Thanksgiving Part 2

On September 6, 1620, the Mayflower left England for a 9 week journey to the New World. 102 Pilgrims plus crew, most were in their 20s and 30s; a few in their 50s, lived in an area the size of a volleyball court. The menu was terrible, but there was no cooking! Food consisted of brine soaked beef, pork and stale, hard biscuits full of insects. The rats on board ate the same menu. There were many suffering from sea sickness. There were no sanitary toilets, and no fresh air. The hatches had to be closed due to the storms. When the storms came, they prayed. They did not complain; they trusted God. They had an attitude of gratitude. There were 2 deaths during the trip. One was a mocking sailor who died of a mysterious disease. And the other was a servant who refused to drink the lemon juice, used to prevent scurvy. Upon arrival at Cape Cod, the journal entry read: "Being thus past the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles...they had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies...what could now sustain them but the Spirit of God and His grace?" Shouting for joy and falling to their knees to pray, they read Psalm 100: "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations."

The Pilgrims arrived on a Saturday and the men left the ship with muskets and axes to explore and get firewood. But God already provided--they found 36 ears of corn buried in a large iron pot. The harder things got, the more they prayed and trusted God. On Sunday, they observed the Lord's day. There would be no work and no exploring.

In November, the Mayflower Compact was drawn up. Men entered a covenant to create a society based on Biblical principles. ...to be continued