Categories: Historical Documents

Proclamation – Fasting Humiliation and Prayer – 1777, Massachusetts Bay

This is the text of a Proclamation for a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer issued by Massachusetts-Bay as printed in The Boston Gazette and Country Journal on August 18, 1777. The proclamation was issued on August 12, 1777, declaring August 28, 1777 as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer.

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State of Massachusetts-Bay

A PROCLAMATION

For a Day of public Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer

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It having pleased the wise and holy Governor of the World to manifest his Displeasure against the heinous and provoking Sins of the People of this Land, by the terrible Judgment of a War, which is now become so general as to demand our most serious Attention; and as He hath permitted the Enemy to make dangerous Inroads upon our defenseless Frontiers, by which Means the Savages have begun the dreadful Work of indiscriminate Murder among our distressed Brethren; and as HE is now holding the rod of his visible Displeasure over our oppressed and endangered Country;— it becomes a People professing a Belief in a superintending, universal Providence, with true and unfeigned Repentance, to make Him their Refuge, who governs and wisely directs all human Affairs:

WE have therefore thought fit, with the Advice of the Council and at the Desire of the House of Representatives, to appoint, and we do hereby appoint THURSDAY the 28th Day of August current, to be observed throughout this State, as a Day of FASTING, HUMILIATION, and PRAYER; hereby calling upon the several religious Assemblies, of every Denomination, devoutly to attend of the Duties of the said Day; with humble Penitence confessing their manifold Sins, and aggravated Transgressions; imploring through JESUS CHRIST our Lord, the pardoning Mercy of Almighty God, and the gracious Removal of the divine Displeasure from us; with grateful Hearts acknowledging his unmerited Goodness, and the many Mercies which, while his Judgments are abroad in the Earth, he bestows upon an ungrateful and ill deserving People; and devoutly supplicating those important Blessings which we, in this Day of general Calamity, stand in such eminent Need of: —Particularly; that GOD would direct the Counsels of this, and of all the UNITED AMERICAN STATES; and in a special Manner the GRAND CONGRESS OF AMERICA; that he would succeed and prosper our Naval and Military Operations; preserve the Lives and Health of our Officers and Soldiers, animate them with invincible Courage and Resolution, and lead them on to decisive Victory; and that the COMMANDER IN CHIEF, amidst all his weighty Cares, may be under the singular Direction and Protection of HIM, who giveth Wisdom to the wise, and Understanding to the prudent; —that the Inhabitants of these States may be spirited to make, with united Efforts, a vigorous and successful Defense of their Liberties, civil and religious;—that the determined and enraged Enemy, may not be able to execute their cruel and destructive Plan, but meet with Disappointment and a total Defeat;—and that instead of the Sound of the Trumpet and the Alarm of War, we may soon hear the voice of established and undisturbed Peace;—that the Earth, now teeming with hopeful Plenty, may yield to Man and Beast a full and rich Supply; -that Profanity, and Vice of every Species, may, with universal Consent, be banished from among us;—that Selfishness and Oppression may give Place to Benevolence and public virtue;—that the interesting Truths of the Gospel of GOD our Saviour, may, through the sanctifying Influences of the holy Spirit, have due Effect upon the Hearts and Lives of Persons of every Age; and we be that happy People, whose GOD is the LORD.

And all servile Labour and Recreation are hereby forbidden on the said Day.

GIVEN at the Council Chamber in BOSTON, this twelfth Day of August, in the Year of our LORD, One Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy-seven.

By their Honor’s command,

JOHN AVERY, Dep’y Secr’y

GOD Save the United States of America!

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1989

This is the text of a Proclamation for a National Day of Thanksgiving. The proclamation was issued on November 17, 1989, declaring November 23, 1989 as a day of thanksgiving to be observed by the nation.

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Thanksgiving Day, 1989

By the President of the United States

A Proclamation

On Thanksgiving Day, we Americans pause as a Nation to give thanks for the freedom and prosperity with which we have been blessed by our Creator. Like the pilgrims who first settled in this land, we offer praise to God for His goodness and generosity and rededicate ourselves to lives of service and virtue in His sight.

This annual observance of Thanksgiving was a cherished American tradition even before our first President, George Washington, issued the first Presidential Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. In his first Inaugural Address, President Washington observed that “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States.” He noted that the American people – blessed with victory in their fight for Independence and with an abundance of crops in their fields – owed God “some return of pious gratitude.” Later, in a confidential note to his close advisor, James Madison, he asked “should the sense of the Senate be taken on … a day of Thanksgiving?” George Washington thus led the way to a Joint Resolution of Congress requesting the President to set aside “a day of public Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal Favors of Almighty God.”

Through the eloquent words of President Washington’s initial Thanksgiving proclamation – the first under the Constitution – we are reminded of our dependence upon our Heavenly Father and of the debt of gratitude we owe to Him. “It is the Duty of all Nations,” wrote Washington, “to acknowledge the Providence of almighty God, to obey his Will, to be grateful for his Benefits, and humbly to implore His Protection and Favor.”

President Washington asked that on Thanksgiving Day the people of the United States:

unite in rendering unto [God] our sincere and humble Thanks for his kind Care and Protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation; for … the great degree of Tranquility, Union and Plenty which we have since enjoyed; for … the civil and religious Liberty with which we are blessed, and … for all the great and various Favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

Two hundred years later, we continue to offer thanks to the Almighty – not only for the material prosperity that our Nation enjoys, but also for the blessings of peace and freedom. Our Nation has no greater treasures than these.

As we pause to acknowledge the kindnesses God has shown to us – and, indeed, His gift of life itself – we do so in a spirit of humility as well as gratitude. When the United States was still a fledgling democracy, President Washington asked the American people to unite in prayer to the “great Lord and ruler of Nations,” in order to:

beseech him to pardon our national and other Transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private Stations, to perform our several and relative Duties properly and punctually; to render our national Government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a Government of wise, just and constitutional Laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations … and to bless them with good Government, peace and Concord.

Today, we, too, pause on Thanksgiving with humble and contrite hearts, mindful of God’s mercy and forgiveness and of our continued need for His protection and guidance. On this day, we also remember that one gives praise to God not only through prayers of thanksgiving, but also through obedience to His commandments and service to others, especially those less fortunate than ourselves.

While some Presidents followed Washington’s precedent, and some State Governors did as well, President Lincoln – despite being faced with the dark specter of civil war – renewed the practice of proclaiming a national day of Thanksgiving. This venerable tradition has been sustained by every President since then, in times of strife as well as times of peace and prosperity.

Today, we continue to offer thanks and praise to our Creator, that “Great Author of every public and private good,” for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us. In so doing, we recall the timeless words of the 100th Psalm:

Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 23, 1989, as a National Day of Thanksgiving, and I call upon the American people to gather together in homes and places of worship on that day of thanks to affirm by their prayers and their gratitude the many blessings God has bestowed upon us and our Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourteenth.

GEORGE BUSH

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1909

 

This is the text of a Thanksgiving Day proclamation issued by President William Howard Taft on November 15, 1909.

[Thanksgiving- 1909.]

By the
President of the United States of America.

A
Proclamation.

proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1909-1The season of the year has returned when, in accordance with the reverent custom established by our forefathers, the people of the United States are wont [accustomed] to meet in their usual places of worship on a day of thanksgiving appointed by the Civil Magistrate to return thanks to God for the great mercies and benefits which they have enjoyed.

During this past year we have been highly blest. No great calamities of flood or tempest or epidemic sickness have befallen us. We have lived in quietness, undisturbed by wars or the rumors of wars. Peace and the plenty of bounteous crops and of great industrial production animate a cheerful and resolute people to all the renewed energies of beneficent industry and material and moral progress. It is altogether fitting that we should humbly and gratefully acknowledge the divine source of these blessings.

Therefore I appoint Thursday, the twenty-fifth day of November, as a day of general thanksgiving, and I call upon the people on that day, laying aside their usual vocations, to repair to their churches and unite in appropriate services of praise and thanks to Almighty God.

In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and nine and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and thirty-fourth.

Wm H Taft

By the President:

P.C. Knox

Secretary of State.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1899, New Hampshire

The following is the text of a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise, issued by Frank West Rollins, the governor of New Hampshire. The proclamation was issued October 27, 1899 and was declaring November 30, 1899 the day of Thanksgiving.

 

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State of New Hampshire.
 

By His Excellency Frank West Rollins, Governor,
A Proclamation
For a day of public Thanksgiving and Praise.

I hereby appoint Thursday, the thirtieth day of November, as a day of joyful thanksgiving to Almighty God, our Heavenly Father.

Let a special effort be made call home our dear ones for the observance of the beautiful custom, and let family reunions be held around our hearthstones. Let the morning of this glad day be devoted to services of praise and thanksgiving for the bounteousness of the harvests and our general prosperity—and the after to deeds of brotherly kindness and loving charity, visiting the sick and needy, sending flowers and delicacies to the hospitals, and bringing the joyousness of the day to the inmates of our charitable and reformatory institutions. “Give back the upward looking and the light” to some sorrowing soul; “rebuild in it the music and the dream,” even if it be but for a day. Let the evening be devoted to the children, who always seem so much nearer to God than the older ones. Make merry in the good old ways. Roll back the burden of the years.
A day thus spent will not only be a loving service to God, but a blessing to others and a benediction to ourselves.

Given at the Council Chamber in Concord, this twenty-seventh day
of October, in the year of Lord one thousand eight hundred
and ninety nine, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the one hundred and twenty-fourth.

Frank West Rollins,
Governor.

By His Excellency the Governor,
with advice of the Council,
Edward N. Pearson,
Secretary of State.

Proclamation – Humiliation Fasting and Prayer – 1815

This is the text of President James Madison’s January 12, 1815 Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer Proclamation; as printed in The Yankee on November 25, 1814. To see a sermon preached on the fast day of January 12, 1815, click here.

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A PROCLAMATION.

BY THE PRESIDENT

proclamation-humiliation-fasting-and-prayer-1815-2The two Houses of the National Legislature having, by a joint resolution, expressed their desire, that in the present time of public calamity and war, a day may be recommended to be observed by the people of the United States as a Day of Public Humiliation and Fasting and of Prayer to Almighty God, for the safety and welfare of these States, His blessing on their arms, and a speedy restoration of peace. – I have deemed it proper by this Proclamation, to recommend that Thursday the Twelfth of January next be set apart as a day on which all may have an opportunity of voluntarily offering, at the same time, in their respective religious assemblies, their humble adoration to the Great Sovereign of the Universe, of confessing their sins and transgressions, and of strengthening their vows of repentance and amendment. They will be invited by the same solemn occasion, to call to mind the distinguished favors conferred on the American people, in the general health which has been enjoyed; in the abundant fruits of the season; in the progress of the arts, instrumental to their comfort, their prosperity, and their security; and in the victories which have so powerfully contributed to the defense and protection of our country – a devout thankfulness for all which ought to be mingled with their supplications to the Beneficent Parent of the human race, that He would be graciously pleased to pardon all their offenses against Him; to support and animate them in the discharge of their respective duties; to continue to them the precious advantages flowing from political institutions so auspicious to their safety against dangers from abroad, to their tranquility at home, and to their liberties, civil and religious; and that He would, in a special manner, preside over the nation, in its public councils and constituted authorities, giving wisdom to its measures and success to its arms, in maintaining its rights, and in overcoming all hostile designs and attempts against it; and, finally, that by inspiring the enemy with dispositions favorable to a just and reasonable Peace, its blessings may be speedily and happily restored.
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Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the 16th day of November, 1814, and of the Independence of the United States the 38th.

JAMES MADISON.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1887

The following is the text of the handwritten Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer issued by Grover Cleveland, President of the United States. The proclamation was issued October 25, 1887 and was declaring November 24, 1887 the day of Thanksgiving.


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A Proclamation
By the President of the United States:

The goodness and the mercy of God, which have followed the American people during all the days of the past year claim our grateful recognition and humble acknowledgment. By His omnipotent power He has protected us from war and pestilence and from every national calamity; by His gracious favor the earth has yielded a generous return to the labor of the husbandman, and every path of honest toil has led to comfort and contentment; by His loving kindness the hearts of our people have been replenished with fraternal sentiment and patriotic endeavor, and by His Fatherly guidance we have been directed in the way of national prosperity.

To the end that we may with one accord testify our gratitude for all these blessings, I, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, do hereby designate and set apart Thursday, the twenty-fourth day of November next as a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by all the people of the land.

On the day let all secular work and employment be suspended; and let our people assemble in their accustomed places of worship and with prayer and songs of praise, give thanks to our Heavenly Father for all that He has done for us while we implore the forgiveness of our sins and a continuance of His mercy.

Let families and kindred be reunited on that day and let their hearts, filled with kindly cheer and affectionate reminiscence, be turned to the source of all their pleasures and to the Giver of all that makes the day bright and joyous.

And in the midst of our worship and enjoyments let us remember the poor, the needy, and the unfortunate; and by our gifts of charity and ready benevolence let us increase the number of those who with grateful hearts shall join in our Thanksgiving.

In witness whereof I have set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-fifth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twelfth.

Proclamation – Humiliation and Prayer – 1812

This it the text of James Madison’s August, 1812 Humiliation and Prayer Fast Proclamation; as printed in the Independent Chronicle on July 20, 1812. To see a sermon preached on the fast day of August 20, 1812, click here.

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WHEREAS the Congress of the United States, by a joint resolution of the two Houses, have signified a request, that a day may be recommended, to be observed by the People of the United States, with religious solemnity, as a day of public Humiliation, and Prayer; and whereas such a recommendation will enable the several religious denominations and societies so disposed, to offer, at one and the same time, their common vows and adorations to Almighty God, on the solemn occasion produced by the war, in which he has been pleased to permit the injustice of a foreign power to involve these United States;

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I do therefore recommend the third Thursday in August next, as a convenient day to be set apart for the devout purposes of rendering to the Sovereign of the Universe and the Benefactor of mankind, the public homage due to his holy attributes; of acknowledging the transgressions which might justly provoke the manifestations of His divine displeasures; of seeking His merciful forgiveness, His assistance in the great duties of repentance and amendment; and especially of offering fervent supplications, that in the present season of calamity and war, He would take the American People under his peculiar care and protection; that he would guide their public councils, animate their patriotism, and bestow His blessing on their arms; that He would inspire all nations with a love of justice and of concord, and with a reverence for the unerring precept of our holy religion, to do to others as they would require others to do to them; and finally, that, turning the hearts of our enemies from the violence and injustice which sway their councils against us, He would hasten a restoration of the blessings of Peace.

Given at Washington the 9th day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve.

James Madison.

By the
President.
James Monroe,
Secretary of State

 

This is the text of four hymns for the August, 1812 day of national Humiliation and Prayer.

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Solemnity, An Anthem.
And Three Hymns, for the National Fast.
For August, 1812. On Account of the War

In solemn strains and slow express the mournful feelings which this day excites; Then prostrate bend before the Lord of hosts. And as a Nation seek his needed help.

Spare, O Lord, spare thou thy people And save us from our fears And shield us from our foes, And shield- Be our defense on every side, Be our-

And still maintain our cause, And still- Send now prosperity; Send now prosperity; Send- Restore again our peace.

Our nation bless, O Lord, our nation- Our rights and liberties secure; And crown’d with peace may they descend to ev’ry future age! Amen. Amen.

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Hymn 1.

(Tune: Beklnap’s Kingston.)

O GOD supreme, whom heavenly hosts adore,
Prostrate before thee, see a Nation bend;
And be entreated now as heretofore,
To us and ours thy kindness to extend.

Through tumults, wars, and fightings, far and wide,
Through other reigns urge their dread career,
Here still may LIBERTY and PEACE reside,
Secure from discord, and remote from fear.

Our RULERS and their COUNCILS, Lord, direct;
And, since on THEE, our firmest trust relies,
Do thou our cause succeed, our land protect,
And Oh, restore again the PEACE we prize!

T.M. Harris

Hymn 2.

(Tune: Condolence or German Hymn.)

God of our hope, to thee we turn
With fasting and with fervent prayer;
Let not thy threaten’d anger burn,
But still thy favour’d people spare!

Oft hast thou saved from our foes
By granting rescue from on high;
Now patronize and interpose,
And be thy needed succour nigh!

When marshall’d in the dangerous fight
As once thou didst our forces shield,
So now, O vindicate our right,
And like support and victory yield.

And never may our Country cease
Thy guardian kindness to secure;
But may prosperity and peace
Be now restored, and long endure!

T.M. Harris

Hymn 3.

O gracious God, before thy throne,
Thy suppliant people humbly bend,
For on thy sovereign power alone
Must all our nation’s hopes depend.

With all the boasted pomp of war
In vain we dare the hostile field,
Unless the god of armies there
The cause shall own, the troops shall shield.

Let past experience of thy care
Support our trust, our hope invite;
And now attend our earnest prayer,
And in our Country’s weal delight!

Our arms succeed, our councils guide;
Let thy right hand our cause maintain,
Till war’s destructive rage subside,
And peace resume its gentle reign.

O when shall time the period bring
When raging War shall waste no more;
But peace shall stretch its sheltering wing
Round the wide earth from shore to shore!

When shall the Gospel’s cheering ray,
Kind source of amity divine,
Spread o’er the world celestial day,
And all the nations, Lord, be thine!

T.M. Harris, and Mrs. Steele

 

Proclamation – Humiliation Fasting and Prayer – 1810

This is the text of Massachusetts Governor Christopher Gore’s April 5, 1810 proclamation for a day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer for that state; as printed in the Columbian Centinel on March 7, 1810. To see a sermon preached on this Massachusetts Fast Day, click here.

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COMMONWEALTH of MASSACHUSETTS.

BY HIS EXCELLENCY
CHRISTOPHER GORE,
Governor and Commander in Chief of the State
aforementioned,
A PROCLAMATION,
For a Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer.

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In conformity with the invariable usage of the commonwealth, and with a sense of our absolute dependence on the beneficent parent of mankind, and of our numerous and aggravated offenses against his holy will and commandments- I have thought fit to appoint- and by and with the advice and consent of the council, I do appoint THURSDAY, the FIFTH DAY of APRIL next, as a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer in this Commonwealth. And I do request the Ministers and People of every denomination throughout the same, to assemble on that day, in their several places of Public Worship, that we may unitedly humble ourselves in the presence of Almighty God, and acknowledge with deep contrition, our manifold sins and transgressions; that we may devoutly deprecate his judgments, and implore His merciful forgiveness, through the merits of our blessed Lord and Redeemer.

While we thus bow in humble adoration before the Most High, let us render Him our unfeigned thanks for the numerous instances of His continued bounty towards us, and our Forefathers whom he planted in this fruitful soil – and, in an especial manners, that He endued them with wisdom to render this a Land of Piety, Freedom, and Order. And inasmuch as we have disregarded their example, and neglected those principles by which they obtained and transmitted to us the inestimable blessings of the Christian Religion, of Law and of Liberty- let us earnestly beseech Him to heal our backslidings and to restore us to that temper and conduct, by which alone we can hope to be Happy in this World, and in that which is to come.

At the same time that we look with all humility to His Grace for the Remission of our Sins, let us, with one mind and one voice, supplicate His Blessing for us and our beloved Country; that He would alike preserve us from the Pestilence that walketh in Darkness, and the Destruction that wasteth at Noon-day; that He would graciously smile on the Labors of the Husbandman, and cause the Earth to bring forth her increase in due season; that He would relieve our Commerce from the embarrassments with which it is burdened, and grant that Prosperity may again distinguish our Navigation and Fisheries – so that they who go down to the sea in ships, and do Business in great Waters, may have abundant reason to praise His Holy Name; that he would afford success to our Manufactures, and prosper all the work of our hands.

That He would graciously condescend to direct the Government of the United States, and give them wisdom to discern, and firmness to pursue, the true Interests of the Country; that He would preserve us from War, and from all connections that lead to dishonor and adversity; that He would dispel the clouds that encompass us about, and continue to us the enjoyments of Peace, Liberty, and Religion; that he would influence the Governments of the several States to do every thing, within their respective spheres, to preserve the Union, Order, Tranquility, and Independence of the United States; that He would protect us from the assaults of open enemies, and from the snares of insidious Friends; that He would suffer no weapon formed against us to prosper, but would set at naught the counsels of those who devise mischief against us.

That He would vouchsafe His Blessings on our University, our Colleges and Seminaries of Learning; that He would advance all means used for propagating true Religion, and promote the pious purposes of those who endeavor to disseminate a Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures- that all may learn his Will and obey His Commandments.

And it is recommended, that all servile Labour and Recreation, be suspended upon the said Day.

Given at the Council Chamber, in Boston, this twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ten, and in the thirty-fourth year of the independence of the United States of America.

CHRISTOPHER GORE.

By His Excellency the Governor, with the advice and consent of the council.

WILLIAM TUDOR, Secretary of the State.

GOD SAVE THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS!

Proclamation – Fasting Humiliation and Prayer – 1807, Connecticut

Jonathan Trumbull (1740-1809); Trumbull was a soldier and statesman from Connecticut. He served as paymaster/comptroller of the treasury for the American army (1775-80); aide-de-camp to General George Washington (1780-83); U.S. Congressman (1789-95) Speaker of the House (1791-95); U.S. Senator (1795); Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut (1796-98); and Governor of Connecticut (1798-1809). His father, also named Jonathan (1710-1785), was a minister and statesman who was a close friend of General Washington and the only colonial governor to ardently support the American Revolution.

Following is the text of a proclamation for a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer issued by Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut. This proclamation was issued on February 20, 1807 proclaiming March 27, 1807 the day of fasting for the state.

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By His Excellency

JONATHAN TRUMBULL, ESQ.

Governor and Commander in Chief in and Over the State of
Connecticut.

A PROCLAMATION.

WHEN we seriously consider the Being and Perfections of God, with our
relation to and dependence on Him, as our Great Creator, Preserver and Benefactor;-and
when we reflect on the Evil of our Ways, and the folly of our Conduct towards
the Author of our Being and of all our Mercies,-we should be humbled in the
Dust before our God, for our sinful Ingratitude and unworthiness:-We have
reason to cry out with the humble Publican, “God be merciful to us Sinners.”

WITH these Impressions I have thought proper to appoint, and I do hereby appoint Friday the Twenty-Seventh Day of March next, to be observed as a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer throughout this State. And I do hereby call upon the people of all denominations of Religion, devoutly and solemnly to keep said Day and appropriate it as a Day of special religious service, devoted to God in solemn Duties of penitential acknowledgment of their Sins, private and social, against the Divine Will and government: and while lamenting their Sins, and forming sincere and humble resolutions of new Obedience, may they be solicitous to keep the Day in such manner as may be acceptable to God, and prove of lasting benefit in their future Lives and Conduct. At the same time it will become us humbly to reflect upon and seriously to consider the Judgments of the Lord, which in various ways, at this time, seem peculiarly abroad in the Earth; and endeavor to search out the procuring causes of God’s singular Displeasure. “When the Lord ariseth to shake terribly the Earth,” may the People return to their God. “It may be we shall be hid in the Day of the Lord’s fierce anger.”

And while performing the Duties of Repentance for past Offences, and forming devout resolutions for future Lives of Obedience, let us offer to our Almighty and all-gracious God, through our Great Mediator, our sincere and solemn Prayers for his Divine Assistance and the Influences of His Holy Spirit; that God may freely pardon all our Sins and strengthen our resolutions of future Obedience; that He will give us an Interest in the Covenant of Mercy through our Divine Redeemer; and that in addition to these unspeakable Blessings of His Grace, our God will mercifully grant us all those temporal Favors which he may see convenient and best for us. -And let us particularly and devoutly supplicate the Divine Favor and Influence on our public and private Interests: that God will be pleased to bless and guide the President of the United States in all his important duties; that our God will mercifully preside over all our national and state Councils at this critical and eventful period: that our public Rulers may be enlightened in and led to a just discernment and ardent pursuit of the public Interest, as relates to our internal concerns and external relations: that God will mercifully preserve our country from internal Confusion and civil Discord, and from external insult and aggression. -Also let us humbly entreat, That our God will bless us in the fruitfulness of the coming season: give us a continuance of Health in our Cities and in our Dwellings: succeed the Labors of the Husbandman: prosper our Commerce, Navigation and Fisheries: enlarge our Manufactures, and give success to our various lawful arts and industrious enterprise: smile on all our means of Learning and Science: bless and succeed a preached Gospel, and animate all its Ministers with the true spirit of their undertaking, and encourage their Hearts by a happy experience of their successful Labors: pray God to give Peace to contending Nations: cause that the peaceful Kingdom of Righteousness may be advanced in the World; and that the Gospel of our Lord and Savior may be extended throughout all the habitations of men.

All Servile Labor and Recreations on said Day are by Law forbidden.

GIVEN under my Hand at Lebanon in said State, this Twentieth Day of February,
in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seven-and of the
United State of America the Thirty-First

JONATHAN TRUMBULL

By His Excellency’s Command,
Samuel Wyllys, Secretary.

Proclamation – Fasting Humiliation and Prayer – 1863

Following is the text of Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Proclamation for a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer along with Massachusetts Governor John Andrew’s Fasting Proclamation. The proclamation was issued on March 30, 1863 and declared April 30, 1863 the national day of fasting.

BY HIS EXCELLENCY

ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

A PROCLAMATION

For a Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the supreme authority and just government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation;

And whereas, it is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truths announced in the Holy Scriptures, and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord;

And, inasmuch as we know that, by his divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God, we have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do by this proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all people to abstain from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope, authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-seventh.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President,
William H. Seward, Sec’y of State.