Historical Summary of the
Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving

      
Cotton Mather in his book  Magnalia Christiana gives a wonderful summary of the trials and difficulties faced by the early Pilgrims in New England.  I have tried to abbreviate it in a manner that preserves some of his quaint expressions, long sentences, and interesting perspectives.  Here are twenty-two episodes that he sets before us of a godly people who lived in a spirit of thankfulness.  Their thankfulness was to the God they served in the midst of all of their hardships.

1.  In 1602, a group of believers in the north of England feeling that the reformation in the church of England was in a state of hopeless retardation joined themselves together as the Macedonians did.  They first gave themselves to the Lord and then gave themselves up to one another (see 2 Corinthians 8:5).  As a result of this commitment, they were banished to the  Netherlands.

2.  They took up residence in Leyden.  John Robinson was their pastor and William Brewster their ruling elder.  Robinson was asked to debate those in error during the occasion of a controversy that arose.  Cotton Mather called this error the grand choak-weed of true Christianity, namely, a man-centered view of the Gospel.

3.  After ten years they felt they had made little inroads upon the Dutch around them to honor the Lord’s Day.  They believed that without it all practical Christianity would wither miserably.  They differed in language from the Dutch and more so felt though their were good banks against the inroads of the sea their was not so against ungodliness.  Concerned for their posterity they looked for another course.

4.  They did not want to lose their interest in the English nation, and so decided to go to America.  The minor part went first with the younger and stronger men.  The pastor stayed behind until later.  (Note: these godly men were strong enough to sustain the spiritual tone of the group though there was no minister among them.)

5.  They first sought to go to a place bordering Virginia because they were in such agreement with the French Reformed churches.  They soon decided on some place in southwest New England.  They needed to get going because those who had sold their estates were running into an army of straits.

6.  Pastor Robinson preached on Ezra 8:21 as they were praying and fasting and seeking “from Him a right way for us and for our little ones and for all our substance.”  Their ships were called the Speedwell and the Mayflower.  They left Deft-Haven for Southampton after many tears by them all and their pastor kneeling beside the sea shore. The date was July 2, 1602.  The pastor sent a letter exhorting them to settle their peace with God by an exact repentance of all their sins so that they might more easily bear all of their trials.  He also exhorted them to beware of a touchy humor that takes offense because this kind of person never proves to be a sound and profitable member of a religious society.  He also charged them to not be shaken with novelties in the house of God where they go.  They wanted to establish Congregational churches and not State Churches.

7.  On August 5, 1620 they set sail from Southampton but were beaten back twice before they made it to Land’s End.  Now a deceitful master of one ship complained his ship was leaking and so put everyone on one ship and on September 6 they set off and landed at Cape Cod on November 9.  Then they fell upon their knees upon the shore.

8.  Now they had planned to go to the Hudson River but some neighbors in Holland wanted to go there too so they made a secret contract with the Master of the ship that he would land them at Cape Cod.  This was God’s providence over a praying people because had they gone to the Hudson, the Indians were so many and so strong their that they would likely have killed them.  However, where they landed there were dead corpses of Indians everywhere because a plague had struck nine-tenths of them; and this was after a Frenchman who was put to death by them said God would kill them for what they were doing and they said God was not able to kill them.  To this we add that on the other had many of the Indians in these parts also had a healthy fear of the white men’s God.  (Though they did shoot a few arrows at the white men).

9.  Some men went ashore and found some Indian corn after they chased five Indians around for a while.  The corn they found provided them with seed for the following year and saved them from the terrible famine for which they were thankful.

10. Since they were at a new landing their original legal arrangement was worthless so they drew up the Mayflower Compact and elected John Carver to be their governor, a pious and prudent man.

11. On December 6, they went out on a third discovery party.  The spray from the sea froze upon them yet they went on till at night they got to the bottom of the bay.  On the second morning they were surrounded by a crew of Indians and were showered by arrows.  Though their clothing was pierced none were wounded.  They let off a round of muskets and the Indians took off to the woods.  They gave thanks and called the place “the First Encounter.”

12. Next, they went to an island  and spent a Sabbath day in sacred rest.  Then they sounded the harbor and found it suitable for shipping.  They called the place Plymouth and on the 25^th of December began to erect the first house.  Latter it was burned and the sick in it had to nimbly flee or be blown up with the kegs of powder. 

13.The first winter half of them died of sickness.  Of the fifty left often only five at a time were well enough to tend to the other ones.  They did not murmur, they did not meet with any Indians, who could have easily destroyed them, and for this they were thankful.  The Indians gathered their sorcerers to send the demons against these pilgrims, but the demons told them they could not prevail against them (as with Balaam of old).  Mather also notes that if these did not die of sickness that winter, they would probably have died of the famine that came before any supplies reached them from England.

14. Upon the sooner than normal arrival of spring, two Indians greeted them with broken English, “Welcome Englishmen!”  One named Squanto had been taken slave to Spain and escaped to England and was well treated and returned to his own land.  Squanto was especially kind to them.  He also brought one of their chief princes named Massasoit to meet them, who made a peace treaty with them and volunteered to become a subject of England.  Squanto had told the Indians that the English kept the plague that had destroyed so many of them sealed up in their powder kegs and could release it at will.  These Indians felt they could also use some help against the other Indian peoples who were at war with them. 

15. In all of these many favorable providences, the pilgrims saw the hand of God was for them and they were thankful.

16. Their governor died and Mr. Bradford took over.  Squanto died in two years and asked prayer that he might go to the Englishman’s God in Heaven.  Another Indian, Hobbamok, took his place and was faithful to them all his life.

17. After twelve months, more Englishmen arrived from Holland, but there was little provision for them.  God found ways to provide for them: sometimes by a ship stopping by, or catching a good number of fish, or by other opportune means.

18. A drought came in summer that caused the corn to wither up.  They set aside a day of prayer and fasting.  Before the day was over a gentle rain came that revived the corn and give them a fruitful harvest.  After this answer to prayer, they set aside another day for thanksgiving.  The Indians said, “Truly your God is a good God, for after our powwows the rain comes with such force and tempest that it breaks down the corn.  But your God sends you rain so that the  corn stands still and good.  Truly your God is a good God.”

19. Some other Englishmen came over and located their settlement at a distance from the Plymouth pilgrims.  They were so evil toward the Indians that some of the Indians decided to kill them and the Plymouth group also to prevent any retaliation.  Captain Standish was in an Indian house and they were going to wait till he went to sleep to kill him, but he could not sleep that night.  Later they went to visit the Chief Massasoit who was sick and he recovered and told them of the plot.  He also suggested that Standish go and kill some of the chief men in the plot and put an end to it.  This he did with eight men.  They later found that the Indians were only waiting for two more canoes to be finished before launching their great assault.

20. Back in Holland, Pastor Robinson died and many of the others never made it over.  A minister named Ralph Smith was sent over with three heifers and a bull.  The cattle were of more use than the minister who proved to be a hypocrite.  He repented was restored and fell again.  Finally he left and went to Virginia and ended his own life.

21. As they divided up land they decided to stay close together for mutual defense and Mather states that it was as with ancient Rome where each man contented himself with two acres of land..  (Whether the Pilgrims took this small of a plot or not he doesn’t say.)

22. Bradford called for a three day feast to give thanks to God and so set the pattern for a season of thanksgiving.  This was less than a year after their arrival.  

Mather’s summary shows that the Pilgrims had faced many hard trials before they ever reach their thanksgiving season.  They were most of all thankful that God was their covenant God who promised to never leave or forsake them (Hebrews 13:5).  There are many Scripture texts that would summarize their fortitude.  They especially abounded in the three great commands of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  They drew their strength from the fact that the Lord Jesus was a present and living Shepherd and Savior to uphold them.  The forgiveness that comes through faith in The Lord Jesus’ death on the cross was their only hope of heaven and it was their source of renewed strength as they lived each day in the light of his countenance.  May we know the same blessedness this Thanksgiving and for many to come.