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The (Almost) Chosen Nation
Psalm 147:12-20
"[God] has not dealt thus with any other nation. ... Heard two men speaking about "Lincolns Greatest Speech," the 2d Inaugural Address. ... The speech that Lincoln gave for his second inauguration, in March of 1865, six weeks before his murder, was a short one. ... Lincoln pondered…what God was up to in those days, in this nation. ...
The consensus of what these two men had to say about Lincolns greatest speech was not only that it was a sacred effort, but that it was less a political speech than it was a sermon. Because though Lincoln does not mention Psalm 147, verse 20, his whole speech--sermon, if you will--ponders the question of how God has dealt with this nation. ... Why did it happen, Lincoln wondered in his second inaugural speech. ...
Lincoln the President dared to approach the question of the beginning of his second term from an explicitly theological perspective. He wanted to examine what God was up to in these United States, a nation which he had called on at least two other occasions the--well…. a nation which Lincoln had called in the Gettysburg Address the source of a possible "rebirth of freedom. ... If we wouldnt use the words themselves, "the last, best hope on earth," I suspect we find them…acceptable as descriptions of our nation. We do believe, somehow, that God "has not acted thus with any other nation."
But Lincoln also, on at least two occasions, described the United States as "this almost chosen nation." "Almost chosen!" What did he mean by that: "almost chosen"? ... So, says Lincoln, maybe--the war has lasted as long as it has so that God may exact retribution upon a sinful nation.
Now, I dont think you are very happy about hearing about or thinking about the notion of God exacting retribution on a sinful nation, unless Im talking about--some other nation.
Approximate Word count = 1569
Approximate Pages = 6.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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