400 Years Ago
With all the man-made craziness and confusion going on, one of the most significant events in the history of the world is being overlooked. Saturday, November 21st marks the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims anchoring in Provincetown Harbor. They sighted land as early as Nov. 9th, after 65 days of miserable conditions. As they gave thanks for arriving, William Brewster led them in reading Psalm 100.
A Psalm of Praise.
1. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3. 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.
4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting: and his truth endureth to all generations.
Why is this significant? Why should we care? Because it is real History. This group, of mostly Puritans, came together after they quit the Church of England in 1605. To avoid religious persecution, they first moved to Holland in 1607. After living there for a decade, they decided they needed a new place where their children would not be influenced by the Dutch. They began to explore other options and potential locations to build a settlement. Upon deciding on a North American location, and after three years of preparations, they departed on September 16th, 1620.
What is most significant about this journey, and the colony that they would establish, is the writing and signing of the Mayflower Compact on November 21st, 1620. Though the document itself is small, the principles and ideas contained in it were earth-shattering.
“IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620.”
Yes, they are acknowledging the King, but they are stating so much more. “Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick”, meaning that they, as a group, are combining and recognizing each other, regardless of station, religion, or occupation, as equals.
“But wait!”, you say, “Weren’t they all religious zealots?” No. As an example, Capt. Myles Standish, one of the 41 signers, never joined their church, yet he was voted the first captain of their Militia on February 17, 1621. He was its leader (though later in life, more honorary) until he died in 1656.
This group set the standard and example that we have followed. As one of them exclaimed before arriving in America, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” The idea of being equals and peers is a light to a dark world. The principle of democracy with self-governance was the sure foundation upon which the Founders of our Nation built. Those principles are set up on the hill, those truths cannot be hid, as long as there are brave individuals to stand up for them. There would be no Declaration of Independence without their example. There would be no Constitution or Bill of Rights. We owe, in a sense, all we have and enjoy to these brave individuals 400 years ago.
Today, as most of you know, there are evil forces who are trying to erase and change our history. The push for the “1619 Project” is just one example of these. Our nation and heritage did not begin with slavery. It was established on principles of Freedom and Liberty. It was the Mayflower Compact and its ideals that led to the Constitution, which in its quest to form a “more perfect union”, led to the abolishment of slavery. If we forget this, we forget who we really are. Then we will be doomed to tyranny. We will no longer be a “light on a hill for the world to see”. And if we no longer shine, where will the world turn for refuge from oppression?
We are in the fight for national survival. We cannot afford to forget who we are. Nor can we afford to forget those who came before, the fruits of whose sacrifice we have enjoyed. I urge you to think about and give thanks to those brave Pilgrims. Ponder on what they have done for us, then pray for guidance as to what you can do, that you, too, might be a “light of the world. A city that is set on an hill [that] cannot be hid.”
--Jared Ross