Lincoln and religion

[Gene C]

Just read this interesting passage and thought I would share it with you...

He was a complete picture of dejection. Mrs Lincoln, observing his troubled look, asked:
"Where have you been, father?"
"To the War Departmment," was the brief, almost sullen answer.
"Any news?"
"Yes, plenty of news, but no good news. It is dark, dark everywhere."

He reached forth one of his long arms, and took a small Bible from a stand near the head of the sofa, opened the pages of the holy book, and soon was absorbed in reading them. A quarter of an hour passed, and on glancing at the sofa the face of the President seemed more cheerful. The dejected look was gone, and the countenance was lighted up with new resolution and hope. The change was so marked that I could not but wonder at it, and wonder led to the desire to know what book of the Bible afforeded so much comfort to the reader. Making the search for a missing article an excuse, I walked gently around the sofa, and looking into the open book, I discovered that Mr. Linclon was reading that divine comforter, Job. He read with Christian eagerness, and the courage and hope that he derived from the inspired pages made him a new man. I almost imagined that I could hear the Lord speaking to him from out of the whirlwind of battle: "Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me". What a sublime picture was this! A ruler of a mighty nation going to the pages of the Bible with simple Christian earnestness for comfort and courage, and finding both in the darkest hour of a nation's calamity.

from "Behind the Scenes in The Lincoln White House" by Elizabeth Keckley

Mrs Keckley was Mrs. Lincoln's dressmaker. An interesting woman with an interesting story to tell.
When I finish reading it, I will put some comments in the book section