Categories: Historical Documents

---

John Thornton Kirkland (1770-1840) graduated from Harvard in 1789. He was ordained and installed as the pastor of the New South Church in Boston in 1794 and continued there until he was elected president of Harvard University in 1810. He served as president of the University for seventeen years during which time the schools of Divinity and Law were established.

---

A

O visit me with thy salvation, that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.

YOU enter this temple, civil Fathers, to offer prayers to the Supreme Governor of Nations for your country, as the object of your cares and labors; and for yourselves, as the appointed guardians of that country’s welfare.

You engage in this solemnity as an act, expressing the obligations and sentiments, at once of patriotism and piety. Impressed with the belief of the presence and agency of the Most High, the source of all life and happiness, the witness and judge of character and conduct, you are led by duty and feeling to his throne. Affected with solicitude for the course of public affairs, and the direction they may receive from your deliberations and measures, you commit to God the commonwealth, and the country for his blessing; and yourselves for his guidance and aid. It pertains to each of you to adopt the prayer of the psalmist, – “O visit me with thy salvation, that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance. – The nation, with all the separate portions of it is thine, O, God, thy chosen, thy inheritance. It has been enriched by thy bounty, guarded by thy providence, instructed by thy word, corrected by thy visitations of mercy and judgment. Accept the expression of my concern, for what thou hast shewn to be dear to thee. Give me the joy of seeing its prosperity – grant me the privilege of being permitted to co-operate with thee in advancing its felicity and glory.”

It belongs to the man, the citizen, and the Christian, in whatever station, and especially in public office, to have a heart to offer such a prayer as this – to cherish and maintain that affection for the public good, which is implied in his prayer, and carefully and habitually to consider in what that good consists.

I. Let me then speak of the obligation and value of a public spirit – and

II. Offer some remarks on a few of the most important objects of our patriotic solicitude.

We estimate the duty and worth of a public spirit. – The love of our country, rightly interpreted, is a disposition approved by reason and religion, as well as dictated by nature. The feeling of citizenship, and of political duty, is an essential expression of that charity, which the gospel enjoins. It is a branch of the love of our neighbour, operating according to occasions, and extending from the parts to the whole. It is the affection, which is due to human nature, to man as man, directed to those members of the great family, who are near us, and to whom we have most opportunity to be useful. If we are to love all that good and excellence which we can produce or affect, or only imagine, we are undoubtedly to express our benevolent regards towards the country or district which is the seat of our personal enjoyments, the proper sphere of our activity, and the station assigned us by Providence for the exercise of every social duty. Self love is in alliance with principle to endear a home, a native land to every human heart; to give us an interest in a society with which we must rise or fall; to engage our attachment to the spot where we first draw our breath, and where our tender infancy was reared; with which are associated all the soothing remembrances of early years, and all our hopes of quiet and serenity in the evening of our days.

The sympathies and affections that grow out of the near relations of private life, constitute elements of the love of country. It presents itself to our thoughts with the recollection of a mother’s smile, a father’s revered image, with the loved idea of a spouse and child, a brother and a sister, a benefactor and friend, and from this connexion has a power over our feelings that makes patriotism an instinct. A common interest in ancestral worth promotes this affection. We love our country for the sake of those who have loved and served it in former and later periods; honored worthies, whose labours have subdued her fields and wisdom guided her councils, and eloquence swayed her assemblies – whose learning and talents have exalted her name – whose piety has sustained her churches, and valour defended her borders.

Religious sentiments and emotions hallow the feeling that unites us to our own land, and to one another. Here is the church of the Most High, and here the houses of our solemnities in which we are accustomed to seek the favour, and celebrate the praises of the God of our fathers, the God of our salvation.

The marks of divine favour shown to our nation, the striking interpositions of Divine Providence, in our behalf, cannot fail to enliven the patriotic sentiments of a pious mind.

There is no want of arguments and motives to cultivate in ourselves and others a public spirit. Truly the maker of our frame and the disposer of our lot, requires us to regard the advantage and honor, to feel for the dangers and sufferings – to wish well to the inhabitants of the country, which we call our own. All should care for all, bound together as they are by strong and tender ties, with interests blended, and though various, not opposite. Geographical divisions must not be suffered to limit the walk of our benevolence; nor shades of difference in religion, manners, state of society, to make us aliens; nor should the passions produced by competition for influence, nor even the sense of unfriendly conduct in one section towards another countervail, though they cannot but impair the force of incentives to sympathy and expanded patriotism. It is right to feel a peculiar and intimate concern for the smaller divisions and communities to which we immediately belong. For members of a great confederacy to have no country but their State, of a State to be indifferent to all but their own town or district, is miserable narrowness or overweening self love. To be destitute of local attachment, on the other hand, and to have proximity and distance, alike to our feelings, is against nature, and truth and reason.

I have hinted at a few of the ties which bind us to the place of our nativity, or to the collective body on which we are members.

II. I proceed to point out the objects of patriotic affection. What is in the operation of a real public spirit – and what are a few of the most important interests included in an enlightened and regulated attachment to country? I select a few topics for general remarks. I do not think to speak of all the effects and appearances of this principle, or represent all the great things, good and bad, which it has proved itself able to achieve; still less to describe the consequences of its irregular, eccentric and criminal action. When the love of our State, association, country is not merely principal, but exclusive, or when it is uninformed, or misguided, when it is only another name for selfishness, cupidity, resentment, or party feeling, it must generate sins and follies. It may prompt us to justify and encourage the community, or those who direct its affairs, in wrong; to serve the views of our country at the expense of justice or humanity; to flatter her passions at the sacrifice of her interest, or to help her to accomplish a present purpose at the price of her permanent good; to be not only tender, but blind to her faults. It may require us to partake her guilt, or meet her frown – to lend countenance to the excesses of her pride, and the pretensions of her vanity, or be considered doubtful friends, or perhaps real enemies.

Whilst I turn from this dark side of the subject, and abstain from dilating on the sinister effects of mistaken, or spurious patriotism, I shall also decline topics relating to the intricacies of government, that most complicate of sciences, and difficult of arts. I shall not attempt to find out new doctrines, or to throw new light upon those, which are old; but invite you, honoured auditors, to contemplate received but important truths respecting the duty and welfare of rulers and people.

I shall make observations on several of those general interests of a community which claim and occupy the solicitude of the enlightened patriot, which all persons, according to their abilities and means are bound to regard, and particularly those who are charged with public functions, and which a good citizen and a serious Christian can ask a righteous God to favor.

1. The thoughts, wishes and prayers of a good man are directed to the civil government of his country. – Without government there can be no society.

The government of every collective body of men is its blessing or its scourge; sometimes both by turns, or both with deductions and mitigations. Who shall be the depositaries of power, and how they shall discharge their trust, are questions which may involve every social benefit and external religious privilege. Whether the possessor of authority, the monarch, elective chief magistrate, or popular leader, be wise or weak, devoted to a part or considerate of the whole, guided by principle or swayed by passion, decides much of the good or evil of a state or nation. Thanks be to God, who though he tries and visits, does not any where wholly forsake the children of men, nor leave them without check or remedy, entirely to the passions of one another, that the worst government is better than anarchy; that amidst all the flagrant defects and abuses of civil institutions, arising from the excess of resistance or restraint, from faction or despotism, so many of the sources of human subsistence to accommodate themselves with greater or less contentment to evils resulting from established modes, and that so much of the happiness of every individual is derived rather from his feelings and character than the precise circumstances in which he is placed.

The specific form of the government is commonly determined for us by the order of Providence; authority being variously distributed, in hereditary or elective rulers, in a few or in many, by the operation or permanent and uncontrollable causes. Our business in this respect is seldom to change or abolish, but only to preserve, amend or improve the existing arrangement. The fortunes of our country are, under Heaven, staked on the issue of popular constitutions. The Supreme Disposer has assigned us these American States the solemn, the interesting destination of being the subjects of an experiment, on an extensive scale, on the capacity of men in society for self government.

Happy for the result, if those who are to feel the restraint of laws have integrity and wisdom for their enaction and administration; – happy if the sovereign, the popular majority, have the magnanimity and uprightness to bind himself to his duty, and refrain from all oppression of the minor part, overcoming the temptation to “feel power and forget right.” It is included in our love of country to be attached to this republican form of civil polity, for its intrinsic advantages, and its adaptation to our character and habits and state of society, not because we think it absolutely best for every people under all circumstances; and that those who are not governed upon our model, are, of course, objects of our pity. Events of late years have brought just discredit upon political doctrines derived from metaphysical abstractions, in contempt of simple matters of fact. The project of applying a form of polity to a nation, without regard to circumstances, has been tried; and for a series of years, it produced scenes which surpassed description, at which humanity recoiled; till at length, after dreadful agitations, it subsided in a government so essentially military and despotic, that neither the actors in it nor the world could bear it. We are attached to our republican constitutions, because they are the best for us; because, after all deductions, they have accomplished much good, and proved better than the fears of some of their truest friends; because they have cost the painful consultations of our wisest and best men to frame, and their strenuous exertions in successive periods to maintain. – We prize them for the dangers they have passed, and the storms they have had strength to outride. – Who will not wish and labor to preserve us a republic as long as possible, knowing that we cannot cease to be so without fearful convulsions, and the hazard of evils of immeasurable extent and indefinite duration? – Shall we not pray to the God of our fathers to secure to us the benefit of their councils and toils, and for this end to direct us in the proper methods of making our forms of government adequate to their purposes; to establish in the hearts of all a sacred respect for those fundamental laws and compacts, the constitutions, designed to restrain the majority in the exercise of their power; and a disposition to amend and improve them in the spirit, which presided in their formation? May he vouchsafe to incline us always to “seek of Him a right way for us, for our little ones, and for all our substance.”

2. Not only government, but liberty is comprised in the wishes and prayers of a good man for his country. National independence, civil and religious freedom, are precious gifts of the Author of good. The love of liberty is the impulse of nature; and the love of regulated liberty, the effect of love to mankind. We of this country may surely hold independence dear, whose fathers preferred a wilderness to bondage, and afterwards breasted the hazards of revolution, and met the perils and toils of a long and doubtful war, to bequeath the blessing to their children. We of this age may well prize the possession, who have seen the fate of nations, bowing to a haughty and inexorable master, bound to a foreign will, their spirit crushed under the yoke of a relentless conqueror, their treasures exhausted to satiate the rapacity of invading armies, and their sons compelled to fight the battles of a stranger. – Patriotism exalts the blessing of freedom as friendly to the exercise and improvement of all respectable faculties of man, and auspicious to the discovery and communication of truth. It gives dignity to character, and interest to existence.

Whilst the lover of his country and his race covets their rights for his fellow men and fellow countrymen, he intends real not spurious freedom, the substance, and not merely the form. He wishes that civil liberty may be understood; that it may be known to consist not so much in the power as in the security of every citizen; and in his power so far only as requisite or useful for his security. He prays that it may be esteemed the fruit of civil establishments and laws, and the cause, not of the poor against the rich, and of the humble against the eminent, but the protection of the weak from the strong, of the simple from the cunning, and the innocent from the guilty. – It is “equal rights, but not to equal things.” It secures to every one his honestly acquired condition, however peculiar and distinguished, and is the guardian alike of the riches of the opulent, and the pittance of the necessitous.

The desire of the end implied regard to the means. The friend of his country wishes and prays that the virtues on which liberty depends may mark the character of the people; that the constitutional barriers, designed for its safeguard, may remain inviolate; that in the State and in the Nation it may be always under the patronage of a legislature, actuated by a regard to the public welfare, and if not exempt from attachment to party, not blinded or corrupted by it – sacrificing private views and passions to justice, and integrity; of a judiciary, skilled in jurisprudence, with an equal concern for the rights of all parties, unawed by the fear of encroachment from the other departments of the government; of an executive, employing its authority and influence, not with an anxious view to the prolongation of its power, or for the indulgence of its resentments, but to promote justice and union at home – safety and respectability abroad.

He must desire that the benefit of the religious liberty, provided by the constitution and laws, may not be defeated by the prevalence of a spirit of exclusion and monopoly among the members of the same body of Christ. – He prays that the God of truth and love will direct each one to such views of his duty, as will reconcile his adherence to the dictates of his own conscience, with a reasonable respect for the conscience of his neighbour.

Finally, it is worth of a wise and good man to avoid being too much disturbed by the collisions and contests that are incident to liberty, and are the price of it; convinced that “liberty with all its parties and agitations is more desirable than slavery” – that we are placed in this world for exercise and discipline, to find our chief good in disposition and character; that the relation of living active natures to each other is not merely that of juxta position and place, “like that of stones in a wall or an arch, but of activity and co-operation in different functions, of balance, counterpoise, and mutual correction, where the operation of any single power may be partial and wrong, and yet the general result, salutary and just.”

3. The means of subsistence and the degree of plenty and wealth in a country, enter into an estimate of the general good. While the protection and encouragement of the diversified industry of a people constitute one of the stated cares of the public functionaries, they have a peculiar and often arduous charge in the duty of providing and managing the revenues of the state.

There are many important truths and maxims, relating to the value and use of wealth, not always sufficiently regarded and felt, which the limits of the occasion do not allow me to offer to your attention.

The common good requires that men in the advancement of society should be influenced by the desire of gain, beyond the supply of the mere necessaries of life. It has its appointed place among the inferior aims and immediate motives designed to act upon human nature, in subordination to higher principles; and to be regulated, not suppressed. “It is the office of reason and religion to give the appetites and passions their task – not to do it for them.” This desire has a claim to be encouraged within proper limits, as a stimulant to enterprize, and to the prosecution of beneficial arts and employments; as a motive to attach men to their private concerns, and to annex pleasure to success in their pursuits. A busy life is a school to call forth the faculties, and form the virtues. Whilst we acknowledge the uses of a measured love of gain, we have a reason to deprecate the evils of its excessive and irregular operation. It is liable to become a restless passion, a diseased not a healthy action – the source of inquietude, injustice, envy. The philanthropist and the patriot does not desire nor expect to have wealth divested of attraction; but he wishes and prays that men may feel enough of its excitement to be worthily and diligently occupied, without that greedy appetite for accumulation, which corrupts and debases the character, and opposes the nature of things and the institutions of society. For after all that the most paternal and most prosperous government can do, to place riches within the reach of all, it is only a small number in any community who can possibly be opulent, whilst the great body of persons can go no further that obtain a healthy subsistence by the constant application of their skill and labor to some vocation. – Shall we all be unhappy at wanting the superfluity which the order of things makes attainable only by a few? It is peculiar to our country to have resources to feed the “mouth of labour,” however multiplied its wants. We have cause to acknowledge our distinction in the circumstances that enable the least favoured part of the society to subsist by moderate exertions, exempt from the necessity of that excessive toil, which wastes the health, exhausts the spirits, discourages virtue, and surrounds life with cheerlessness and discomfort. Where the wealth that is diffused in a nation is the consequence of good habits, of diligence, skill in arts and frugality, where it indicates the security of property and a good administration of the laws, it is a subject of felicitation. If it be the fruit of injustice or rapine, and the source of licentiousness and prodigality, it cannot be regarded as a public blessing.

4. The social felicity of a country is involved in its condition of peace or war. Shall not a good man pray and strive that his country may never incur the guilt of unjust and unnecessary war; that she may not bring on herself and others, the moral and physical calamities attending a conflict of arms, by insisting on doubtful rights and minor interests; that she may have the virtue and wisdom to grapple with the prejudices and aversions, that tend to pervert the judgment on difficult questions, and to widen breaches, that a disposition to amicable compromise might find a way to heal? While the man with public affections, covets peace and deprecates war, and most of all, war which good and honest counsels in the rulers and a reasonable temper among the people might prevent; he knows that he is not allowed to think his country exempt from the danger of this calamity – War may be required to be chosen, as the least evil. It may be necessary to decide the question of existence, or of security – War or subjugation may be the only alternatives. It will be no strange thing, if those, who have the power of peace and war in a country, though with no more of moral infirmity than may belong to minds generally upright, shall fail to escape the hazard of a deceived conscience; and in cases which make a strong appeal to  the feelings, shall have their judgment of right and wrong disturbed, and mistake the illusions of prejudice and passion for the indications of duty and honor; brandishing a sword, which should never have been drawn from its scabbard. Not to supply a forethought excuse for taking arms without necessity, but to show our nature and circumstances, it is proper to observe, that the lover of peace is compelled to admit, that there is sometimes and inveteracy in the disease of the collective body, that will yield to none but an extreme remedy; a misapprehension and intractableness upon certain subjects and relations, the long continued effects of which may be worse than the consequences of open rupture. The event may prove, that war is in some cases a method of teaching lessons, which will not be learned in any other school; and serves to dispel mists and calm agitations, which have never ceased to endanger and harass the vessel of state. Whether a patriot shall have reason to pity or congratulate his country in such a season depends on her cause and her conduct.

Does she contend for safety and true honor, and manifest the virtues that answer to her condition, he does not consider her state as necessarily a state of misery. In a pacific and in a hostile position, the happiness of a people is to be measured by their observance of disregard of the maxims comporting with their advantages and their trials.

Whoever values peace, will be obliged to desire for his country the military and naval preparation necessary to maintain it; – believing that till the world shall greatly mend, the ability and disposition to repel aggression, will afford one important security against encroachment, and hoping, at the same time, that the union of moderation and energy in the public councils will save the occasion of applying the public force.

Internal peace is a vital blessing and a religious as well as a social duty. “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you live peaceably with all men.” – It may indeed be difficult or impossible. Where the tranquility of a country proceeds from the impotence of forbearance of those who suffer wrongs which they seek in vain to have redressed, wrongs inflicted by the many on the few, or the few on the many, it is real war, though all on one side; and is a condition of the citizens aggrieved, which breeds in the mind animosities of the most rancorous kind.

It pertains to the character of a good citizen to prevent the causes not less than to control the effects of contention; to endeavor to correct the false views, to rebuke the eager desires, the fierce jealousies, the keen resentments that are incident to a popular government; to check the fermentation of discordant elements; and obviate the consequences of rival pursuits, and the contests of proud and ardent minds for the distinctions of life and places of authority and renown.

5. The happiness of a people is connected with their character, intellectual and social, their manners, improvements, and accommodations, the quality and directions of their tastes and desires. Here is a wide field foe the enquiry, the observation and influence of a person interested in the public welfare – in whatever tends to make power safe and salutary, and obedience liberal and cheerful – in whatever contributes to multiply the sources of innocent enjoyment, and to strengthen the foundations of order and virtue.

I confine my remarks under this head to the importance of the diffusion of knowledge, and the cause of education.

Sciences and arts belong to the unrestrained progress of society. Knowledge may be abused. Yet light should be better than darkness. In an enlightened and inquisitive period, undoubtedly some will be found, with half learned twilight views, that serve rather to minister to presumption than to render the possessors of them more useful; and seem to justify a wish that they knew less or more. They may be prone to misapply their smatterings of science and shreds of learning, and set up for teachers and reformers of the world without qualifications. Yet the diffused cultivation of the mind and the taste should seem to be attended with a great over balance of good. It exalts the character of the individual; it strengthens and multiplies the social ties, and adds value to intercourse; it gives a higher enjoyment of the gifts of nature, and what is beautiful and orderly in the frame and course of the world. Inquiry should be friendly to true religion; morals should be promoted by the study of the nature and the relations of man. Public opinion has a subtle and mighty influence. Must we not desire and endeavor to have it intelligent – What will be the consequence in the political body, of the wide diffusion of the right of political deliberation and function among a people very imperfectly instructed, or extremely ignorant. It is true that private persons are not called on to prescribe remedies for the public disorders; – but they are obliged to exercise a choice about the physician; and in judging of men, have occasion for a degree of light on the utility of measures. Will not a knowledge of the mechanism of society and of the principles and preservatives of social order, fit and dispose men for their civil duties? In a country and form of society in which, by the exertion of talents and industry, any individual, born in the obscure walks of life, may raise himself above his present condition, it is a duty of patriotism and benevolence to provide for every one so much education, as, in the event of an advantageous change in his circumstances, may enable him to make his advancement a good, and avoid the inconvenience and mortification of gross illiterateness.

The interests of education awaken the solicitude of every considerate and benevolent man. Education was a chosen care of our fathers. It has engaged the frequent and earnest attention of their descendants, both in private and public capacity. It lies with you, guardians of the State, charged with the patronage of good institutions, it lies with all the teachers and guides of the young, and with us, especially, who are intrusted with public seminaries, to feel the greatness of this concern. It is indeed a solemn and affecting inquiry, what man can do, by early culture, to assist the powers, to model, to control the thoughts, principles, affections, actions, habits, character of man. By what methods shall we seek to preserve the succession of young and helpless generations from the waste of talents, the perversion of feelings and the ruin of hopes, to which they are exposed; how insure the progress of their minds and the development of their virtues; how make their existence a blessing to society, to themselves and to those from whom they sprung; in what manner shall we best do, what can be done but once; and seize the fugitive moments of uncertainty and contest, on which their character and destinies are suspended?

The solution of these interesting problems is under God’s blessing, to be sought in the influences of the family society and of religious institutions, of the school and academy; and of the seminaries for enlarged education.

These seminaries have ever been considered with us a public not less an individual interest. They are approved methods of preserving and extending the knowledge of the various departments of literature and science. They are designed to train a portion of each succeeding race who may be qualified for responsible situations in the community, for the learned professions and for public stations. A limited number of persons, formed in a course of rigorous mental discipline, answer to the exigencies of the social body, and fill a place, which cannot be left vacant.

While the University and Colleges in this Commonwealth have found their objects espoused by generous individuals, and have received from private munificence large endowments for various branches of instruction; and means for enabling them to give the public the benefit of distinguished powers drawn from every class of citizens–the Government of the State have thought it their duty to encourage and partake of these good services rendered to the cause of knowledge and education, by stated and occasional aids for these purposes, in former times, and recently, by a liberal benefaction. Thus have they evinced their participation in the spirit and principles of our ancestors in relation to the concern of the republic in our seats of learning. We trust the fruits will appear; that our University and Colleges will be enabled and excited more and more to promote the diffusion and to extend the boundaries of knowledge, and to send forth continually, learned, pious and virtuous youth to support and adorn the church and the state.

6. The morals and religion of a people are primary objects of solicitude to a lover of his country, and of mankind.

The other interests of individuals, or of the public, which I have considered, are subservient to these; and of little or no value without them. Every plan of escaping evil, or obtaining good, that depends on external things, is either inpracticable in its nature, or of temporary duration. We rely in vain on peace and freedom, riches and territory, letters and arts, without virtuous principles and habits to direct their use and secure their continuance. Could a corrupt nation be prosperous they would not be happy. Happiness is suspended on disposition and character; and refuses to dwell in disordered hearts, or be the portion of those who are slaves to their evil passions. Virtue is more than well conducted selfishness, more than prudence; it is a principle, sentiment, affection, operating in actions; it is the love and practice of what is right. Yet individuals and a people have abundant reason to look for the greatest aggregate of good in adherence to rectitude. Virtue is wisdom, and includes prudence and discretion. Vice is a canker, a poison, tainting the sources of enjoyment. A curse hangs upon the steps of wickedness; and criminal passions, in one form or another, react, in bitter consequences, upon those who indulge them, while good intentions, integrity, and beneficent conduct, have a sure reward. Instructors and monitors, with more or less light and power to engage us to the practice of virtue, present themselves in our frame and situation, in reason, and the sentiment of order and fitness, in natural conscience, in the desire of personal well being, in the social affections, and the sense of reputation, in positive laws, in the lessons derived from the experience of life, and from the observation of a moral Providence. Here are some valuable sources of morals. So many inducements and restraints must have some effect. But after all that they can do, more is wanting to withstand the powerful tendencies to evil. Dwarfish virtues, gigantic vices, dissatisfied hearts, furnish melancholly proof that more is necessary to resist the tyranny of appetites and passions – to overcome the moral lethargy to which we are liable – and produce a genuine rectitude of temper and conduct. Human tribunals have but a limited jurisdiction. The law of honor fails to include some of the most essential virtues, is capricious, and in some things hostile to reason and humanity. How often is natural consequence overborne or mis-guided – Natural affections are vague and uncertain guides. Motives drawn from enlarged self interest are subject to many defects. The profitable and the right appear here and there disjoined, and we are compelled to witness prosperous crimes and defeated virtues — the discomfiture of a good cause, and sufferings and losses incurred by integrity. We are tempted to sacrifice a principle to an end, and pursue the expedient in violation of the right.

In the exigencies of our moral relations, our was is obscured, our strength insufficient, shall we not look beyond this narrow world, this limited sphere; – and hear the call, invoke the aid of heaven-born religion? Let us ally ourselves to the power that made us. Virtue is God’s law. It is under the patronage and protection of a rewarding and avenging Deity.– By his unalterable will, virtue and happiness are, in the ultimate result, bound together in an indissoluble chain. Think not, short-sighted presumptuous mortal, to make a computation about the possible advantage of doing wrong in a single instance. Never imagine that you have an inducement to attempt to serve or deliver yourself by departure from right – or any reason to be discouraged from duty by a doubt of final support and reward. Say you that natural religion leaves these truths open to question? We have the articulate voice of God, an extraordinary light from heaven to dispel every doubt, to make them clear and certain.

The christian revelation establishes the doctrine of the universal and absolute safety and final benefit of virtue – of the inevitable ruin of vice. It also corrects our misapprehensions of the nature of goodness. It contains discoveries, facts and influences, to make virtue not only a principle, but an affection. It is designed indeed to qualify us for a higher happiness than the world can give. We are acting and suffering for eternity. But it forms a character adapted to the best use of the present life. The christian is to live soberly, righteously and godly in the present world. – The principles and motives of his conduct are chiefly drawn from distant objects; but he is taught that his business lies near at hand. His religion blends itself in one system with the common rules of behaviour, and makes his duties to men duties to God. He is not taken out of society to live in inactive seclusion, but enjoined to be diligent in business, as well as fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. No useful principle or propensity of his nature is eradicated or suspended by religion – but all are controlled and chastised. In whatsoever state he is, he is instructed to be content, whilst he uses opportunities to improve his condition. The gospel is a well-spring of charity. Kind affections, disinterestedness, mutual deference, respect to the rights and feelings of our fellow men in great and in small concerns, mark the temper and demeanor or every disciple of Christ.

Do we desire the good of our native country, the order and peace of the whole community, we shall concern ourselves in every proper way about the means and safeguards of morals and religion. Have we abilities, station, authority, fortune? We can be eminent instruments for advancing the interests of truth, piety and virtue. Are we destined to a smaller compass of action? We may do the little in our power with fidelity. Christians are exhorted to remember, that there is one way of pleading for our principles, faith and worship, a way which is likely to be the most effectual of any, and is liable to none of the objections, which are, with much reason, alleged against many other methods of making proselytes. It is such a method of converting and reforming others as will at least have a good effect on ourselves – it is the practise of virtue, the conscientious discharge of those duties, and the cultivation of those graces which are enjoined by the acknowledged principles of morality, and which, by the confession of all, pertain to the essence of our holy religion.

When we speak of the value of religion to society, we mean the spirit and substance, not merely the form. If it come to be generally viewed as only an engine of state, it must soon cease to be even so much as that. Whilst we must approve decency in all, and wish sacred seasons and rites to be observed, we pray that religion may appear to be the sincere conviction and governing principle of those, who pay it the homage of exterior respect. Do any recommend that as necessary to others, which their conduct shows they do not think necessary to themselves, they are liable to be thought to overrate the importance of their principles, or not to be in earnest in recommending them.

I have represented some of the objects, which the friend of the community and the man of generous spirit, in his private character, and in a public station, considers with affection, which he remembers in his prayers and promotes by his talents and influence: the order, freedom, plenty, tranquility and improvement, the manners, the morals, the religion of his country.

Let us give thanks to the Author of good counsels and just desires, for all the spirit of patriotism which, amidst the influence of selfishness and party, is alive in our state and nation. Let us hold in honor all those in former and later periods, who have sought the welfare of the republic–and particularly, who have maintained the conflicts, incident to the conduct of her political affairs, with unshaken resolution and unwearied patience.

We are this day to take leave of one of this number, for many years at the head of this Commonwealth – who, having declined our suffrages, claims the privilege of a long course of services to authorise his retirement from public cares. Permit me, I ask your Excellency, in the name of those to whom you have devoted your talents and  influence, to express our sense of the value and the importance of your agency in the high and responsible stations, which your respect to the wishes of your fellow citizens and your interpretation of your duty in the aspects of Providence have led you to accept. Permit me to acknowledge in their behalf the benefits of your wisdom, moderation, activity and firmness, displayed in framing the constitutions of the Commonwealth and of the Union, in taking a conspicuous part in administering the government under them, and in maintaining the interests of republican liberty; – your countenance of the cause of learning and education, and your exemplary respect to the religion we profess.

However reluctant to resume the load of public duties, when last called from your retirement, you cannot fail to account it a privilege, to have been the character desired in a period of difficulty and agitation; and to have be resorted to as a shield from the dangers, that seemed to be gathering round us – to have been able, under the favor of Heaven, to guide us safely in a dark and troubled season, and now to resign the chair of the Commonwealth to an honorable man, high in your esteem, with auspices so benign, and prospects so cheering; – the world at peace, and a career of public improvement and happiness opening before us. Your principles and example will continue our valued possession, though your immediate services be withdrawn. The recollection of your public course will enliven our feelings of complacency and confidence towards our republican institutions, which placed authority in your hands, and made it so effectual for the conservation of the public interests.

The affectionate wishes and prayers of your fellow citizens attend your Excellency to the shade of honorable privacy. May the best comforts and hopes gild the evening of your life; and after prolonged years of tranquil enjoyment, in the scenes of your affection and peace to which you repair, may the God you have served receive you from earthly distinctions, duties and trials, to the rest and reward of eternity.

We congratulate our Commonwealth on the election of a Chief Magistrate, acknowledged and honored as a “patriot from his youth,” a laurelled hero of the revolution which made us a nation, a son of liberty, who shared the dangers and councils which were the purchase of our independence; – an able and faithful guardian of our rights and interests in the important offices which he has since sustained, and the object of heartfelt respect and attachment in private life for the virtues of the man and the christian. – May we be worthy of that patriotic solicitude with which he will watch over us, and appreciate the discernment and disinterestedness, which we have the fullest reason to believe will mark his administration. May his feelings be gratified by finding in all who share authority with him, a conciliatory disposition, which he will not be the last to exemplify, and which the circumstances of the times encourage; a disposition to unite moderation with consistency; to embrace openings for concert and co-operation; to remove dissentions, and allay animosities, and soften the acrimony of party.

We bid his Honor, the second Magistrate, a respectful and cordial welcome to a renewed participation in the councils of the State. May he have the joy of seeing the objects of his affection secured; – the interests of order, of freedom, of learning and religion, which have ever derived support from his influence, countenance from his example, and encouragement from his liberality.

We tender respects and felicitations to the Honorable Council, to whom, entrusted with delicate and important functions, we have been accustomed to look for enlightened views of the public welfare; for equity and candor joined to a steady adherence to the sentiments of duty – may they have the gratification of “seeing things go well in our American Israel.”

I respectfully salute the Honorable members of each branch of the Legislature. We rejoice in the pledges of the love of the public, and the eminent ability to serve it, in your respective bodies.

The study of the public happiness is your peculiar care – “the greatest good of the greatest number,” pursued by means adapted to our forms of political association, and consistent with the eternal laws of righteousness. In regard to a great part of our moral conduct, and especially to those cases which arise in legislating for a community, there is scope for deliberation and choice. The general rules are supplied, and ends proposed; but we are left to discover the windings and turnings of the way by the exercise of our judgment and skill. In performing the work of patriotism, our duties are not meted out in weight and measure, but we are subjected to the necessity of the continual interpretation of conscience. To guard against the opposite attractions of private and public interest, and to detect the illusions of prejudice and self love, is the point of solicitude which is surrounded with danger. But upright minds are not left, without remedy, to be perplexed with interminable scruples. They are assured that a good conscience is a safe and sufficient guide; and that an honest intention – with care to enlighten the judgment, constitutes all their concern For the obligation of moral precepts lies only upon our purposes and endeavors, and not upon the events and issues of conduct. Only let us see to it, that because the line between right and wrong is not exactly defined, we do not proceed under the cover of doubts, perhaps even under the pretext of duty, to the gratification of unlawful desires; – nor forget how much it belongs to the human passions to justify themselves, and be blind to all objects but their own. May the “Father and God of mercy send wisdom from his holy heavens, that she may be present with you and labor with you,” and make you the honored instruments of advancing the purposes of divine goodness in favor of your beloved country.

Whilst we rejoice in the pleasing circumstances and recollections of this day, we would take a serious and becoming notice of solemn events, which this occasion brings to our thoughts. Affecting instances of  mortality have occurred, fitted to show us the precarious tenure of our lives, to renew our convictions of truth and duty, and to lead our meditations to that invisible state, where the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed, and the spirits and actions of men be weighed in an unerring balance. The distinguished citizen,[*] to whom the wishes of many would have appropriated the first honors of the Commonwealth, has suddenly fallen beneath the stroke of death, teaching us, in an impressive manner, “what shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue.” Instruct us, O God, Sovereign Arbiter of life and death, so to number our days, at to apply our hearts unto wisdom.

When we think of the condition and prospects of our country, and present our desires in its behalf to the Supreme Ruler of nations, we would not be unmindful of our fellow men in other regions. As men, and as Americans, we contemplate with great sensibility the interesting circumstances of the European world. What extraordinary scenes have passed on that theatre in our days. The spirit of improvement, of reform, and change, became a spirit of innovation and turbulence, till in one country it exploded in a revolution, which tore the fabric of society in pieces. From the ruins, a military power sprung up, whose portentous bulk and formidable strength seemed for a long time to be increased by the efforts made against it. Bu the day of recompenses came; the great disturber of the world was compelled to descend from his elevation. Again, however, he seemed to be resuming his sceptre; – he arose and stood upon his feet, as if his deadly wound was healed, and the spirit of conquest and desolation was again to extend itself over prostrate nations. – But he had gone beyond the permitted line, and was baffled in his purpose. By united councils and efforts, by an emulation in generous sentiments, in willing self devotion, and determined valor, the new danger which threatened the world, was turned away.

Let us pray and hope that the inhabitants of the earth may learn righteousness from the experience of adversity; that the root of the evils, which have afflicted the nations may be cut up; that liberty, with order may be established; that the restored sovereigns, and governments of Europe may be preserved from hurtful extremes, not reviving obnoxious institutions which should be suffered to perish; and that a long period of quiet and improvement may be allotted to that fair portion of the earth.

In a view of the events of Providence, so instructive and monitory, are we not prepared to join in the ascription, “Great and marvellous are the works, Lord, God, Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy, for thy judgments are made manifest, Amen.”

---

Rev. James Flint preached the following election sermon in Massachusetts on May 31, 1815.

---

A

DISCOURSE,

DELIVERED IN THE AUDIENCE OF

HIS EXCELLENCY CALEB STRONG, ESQ.

GOVERNOR,

HIS HONOR WILLIAM PHILLIPS, ESQ.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR,

THE HONRABLE COUNCIL,

AND THE TWO BRANCHES OF THE

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

ON THE

ANNIVERSARY ELECTION,

MAY 31, 1815.

BY JAMES FLINT,
Minister of the Church in the East parish of Bridgewater.

DISCOURSE.DEUTERONOMY iv. 9.

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things, which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy sons and thy sons’ sons.

Since the last return of this anniversary, the public mind has been agitated by the most affecting alternations of joy and gloom, of awful apprehension and unmingled gladness. We have witnessed, what at the time we deemed the winding up of the great drama, which, for so man years, had been exhibiting in Europe, in which might nations were the actors, and which awakened the most profound commiseration and terror in the bosoms of all, who beheld the novel and stupendous scenes, which marked its progress. We have seen, also – all thanks to the God of our fathers, who in judgment hath remembered mercy – we have seen the conclusion of the less sublime but to us not less interesting under plot, which our own government, in conjunction with the sanguinary hero of the piece, contrived to weave into that drama. Events so astonishing, so important in their consequences, and so pregnant with solemn and instructive lessons to our country, merit to the indelibly engraven upon our memory by frequent recollection, and that we should teach them, “with lessons they have taught us, to our sons and our sons’ sons.”

I would, therefore, ask the attention of my respected auditors to a brief review of these events, of “the things, which our eyes have seen,” – to a cursory notice of some of the important lessons moral and political, which people and rulers, electors and legislators have alike been taught by these things, and are bound to remember; and lastly, to the mention of certain objects, in the promotion of which every patient and philanthropist, and certainly the appointed guardians of a Christian commonwealth, will feel themselves urgently called upon to exert their influence, from the extraordinary character of the times and state of the world, in which we live.

I. A year has not yet elapsed since the friends of liberty, of religion and human happiness in this country, spontaneously and publicly testified their devout and joyous sympathy with the exulting nations of Europe when they heard the tidings of their emancipation from the galling yoke of tyranny, of their delivered from the desolating demon of war, of their restoration to mild and equitable rule, to the quiet cultivation of the arts and enjoyment of the blessings of peace. We had long taken a humane and anxious interest in the great events, that were passing upon the tragic theatre of the old world. We saw, with dismay and deep concern for the liberty, the religion and all the salutary institutions for the improvement and happiness of civilized man, a stern and unrelenting despot, a contemnor of God and man, at the head of a mighty empire, a leader of unnumbered legions trained to the work of destruction in the midst of atheism, carnage and crimes, accustomed to victory, athirst for conquest and plunder, going forth conquering and to conquer. We saw immense armies scattered before him. We saw ancient thrones, principalities and powers fall prostrate at this approach. We saw kings and emperors casting their crowns at his feet. We saw the iron yoke fastened upon the necks of his victims, while terror stifled their groans. We saw him wringing from them, with insatiable cupidity and unsparing cruelty, tribute upon tribute, sacrifice upon sacrifice of their best blood and few remaining comforts; and all this to rivet more firmly the chains, which bound them to the chariot wheels of their conqueror – to satiate his lust of boundless conquest, and to spread the portentous glare, the blasting splendors of his name and despotic communion over the whole civilized world.

We saw, indeed, one people, and one only, who kept the tyrant at bay, who never bowed the knee to this great Baal, who never trembled at “this goals, who then bestrode the” continental “world.” And this people – shall we not exalt in this claim? – this people are our kindred by blood, the descendants of the brethren of our fathers. Their St. George’s channel, their wooden walls and hearts of oak, and more than all, perhaps, the prayers and slams of their “noble army” of Christian philanthropists formed a barrier, which the myrmidons of the tyrant could never pass. England stood unmoved within view of his shores, queen of isles, mistress of the ocean, vanquisher of his fleet and colonies, the asylum of the proscribed objects of his jealousy or revenge, mocking at his important rage, engrossing the commerce of the world, and carrying, in exchange for the perishable products of their soil, the bread of life, the glad tidings of salvation to farthest Indian, and the remotest islands of the Gentiles.

We saw, in the mean time, the despot inflicting upon his passive subjects and allies unheard of hardships and privations by that barbarous engine of tyranny, the continental system, the only weapon with which he could hope to reach that object of his hate and terror, the maritime supremacy of unshaken, undaunted England. The oppression of this system added to others, stamped with the character of the blackest treachery and most outrageous insult, rouse, at length, the slumbering energies of Spain, stirred the proud spirit of Spaniards, and inflamed with a sudden fever of resentment and revenge the blood, which till then they had seems to have forgotten, that they had derived from a brave and warlike ancestry. We saw and admired their desperate daring, their noble struggle. But we rather wished and prayed, than hoped it would be crowned with success, although backed, as it was, with the generous and powerful aid of England. The then little known, but now illustrious Emperor of Russia, finding his empire degraded and burdened by the conditions, which is an unfortunate moment, he had entered into with the mighty oppressor of the continent – convinced, by the fate of neighboring princes, that to be in league with him in any form was to enter into compact for his own destruction, and that his only alternative in order to save anything from the illimitable claims of his imperial friendship, was to hazard every thing in determined hostility against him – warmed also with a generous glow of indignation at oppression, and animated by the heroic example of England and Spain united – above all, elevated and sustained by a pious confidence in God and the justice of his cause – he prepares and calmly waits for the assault, which he was aware had been long mediated by the modern Sennacherib against this crown and empire. We saw that “scourge of God” go forth in his wrath with his hundreds of thousands madly confident of an easy victory over the only remaining empire of the continent, that had courage and strongly to resist his desolating progress to universal dominion.

The prayers of all who cherished in their bosom a spark of interest for the liberty and happiness of mankind, were earnestly preferred dot the righteous Father of the world, that he would interpose. Neighboring and distant nations seemed alike interested, and alike waited the issue of the contest in trembling suspense. Nor were they left long to doubt of the result. For, behold, “the Lord of hosts, mighty in battle, what his glittering sword, and his hand took hold on judgment.” He not only inspired the hardy men of the north, with unconquerable energy and intrepidity in defense of their homes and temples, and of a severing, whom they loved, because they had found in him, not an oppressor, but a father of his people; but he brought, also, to their aid the irresistible might of his ministering servants, the elements, flaming fire and frost, “stormy wind and tempest fulfilling his word.” He scattered by thousands the carcasses of the invaders in the wilderness. He emphatically spoiled the spoilers. And, by a rapid descent from his dizzy eminence, before the close of a second year from his proud entrance into Russia, at the had of perhaps the most powerful and best appointed army the world has yet seen, we saw this disturber and terror of the world reduced to the condition of a despised, and therefore, alas, unguarded exile – the man, whose plans of empire were bounded only by the limits of the earth, restricted to the diminutive island of Elba, –

“The desolator desolate,
“The victor overthrown,
“The arbiter of others’ fate,
“A suppliant for his own,” –

the nations, that he had subdued, restored to their independence, and the calm of peace succeeding to the tempest of war throughout all Europe. This we saw, and as became men we rejoiced; as became Christians we gave glory to God.

But there was much at that time to damp our joy. We had to blush for our country, that it had taken no part in the triumphant cause of God and man. Had taken no part do I say? O blot of infamy, dark eclipse of American glory! Our country did take part in this cause, but it was against it. The only remaining republic upon earth, a nation descended from freemen, whose proudest boast was their hereditary love of liberty, and hatred of tyranny, harnessed themselves to the war chariot of the tyrant, in which he was riding over the necks of prostrate millions. Yes, the exclusive republicans of America voluntarily added themselves to the long list of degraded nations, who were by force leagued with the infidel power of France, against England; and lent, with cordial good will, their utmost aid to beat down that last remaining bulwark in the old world, of rational liberty, and “of the religion which we profess.”

It was soon seen that we must fare, as men, soon or late, must ever fare, who take side with those, who are at strife with God and right and humanity. When the pitying Father of the world opened his ear to the cries of the oppressed nations, when the measure of their chastisement seemed to be full, and he arose to lay aside, with signal dishonor and contempt, though not, as we hoped, forever, the blood steeped instrument of their correction – when the great instigator and patriot of our wicked war thus became, in the view of all, “a thing of naught,” we were left singly exposed to the merited resentment of our enemy, to the pity or derision of the whole world, and probably, if England had insisted, to united hostility of her allies.

Europe rejoiced, and all good men in this country rejoiced to see, in the fallen fortunes of the tyrant, the removal of that example of successful guilt, which had so long emboldened the wicked in every country, and in none, perhaps, more than in this. The central throne of iniquity, infidelity, perfidy and crime seemed to us to be thus overthrown to its base; and we regarded its wide spread ruins, like the traces of the deluge, as a monument to the world of God’s eternal abhorrence of oppressions, violence and blood – as a lesion of awful admonition to all those, who have been abettors or admirers of the French league of atheistic philosophy and hostility against the most sacred principles and institutions, against the most consoling hopes, against, in short, the virtue and happiness of mankind. We considered this league as effectually broken in the overthrow of the despot. In his fall, we saw the head of this serpent bruised. And we rejoiced to see the death wound, as it then appeared, thus inflicted upon the head of the venomous best in Europe extending downwards, till the tail of it, as we may say, which had twined itself about the Genius of America, felt the unexpected stroke, and writhed in sympathetic agony. Divided as it now was, from its head, and but a fragment of the original monster, although like a monster of the polypus species, it continued to retain feebly the power of life and motion, yet it must ere long have perished of itself, had not the imprudent Hercules, that came to our shores to destroy it, in attempting to tear its poisonous folds from the Genius of our republic, unhappily wounded that Genius in the attempt. ¹

This touched our pride of country, and awakened in all a determined spirit of resistance, an united zeal to defend our soil and our cities against every attempt of the enemy, to repeat the humiliating scenes which had been exhibited at Washington and Alexandria. Those, who from principle, abhorred the war in its origin, its entire character and conduct hitherto, now, that it had assume da new character, stood ready to repel the foe that should have the temerity to invade the soil, which they had inherited from their fathers, and which had been consecrated by their blood to liberty and independence.

Dreading and preparing for the worst, the people assumed, as one man, a determined attitude of self-defense. While we had nothing to hope from our own government, except that the necessity of making peace must soon grow out of their inability to prosecute the war, we had every thing to apprehend in the approach of the enemy with his whole force, from the natural disposition of man to avenge, when he becomes strong, an injury inflicted on him when he was weak. At the same time, we had something to hope from the moderation, magnanimity, and desire of peace, previously manifested by the nation, with which we were contending, notwithstanding our government had been the assailants in the unrighteous contest.

Such, for some time, had been the state of things, and of men’s minds, in regard to the unnatural and hopeless war in which, while all Europe had rest, we found ourselves involved. And when we recollect the gloomy aspect of affairs in our country, at that time, and the appalling prospects, which were opening before us – the nation without revenue, the treasury empty, public credit gone, the people shrinking from the oppressive burden of taxes, that was lain and coming upon them, many states beginning reluctantly to contemplate temporary separation of their fortunes from those of the general government, as their only security from ruin – all eyes in the mean time, turned with anxious waiting to receive intelligence from our commissioners at Ghent – the thoughts of all recoiling from the distress, the devastation and bloodshed, which must be the result of another season of hostilities, should England determine to prosecute the war with her undivided strength, and with that spirit of resentment and animosity, which the time and circumstances, in which it had been declared by our government, might seem to justify; – already many thousands reduced from competence to poverty, and other thousands with the same disheartening prospects before them; – when we recollect all this, we cannot wonder at the unexampled rejoicings, and the fervor of thanksgiving to Heaven, which the people manifested at the conclusion of a war, which had been waged at incalculable expense without the attainment of a single object, a single claim, for which it was professedly declared. What stronger evidence could we have that the war was no war of the people’s choosing, that in its whole character and in all its aspects, it was odious and had become insupportable to the great mass of the nation, that the almost frantic joy with which the return of peace, of bare peace, without brining with it the shadow of an equivalent for its absence was universally welcomed.

True it is, we saw nothing of this joy – I speak not here of those brave men, who have fronted danger and fought the battles of our defense “by flood or field” and how have covered themselves and their country with all the glory that can be derived from arms; but we saw nothing of this joy, I say, in those sauntering “dogs of war,” who have been distinguished only by wearing about them the badge which showed to what master they belonged, and who heard the tidings of peace, so grateful to the people, with selfish and sullen regret, that they could no longer fee din idleness at the public charge. We saw, indeed, nothing of this joy in the servile pimps an spies of government, who had been thriving upon the distresses of their fellow citizens, and whose occupation and gains were now at an end. We saw nothing of this joy in the many thousand occupants of new offices, which the war had created, those patriotic pensioners upon cabinet patronage, and who, like so many devouring locusts, had overspread the country, and consumed tis resources. But we saw this joy in all its fullness and sincerity, in those private and peaceable citizens, who could gain nothing by the war, who beheld in the peace a limit to those wasteful expenses, of which they must pay their full proportion out of the hard earned fruits of the sweat of their brow; and who, had the war continued, must have presented their own breasts to an invading foe, in place of that defense, which they had a right to demand of the national government, but which had been to the last denied them. We behold this joy in parents, who in another season of hostilities, were anticipating the dreadful spectacle of their sons lying mangled and breathless courses upon the field of battle – in wives, who were foreboding a final adieu from the husband of their youth – in children, who, catching the contagion of their mothers’ fears, beheld the demon of war robbing them of their fathers.

These rejoiced and still rejoice in the event which bade them dismiss their melancholy anticipations, and welcome the heart cheering prospects of quietness in our borders, of returning propriety, of domestic tranquility, and of fathers, husbands, and sons waiting the gentle summons of nature, instead of the abrupt and appalling signal of battle, to resign their spirits to God, who gave them. And in unison with this joy were all the better feelings and sympathies of the human heart. If some dark and perturbed spirits, “who delight in war,” refused to join in the loud chorus of gratulation and gladness, which rang from one extremity of the union to the other, the bright and lovely train of the civil and domestic virtues, the smiling attendants upon peace, were heard mingling their mild voice in the common joy at the return of their long banished patroness and queen. Humanity rejoiced that the earth ceased to be crimsoned with the blood of man, spilt by the hand of his brother; and that the sword was stayed from adding to the number of windows and orphans. Religion, peaceful daughter of heaven, was glad and hymned new anthems of praise to the God of peace, that her voice, which speaks good will toward all men, was no longer to be drowned in the horrid din of battle, in the groans of expiring nature mingling with the savage shouts of victory. Patriotism exulted that our rapid progress to national ruin was arrested and that happier prospects were once more beginning to open upon our suffering country. Justice triumphed in the vanishing of those unholy visions of conquest, which had so long haunted the disordered imagination of our rulers, which had carried fire and sword into so many peaceful villages of Canada, and which have rendered that province the scene of such boundless waste of treasure, of so many signal defeats and disasters, and of one of two splendid and dear bought, but useless victories. In abort, truth, reason, and common sense, so long exiled from the counsels of the nation, hail with gladness this auspicious pause in the reign of delusion, absurdity, restrictive energy, and mad experiment. And who, that loves his country, will not devoutly pray that the pause may be perpetual?

II. From our hasty retrospect of “the things, which our eyes have seen,” we return to notice, as we proposed, some of the important lessons, which we ought to learn form them, and to “teach our sons and our sons’ sons.”

Let the first be lesson of gratitude to the God of our fathers. However ardent, and strong and lasting this gratitude may be, it can hardly equal what we ought to feel for our deliverance from the confusion and ruin, which but recently seemed inevitable, and that we have escaped, with no heavier loss and suffering, great as these have been, from the rash plunge of the nation into the awful perils of war, at a period when the unexampled terrors and miseries of war in Europe solemnly admonished our favored country to remain at peace, and to mitigate, if possible, instead of adding to the woes of an afflicted and bleeding world.

2. We ought, in the next place, to derive new and deeper convictions, from the things we have seen, of the superintending and controlling providence of the Sovereign of the universe, in the direction of human affairs.

In the astonishing change and revolutions, which have marked the age of wonders, in which it is our lot to live, especially in those which have occurred in Europe within the few last years, the supremacy of God, and the agency of his Providence in the government of the world have been so visibly and remarkable manifested, a that even the blind, one would think must see, the hardened feel and be constrained to acknowledge, “that verily there is a God who judgeth in the earth, who enlargeth of straiteneth the nations, who setteth up on end putteth down another, and who doeth all his pleasure among the inhabitants of the earth, as well as among the hosts of heaven.” When we saw the remorseless oppressor of nations ready to take the last step in his march to universal empire, and we were in read lest the whole Christian world must been beneath the sway of an infidel and ferocious despot, with what ease, how speedily, and in a manner how unexpected did God abase to the dust the pride and the might of “the terrible one,” and exalt the weak to the throne of the mighty.

Fear not, then, ye who tremble because the head of the dragon² is again lifted up. Let him and his angles renew their impious war. The arm of the Almighty hath not waxed feeble. He hath still his Michael and his angles, by whom he hath once given response to the world, and who, when he commissions them, shall again prevail against he dragon; and in the appointed hour, the monster shall be consigned to a safer prison than the islands of Elba.

3. A third lesson, which we have been impressively taught by “the things we have seen,” – and this is another reason for banishing our fears for the result of the renewed contest in Europe – is, that “the triumphing of the wicked is short.” Never, perhaps, since the generation, which God in his wrath swept from the earth with a flood, – never certainly, in any age, or portion of the world that has been shone upon by the blessed lights of Christianity, has there been such a general and open contempt of all religious and moral obligation, such insolent defiance or denial of the divine government and authority, as has been seen in those parts of the old world, which adopted the principles, and afterwards felt the power of revolutionary France. When we saw this colossal power wielded by an individual, “at whose name the world grew pale,” when we saw him successful in all his enterprises of unparalleled daring and guilt, when we saw his humble admirers and obedient followers sitting in the high places of power in our own country, the entire world, to our desponding fears, seems destined by its incensed Creator to fall under the empire of the wicked.

But when they were rearing the last battlements of their Babel, whose impious height had long insulted the Heavens, and from which they began proudly to dictate their laws to the whole earth, we saw their chief in company with numbers of his satellites suddenly hurled from its summit by the hand of retributive justice. We saw him, for a time, and as we hoped forever, left in miserable banishment to “the vultures of his mind,” his own reflections; and like the wretch in the hell of the poet, to admonish by his doom guilty rulers and their adherents in every country to learn righteousness and to fear God. ³ And notwithstanding his unexpected and, wet rust, short reprieve from this doom, it has given us condoling assurance, in which we will rest, that although men without religion, without virtue, without pity or remorse, “join hand in hand,” abuse power, and “frame mischief by a law,” yet shall not the wicked go unpunished. “As a dream, when one awaketh, so, O God, when thou awakest, shalt thou despise their image. And the righteous shall rejoice, when he seeth the vengeance.”

4. We have, again, been taught, what indeed was foreseen by the considerate and has now been made manifest to all by our ill-fated war, that our form of government, our institutions and habits, disqualify us for engaging in wars of conquest. Events have shown that the attack made upon Canada was as impolitic, as it was cruel and wicked. The crying sin of blood-guiltiness was strictly chargeable, in the view of all men of Christian feelings, upon the authors of that measure; to the honor of New England, it will be remembered that by a large majority of its inhabitants, the measure was regarded in the light of an unprovoked and murderous assault upon peaceable and unoffending neighbors. Nor ought it ever to be forgotten by us, or “our sons, or sons’ sons,” that while the war was thus entirely offensive, a war for conquest, and consequently unjust, God was against us; and we accordingly met only with defeat, disaster, and disgrace. But the moment the character of the war was changed, and become a war of defense, and therefore just, God was with us; and, in every instance of importance, except in the attack of the enemy upon the immediate seat and citadel of improvidence and imbecility, the head quarters of the redoubtable heroes of Bladensburg, we were successful in repelling invasion.

5. This nation, moreover, in addition to the innumerable lessons that have gone before in past ages, have received another, and a very serious one, from the things they have recently seen and suffered, upon that inherent vice and ultimate destruction of all republics, party spirit – a blind devotion of the people to the men, who, to obtain office and power, inflame their passion, and flatter their prejudices and pride of opinion. The people of this country have been taught by bitter and costly experiment, to what evils the indulgence of these passion, these prejudices and this pride of opinion may lead. They have seen for what purposes their antipathies to one nation, and attachment to another have been so industriously cherished by incessantly proclaiming and exaggerating the injuries of the one, and anxiously concealing or excusing those of the other. They have seen that their flatters, and the fermenters of strife and war, have achieved nothing for their country, which they promised – have obtained no security against the violation of “trade and sailors’ rights” and while they have been enjoying the emoluments and honors of office, the people have deprived from their counsels no other fruits than general embarrassment and distress, loss of public and private property, and an entail of taxes, which neither they nor “their sons, nor sons’ sons” will probably see cancelled. The people must, we think, have been feelingly persuaded of the truth of the remark long since made, that “party is the madness of many, for the gain of a few.” We trust that the lessons upon this point, so dearly purchased, will not be lost upon the citizens, who have to pay for it; and that they will learn from it to judge of political as they do of religious profession, by its fruits – to distinguish the true friends and able guides of their country from the smooth and fawning pretender to patriotism and disinterested love for the dear people; and, in future, to trust with office those men only, whose known principles and tried virtues entitle them to the public confidence. To have been once deceived by men who promised fair, proves only that we charitable believed them honest and were mistaken. “But when men,” says an eminent statesman, ⁴ “whom we know to be wicked, impose upon us, we are something worse than dupes. When we know them, then their fair pretenses become new motives for distrust.”

Tempests, engendered in the natural world, by a foul and heated atmosphere, if they sometimes destroy the fruits of the field and the labors of man, are usually succeeded by a purer air, and a brighter day. Noxious insects, pestilent vapors, and obscuring mists, are dispersed. Objects are seen through a clearer medium, and in a new light; and more distinct and correct impressions of them are conveyed to the mind. We will hope that, in like manner, the tempest and fury of the passion, that have been excited among us, and the storms of war produced by them, now that they are spent and gone by, will be followed by moral and political consequences equally salutary and beneficial to our country. And, great as have been the gloom, and distress, and ruin, which have marked their course, we might pronounce the evil incurred small, compared with the good obtained, should we find that they have also swept away, and that forever, “the refuges of lies,” by which an abused people heave been made the victims of series of oppressive and calamitous measures, the effects of which will be felt long after the present generation shall have passed away.

As it is from experience and by sober reflection upon event, that nations as well as individuals learn wisdom, it is, therefore, the bounded duty of the citizens of our republic not only that they retain in remembrance and meditate much and often upon the things they have witnessed and endured for the last few eventful years, that, soberly viewing the causes and pondering the consequences of these things, they may gather from them the instructive lessons we have noticed and others equally obvious and important; but they are bound also to teach them to their children and to warn them of the dangers to which their prosperity and liberties will ever be exposed, from the arts of ambitious and corrupt men and from their own passions and prejudices.

God, by his servant Moses, enjoined it upon the Israelites, as in our text, to be ever mindful of the astonishing events which they had witnessed alike in their deliverances and their chastisements. They were commanded to teach them to their children, “to their sons’ sons,” that the salutary lessons which they inculcated might be transmitted and perpetuated among them. And it is from what others or themselves have experienced, from recollection of their errors and miscarriages, and reflection upon their causes and consequences that men are admonished, instructed and disciplined into prudence and virtue. This is the great end of God’s various dealings with individuals and nations. For this, history unrolls her faithful records. For this, the faculties of memory and reflection hold so distinguished a place in the endowments of the mind. To consign to oblivion, therefore, when they are past, evens, which deeply affected us while passing – to forget our calamities when they are removed and to avert the attention form the true causes and immediate authors of them or to attribute them to false causes or imaginary instruments, is “to despise reproof and to hate instruction;” is not only, like obstinate children, to suffer the infliction of the rod without deriving from it any equivalent for the smart, but is also to invite a repetition of its strokes.

Surely then, it is not expecting too much from the good sense and calculating character of our fellow citizens that they will divest themselves of the unreasonable prejudices, and attachments of party, the immediate or remote cause of most of the evils they have suffered – that they will turn from their political idols whom they have found to be “vanity and a lie,” to the men under whose auspices they were once prosperous and happy; and that they will yet furnish a refutation of that severe maxim of the statesman before cited, that “the credulity of dupes is as inexhaustible as the invention of knaves.”

III. I hasten in the last place to name to my indulgent auditors – for time will hardly permit me to do more – certain objects, in the promotion of which every patriot and philanthropist, and certainly the appointed guardians of a Christian commonwealth, will feel themselves urgently called upon to exert their influence from the extraordinary character of the times and state of the world in which we live.

1. The passing age has been remarkable for its wild speculations, extravagant theories and daring experiments in government, in morals and religion. The people in our own country, as well as in others, have been taught new doctrines upon these subjects – doctrines sanctioned no more by the sober conclusions of reason than by the voice of experience. Their tendency has been to inflate the minds of the uninformed with an overweening sense of their own lights, of their own important – to weaken their respect for the sound maxims, the salutary principles and usages of our fathers – to loosen and in to many instances, to sever the sacred bonds which bind man in allegiance to his God, in equity and in love to his neighbor, his country and his kind. The effects have been answerable – such as we have witnessed have felt and deplored. The order, virtue, happiness, and stability of our republic have been sensibly impaired – its very existence endangered. To remedy these evils if possible, to repair these breaches will be regarded by every good citizen and magistrate as an object of the first importance. And, if this is ever to be affected in any good degree, it must be brought to pass by the same means by which our fathers founded and built up the social edifice which they left to us strong and beautiful, and taught us by their example how to preserve and enjoy.

They were well aware that no free government could be long supported but by the united influence of knowledge, and virtue and the fear of the Lord generally diffused throughout the great body of the citizens. To promote, maintain, and extend the influence of these qualities they bent all the energies of their powerful minds. To this end looked all their public institutions and laws, all their instructions in the pulpit, the college, the school, and in families – those natural seminaries which under Christian parents are of all others foremost in importance as they are in order, in forming the human mind in imbuing it with pious sentiment and virtuous principle.

In order, then, that our free and equal forms of government, our invaluable institutions and usages may recover of the shocks and long survive the changes which they have recited from the licentious and innovating spirit of the age, the united and persevering exertions of the wise and good in every station, aided as far as may be, by the influence of legislative authority, must be strenuously employed to bring back the people to “the old paths and good ways,” in which our fathers walked – to re-establish the authority of the plain and sure maxims, and to put in more general and vigorous operation those tried and effectual means of diffusing knowledge, virtue, and piety, by which the sons of the Pilgrims that have preceded us, formed of New England “a mountain of holiness, a habitation of whatsoever things are true, honest, just pure, lovely, and of good report.”

Knowing therefore the conditions upon which alone the prosperity and permanency of our republican institutions can be insured, the genuine patriot, whether acting in a private or official capacity, will feel himself bound as he would secure, and transmit to his children the rich privileges which he has inherited from his fathers, to exert his utmost ability and influence to enlighten public opinion, to correct and elevate the public morals, to foster the interests and extend the influence of useful learning and pure religion.

2. I would name another object, which is beginning to excite much attention among the reflecting and benevolent in our own country, which is of universal interest to mankind, and in the prominent of which legislators and rulers might, if disposed, do a great deal. The object is no other than to do something, if possible, to bring into discredit and disuse the barbarous and horrible practice of determining national differences by the sword. I know that a proposition of an attempt to abolish wars will be though by many a proof of little else than of a good natured madness in the proposer. But by Christians it ought to be heard with respect and a readiness to cooperate in any measure that may tend to a “consummation so devoutly to be wished” by all the friends of humanity. Surely, our religion gives no countenance to wars, scarcely of defense, and in no case to offensive wars. If wars, as we know from the sure word of prophecy they will, are one day to “cease to the ends of the earth,” how is this great change in the world to be accomplished? Not, we have all reason to think, by miracle, and at once, but gradually, by the combined influence and agency of Christian principles and Christian societies formed for this very end. Traffic in slaves, not long since, was as universally tolerated, as war. But Christian philanthropy and Christian perseverance have already done much and are still going on prosperously to complete the extermination of this infamous practice from out of the limits of Christendom. Were a combination formed in this country, in this state, of the friends of human happiness, aided by legislative concurrence and authority, and let them make their appeals to Christians everywhere, to cooperate in their attempts to impress all hearts which they can influence with abhorrence of the savage customs of war; and perhaps, in tie, by the blessing of God upon their benevolent exertions, the Christian world may owe as much to a New England Association for the abolition of wars, as Africa does to the bond of British philanthropists who led the way in the abolition of the inhuman traffic in slaves. There never was a time more favorable than the present for an attempt of this kind. Should the peace of Europe be speedily re-established by the fall of the outlaw, who hath broken it, as we devoutly hope, government and people, exhausted with the waste and smarting with the wounds of war, will be universally in a condition to listen to an appeal made to their interests and feelings upon this subject. ⁵ We may at least calculate with assurance, that the legislature of this, and we trust of the other states of the union, will persevere in their endeavors to obtain the constitutional security recommended by the late New England convention, against a repetition of an offensive war, like that from which we have recently escaped.

3. Indulge me in the mention of one object more which merits even more than all the extraordinary interest and exertions which it has so generally produced in the Christian world, and which of all others will, perhaps, be eventually found the most efficient means of accomplishing the object last mentioned, I mean the diffusion of the Holy Scriptures.

Although we doubt not the glorious work will proceed effectually in the hands of the societies and individuals engaged in it, et I would respectfully ask whether it be not an object deserving the liberal patronage of legislative bodies. While this patronage would ensure to these bodies the augmented respect and confidence of their pious constituents, would it not contribute to awaken a more general attention throughout the community to that Sacred volume, which should appear as thus it would, to be an object of peculiar esteem and reverence to the highest order of men in the state? Every friend of Zion, every Christian philanthropist, whose heart glows with the benevolent desire and daily breathes to Heaven the fervent prayer that the kingdom of Christ that blessed empire of light and love, of righteousness and peace, may be extend and established throughout the world and built up in all hearts, must have witnessed with holy joy and exultation the wide spread and still extending triumphs of British charity in the distribution of “the words of eternal life” in all ands and in all languages. What fountains of consolation have thus been opened to the poor and afflicted in those countries which have been swept with the desolating tempests of war? While a night of double darkness, of infidelity and gloomy despotism was brooding over the fairest portion of continental Europe, form the Bible societies in England, the sun of righteousness seemed to arise with new brightness and healing in his beams. In that fortunate isle, while the upas of atheism, rooted and nurtured in France, was spreading wide its baleful shade, dripping with poison to the souls and destruction to the bodies of men, we have seen the tree of life flourishing with unexampled luxuriance, reaching forth its branches and expanding its leaves for shelter and for medicine to the weary and bruised nations. We have shown that we can vie with the men of that illustrious land of our ancestors in wielding the weapons of death and in managing the engines of destruction. Let us emulate them in their more noble and Godlike efforts to save, to enlighten, to console mankind. When appointed to this service it was my pleasing hope that I might be permitted to congratulate my fellow citizens upon the established repose of Europe, as well as of our own country. But the unsearchable counsels of God have appointed otherwise. While we almost imagine that we heard resounding through the world the echoes of the angelic song, which once announced from Heaven peace on earth and good will to men, the terrific genius of destruction again welcomed into fickle and perfidious France, startled us with new alarms of war. Again,

“Red battle stamps his foot and nations feel the shock.”

It is not for us to penetrate or arraign the purpose of God in suffering this. He governs the world; the wrath and crimes of no created being can pass the bounds which he assigns. Confiding in his goodness, it becomes us to submit with silent reverence to what we cannot comprehend. While we sympathize with Europe again convulsed and bleeding, let it renew our gratitude to that kind Providence which hath made us to differ. And God, of his mercy, make us wise to preserve and worthy to enjoy, this distinction, till it is lost in the universal and permanent repose of the world.

Your Excellency, during “the troublesome times” we have seen has given your constituents a decisive and endearing proof that your heart corresponds to this wish in the spirit of a sincere disciple of the Prince of Peace, with the feelings of a lover of his country and of his kind. So long as we remember “the things which our eyes have seen” will not forget but will teach it to “our sons and our sons’ sons” what we owe to this guide who, under God, hath conducted the people and guarded their rights with a wise and paternal vigilance through all the perils that have encompassed them. If Your Excellency has had no part nor lot in the glory of those magistrates who have sent their citizens to gather laurels and to find the cypress in the wilds of Canada, Your Excellency has that which will be far more soothing in the silent and solitary house of life and its close that which is far more illustrious in the esteem of the wise and good, the glory of having sanctioned no measures that have carried mourning and distress into the dwelling of a single family in the state.

In ancient Rome, he that in battle had saved the life of a citizen was rewarded with a civic crown and was honored as a father by the person preserved. The citizens of this Commonwealth between whom and the deadly contagion of a camp and the weapons of an invaded people, Your Excellency has effectually interposed the shield of the Constitution have no civic crowns to give. But they have repeatedly given the highest mark they have to give of their gratitude and respect; and the same time they acknowledge, in each repeated acceptance of it, a new obligation conferred by Your Excellency upon themselves.

The Christian patriot derives his first best earthly reward from the consciousness of upright intention in the discharge of every trust reposed in him by his fellow citizens; the next, from seeing them manifestly benefited by his services; and next to this, form the uniform and often repeated proofs of their cordial attachment and confidence. His last exceeding great reward, to which he steadily but humbly looks is that transporting eulogium form his final Judge, “well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”

Your Honor will accept our respectful congratulants upon being again called to fill the office of Second Magistrate in the Commonwealth; and upon which is far more grateful to your Honor, the reviving prosperity of our country which promises to the benevolent increased means of experiencing what your Honor so well knows, “how much more blessed it is to give, than to receive.”

Counsellors, Senators, and Representatives of the Commonwealth; we rejoice with you that the new political year is ushered in with so much happier auspices than the last. You will not need that I should remind you of the high and solemn responsibility which rests upon you in your official character. No one, surely, of your honorable body, can have received the trust reposed in him by his constituents, without feeling the importance, not of the honor, but of the duties attached to it. Least of all should we suppose it possible for a man to take this trust lightly upon him, when an impression of the calamities, which an abuse of it may bring upon his country is so fresh and deep in his mind, as it must be in the mind of every man who remembers what he has recently seen and felt.

Bringing with you, to the counsels of the state, this impression, you will give your sanction to not measures affecting the common interests of your constituents, till looking as far into all their bearings and issues, as the ken of human foresight, assisted by the lights of experience and reason is permitted to penetrate, you conscientiously believe them to be good and salutary. When entered upon the exercise of your legislative functions, you will feel yourselves to be standing upon holy ground. You will, therefore, as becomes the place and your character put off and remove far from your minds, the narrow prejudices and blinding passions of party, the sordid considerations of private interest or personal ambition, as most unworthy to enter into those solemn deliberations and decrees on which depend, in no small degree, the order, security, and prosperity of the Commonwealth.

We may confidently expect from the civil fathers and guardians of the state, all that can be done by legislative authority alone, or in concurrence with the exertions of societies or individuals, to aid the great interests of humanity, to enlighten public sentiment, to improve the public morals, to preserve and increase, in the public mind, a reverence for the name, the word, the Sabbaths, and worship of God, to invigorate and extend the influence of our inestimable civil, literary, and religious institutions.

In all your labors for the promotion of these most important objects, we, the ministering servants of God, are by our office, and form the nature of our charge when faithful to it, “fellow-workers together with you.” We have, therefore, a claim upon your countenance and support, so long as we quit not our sphere. And, if you sometimes find a brother among you, and concern for his flock prompt the question, once put by Eliab to the shepherd, son of Jesse, “Why hast thou come down hither? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?” Add not, we beseech you, the uncharitable charge laid by the churlish Eliab to his brother, “I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightiest see,” and mingle in “the battle of contentious partisans.” Your honorable body will rather impute to him a generous zeal to aid you in promoting the great interests of our common Christianity. At least, let the presence of our brethren serve to remind you, that these interests are intimately connected with the great interests of all the state and of our country – that however excellent our constitution and laws, there can be no permanent order, security, or happiness in our republic, unless the citizens composing it are, generally, influenced by the awful sanctions of religion, the hopes and fears of eternity.

Confiding in the wisdom of your counsels in the integrity and patriotism of your intentions, in your zeal for the common welfare not doubting that you will act under a just sense of your accountability to your constituents, and, we trust, to the Searcher of Hearts, we bid you God, speed in the duties before you. May you honorable acquit yourselves, respected Rulers, of your allotted parts in the accomplishment of those high destinies, to which, we trust, it was in the counsels of God to raise this nation, when we planted our fathers in this good land. And while we hail it, as an omen of better days to our country, that so many of our brethren in various parts of the union misled by the false lights of the age, are retuning to the sound maxims of policy and of morals, exemplified and bequeathed to them by the Father of our Republic, we will hope that its glory, emerging like the sun from the clouds that have transiently obscured the brightness of its morning’s rise will hold on its way, like that luminary, with increasing splendor, till it reaches the western ocean, emitting its wildest blaze of effulgence, the moment it touches the waves.

 

---

Endnotes

¹. The destruction by the British cruisers of our fishing-craft, and o four dismantled coasting the merchant vessels, in our small harbors, laying defenseless towns, and even salt works under contributions, especially the burning of the public buildings at Washington, excited a very general indignation in all parties. And Mr. Randolph has asserted, and probably with reason, that, but for these glaring acts of indiscretion in the enemy, “nothing could have sustained Mr. Madison after the disgraceful affair at Washington. The public indignation would have overwhelmed, in one common ruin, himself and his hireling newspapers.”
Mr. Randolph’s Letter to Mr. Lloyd.

². Rev. 12 ch. 7 ver. & c.

³. “Phlegyas que misserimus omnes
Admonet, et magna testator voce per umbras:
Discite justiniam moniti, et non temnere Divos.”
Virg. Aen. Lib. 6, ver. 618, & c.

⁴. Mr. Burke.

⁵. See an excellent pamphlet upon this subject, entitled “A Solemn Review of the Custom of War,” & c.

---

This election sermon was preached by Rev. Brockway on May 11, 1815.

---

A

SERMON,

PREACHED AT HARTFORD,

BEFORE THE

HONORABLE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

OF THE

STATE OF CONNECTICUT,

ON THE

ANNIVERSARY ELECTION,

MAY 11, 1815.

BY DIODATE BROCKWAY, A. M.
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH IN ELLINGTON.

HARTFORD:
PRINTED BY HUDSON AND GOODWIN
1815.

 

At a General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, holden at Hartford in said State, on the second Thursday of May, A. D. 1815.

ORDERED, That the Hon. Jonathan Brace, and Peleg Martin, Esq. present the thanks of this Assembly to the Reverend DIODATE BROCKWAY, for his Sermon preached before this Assembly on the 11th instant, and request a copy of the same, that it may be printed.

A true copy of record,
Examined by
THOMAS DAY, Secretary. 

ELECTION SERMON. ZECHARIAH, iv. 6.

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

 

The first temple, the most splendid edifice that was ever reared by men, continued in its glory but a few years. It was successively robbed of its treasures by Shishak, Joash, Ahaz, and others, and at last utterly destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. At the head of a powerful army this wicked monarch overran a large part of Asia, and plundered, as well as conquered, the provinces through which he passed. He did not spare even the temple of the Lord: but after sacrilegiously enriching himself with its costly furniture, he demolished it to its foundation. In about half a century it began to be rebuilt by order of Cyrus, who had previously invaded the Assyrian empire, and succeeded in the reduction of its magnificent capital. The benevolent Cyrus liberated the enslaved captives of Judah, and ordered them to return to their own country. Over these redeemed captives he appointed Zerubbabel Governor, to whom he delivered the sacred vessels of the temple which Nebuchadnezzar had carried to Babylon.

In the rebuilding of the temple, there were difficulties, to human view, insurmountable. The Jews had just returned from a seventy years captivity, and were but poorly furnished with the requisite means, for accomplishing such an undertaking. The opposers of the work, also, were numerous and powerful. Under such discouraging circumstances, how could it proceed? Our text is the answer. Not by might, (or as is rendered in the margin, by army,) nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. These words clearly express the divine efficiency in the work. They show that no human power was adequate to the successful prosecution of it, encumbered as it was with so many difficulties, and embarrassed with so much opposition.

Though the text primarily referred to the rebuilding of the temple, it admits of a more general and extensive application. It is literally true, when applied to all the labors and enterprises of men. Considered in this more general, and extensive sense, I derive from it the following sentiment:

The success of all human efforts depends entirely, and exclusively, upon the providential and all-powerful influence of God.

This sentiment necessarily results from the perfection of God’s character; and is exemplified in such of his works as are accomplished by the instrumentality of men.

I. The sentiment derived from the text necessarily results from the perfection of God’s character.

Isaiah, whose conceptions of the Most High were enlarged by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and whose lips were touched with a live coal from the heavenly altar, thus speaks of the glorious supremacy of God: “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Behold, the nations are as a drop of the bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; that bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.”

Infinite power, wisdom, intelligence, goodness and purity, are but different names to express the character of him, who is the source of being, and the fountain of blessedness. In God is concentrated every possible perfection that can ennoble and exalt him. He is, in himself, incomparably great, glorious and incomprehensible: the source and centre of all power and efficiency. By the breath of his Spirit we are quickened into life; by the strength of his power we move and are sustained; and by his unerring wisdom we have our place and sphere of action assigned us. He has an intuitive knowledge of the conceptions of every mind in the universe, and with a power which nothing can resist, he controls the passions and purposes of the myriads of creatures which he has made. His influential and governing providence is co-extensive with his works; it is concerned in those events which appear to be the most trifling and casual; in the fall of a sparrow, in the trembling of a leaf, and in the motion of an insect. So entirely dependent are we upon his influence, that, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. God is the only independent agent in the universe. He governs with underived, and uncontrolled authority, and he alone has the right and power to do what seemeth him good. It is evident, then, from the character, and from the dominion of the Lord, hat the success of human efforts depends upon his aid and blessing. “Behold he taketh away who can hinder him? There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord.”

II. The sentiment derived from the text is exemplified in those works of God, which are accomplished by the instrumentality of men.

Under his head of discourse, will be considered the instruments which God employs in building his spiritual temple, the Church; which he uses in building up and governing states and empires; and also those which he employs to conquer and destroy them.

1. Let us consider the instruments which God employs in building his spiritual temple, the Church.

The manner in which Christianity was first propagated, and the dispensation of redeeming mercy established, through a crucified Saviour, was a practical exposition of these words of the apostle Paul: “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise: and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence.” The success which attended the labors of the apostles, the first preachers of the gospel, could not be attributed to human wisdom, learning, nor power. They were in general poor, humble and illiterate men, selected, not from the lists of the wise, mighty and noble, but from the lower walks of life. Such were the first propagators of the gospel, the founders of that kingdom which is established in mercy, truth and justice, and the conquests of which are eventually to extend from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. The work upon which they entered, calculating according to the wisdom of this world, was at once the most difficult, hazardous and hopeless, of any ever undertaken by men. Their preparation for this work, so far as it respected human acquirements or aid, was comparatively nothing. They went forth declaring the testimony of God concerning his Son, not with excellency of speech or wisdom; yet their speech and preaching were in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power.

In laying the foundation of that spiritual temple, of which that of Solomon was a type, the apostles were not only destitute of earthly support and aid; but they had to encounter the powerful opposition of men high in office and authority; in short they had to encounter all the opposition, which wealth, talents, and authority united, could give. In the name of their Master, and girded with His strength, they embarked in their holy warfare, successfully using the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With a bold and persevering, but well tempered zeal, a zeal which was not to be terrified by menace, nor discouraged by opposition, they broke through the hatred and unbelief of their own countrymen, the Jews; and the deep rooted and long established prejudices of the gentiles. The doctrines and precepts which the apostles taught, though opposite in their nature and sanctions to the dispositions of unholy minds, yet proved in the hands of the Spirit, quick and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword. With the seventy disciples, their coadjutors, they went into almost every part of the then known world, gathering and establishing churches. By their preaching an amazing change was effected in the religious state of mankind. Contemplating the success which attended their mission, they might without boasting exclaim in the language of Paul, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

The history of the reformation in the sixteenth century, shows what can be accomplished by the labors of men, when those labors are accompanied with the blessed influence of God’s Spirit. Under the most discouraging circumstances, this work was commenced by a few individuals, and was carried on against the combined opposition of earth and hell. The success which attended the labors of Luther, Calvin, Zulinglius, Melancthon, Cranmer and their colleagues, in exposing the heresies of Popery, in disseminating the pure doctrines of the gospel, and in reviving its discipline, can be attributed to nothing less than the special blessing of God upon their exertions. In defiance of the decisions of courts and councils, and raised above the fear of inquisitions, banishments and burnings, they faithfully preached the doctrines of the cross; protestant converts were multiplied; and so great and extensive were the blessings connected with the reformation, of which, under God, they were the authors, that it is justly considered as furnishing a new and important era in the history of the church.

No class of men so eminently need assistance from above, in the discharge of their official duties, as the ministers of Jesus Christ. Their work is great, their responsibility awful, and their strength weakness. They are to guide the blind in paths that they have not known, and like their divine Saviour to go about seeking that which was lost. Though they are said to be laborers together with God; yet such is the disproportion between the instruments employed, and the object to be accomplished by their ministry, as makes it demonstrably certain, that neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. The Great Head of the church has ordained, that the kingdom of holiness on the earth, shall be built up, by the instrumentality of men, who have no sufficiency of their own; that it may be acknowledged to the glory of his grace, that the work is accomplished, not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts.

2. The instruments which God employs in building up and governing states and empires, furnish a practical illustration of the sentiment derived from the text.

All ranks among men, from the highest to the lowest, (though they may not be conscious of any divine influence,) have their place and work assigned them, by Him who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working; whose providence it is to make the conduct both of the virtuous and vicious, subserve the designs of his mysterious and perfect government. The holy decrees of the Omnipotent God cannot be frustrated, nor the scheme of his providence broken, by the wicked counsels, and feeble efforts of creatures who inhabit his footstool. “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations,” He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, controlling the elements, whose will the wind and the waves obey, and by whose decree the destiny of all nations is fixed, has a commanding influence over those who are employed in forming codes of laws, and into whose hands are committed the rights, liberties and lives of his people. Legislators and Statesmen, whether Christian or pagan, derive their wisdom and power from the great Governor and Legislator of the world. His secret, but powerful, agency is concerned in raising them up, moulding their minds, forming their characters, and fitting them for the stations which they occupy. They are God’s ministers, by whom he dispenses civil blessings, or executes national judgments. If they enact righteous laws, pursue an upright policy, and maintain a wise and just administration; it is because the Most High has given them a spirit of wisdom, and of love, and of a sound mind: for he hath said, Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding. If rulers pursue a destructive policy, by reason of which, vice and licentiousness are encouraged and systematized, peace, order the prosperity banished from society, and the choicest blessings of life swept away by their ruthless hands, it is because the Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst of them, and given them up to infatuated counsels. He who is infinitely wise and powerful can never want instruments to accomplish his purposes, as all creatures are subject to his dominion, and controlled by his will. If he designs to chastise a people for their wickedness he can give them Legislators, whose laws, like those of Draco, shall be written in letters of blood. If Athens filled with dissensions is to be quieted, he can raise up and qualify Solon for the work. If the Spartan government, rent by faction, and enervated by luxury, is to undergo a reform; if industry and useful arts are to be encouraged, and peace and order restored to a distracted people, a wise Providence can accomplish all this by the instrumentality of a Lycurgus. The wisdom and power of the Universal Governor, are exercised in fashioning the minds, as well as the bodies of men. With a skillful hand, unnoticed, indeed, by the gross vision of infidels, and with a touch too delicate for them to perceive, he sets in motion and guides those secret springs of the mind, which produce great characters, and splendid actions.

We have the testimony of God in his word, that his Providence is intimately concerned in the elevation of men to seats of magistracy and power. By me, saith Divine Wisdom, “kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.” There is no power, saith the apostle Paul, but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God. The Providence of God is not less concerned in influencing the policy of civil magistrates, than it is in raising them to office, and clothing them with authority and power. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; as the rivers of water he turneth it whithersoever he will.” By civil rulers, who are the ministers of God’s mercy or wrath, he carries on his designs, and executes his eternal purposes in the kingdoms of men. When he gives them in mercy they bear the names of their subjects in the breastplate of judgment, upon their heart, for a memorial before the Lord continually. When he gives them in anger, he hardens their spirit, and makes their heart obstinate, yea, firm as a stone, and hard as a piece of the nether millstone. It becomes a people then to rejoice when the righteous are in authority, for they are ministers of God for good, and to mourn when the wicked bear rule, for they are the rod and staff of the divine indignation. For this reason, weak, unprincipled and tyrannical rulers are to be viewed with terror. They are awful tokens of God’s displeasure, and as really the executioners of his merited vengeance as the pestilence, famine and tempest. Sinful nations are often punished, by having rulers set over them, who, like the princes of Zoan, are fools; or brutish like the counselors of Pharaoh.

Weak and wicked Magistrates, rendered vain and giddy by their elevation, may flatter themselves that they are independent of Him who girds them with power. They may say in the blasphemous language of the king of Babylon, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” He who breaks the sceptre of rulers, and cuts off the spirit of princes, and is terrible to the kings of the earth has them in derision; he lets loose or restrains their rage at his pleasure, making their wrath praise him, and restraining the remainder of wrath. When they have performed the Lord’s work, his strange work of judgment, and accomplished the purpose for which they were raised up, they shall eat of the fruit of their own forward way, and be filled with their own mischievous devices. The sovereign disposer of events, can bring good out of their evil designs and wicked policy. He can disappoint their devices, or take them in their own craftiness. To use the language of another, “he can execute his decrees, by a pious Joshua, or an impious Nebuchadnezzar; by a holy David, or a haughty, insolent, blaspheming Sennacherib.”

When a people forget that God is their only safe refuge, and the rock of their salvation, and look to their rulers for protection and prosperity, as if they were the only guardians of their lives and fortunes, they are prepared to be covered with shame and confusion, like the people of Israel, when they strengthened themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and trusted in the shadow of Egypt. Lamentable was the state of Jerusalem, when the Most High, to punish its devoted inhabitants for their insensibility and self-confidence, poured out upon them the spirit of deep sleep, and made the vision of all as the words of a book that is sealed. This awful prediction of the prophet concerning them was then accomplished, “The wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” Civil rulers, by a wise and righteous policy, may do much to promote the happiness, and secure the liberties and prosperity of their subjects; but are not to be considered as the independent authors of national happiness, or ruin. To God, and to him exclusively, doth it appertain to speak the word, concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; or to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it. His throne is the seat of power, and his own infinite mind the fountain of all wisdom, counsel and understanding. He will be known and acknowledged as the hope, the strength, and the salvation of Israel. Vain then is the confidence of rulers and subjects who place their safety and defence entirely in their own resources, in their fleets and armies, fortifications and arsenals. After all human means of security are used, the protection of the Almighty is the only effectual safe-guard of a nation. “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” When we render, therefore, to Caesar the honor which is his due as the minister of the Lord, the glory of all national blessings must be ascribed, not to Caesar, but to Caesar’s God.

3. The sentiment derived from the text, may be exemplified by the achievements of Generals and their armies.

When the Lord mustereth the host of the battle, when he girdeth his armies with strength, and giveth them the weapons of his indignation; they fight but to conquer. When this is not the case, they cannot prevail. Before their enemies, they become as small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away. “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. There is no king saved by the multitude of an host; a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.” Those military chieftains who, impelled by the lust of ambition, avarice, and dominion, have waded to conquest through rivers of blood, and filled whole kingdoms with desolation and mourning, are to be considered as the sword of divine justice. To men who look only at the instruments, and regard not the operations of the invisible God who employs them, they may appear to go forward in the work of destruction in their own strength: yet their power is derived from above, and when they have accomplished the work for which they were commissioned; ¹ when God has performed by them his work of vengeance as in mount Perazim, as in the valley of Gibeon, he will speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. By a divine decree their bounds like those of the sea are fixed, over which they cannot pass—“Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.”

Sennacherib king of Assyria, with his army of which he boasted, in the pride of military glory, that it was invincible, besieged the fortified cities of Judah, and compelled them to surrender to his arms. The inhabitants of these cities, (as the sacred historian informs us) “were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field; and as the green herb, as the grass on the house tops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.” God had given their insolent invader a charge, to take the prey, and to take the spoil, and to lay waste these cities into ruinous heaps. His strength and the weakness of those whom he besieged, cease to be mysterious, when both are viewed, as they ought to be, in their connection with the decree of heaven. The extent of his commission, was the extent of his power. Before the walls of Jerusalem he ceases to be formidable and is easily vanquished; for so had the Lord ordained. “He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.” This decree was not accomplished by might, nor army, nor by human power; the destroying angel commissioned from on high, “went forth and smote in the Assyrian camp, an hundred and four score and five thousand: and when they arose in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.”

The victories obtained by Nebuchadnezzar were foretold in prophecy. Egypt, Phenicia, Canaan, Judea, Persia, Media, and many other nations were subdued and ravaged by his armies. A stranger to disasters and to defeat, meeting with nothing to check his impious career, nor to discourage his exertions, he sweeps away, like an overwhelming deluge, everything that opposes his progress. Such was the vast extent of his conquests, and the greatness of his tyrannical power, that the prophet Jeremiah styles him, the hammer of the whole earth. The same prophet represents him as flying with eagles’ wings, from victory to victory. But what is this military tyrant before the power of the Highest, when he cometh forth to make inquisition for blood, and to show himself the avenger of crimes? By a memorable act of divine justice, in which the hand of God is distinctly seen, he is driven from his throne, and from the society of men: “To the intent,” (saith the prophet) “that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” What then are mighty conquerors, that they should glory, as if by the strength of their own arm they had gotten the victory? They are only the ax and the saw in the hand of God; and shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?

The late triumphant tyrant of France, who watered whole kingdoms with tears and blood, and peopled them with widows and orphans; who filled the world with terror by his military achievements, and increased human misery, it is believed, beyond what was ever before accomplished by any one individual of our race; though he meant not so, neither did his heart think so, was executing upon guilty nations the just and long threatened judgments of God. In tracing the progress of his arms, a progress everywhere marked with blood and carnage, and rendered awfully solemn by the sound of death groans, we discover the footsteps of a mysterious and righteous Providence. The wars in which he was so successfully engaged, were the Lord’s, in which he was pouring out the vials of his wrath upon those nations which had received the mark of the Beast, and shed the blood of saints and prophets. Notwithstanding the success which long attended the tyrant’s arms, he who rides upon the wind, and directs the storm of battle, had fixed the bounds over which he could not pass. Having undertaken with an immense army, ² and with vast military preparations, to penetrate into the interior of Russia, he confidently expected to overturn its government, and subjugate its inhabitants, in the same manner as he had overturned and subjugated those of other countries. Little did he imagine that he should be obliged, like the impious Sennacherib, to return in disgrace to his Capital, with only a fragment of that mighty army with which he commenced his expedition. The angel of the Lord smote his forces, and they became dead corpses. They were destroyed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases became meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. The face of the spoiler was turned back and the oppressors consumed out of the land which they had invaded. How applicable are the words, which God addressed to the blasphemous invader of Jerusalem, to the merciless invader of Russia: “Therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way, by which thou camest.” He could not stand before the power of Him, who maketh the elements ministers of destruction, who giveth snow like wool; who scattereth the hoar frost like ashes; and at whose rebuke, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep, and the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle are broken.

What, then, are the armies of confederated nations before the wrath of Him, who maketh the pillars of the earth tremble, and removeth it like a cottage? We have seen the tyrant and oppressor of Europe, who overturned the thrones of powerful Princes, and drove nations before him like a flock to the slaughter, cut down to the ground, and cast out like an abominable branch. We have seen his tents in affliction, and the curtains of his land tremble. We have seen his territory invaded, his capital besieged and taken, by the same armies that had fled before him in the heart of their own countries. We have seen him compelled to resign his command in the cabinet and in the field; to abdicate his throne, and to retire into obscurity, from the presence of those who could not forget his intrigues and bloody crimes. In view of such events we are led to exclaim; “Is this the man that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof?” Success does not always and necessarily follow the best concerted plans, and cool command of the greatest generals, and the undaunted bravery of the best of soldiers. If men go not forth to battle in the strength of the God of armies, their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost; a stripling shall slay their champion; five shall chase an hundred, and an hundred shall put ten thousand to flight.

That the success of human efforts, then, depends entirely and exclusively upon the providential and all powerful influence of God, appears from the instruments which he employs to accomplish his designs in the moral and political world.

From the truths which have been exhibited, we derive the following consequences.

I. God, alone, is worthy of our supreme confidence.

Our subject places God on the throne, and all created intelligences at his footstool. It teaches us that men are but instruments in his hands, and that he directs all their purposes and efforts, to the unfolding of his counsels, the display of his character, and the accomplishment of his will.

The ministers of the cross, are frail dying men and can accomplish nothing, without the aid of God’s Spirit. In vain do they lift up their voice like a trumpet, to shew the people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins, unless God bless his word and make it fruitful. But they prophesy with success, even to dry bones, when he saith, Come, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live. That they may habitually remember that their sufficiency is of the Lord, the words of our text ought to be indelibly imprinted on their hearts, and on the altars at which they minister.

Legislators and Magistrates, as our subject teaches, have no sufficiency of their own. They may exalt themselves, and be exalted by others, yet they shall die like men; for the Holy one standeth in the congregation of the mighty; and judgeth among the Gods. Ineffectual would be the labors of the wisest Magistrates, and the restraints of the best laws, if God, by his providence, did not succeed the former, and sanction with his own authority the latter. It becomes civil rulers, then, humbly to acknowledge their dependence upon the Universal Ruler; and to seek his blessing, without which they bear the sword in vain.

The great Disposer of events, as we have seen, directs the movement of armies, and in awful majesty presides over the field of battle, enthroned on a cloud of fire and smoke, giving victory or defeat as seemeth him good. Who then is worthy of our supreme confidence, and on whom can we safely place it, but Him, whose is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory? Who else can destroy effectually and forever; and where is any other that can save us in all our cities? Cease ye from men, who swell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.

2. It follows as a consequence from what has been said, that good men have abundant encouragement to persevere in their exertions, to promote human happiness.

From the immutable purposes and powerful influence of God, means derive all their importance and efficacy. Though it is not by might, nor by power, that the temporal and spiritual interests of men are advanced, and important reformations effected in Church and in State; yet the merciful character of God, the testimony of his word, and the history of his providence, furnish indubitable evidence that he will prosper the labors of the Wise and the Good. On these the divine blessing may be importunately sought, and confidently expected. It is impious to imagine that a benevolent God will not as readily lend his influence to succeed the endeavors of his friends, in promoting virtue, order, and happiness, as to uphold and strengthen tyrants and conquerors, while they are filling the earth with crimes, misery, and woe.

In laboring to reform the public sentiment and practice, whether religious, moral, or political, there are motives enough to inspire hope, to invigorate exertion, and to encourage perseverance. In such a work virtuous magistrates and subjects ought to unite their efforts. In the worst of times, and when the prospect of success is the most unflattering, it is highly criminal in them to sit down in despair and give up all for lost. Who has told them that God will not bless their efforts, and say to them as he did to Jacob, I will help thee saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer. When dissolute principles and practices are spreading in the community like an epidemical disease, much might be done to counteract their influence, to stay their progress, and to change the character of society for the better, if all who love their God and their country, exercising that confidence in him which he allows, would rid themselves of the disheartening suggestions of sloth and unbelief, and engage as one man in the glorious work of reformation. The time is coming, when all the friends of order and virtue will be thus unitedly engaged; and when, strengthened by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, they will labor with becoming zeal and astonishing success. Then it will be acknowledged from fair experiment, that authority, example, and persevering exertion are as powerful, in the cause of virtue, as in the cause of sin. Iniquity will stop her mouth; the drunkard will not be seen reeling through the streets; the Sabbath will not be profaned by bringing in sheaves and lading asses, and carrying all manner of burdens to market on that holy day.

Those who are laboring to evangelize he heathen, may derive encouragement from our subject. When we can assure ourselves that our efforts accord with God’s purposes, we may be certain of their success. His decree has said, that the gospel shall be preached to every creature; that all nations, barbarous as well as civilized, shall be converted to the Christian faith; and that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. The Spirit of the Lord of hosts will accomplish all this by the instrumentality of men. What encouragement, then, have those who are engaged in the Missionary cause to increase their exertions, until the banner of the cross shall wave in every land, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ!

Finally, as all national blessings depend on the providential and all powerful influence of God, the only sure way to national exaltation and glory, is for rulers and people, by upright conduct, to conciliate his blessing.

It is not to be expected, that God, in his treatment of communities, will now depart from that line of conduct which he has uniformly pursued from the beginning. He prospers or punishes them in this world, according to their national character; for it is only in this world, that they are capable of being rewarded or punished in their public capacity. The history of nations in all ages, has been a practical comment on that sententious saying of Solomon, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” When rulers pursue an upright policy, and their subjects lead quiet and peaceable lives, God will approve and bless. “The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.” This will be literally the state of all nations in the Millennium, for the earth will then be filled with just rulers and virtuous subjects. Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and their queens thy nursing mothers. I will make thy officers peace, saith the Most High, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation and thy gates Praise.

The highly privileged State, in which it is our happiness to live, has been blessed with a succession of wise and virtuous rulers, who have acknowledged their dependence upon God, and sought his blessing. That revolutionary storm which has swept away the liberties and happiness of states and nations, has beat in vain against the happy constitution and government of this State. These have remained entire in their principles, and uniform in their operations. Let not this be improved as a subject of unhallowed rejoicing, and of party triumph; but of devout gratitude, and humble thanksgiving. May a merciful God, still vouchsafe his protection and blessing to us, and continue our Judges as at the first, and Counselors as at the beginning.

Meeting our beloved Chief Magistrates and assembled rulers on this joyful Anniversary, we would unite with them, and our fellow citizens at large, in mutual congratulations for the return of peace. Let us not forget to ascribe this blessing to the goodness of Him, who stilleth the noise of the seas, and the tumult of the people, and maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth. It becomes us to rejoice with trembling, and cease not to pray that the great disposer of events, would make our peace as a river, and our righteousness as the waves of the sea. We are not to imagine that all our dangers have vanished, and that the return of peace has left us nothing to fear. Our individual and national sins expose us to the judgments of heaven; and God calls upon us to repent and reform, so that iniquity shall not be our ruin. Our liberties and sovereignty need still to be guarded with a watchful and jealous eye. The preservation of our rights and privileges still requires the attention, and unwearied exertions of the wisest and best men. To you, Respected Magistrates, as the ministers of God, we have committed them for safe keeping. We confide in you because we believe you will take counsel of the Lord, and seek his influence on which depends everything dear and valuable to us as men, as citizens, and as Christians. Go then to the business for which you have convened, accompanied by our prayers for your personal happiness, and public usefulness. O! Thou, who givest wisdom unto the wise, give wisdom and knowledge to thy servants, that they may go out and come in before this people, as those that are sent for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well.

All in this assembly, whether ministers of religion, or ministers of state, all of every rank, office, and condition in life, are taught by our subject, where to look, and on whom to depend, for civil and religious blessings. “Every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.” The temporal prosperity or ruin of every nation on the face of the earth; yea, more, the temporal and everlasting happiness or ruin of every individual, in every nation, is connected with the favor or frown of God. Who then that loves his country, or values his soul, can neglect to pray for the smiles of Providence on the former, and the blessings of grace on the latter? From a full conviction that our help must come from God, let us with one heart address to him the prayer of David, “O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again. Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof, for it shaketh.”

AMEN. 

---

1.Some have thought it an illiberal reflection upon the character of a just and merciful God, to assert that such cruel monsters are commissioned by him, for their bloody and destructive work. Such persons seem to forget that God has a perfect right to use such instruments in accomplishing his designs, as he pleases; and that it is no more unjust, or cruel in him, to make wicked men the instruments of his vengeance in destroying their fellow men, who have filled up the measure of their sins, than it is to accomplish the same work, by a volcano, or an earthquake, by pestilence, or famine. No one thinks of calling God, unjust or cruel, when he depopulates whole cities by the plague, or destroys whole provinces by an earthquake.

2.The following, is said to be a list of the army with which Bonaparte commenced his Russian Campaign. Poles, 60,000; Saxons, 20,000; Austrians, 30,000; Bavarians, 30,000; Prussians, 22,000; Westphalians, 20,000; Wertemburghers, 8,000; Badeners, 3,000; Darmstadters, 4,000; Gotha and Weimers, 2,000; Wurtzburgh and Franconia, 5,000; Mecklenburg, Nassau, and small Princes, 5,000; Italians and Neapolitans, 20,000; Spain and Portugal 4,000; Swiss, 10,000; French, 250,000. Including 60,000 cavalry, besides 40,000horses for artillery and other military purposes.

---

This election sermon was preached by Rev. Dan Huntington on May 12, 1814.

---

THE LOVE OF JERUSALEM, THE PROSPERITY OF
A PEOPLE

A

SERMON,

PREACHED AT THE

ANNIVERSARY ELECTION,

HARTFORD,

MAY 12, 1814.

BY DAN HUNTINGTON,
PASTOR OF A CHURCH IN MIDDLETOWN.

HARTFORD:
PRINTED BY HUDSON AND GOODWIN
1814.

 

At a General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, holden at Hartford in said State, on the second Thursday of May, A. D. 1814.
ORDERED, That the Hon. Asher Miller, and Elijah Hubbard, Esq. return the thanks of this Assembly to the Reverend DAN HUNTINGTON, for his Sermon preached before this Assembly on the 12th day of May instant; and request a copy thereof that it may be printed.

A true copy of record,
Examined by
THOMAS DAY, Secretary. 

ELECTION SERMON.

PSALM cxxii. 6.
They shall prosper that love thee.

THE object placed before us in this promise is prosperity. The affection connected with, and leading to it, is love. The context shows us that it is the love of Jerusalem. “They shall prosper that love thee.”

The Psalm which contains these words was written by David, to be publicly sung by his countrymen assembled in that capital, to celebrate some public festival. “Our feet” they said, “shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord; to the testimony of Israel; to give thanks unto the name of the Lord: for there are set thrones of judgment; the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee.”

WHAT IS INTENDED BY PROSPERITY? And

WHY MAY IT BE EXPECTED IN THE WAY HERE MENTIONED?—These are the two leading inquiries which will now direct our meditations.

By prosperity, we commonly understand success in our exertions, or the attainment of our wishes. If favoured in our enterprises, be they what they may, we think ourselves prosperous. In this general sense, the term is often used in the scriptures; and is there applied to the enemies of God, as well as his friends. The wicked are there represented, in many instances, as gratified to the extent of their most sanguine hopes. “They have more than heart could wish. They increase in riches. Their eyes stand out with fatness. Their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.”

Affluence, popularity, talents, health, long life, and an easy death, are often granted to the very basest of men. The unprincipled libertine, the sordid worldling, the wretch who would rise to influence upon the ruin of his country, the unbelieving and abominable of every description,–“who set their mouth against the heavens, and say—how doth God know, and is there knowledge with the Most High?—Behold these are the ungodly that prosper in the world.” They, as often as others, perhaps, have the attainment of their wishes and exertions, in whatever they set their hearts upon for happiness. Such prosperity, however, is undesirable. It is “the prosperity of fools,” which “shall destroy them.” “I was envious at the foolish,” says the Psalmist, “when I saw the prosperity of the wicked: until I went into the sanctuary of God: “Then understood I their end.”—When they have done the work, for which they were raised up; accomplished the period of their trial; and their characters are sufficiently developed, “they are brought into desolation in a moment;” and the advantages, with which they have been favoured, but have abused, all turn against them.

On the other hand, desirable prosperity is the attainment of our wishes, in whatever is conducive to real, permanent happiness. This is the prosperity, promised in the text; and is applicable, both to individuals and communities. The promise, you notice, is without limitation. It is as much as to say, all shall prosper, in whatever connexion, or under whatever circumstances, we contemplate them, who have the qualification mentioned.

As applied to individuals, it imports, that their souls shall be in health: it applies, peace of mind: reputation: property, so far as it is a blessing:–all, in short, that contributes to substantial enjoyment in life; consolation in death; and blessedness in immortality. Strictly speaking, it implies advancement in all these things: or the means of happiness, in a progressive state. This prosperity, being peculiar to the friends of God, is what we find spoken of in his word, as enjoyed by his servants, eminent for piety. Thus, it is said of Joseph, that “the Lord was with him, “and he was a prosperous man.” So it is said of Solomon, that “he prospered:” of Hezekiah, also: of Daniel: and of others.

As applied to communities, everything is included in the promise, which is conducive to national glory and happiness. That people may be said to prosper, who, elevated as to their national character, and happily exempted from national judgments, are, under the divine smiles, making improvement in their laudable pursuits; and who, aiming to regulate themselves by the great and leading principles of revealed religion, feel, in every grade and department of life, the benign influence of those principles.

Unmingled happiness, indeed, derived from these sources, to people have ever yet found, nor may ever expect to find in a world of sin. The promise of the text includes as large a portion of happiness, both private and social; political and religious; as may be expected to fall to the lot of mortals, in the present state. And who does not desire such prosperity? Who, that has the feelings of a man, does not wish it, for himself? Who, that justly claims the character of a patriot, does not wish it for his country? How readily are they, that have been the instruments of procuring it for us, whether in public, or in private stations, requited with our gratitude, our esteem, and our confidence!—And not without reason: for prosperity, we see, in the best sense of it, is increasing happiness. Our next enquiry is,

WHY MAY IT BE EXPECTED IN THE WAY MENTIONED IN THE TEXT?

But what is that way? Whence are we encouraged to hope for this prosperity? Is it a thing of chance? Is it to be derived from human means? Is it the effect of good calculations merely? May it be expected, from common endowments and efforts? Shall we look for it, from armies, and from navies? Shall we look for it, from splendid achievements in the field, or from brilliant talents in the cabinet? Good is the word of the Lord, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Put not your trust in princes, nor “in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” The promise is to none of these. It is, as has been observed, to those, that love Jerusalem.

The literal Jerusalem, it will be remembered, was redeemed by David, the captain of the hosts of Israel, out of the hands of the Jebusites, to be God’s city; the holy place of his rest; where he would dwell forever. It was the place of the royal residence, and the city of the Jewish solemnities. There was the throne of the house of David. There was the temple. There the Most High established his worship. Thither the tribes resorted. There was statedly heard the voice of praise and thanksgiving. It was a place, for the protection of which, God repeatedly, and in a wonderful manner, interposed by his providence. The extraordinary regard, which he was pleased to testify toward it, ennobled this metropolis, above all other cities, however populous or magnificent. It was a city which, however contemptible, at times, it might appear, in the eyes of the world, was favoured with the special presence of her God. Here, by pouring out his soul a sacrifice, the beloved Saviour made atonement for the sins of the world. Here, was first heard the glad news of reconciliation with God, for penitent sinners in the name of Jesus. It was the city, which God had appointed to be the place for the first gathering of the converts to Christianity, after the ascension of the Saviour: the place of that remarkable effusion of the Holy Spirit, on the Apostles and primitive Christians, which took place, on the day of Pentecost: the place, also, whence the Gospel was to sound forth, into all the world. What it was, however, is but of little importance to us, since it has lain, now, for many centuries, in ruins, excepting that it was a lively emblem of the Spiritual Jerusalem. It was, doubtless, in all these respects, the most eminent type of the Christian Church, with which the people of God were formerly favoured. Accordingly, when speaking of the Church of God, how often do the sacred writers call it by the names Jerusalem; and “the city of the living God!” Unclothed of metaphor, then, the promise is to those, who have at heart the great interests of the Redeemer’s kingdom. That people will be truly prosperous, where the Gospel, and its institutions, are suitably regarded; and where the religion of Christ, in its several branches, is treated, as being what it is, “The one thing needful.” These, as will be more fully seen, in other parts of the discourse, are the things included in that love of Jerusalem, which is the condition of the promise.

It is evident, then, whence we are to look for prosperity. The enquiry now returns with force—Why are we to look for it, in the way here mentioned? Principally, I think for two reasons. Because it is the way, in which it always has been obtained: and because in the temper of heart, implied in the affection here specified, and in that tenour of life, which is the natural fruit of it, are found the only ingredients of true prosperity. It is the way, in which it always has been obtained.

That communities, as well as individuals, have ever enjoyed prosperity, in proportion to their attachment to the cause of God, in the world, and to their zeal in promoting its interests, is a fact which, from investigation, will be found incontrovertible. The experience of all past ages, in concurrence with the declarations and promises of Jehovah, evinces it. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” equally to nations, as to individuals. “Them that honour me” saith the Most High, “I will honour.” “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land,” is a promise, by no means limited to Israel. Look the history, however, is more replete with instruction upon this point, than that of the Jews. Contrast their condition, then, with that of the nations around them, and you see the subject strikingly illustrated. “To them, pertained the adoption; and the glory; and the covenants; and the giving of the law; and the promises.” They were exalted to heaven, by their privileges, which they, often, shamefully abused. They, sometimes, fell into unbelief and idolatry. But as a people their attachment to Jerusalem was habitually ardent; and their prosperity, in conformity to the promises of God, was answerable to their piety.They, sometimes, fell into unbelief and idolatry. But as a people their attachment to Jerusalem was habitually ardent; and their prosperity, in conformity to the promises of God, was answerable to their piety.

The promises made them, were such as the following: “If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments and do them; then will I give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit: and your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time; and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight. And I will walk among you; and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.” These, and promises similar to them, were renewed, and often repeated to this people. What can be more explicit? But so exactly were they accomplished, that what is contained in them may be considered a king of prophetical abstract of their future history. So apparent was it, that the Lord was with them, to protect and bless them, that surrounding nations stood in awe of them. The remarkable prosperity, that attended them, in everything, convinced those, who beheld it, that they were under the immediate care of the God, whom they worshipped, and whose covenant people they professed to be.

We find an illustration of the same fact, from comparing particular periods, in the history of this people, when religion pervaded the different ranks in society, with other periods, when religion was generally neglected. What prosperity attended them, for instance when they came up, a handful comparatively, but came up in the strength of the God of armies, to take possession of Canaan! “The hearts of their enemies,” whither they went, “the kings of the Amorites, and the kings of the Canaanites, even melted,” when they heard what the Lord had done, and was doing for them. “The very stars, in their courses, fought for them,” till having completed their victories, and overcome innumerable difficulties and dangers, they obtained quiet possession of the goodly land, an inheritance for themselves, and their children. Their pious leader at the close of life, having assembled the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officers, is careful to remind them of the covenant faithfulness of God, in all this, and to impress it upon them, that their future prosperity would depend upon the continuance of their obedience. “Behold,” says Joshua, “this day, I am going the way of all the earth, and ye know, in all your hearts, and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things, which the Lord your God spake concerning you: all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. Be ye therefore very courageous, to keep, and to do, all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom, to the right hand, or to the left. But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done, unto this day.” As their success, in every laudable undertaking, had hitherto been according to their reverence for God, and his institutions, so should it be, in all future periods. And so it proved. How exactly was it, according to the word of the Lord, by his prophet! “The Lord is with you, while ye be with him: and if ye seek him, he will be found of you, while ye be with him: and “if ye seek him, he will be found of you, but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.” While they manifested a holy zeal for God, and for the honour of his house, they were, eminently, that happy people, whose God is the Lord.” When they sought him, he was found of them, and delighted to own, to bless, and to build them up. On the other hand, when they generally violated their covenant obligations, became unmindful of the God of their mercies, and forsook him, then did he forsake them. Forsaken have they now seen, for ages, and, in their different dispersions, stand as an awful beacon, to warn men everywhere of the danger of disobedience and unbelief.

From what has taken place, since the Messiah’s advent, we gain still further proof of the point in question. Why have nations, professedly Christian, been preserved, like God’s chosen people of old, through a series of ages; and though comparatively feeble, and unprotected by any human arm, been highly elevated; while the great pagan empires of the East, by an influence unseen, have been successively crumbling into atoms? Any why, in civilization, in refinement, in liberty, in religion, and in everything, that stamps dignity upon the character of a people, and renders existence a blessing, have the reformed nations of Europe been distinguished from those, that have been led away, by the delusions of Mohammed and the abominations of Antichrist? Are we at loss for an answer? We have it, in the text. “They shall prosper that love Jerusalem.”

The nations, that have enjoyed this prosperity, were the lovers of the Lord, and of his interest. They were careful to maintain a reverence for divine institutions. “The Sabbath was their delight, and the holy of the Lord, honorable.” Their children were brought up in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Unwearied pains were taken, to render them pious. Seminaries were extensively established, and liberally patronized to educate them for the service of the church. Faithful ministers, devoted to the business of their calling, and honourably supported in it, proclaimed the gospel message, with success. The love of Jerusalem warmed the hearts of the Legislators and Magistrates, and animated their exertions, in everything, that was laudable. Indeed, we need not go abroad, for illustration of the fact. We see its truth, in our own country. So obvious, and so striking is it, that the traveler, as he passes, can almost mark with his eye those districts, where the institutions of religion have been for any length of time regularly observed: and those, where the degraded inhabitants, in a Christian land have chosen to live like heathen. Thus, events, as they have hitherto taken place, in the world, are so many monuments, erected by the hand of heaven, for the benefit of succeeding ages. They lay open and help us profitably to explore the sources, both of prosperity and adversity. They solemnly admonish us, to avail ourselves of the means by which the latter may be avoided, and the former secured.

I am aware, that it will be said by some, prosperity is by no means confined to nations, enjoying the blessings, and regulating themselves by the principles of revealed religion. Others have enjoyed it. What others? Is it true, of the great pagan empires of antiquity? The last, and most flourishing of these, was the Roman. This was an extensive, and a wealthy dominion. The people were far advanced in many of the arts of civilized life. But were they, what is denominated by the Spirit of God, prosperous? Were they happy? Could that people be happy where lust and cruelty were not only practiced, but licensed; where human sacrifices loaded their altars; where deformed children were murdered; and where the shows of gladiators cost them more lives, than the most bloody wars? These, and the like enormities, in that day, were common.

Among modern nations, as examples of prosperity, without Christianity, China and India, are sometimes mentioned. They, also, are great, I allow. They are powerful and politic. They are ingenious. Their soil is fruitful, and they are favoured with the commerce of all civilized nations. They have been, particularly the former of these empires has been happily exempt from bloody wars. It has existed for ages, unsubdued. After all, what is the condition of China? As to moral and social character, they are, as a people, singularly debased. With respect to many of their customs, decency must blush, and humanity shudder to behold them. Nor is the eye relieved, at all, by being turned to the neighbouring country, that has been mentioned; where delusion holds, if possible, a more extensive sway; where infanticide is common; where a family of children, when by the providence of God, they have lost one parent, are left doubly orphans, deprived by a barbarous superstition of the other: where to avoid the scorn and resentment of nearest relatives, tens of thousands, of wretched females, are yearly compelled to ascend the funeral pile of their husbands, there to be burned alive, their own children kindling the fire, whilst their agonizing shrieks are drowned by the noise of drums, and the savage shouts of surrounding multitudes. ¹

But we need not examine, too closely, the dark shades of the picture; we need not go far, into “the chambers of their imagery,” to understand the state of society, among this people. Their delusions, their horrid rites and ceremonies, are familiar to our ears. With all the advantages indulged them, prosperity is not theirs. When these examples are mentioned, to invalidate the doctrine contended for, it seems to be forgotten, that the happiness of nations depends more upon their moral habits, than upon any natural endowments, or political greatness.

From what we have yet seen, then, of the dealings of God with communities, in times past, we resume the ground that was taken, under this head of argument, and say, that he will continue to prosper those, that love Jerusalem, and in direct proportion to their love, because he always has done it. That he will do this, we may believe, also, Because in the temper of heart, implied in the affection, here specified, and in that tenour of life, which is the natural fruit of it, are found the only ingredients of true prosperity. THEY SHALL PROSPER THAT LOVE THEE. The affection here specified is LOVE. In this affection abstractly considered, is implied every quality, that assimilates the creature to the Creator, who, when described, in the whole assemblage of his perfections by a single term, is called LOVE. It is an affection, which, as it “is the fulfilling of the law,” embraces all the essential principles and duties of real religion. It imports a sound faith, and a life of obedience: purity of heart, and unspotted manners: godliness and honesty: the bridling of the tongue, and the government of the passions: a sincere profession of religion, in short, and a correspondent practice. Inspired with this affection, the glory of God, the honour of the Redeemer, and the good of souls, rise superior to every other consideration. Beholding the transcendent beauty, reflected from such objects, they who are thus favoured, look down with disgust, upon the pursuits of sin. Captivated with the scenes, continually unfolding themselves, and with the objects passing in review before them, under the government of the Most High God, they not only rest satisfied that all things are in good hands, but their hearts are lifted up in joy, admiration, gratitude, and praise. “They rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Animated by the “hope, which entereth into that within the vail,” they set a just estimate upon the world and the things of it. Having in them, “the same mind that was also in Christ Jesus,” their ardent desire, above everything, is to be found faithful to their Master by doing good to all men, as they have opportunity. Feeling, in their own souls, the blessings of the great salvation, they long to have all men, partaking with them. Their hearts burn, with the most ardent desires; their fervent prayers are poured forth; their hands are opened to contribute; their services are offered; that the Redeemer’s name, and salvation through him, may be known as far as the earth is inhabited. Under the impulse of such a principle of action, they cannot fail to be useful. If called to fill stations of power and trust, their influence is “as the light of the morning, when the sun ariseth, even a morning without clouds: as the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining, after rain.” “How beautiful, upon the mountains, are the feet of him so,” cloathed with such a spirit, “bringeth good tidings of good,” to the perishing; “that publisheth peace and salvation; that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth!” And in every condition, whether humble or exalted, “Whatsoever things are hones; whatsoever things are just; whatsoever things are pure; whatsoever things are lovely; whatsoever things are of good report,” they all grow, as natural fruit, from this spirit of Love. We need not enquire, therefore, why communities, made up of such characters, and where such an affection predominates, are prosperous. All the necessary ingredients are inherent in the very constitution of such bodies, which can promote prosperity. To such communities, as well as to such characters, the Apostle Paul says, “All things are yours.” “The righteous Lord loveth righteousness,” and will never fail to be “the rewarder of them, that diligently seek him.” Where “pure and undefiled religion” is maintained among a people; where the true God is known and adored; where his law is acknowledged as the proper standard of morality; where guilty mortals, feeling themselves condemned by it, fly to the gospel of his Son, as “a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation;” where the ordinances of the gospel are generally observed, with implicit faith in their adorable Author; and where, as the natural effect of the gospel spirit, thus prevalent, the rising generation are trained up for God; where human laws are good, and faithfully executed; where qualifications for office are properly attended to; and the duties of office are properly discharged; that people are the secure of all that can rationally be desired.

The argument gains strength, too, I think, from considering, a little more minutely, the precise object, to which the affection here specified is to be directed. It is Jerusalem; by which, as we have seen, is intended the church of God. To his redeemed church, and covenant people, the ever blessed God has always sustained a peculiar relation. It is a relation, which will never be dissolved. Accordingly, we uniformly find him expressing the most tender regard for them. “They shall prosper,” therefore, “that love Jerusalem,” because, in loving her, they love what God loves. Their affections meet and centre in the same object. Jerusalem, the church of God, is, emphatically, the beloved city. The plan of it was in the divine mind, from eternity. All that is passing before us, in the kingdoms of nature, of providence, and of grace, are but parts, included in this plan. Before the world was, God determined to make a display of his rich grace, in Christ Jesus, by erecting and completing such a city. It was in view in creation; it was, all along, in view, in the great work of redemption; and all events have hitherto rolled on, with reference to it, in the government of the world. It is, not only altogether the most important of the works of God, other things are important, only as they bear relation to it, and help it forward. The materials for it, gathered from the ruins of the fall, God has been preparing, and bringing together, in different ages, with reference to the final consummation, which shall be, “to the praise of the glory of his grace.” “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,” but determined that his own glory should not, on this account, be the less conspicuous. His purposes must be accomplished. “From Zion was to go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” that the ravages of sin might be counteracted; that those lusts and passions, which would otherwise, keep the world in confusion, might be restrained; that many sons and daughters might be brought home to glory; that finally the world might be regenerated; and thus the machinations of the Devil be defeated; and that, thus, also, “unto principalities and powers in heavenly places, unto angels, as well as unto men,” might be known by the church “the manifold wisdom of God.”

This city is peculiarly the residence of the living God: and hence, in answer to her supplications, he makes all the most glorious displays of himself, that are ever made, in the world. It is a city which, in answer to the prayer of faith, has been “enlarging the place of her tent,” and “stretching forth the curtains of her habitations,” in defiance of all opposition. “The kings of the earth have set themselves, and the rulers have taken counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” The cry of the pagan idolater of the unbelieving Jew, of the beast, and of the false prophet, concerning this feeble, and apparently contemptible city, has been “raze it; raze it; even to the foundations thereof:” but always, hitherto, have they found themselves disappointed. “Having, for its foundation, the apostles and prophets;” having “Jesus Christ, as the chief head and corner stone;” it still lives, and rises into “an holy temple of the Lord:” a temple, in which every believer is a “lively stone;” a temple which grows, with every revival of religion; and with the conversion of every redeemed soul; and which finally, embracing every child of God, of every age and nation, will become, in a peculiar sense, “an habitation of God through the Spirit,” where he will be worshipped, in a pure and perfect manner forever. Never will he forsake the city of his love. Never will he abandon those, who have an attachment to her. Never will he forsake the dear people, for whom the Redeemer bled, and on whose behalf, the Holy Ghost was sent down. As God is faithful to his promises, “They shall prosper.” “Behold! Saith the Lord,” to Jerusalem, “I have graven thee, upon the palms of my hands, thy walls are continually before me.” “No weapon, that is formed against thee, shall prosper, and every tongue, that shall rise against thee, in judgment, thou shalt condemn.” “Glorious are the things, spoken of thee, O thou city of God!” Happy are all they who, enrolled as thy citizens, have for their friend and father, the God who is in the midst of thee! With Balaam, therefore, may we not take up our parable and say, “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel! How shall we curse, whom God hath not cursed; or how shall we defy, whom God hath not defied? Behold! We have received commandment to bless: He hath blessed and we cannot reverse it.”

A direct inference from the whole is, that Where there is not a love for Jerusalem, that people cannot prosper. If there be a God, and if not, “let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die”—if there be a God, “who loveth righteousness, and who hateth iniquity,” they cannot prosper. As his declarations are true, they cannot. As the promise, in the text, together with others, that speak the same language, have any meaning in them, they cannot. They cannot prosper in the nature of things. Communities, made up of irreligious characters, “who regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands,” contain within themselves all the materials of wretchedness and dissolution. For wise reasons, they may be permitted to exist, and for a time to flourish, as we often see, but they cannot prosper. They cannot be happy. Nothing gives permanent peace, real happiness, or that which deserves the name of prosperity to a state, but the influence, derived from the purposes of God’s redeeming love in Jesus Christ, extensively diffused and felt, through its different departments.

By the mere politician, whose views are limited to the present condition of man; who sees, in the great events, that are taking place, in the world, only the workings of human passions; and who looks for the destinies of Empires, no higher, than to the fellow-worm, who fills the chair of state, such a sentiment, I know will be spurned, as weak and visionary. I do not, however, retract the suggestion. Let the luke-warm professor start at it, and let infidel sneer, if he will; but let them know from God, that accursed is everything, which is not in subserviency to the interests of the Redeemer’s kingdom. That “sin is a reproach to any people”; that obedience to the divine institutes shall e rewarded; and that disobedience shall be punished; is the general tenor of the word of God. “Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good.” “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I am jealous for Jerusalem, with a great jealousy.” He is jealous for her honour, as he is for that of his own name. He watches over her continually. He notices what is done, both for and against her. His love, and endeared relation to her, will not permit him to overlook any circumstance, either of injury or neglect. Under his government, therefore, communities, where the interests of his church are, for the most part, excluded; where her sacred institutions, to say the least, are treated with cold indifference by the multitude; where his very being is not acknowledged; where his perpetual and universal providence is not regarded; where his authority is not felt; and where, as the natural effect of all this, gross immorality is rampant, cannot long flourish. They may have the appearance of prosperity, for a time, but “Their root is as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up, as the dust, because “they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.”

The covenant with Israel was, indeed, in some respects, peculiar, and no other people is governed, exactly, according to the same rule. God, however, deals with nations everywhere, as collective bodies: and to all who believe in his existence, and are favoured with his revealed will, as their guide, he says, as to his people of old, “If thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to do all his commandments, and his statutes, which I command thee, this day; cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shalt thou be, when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be, when thou goest out.” Individuals will exist, and be judged, and be recompensed, in a future state: but collective bodies, having no future existence, will, therefore, be recompensed in this world. And as a tender regard to the cause of God, in the world, ensures national prosperity; so impiety, especially, where churches are established, and the ordinances of the gospel are enjoyed, will inevitably end, in the ruin of a people. In that government, which is to stand, and for any length of time to be happy, in the enjoyment of the divine smiles, there must be “pure religion”; there must be a careful attention to the soul; there must be a love for Jerusalem; and a sincere attachment to her interests, interwoven in its very contexture.

The world stands, as a theatre, on which the mighty work of redemption is carried on, until that work shall be accomplished. Civil government is an ordinance of God, instituted with express reference to this kingdom, and is to be administered, in subserviency to its interests. If it be not administered for Jehovah, it is against him, and will certainly incur his malediction. The potentates of the earth, be they good or bad men, wise or foolish, are raised up, with reference to this kingdom, and are employed in carrying on the dispensations of the Most High, towards his people, either of mercy, or of judgment, as their obedience, from time to time, pleads for the one, or their transgressions call for the other.

Two grand and leading interests divide the whole order of intelligent creatures, that of Him, “who hath on his vesture, and on his thigh, a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords”; and that of him who is styled “The God of this world: the prince of the power of the air, who worketh in the children of disobedience.” The former, with all that appertains to it, will endure when this earth and these heavens are no more; it will flourish, in immortal youth and beauty. The latter, and everything leagued with it, shall be utterly consumed.

We, therefore, further learn from our subject, the importance of having for rulers, men who are decidedly religious. And, here, I am happy to avail myself of an observation of the pious and learned Scott; who says, “Magistracy is an ordinance of God; they therefore, who are employed, even in the most subordinate offices of government, should be chosen persons, able men, of clear heads, and sound judgments; such as fear God, and from a principle of genuine piety, are steadily men of truth, of integrity and fidelity; and have learned to hate covetousness; that they may shake their hands, from holding of bribes, and administer justice impartially. What then,” he enquires, “ought law-givers, and supreme magistrates, to be? Happy, indeed, are the people, that are blessed with such rulers, yea blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God.” ²

In a free government, the example of rulers must necessarily be commanding and influential. If they have not a love for Jerusalem, it can hardly be expected that this affection will very extensively diffuse itself in society. To have the streams salubrious, the fountain must be pure. Thus, then, as it respects the prosperity of a state, the character of those, to whom the management of its public concerns is entrusted, is a thing of vast importance. Their influence, in fixing the standard of public sentiment, upon all political and religious concerns, renders it desirable, that they should have the qualifications, pointed out by unerring wisdom. How desirable, that they should have personal piety! That virtue is necessary, all allow. All the changes of her praises have been repeatedly rung in our ears, ‘till the desired effect is lost.

Men and brethren, bear with me, while I freely plead before you, the cause of vital godliness.—I am always ready, to testify my regard to what is commonly called morality. It is entitled to commendation. It has its reward. But, there is not a single consideration, in favour of morality, as a qualification for office, which is not as much more in favour of undissembled piety, as the motives for action, drawn from eternity, outweigh those of time. Indeed, nothing but piety gives proper security for morality.

“Talk they of morals? O thou bleeding Love,
The grand morality, is love of thee.”Nothing but piety in rulers gives proper security, for fidelity to the interests of human society; much less to those of the church. It is an observation which has been often repeated, but repeated from the best authority, and which from repetition can never lose its force, that, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” It is an observation, abundantly verified, by the experience of many generations. When Israel was favoured with rulers, that were righteous, how was their influence felt, through the body of the nation! How prosperous their circumstances under Moses, and Joshua, and Samuel! When, under the former dispensation, was the church ever more flourishing; when were the lovers of the Lord, and of his Jerusalem, more numerous; when were divine ordinances better attended; and religion, as to all its dearest interests, more suitably regarded, than in the days of David, and of Solomon, and of Asa, and of Jehosaphat, and of Hezekiah, and of Josiah, and when did the nation ever enjoy equal prosperity?

On the other hand, when men were exalted to places of distinction, who manifested no proper regard to the authority of God, like a deadly plague, the infection ran through the vitals of the body politic, polluting the whole frame. The same is visible, in a degree, in every other nation. How desirable, then, to see men in office, decidedly religious. Those, therefore, entrusted with the right of suffrage, cannot be too careful in exercising it. Be it impressed upon the people, that in exercising that right, it is unsafe to place the concerns of civil society, in the hands of men destitute of religion.

An awful responsibility, also, methinks, rests upon those who accept the trust reposed in them, of “ruling over men.” They are the “Ministers of God,” and how amazing the consequences, both to themselves and to society, if they be not found “Ministers of God, for good!” How amazing the consequences, if found unfaithful to the interests of that cause, for which they were raised up, and brought forward to the places, which they fill! “He that ruleth over men”—with what solemnity and force, does the sacred penman preface the precept! “Now these be the last words of David: David the son of Jesse said: and the man, “who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet Psalmist of Israel, said: the Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and the word was in my tongue; the God of Israel said; the rock of Israel spake to me.”—What? What is it thus ushered into special notice? “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” He must be just. Now justice demands that we render to all their due; not only “to Cesar the things that are Cesar’s, but to God, also, the things that are God’s.” To be just toward God, is to render him his due: it is to render him the honour and glory, which are his due, by listening to his instructions; by walking in his statutes; and by obeying his commandments. It is nothing less, than by a voluntary act of self-dedication, to acknowledge ourselves as his, in the New Covenant. It is to be truly religious. He that ruleth over men, then, to be what he ought to be, must have an attachment to the Redeemer’s kingdom, with “the love, that is strong as death, which many waters cannot quench, neither can the floods drown it.”

It is not morality, which the inspired writers speak of, as the leading qualification in rulers. Laying the axe at the root of the tree, they, everywhere, insist upon Justice: The fear of the Lord; Righteousness; which imply real piety. How, as is required of them, can they be “nursing fathers and nursing mothers” to the church, if they have not a real, sincere friendship to her interests? What, in short, have they to do, with the kingdom of the Redeemer, who belong to another kingdom?

Let us enquire then, are we, as a community, enjoying the prosperity, promised in the text? Are we seeking it, in the way here mentioned? If not, how may we expect to find it? We profess to reverence our forefathers. We speak of them, as wise, religious and happy. But are we walking in their footsteps? How did they seek and find prosperity? They did not forget Jerusalem. The interests of the church lay near their hearts. To enjoy civil and religious liberty unmolested, they sacrificed the endearments of life, in their native country. For these, they encountered innumerable dangers and difficulties, on the land, and on the ocean. Under the divine smiles, they planted the fair vine, which we now behold: under the shadow of which we so comfortably repose ourselves, and the fruits of which we so richly enjoy. But in what they did, let us remember, they kept the ark of God before them. The Bible was their guide. Their trust was in Zion’s God. In all their ways, they acknowledged him. Religion was incorporated, in their civil code. Our historian remarks, “all government was in the church. They early resolved, as a fundamental principle,” he further observes, “that the scriptures hold forth a perfect rule, for the direction and government of all men, in all the duties, which they perform to God and man; in families, in the commonwealth, and in the church; ³

That the work of the ministry might not be left undone, every religious society supported a pastor and a teacher. Magistrates and ministers of the gospel, like Moses and Aaron, and like Zerubbabel and Joshua, went hand in hand together, in building up the interests both of the church and the state. The religious instruction of the rising generation was provided for, and particular attention paid to establish them, in the great truths of the Bible. The happy effect was, that they grew up, favourably impressed with their importance, and were zealous to communicate the same blessings to their offspring. Thus was transmitted to us the fair inheritance, which we now behold. And shall ICHABOD be written upon it, under our guardianship? We felicitate ourselves, upon belonging to a section of the country, that has enjoyed almost unexampled prosperity. But are we secure of its continuance? Stands our mountain so strong, that it cannot be moved? Far otherwise. Have we not, already, reason to tremble at our departure, from the great principles, which regulated our illustrious forefathers? Does not our love for Jerusalem sensibly wax cold? What irreverence for God and his institutions, is there, in many places! What disregard to the Sabbath! What coldness in the things of religion! “How do the ways of Zion mourn, because so few come to her solemn feasts!” In how small a proportion of the families of Connecticut, is there the morning and evening sacrifice! What an inordinate attachment to property is there observable, as if it were the chief good! What a rage for speculations in trade, without regard to means or consequences; and as naturally connected with it, what a spirit of extravagance and dissipation is creeping in! How many silent laws, and how many inefficient magistrates! What an unnecessary multiplication of oaths administered, seemingly, but to be trifled with, and egregiously violated! Yes, Brethren, “Because of swearing the land mourneth.”

Permit me to add, as what I believe to be, at present, one of the darkest traits, in our public character, that in promoting men to places of distinction, and in filling those places, so little regard is shown to the great Head of the church; to his just and reasonable claims upon us; and to the general interests of his kingdom. Swerving from the simplicity and purity of the pilgrims of New-England, are there not those, brought forward to minister for God, in his temples of justice, and in the respective departments of our government, who scarcely believe in a Holy Ghost, who are “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel;” who are “strangers from the covenants of promise,” and who, in accepting the sacred trust committed to them, have regard to little else, than the honours, or the emoluments of office? “Because of these things, cometh the wrath of “God upon the children of disobedience.” Things being thus with us, to expect the continuance of prosperity, that prosperity, which is derived from the approbation and smiles of our God, is preposterous. “And knowing the time, is it not now high time to awake out of sleep?”

In speaking of the happiness of our forefathers, in comparison with our own, and the causes of it, I pretend not that “the former days were better than these,” in all respects. It would be attributing to them something more than human, to say that they had left no ground for improvement, to those who should come after them; and it would be, but justifiable self-respect, to say that this ground has been, in some measure, occupied. At the same time, be we careful to remember, that wherein we depart from “the faith” and practice “once delivered to “the saints,” we make no improvement. If the system pursued by our ancestors was not entirely unexceptionable; if it would not, in all its forms, adapt itself to the present state of society, where I ask, do we find one which, for so great a length of time, has secured to any people so large a portion of happiness?

I am, by no means, an advocate for laws which shall favour any one description of men to the injury of another. I have no desire to see, an empty profession of religion, the test for office. The unnatural and meretricious connexion of church and state, such as we observe in some of the corrupt governments of the east, are the abhorrence of my soul. What is desirable, is to see the minds of the people raised to a proper standard on the subject; aiming at the glory of God, and the honour of his Son; to see those who enjoy the elective franchise, voluntarily promoting men to places of power and trust, who are “not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” If we have men who, by “a walk of faith,” “patience of hope,” and “labour of love,” give evidence of piety, by all means, other things being equal, let them have the preference.

Shall we here be met with the objections, that such sentiments, put in practice, are calculated to make hypocrites: that real characters of men cannot be known: and the like? But “who art thou, that judgest another man’s servant? Why dost thou judge, and why dost thou set at nought thy brother? To his own master, he standeth or falleth.” To denominate this or that man a hypocrite, is not our province, any further than we are evidently authorized by the rules of our Saviour. When we feel ourselves thus authorized; when we see men, in practice, deviating from their profession, it is easy, at any time, in a free government, like ours, to rank them with the openly immoral and irreligious. And though men cannot be known by their professions; yet our Lord has told us, how they may be known. “By their fruits,” says he, “shall ye know them.” And one of the first fruits of the Spirit of God, dwelling in the heart by faith, is obedience. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Where love and obedience are visible in the characters of men, they may be sufficiently known to be trusted.

Although, as has been publicly said, “it is not by profession, only, that men become the disciples of Christ;” although it is to be lamented, that the most detestable characters are sometimes found in the visible family of the Redeemer; although profession is nothing, without the Christian spirit, yet with the Christian spirit, is is a duty of an imperious character. It is what our master Jesus enjoins upon those that love him. No sincere follower of Christ will think lightly of it. Either Christ is our prince and lawgiver, or he is not. If not let us be consistent, and renounce the Christian name. If he be, let us obey him, in all his requirements.

Real religion so raises the disciple above the fear of men, and the shame of the cross; that he is not unwilling to stand forward, and own himself the friend of that Emmanuel, on whose atoning merits, he reposes himself for the salvation of his soul.

Like a good, and faithful, and obedient soldier, he wishes to be seen fighting under the banner of his Captain. “The child of Abraham,” who is “an heir according to promise,” esteems it an honour to “subscribe with his hand to the Lord, and to sirname himself by the name of Israel.” The citizen of the spiritual Jerusalem will be careful to have his name enrolled as a citizen, and will feel his obligations to do duty accordingly. He will not be deterred from what he believes to be his duty, through fear of incurring the odious appellation of hypocrite; nor from popular motives; nor by any selfish consideration.

The objections, therefore, to the “old way” of our fathers, and of the God of our fathers, are groundless. A departure from the “good paths,” in which they have walked, “and found rest to their souls,” I must think an ill-boding omen. So wide a departure as we witness at present, is peculiarly alarming. Unrepented of, what have we to expect, but that a holy God, “jealous for the honour of his name” and “jealous for his Jerusalem,” will leave us as his revolted heritage? What remains, then, but in “this our day to know the things that belong to our peace.”

The subject claims the special attention of the constituted authorities of the state, here present; and of the servants of Christ in the work of the gospel ministry. It has been, till of late, equally the honor and the happiness of this state, that from its first settlement, our principal offices have been filled by men, not backward to acknowledge themselves the friends of the great Redeemer. I mention it with peculiar pleasure, that to the present time, the chair of state has been filled, almost without exception, by men, not merely professors of religion, but men, whose characters have adorned their profession. The natural effect has been that religion and its institutions have ever been held in reverence, by the great body of the people. And where, on the whole, have we known greater prosperity? Our eyes, then, upon this occasion, are turned toward our civil fathers, while with some anxiety we ask, What are our prospects for the future?

You have now assembled, gentlemen, professedly to consult for the prosperity of the community, in which we live. You have seen, whence it is derived. You have seen, that as we have enjoyed, so we may expect prosperity, in proportion to our love for Jerusalem. For an example in this, as in every other thing which is laudable, we are looking to those who have, from their station, a leading influence. Have you then, sirs, that generous affection of heart; are you governed by that love, which is the condition of the blessing? Sustaining the relation which you do, to the community in which you live, you in justice owe to them the prosperity with which you are, in a sense, entrusted on their behalf. You owe to the present, and to future generations, the making of them virtuous and happy. It is with you to say, under the great Head of the church, whether the wise institutions of our venerable ancestors, which have secured to us so many blessings, shall be cherished; whether the gospel shall be preached to dying sinners; whether faithful men shall be supported in devoting themselves to the good work; whether the rising generation shall have the advantages which they need, to qualify them for the learned professions; whether seminaries of learning shall be well endowed, where they may be trained up for extensive usefulness in church and state; whether good and wholesome laws shall be enacted, and steadily enforced, and in these ways God be glorified, and the desolate, waste places of our Jerusalem be built up; or whether, by relaxing yet more and more, we shall become a prey to the destroyer. “If the Lord” THEN “BE God, follow him.” “Follow the Lamb, whithersoever he goeth.” Taking the word of God as your guide, be directed by it implicitly; and let it be seen, that the religion which it inculcates has a decision of character that is unwavering.

However the sentiments advanced in this discourse may be now received, the period cannot be far distant, when the Redeemer’s kingdom will rise to view, in its importance and glory.

“Six thousand years of sorrow have well-nigh
“Fulfill’d their tardy and disastrous course,
“Over a sinful world.”
“Behold the measure of the promise fill’d!
“See Salem built the labour of a God?
“Bright as a Sun, the sacred city shines;
“All kingdoms, and all princes of the earth,
“Flock into her; unbounded is her joy,
“And endless her increase.”A prosperity will then be realized, which the nations have never yet seen. The love of Jerusalem will pervade all hearts. Vital religion will take possession of palaces and thrones. “The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” The world will then be looked upon as God’s world. The kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, will be considered as his. Christ the Lord, will be regarded as the head of all principality and power, “the Prince of the kings of the earth.” The attainments of the scholar, the honours of the statesman, and the trappings of the warrior, will be laid at his feet. Civil government will then be administered with reference to his interests. Rulers will use their delegated authority for him; and employing their influence, their riches, and their power for the glory of his church, their motto will be, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

Whether we may see this day, in its brightness, or not, we may, if we will, begin to enjoy many of the blessings of it, as individuals, and as a people. From the commanding stations, which they hold, we are looking, with the mingled emotions of hope and fear, to those, who have the management of our public affairs to learn our destiny. “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give unto you” fathers, “the spirit of wisdom, that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, ye may know what is the hope of his calling; and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints; and what is the exceeding greatness of his power, toward those who believe: according to the working of his mighty power; which he wrought in Christ Jesus, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places; far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name, that is named, not only in this world, but, also, in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.”

The subject, also, claims the special attention of the servants of the Lord, in the work of the gospel ministry. As “watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem,” brethren, we hold a station, under the great Head of the church, both honourable and useful. As “watchmen,” our duty may be comprised, perhaps, in vigilance and fidelity: vigilance to descry danger, and faithfulness, in time of danger, to give the alarm. “Son of man,” said the Spirit of God, to his servant of old “I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word, at my mouth, and give them warning from me.” The words are applicable to every minister of Christ. Let us remember, brethren, if we fail to give warning to the wicked, and they die in their iniquity, their blood will God require at our hand. But if they have the warning, and turn not from their wickedness, though they perish, we have delivered our souls. Awakened by all the animating motives, thus presenting themselves, in view of the station, which we hold, and the account we must give, at last, let us think of nothing but perseverance. Let each say with God’s servant of old, “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.” Our work is the noblest ever committed to mortals. If there are trials in it, they are the allotments of our Master. Whatever they may be, may we endure them with fortitude, and see to it, that we be found faithful to the interests of the beloved city. It is but a little time, in which we have either to do, or to suffer. Our fathers, where are they? Our brethren, also, where are they? In quick succession, they are passing away from the earth, and following each other to the retributions of eternity.

When last together, upon a similar occasion, the removal of eight ministers was mentioned, as “an unusual and awful mortality.” We have not to mourn the loss, of the same number, ⁴ who have left us, since the last anniversary election, some of whom were then our fellow-worshippers. Very soon, and we shall all be with them in the world of spirits. Let us so live and labour, that, through grace, our works may follow us to a blessed reward.

And who of this assembly can be named, that does not feel an interest in the truths, now suggested? Who, among us, does not wish prosperity to our common country? Who does not wish for private happiness? Behold them, here made over, and secured by promise, to all who love Jerusalem! How little, has either national or individual prosperity hitherto been sought, by an implicit reliance upon the divine promise! And shall the lively oracles of God, the only guide to happiness, lie by us thus neglected? Is there an object before us, so interesting, of such amazing magnitude—a city of which the blessed Redeemer is the head and law giver; which is the place of his peculiar residence; which he has principally regarded in all the administrations of his providence and grace; to the interests of which, all events are subservient; a city, which he never will forsake; holy in its character; immeasurable in its extent; and in its duration everlasting; all the inhabitants of which, he will make happy for time and eternity, and shall it not attract and ravish all hearts? Are we invited to become partakers together, in its immunities and shall acceptance be, with any, a thing of indifference? No longer, I beseech you, despise your mercies. We live in a day, in which, we peculiarly stand in need of these privileges. In such a day, precious to the believer are the promises of God’s word. Though “Heaven and earth pass,” yet what is here recorded will be remembered. When called to behold on the earth, “distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men’s hearts failing them for fear,” how comfortable to know that Zion’s God reigns, and that the Head of the church has mercifully provided for those that love him. “Though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof: There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God; the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her: she shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early.”

Whatever calamities there may be in the world, or persecutions in the church, before the end come, we are sure it shall be well with them, that love Jerusalem. They shall not only be preserved, they shall prosper. “All things shall work together, for good to them that love God.” Inconsiderable, and even contemptible, as this city may now appear to the eye of unbelief, yet Christ the Lord is in the midst of her in his glory, and she shall one day “become a praise in the earth.” That day cannot be far distant. We have striking, and constantly increasing evidence, of its near approach, in precious revivals of religion; in a mighty spirit stirred up, in many parts of Christendom, to make the name of Emmanuel known and glorified in the earth; in the removal of those barriers, which have hitherto obstructed the blessed work; and in the general fulfillment of prophecy. “The signs of the times” cannot be mistaken. The period in which we live forms an era, for Christian enterprise. Great projects, and great achievements, are daily coming into notice in the church, such as, from the days of the apostles, have been unknown. He who hath said, “Surely I come quickly,” is evidently on his way. Many “wise men have seen his star in” the east, and, attracted by his love, have “already presented unto him their gifts.” The holy scriptures, that testify of him, are now translated into almost every language. Millions, emerging from horrible darkness, begin to read in their own tongue the wonderful works of God. The princes and potentates of the earth are seen subscribing with their hands to the Lord, and lending their aid for the diffusion of his truth. Indeed, the train seems to be laid for an explosion, which will soon lay in ruins the infidelity and paganism of the old world. ⁵ The plot thickens, as the scene is drawing to a close. “The Sun of righteousness” is breaking from the cloud, that has long vailed his glory. There is a general movement of the church of God, upon earth. The servants of the Lord begin to “speak comfortably to Jerusalem,” and to cry to her, that her warfare is “well-nigh accomplished.” In a little time, and “the mystery of iniquity” will cease to work; neither the literal nor the mystical Jerusalem shall be longer “trodden down of the Gentiles,” but both Jews and Gentiles shall be “turned to the Lord.” “The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Look, then, at the great events which are passing before you in the light of divine truth. Amidst the commotions and distractions, that agitate the world, keep your eye upon that kingdom, which cannot be moved. Let every revolution be contemplated, as connected with, and subservient to the Messiah’s reign upon earth. Enter into his views. Cast in your lot, with his people. Bind yourselves to the interests of his cause. Be obedient; be humble; be prayerful; be watchful. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates, into the city—the NEW JERUSALEM”—whose foundations are upon the holy and everlasting hills, which cannot be removed but standeth fast forever….AMEN.

---

Endnotes

1 See the splendid speech of Mr. Wilberforce, found in the parliamentary discussions on Christianity, in India.

2 Scott’s Family Bible—Practical observations on the xviii Chapter of Exodus.

3 Doct. Trumbull’s History of Connecticut. Chapters vi and xiii.

4 Reverend Joshua Belden, Wethersfield. Ozias Eells, Barkhamsted. John Foot, Cheshire. William Graves, Woodstock. Ammi R. Robbins, Norfolk. Lucas Hart, Wolcott. Simon Waterman, Plymouth. Samuel Mills, Chester.

5 As vouchers for the facts here stated, see the letter from Prince Galitzin, President of the Petersburgh Bible Society, to Lord Teignmouth, also that from Josiah Roberts, Esq. London, to Robert Ralston, Esq. of Philadelphia; also a very interesting communication from Dr. Naudi, relative to the spreading of Christianity, in the East, found in most of the religious magazines of the day.