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There are times when we fall
to our knees and thank God for all His blessings and tender mercies.
And there are other times
when we arrogantly refuse to bend or bow, and to defer to anything but ourselves, in a kind of misplaced
self-sufficiency and complacent
pride. And then God brings us down to our knees first, to remind us, in His providence,
of who we are, and how to
be grateful for what we have been given.
"It is a good thing
to give thanks unto the Lord."
Across the uncertain ways of space and time our hearts echo those
words, for the days are with us again when, at the gathering of the harvest, we solemnly express our dependence upon Almighty God.
The final months of this year, now almost
spent, find our Republic and the nations joined with it
waging a battle on many fronts for the preservation
of liberty.
In giving thanks for the greatest harvest in the history of our nation, we who plant and reap can well
resolve that in the year to come we will do all in our power to pass that milestone;
for by our labors in the fields we can
share some part of the
sacrifice with our brothers and sons who wear the uniform of the United States.
It is fitting that we recall
now the reverent words of George Washington, "Almighty
God, we make our earnest
prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection," and that every American in his own way
lift his voice to Heaven.
I recommend that all of
us bear in mind this great Psalm:
The
Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me I the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies;
thou annointest my head with
oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my
life; and I will dwell in
the house of the Lord for ever.
Inspired with
faith and courage by these
words, let us turn again to the work that confronts us in this time of national emergency : in the armed services and the merchant
marine; in factories and offices; on farms and in the mines; on highways,
railways and airways; in other places of public service to the Nation; and in our homes.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President
of the United States of America, do hereby invite the attention of the people to the joint resolution of Congress approved December 26, 1941, which designates the fourth Thursday in November of each year as thanksgiving Day’ and I request
that both Thanksgiving
Day, November 26, 1942, and New Year’s
Day, January 1, 1943, be observed in prayer, publicly and privately.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America
to be affixed.
DONE at the City of Washington this
eleventh day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-two, and of
the Independence of the United States of America
the one hundred and sixty-seventh.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
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