The Dutchman Adrianus Valerius wrote in 1597 what is now known as the Thanksgiving hymn “We Gather Together” to celebrate the freeing of the Dutch people from the oppressive rule of the Spanish. It was redone in English by American Theodor Baker in 1894 and became popular in the 1930’s. It is about two things that are worth celebrating: the ability to gather together as God’s people and the freedom from oppression and the opportunity to worship as the Bible directs.
How precious it is to intertwine two of the most important battles for religious freedom. The Dutch against the inquisition, and the English separatists known as Pilgrims, against the state controlled church in England. One of the most undersung events in the great battle for liberty and religious freedom was the battle fought by William of Orange who gave up a life of relative ease to save the people of God in Holland. These brave Dutchman were willing to seek out God despite the oppression of Spain, who had distorted word of God for self-gain and political power, keeping God’s word separated from the people and oppressing them in what is today known as the Catholic Inquisition. It was a time when the devil literally ran the church. A time when families were burned to death for merely “gathering together” and reading the Bible.
Forty years later, another group seeking liberty and religious freedom had fled England to Holland. These were the separatists that are known today in America as the Pilgrims. After arriving in Holland from England, they found religious freedom but a difficult life. They found the Dutch culture by that time had become worldly. Those who were able to leave made the famous and harrowing journey on the Mayflower to the accidental location of what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. Here they created the Mayflower Compact and beginning one of the greatest experiments in liberty, faith in God, bravery, and perseverance the world had yet to see.
Today, faith seems to be growing most in the third world, but a small but significant remnant of Americans, and others in the western world hold steady to this faith. That the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord, that the word of God or the Bible written through inspired men over 1500 years should be the basis of law and dictate how we should live, that our greatest focus in life should be the sharing and spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ and repentance of sin. That the great news is that we are not helplessly in bondage to sin. In repentance, and through faith in Jesus Christ, we can gather together today and celebrate that the Lord has made us free in many ways.
Let us first give thanks this season for those who have sacrificed greatly to give us what is still a large amount of liberty and freedom. We thank you Lord for William of Orange and the Dutch who gave their lives in the reformation. We thank you Lord for the small band of English Separatists, of whom over half died on the first winter alone, to worship you. We thank you Lord for the hundreds of thousands who have given their lives to protect freedom from oppression against a multitude of oppressors including the German fascists, the Marxists, and radical Islam. We thank you Lord for those who still today who stand up against mockery in the western world, and risk prison and death in 3rd world countries, to proclaim the word of God.
The words of British poet Robert Abrahams say it well, “For some men die by shrapnel, And some go down in flames, But most men perish inch by inch, In play at little games.” Our goal is to identify the little games and put a stop to them and put the right weight on the right things.
The words of British poet Robert Abrahams say it well, “For some men die by shrapnel, And some go down in flames, But most men perish inch by inch, In play at little games.” Our goal is to identify the little games and put a stop to them and put the right weight on the right things.
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