Delivered From Death Series

Memorial Day began as a day to honor and remember those who

died in the Civil War. The very first soldier to die in that war was

Colonel Ellsworth, a personal friend of President Lincoln. Lincoln

gave his regiment the honor of being the first to cross the

Potomac into Virginia and pull down the rebel flag. Ellsworth took a

private with him and went up to the roof and pulled down the flag

himself. As he came down the stairs he was shot by the owner of the

hotel. At his funeral in the East Room of the White House,

Lincoln stood by his body and exclaimed, "My boy, my boy, was it

necessary that this sacrifice be made!" Little did he dream that in the

next four years nearly a million more from both North and South

would follow this first casualty to the grave.

As the war proceeded, Lincoln realized that there would be an

enormous price to pay to fight the evil of slavery, but that price had to

be paid, for when wrong is strong, right must fight, and pay the cost

however high. Ever since, America has been a nation that says

freedom is a value worth dying for. It is true that more people die on

the highway of our land than in the battlefields defending our

freedoms, but those who die on the battlefield die for a purpose. That

is why there is a holiday to commemorate such deaths.

It is only purposeful death that we memorialize. That is why we

also have frequent communion, for it is a remembering of a death with

ultimate purpose, for it saves all who put their trust in Jesus from the

final death and separation from God. It gives us eternal freedom to

live and enjoy all God made us for. It is the ultimate purposeful

death.

But Memorial Day is a day of remembrance of those who died for

our temporal freedom, and these were also significant purposeful

deaths. Over a portal of a cemetery in North Assam where many

American soldiers lie, who fought in India and Berma in World War

II, stands these words, "Tell them we gave our todays for their

tomorrows." Today is that tomorrow that was purchased for us by

their deaths. If we appreciate the freedoms and the opportunities to

enjoy life in America, because of the sacrifice of others, then we can

say, "Precious in the sight of Americans is the death of her soldiers."

This does not mean that we are glad that they died, or that we rejoice

in their death, but that we recognize the values for which they died,

and, thus, see the preciousness of the purpose for which they died.

We need to keep in mind that those who fought and lived also

fought for our freedoms. Most fighting men did not die. They lived to

enjoy the values they fought to preserve. Thank God not all had to

die, for it is their living that makes those who died, not to have died in

vain. That was Lincoln's great commitment, and his words are in the

marble behind the tomb of the unknown soldier. They read, "We here

highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain." Only the

living can make sure the dead have not died in vain, and so we thank

God for survivors It is great to be alive, and that is what Psalm 116 is

all about. It is about being a survivor, and being alive when, except

for the grace of God, the author would be dead. He was delivered

from death, and this is his song of thanksgiving.

Back in 1951, when open heart surgery had been performed less

than fifty times, Doris Sillimon entered a Boston hospital without

much hope. Two weeks later she was so enthused about her dramatic

recovery from her heart surgery that she made a vow to tell others,

and encourage them as they face the same dreaded ordeal. She got

her doctor to contact other heart patients, and an organization was

formed called, Mended Hearts. Doris was elected president, and her

wonderful idea became a visible reality. It met so great a need that

Mended Hearts chapters were formed from coast to coast. Dedicated

people, who had been through it, took fifteen hours of study to learn

all about the heart, and what open heart surgery was all about. Then

they spent hours explaining it to waiting loved ones as the surgery was

being performed. They have helped thousands bear the burden.

Their theme is, "It's great to be alive and help others."

This is also the theme of Psalm 116. We do not know who the

author of this Psalm was, but we do know he came very near dying,