eyes the Gettysburg Address in Lincoln’s own handwriting displayed on the desk at the White House where he signed the Emancipation Proclamation giving liberty and freedom to slaves. “A new nation conceived in Liberty.” Liberty was sacred to Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was determined this nation would not dissolve under his watch. It demonstrates the short time frame between the creation of this nation and its Civil War. It is very conceivable that there were citizens of the time who had seen both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, or at least lived during their terms in office. In fact, Lincoln’s father was eleven years old when George Washington took the oath of office. Why didn’t he? Because Lincoln’s father was born during the Revolution. Today we’re more accustomed to saying forefathers. He goes on to say “our fathers,” not our forefathers. So “fourscore and seven years ago” would have been what date? Abraham Lincoln was referring to 1776, the date we declared independence from tyranny. Psalm 90:10 says, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years.” Fourscore is 80 years. He began the speech, “Four score and seven years ago.” Where would he get such a poetic sounding term? From the Bible, a book Lincoln studied his entire life. He was also a great historian of the founding of our nation. In doing so, I kept in mind that Abraham Lincoln was a man of deep thought and mood, of great sensitivity, and a scholar and believer of the Bible. But being intent on memorizing it line by line, or reading a document that you’ve heard enough to make it seem familiar, may not allow us to always fully grasp the provocative nature of the message.Īs a humble layperson, I have examined some of the elements and derivatives of the address. Many young people, including today’s students and those of us in our younger days, have been at times required to memorize the Gettysburg Address.
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