1770s-1780s: War for Independence Archives - Page 4 of 15

James Wilson

Quiz

1. What was James Wilson’s country of birth?

2. True or False: James Wilson signed the Constitution but not the Declaration of Independence.

3. True or False: At the Constitutional Convention, Wilson was one of the relatively inactive members.

4. Who appointed Wilson to the Supreme Court?

5. True or False: During the War for Independence, Wilson was sent to negotiate with the Indians.

6. What teaching position did Wilson hold concurrent to his time in the Supreme Court?

A Lost Founder

One Founding Father we should definitely remember was James Wilson, born on September 14, 1742. Take the above quiz and see what you know about him!

In the modern rewriting of our American history, some of our nation’s Founding Fathers have been wrongly misportrayed as people not worthy of study, but most have simply been ignored. As a consequence, many worthy heroes are now forgotten. Fortunately, the Scriptures encourage us to study the past: “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning” (Romans 15:4).

James Wilson can teach us much that is relevant today, including about the important role that religion plays in civil law:

Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed these two sciences run into each other. The Divine law, as discovered by reason and the moral sense, forms an essential part of both.¹

Take some time to learn about James Wilson, and then share what you learn with others. Wilson is one of the heroes who helped make America a great nation!

How did you do? Check your answers!

1. Wilson was born in Scotland in 1742, he immigrated to America in 1766.²

2. False. James Wilson signed both the Declaration of Independence³ and the Constitution.⁴

3. False. James Wilson was the second most-active delegate at the Constitutional Convention, speaking 168 times on the floor of the Convention.⁵

4. George Washington. James Wilson was one of the original Supreme Court justices, serving from 1789 to 1798.⁶

5. True.⁷

6. Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Wilson organized the first systematic legal training in America, teaching classes to law students while simultaneously sitting as a Justice on the US Supreme Court.⁸ Prior to Wilson’s law classes, law students were largely individually trained and apprenticed in the law.

Endnotes

¹ James Wilson, The Works of the Honourable James Wilson, ed. Bird Wilson (Philadelphia: Lorenzo Press, 1804), III:106.
² “James Wilson,” B. J. Lossing, Biographical Sketches of the Signers of the Declaration of American Independence (New York: George F. Cooledge, 1848), 126.
³ “Signers of the Declaration: Biographical Sketches,” National Park Service, accessed December 15, 2023.
⁴ “Signers of the Constitution: Biographical Sketches,” National Park Service, accessed December 15, 2023.
⁵ See, for example, Mark David Hall, “Justice, Law, and the Creation of the American Republic: The Forgotten Legacy of James Wilson,” June 1, 2009, The Heritage Foundation; “Forgotten Founders: Gouverneur Morris,” June 8, 2020, National Constitution Center.
⁶ “Wilson, James,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed December 15, 2023.
⁷ “James Wilson,” Lossing, Biographical Sketches of the Signers (1848), 128.
⁸ “A Biography of James Wilson,” University of Groningen, accessed December 15, 2023.

Siege of Yorktown

Ending of a War

The Siege of Yorktown is recognized as the final major military action in the War for Independence. This three-week long battle (September 28-October 19, 1781) secured American independence after 6 years of active fighting. Some interesting aspects surrounding the siege of Yorktown makes this victory even more amazing.

For example, a black man, James Armistead, played a major role in securing the victory. A Virginia slave who wanted to help his country, four months before the battle, working with General Marquis de Lafayette, he successfully infiltrated the camp of British commander Lord Cornwallis, serving as a spy for the American forces. Armistead was able to collect intelligence on British movements and sent it back to George Washington. Lafayette later petitioned for Armistead’s freedom (in Virginia, it took an act of the legislature to free a slave for meritorious service), and after being freed, Armistead was granted a retirement pension for his military service.

Cornwallis was heavily outnumbered (there were some 17,600 American/French troops against his 8,300 British troops), so on October 16, he attempted a last-ditch attack. (In the WallBuilders’ Collection we have an unexploded mortar shell–pictured on the left.) Under the cover of darkness, the British attempted to flee but a storm arose, forcing them to remain.

Running short of supplies and with reinforcements not arriving, the British surrendered on October 19. George Bancroft, the “Father of American History,” recorded how the Continental Congress responded upon hearing the good news:

When the letters of Washington announcing the capitulation [surrender] reached Congress, that body, with the people streaming in their train [that is, following them], went in procession to the Dutch Lutheran church to return thanks to Almighty God.

And John Hancock issued a proclamation announcing the victory and calling for a time of thanksgiving and prayer to God Almighty. (We have an original of this proclamation in the WallBuilders Collection.)

So it was in October 1781, that the battle of Yorktown was won, and Americans openly thanked God for His role in protecting America. Now is a good time for us likewise offer thanks for the blessings He has bestowed on our nation.

Happy Independence Day!

America’s Birthday

On July 4, 1776 a group of Americans approved a document declaring the United States of America free from English rule. This document was the Declaration of Independence,¹ and each year on July 4th we celebrate the birthday of this courageous action!

The Declaration of Independence is the nation’s birth certificate.² Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration,³ outlined its purpose:

When forced, therefore, to resort to arms for redress, an appeal to the tribunal of the world was deemed proper for our justification. This was the object of the Declaration of Independence. Not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of, not merely to say things which had never been said before; but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take. Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be an expression of the American mind.⁴

John Adams, in informing his wife, Abigail, of the events preceding the passage of the Declaration, stated:

I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration and support and defend these states. Yet through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory–I can see that the end is more than worth all the means and that posterity will triumph in that day’s transaction.⁵

Across the generations, many others have heralded the importance of the Declaration. For example, Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant saw it as one of the many evidences of God’s guidance:

In all these marked stages of national progress, from the Declaration of Independence to the recent amendments of the Constitution, it is impossible not to perceive a providential series and succession of events.⁶

And President John F. Kennedy’s words about the Declaration are as stirring today as they were when they were originally delivered decades ago:

[The] Declaration unleashed not merely a revolution against the British but a revolution in human affairs. Its authors were highly conscious of its worldwide implications. And George Washington declared that liberty and self-government everywhere were, in his words, “finally staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” This prophecy has been borne out….This doctrine of national independence has shaken the globe, and it remains the most powerful force anywhere in the world today.⁷

As we celebrate the birthday of America, don’t forget the many sacrifices made long ago by the signers of the Declaration on our behalf!

“On this special day, the birthday of our nation, in the midst of all the joyous celebrations let us take a moment to remember the debt of thanks we owe to those who came before us, to the same God who guides us all, and to the spirit of faith and patriotism which still makes America ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’.”
Ronald Reagan⁸

Endnotes

¹ “Declaration of Independence: Primary Documents in American History,” Library of Congress, accessed June 24, 2025.
² “The Declaration of Independence,” National Archives, accessed June 24, 2025.
³ Thomas Jefferson to James MAdison, August 30, 1823, Memoirs, Correspondence, and Private Papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Thomas Jefferson Randolph (London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1829), III:385.
⁴ Thomas Jefferson to Henry Lee, May 8, 1825, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Paul Leicester Ford (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1899), X:343.
⁵ John Adams to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776, The Works of John Adams, ed. Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1856), I:232.
⁶ Ulysses S. Grant, “Special Message,” July 14, 1870, The American Presidency Project.
⁷ John F. Kennedy, “Address at Independence Hall, Philadelphia,” July 4, 1962, The American Presidency Project.
⁸ Ronald Reagan, “Radio Address to the Nation on the Observance of Independence Day,” July 3, 1982, The American Presidency Project.

Proclamation – Lord’s Day – 1782

John Dickinson (1732-1808) was a lawyer, statesman, and soldier during the War for Independence. He wrote, among many other pieces, the Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania which were highly praised both in the colonies and abroad. Although he was a delegate to Continental Congress, he absented himself from the vote to adopt on the grounds of wishing to have more secure footing before igniting war with Briton. This, however, did do keep Dickinson from fully supporting the measure upon its adoption and throwing all his energies toward securing the liberty of America.

He was held in an extremely high regard by the other notable men of the time, with Dr. Benjamin Rush remarking that, “Few men wrote, spoke and acted more for their country from the year 1764 to the establishment of the federal government than Mr. Dickinson.”

The following is a prayer proclamation John Dickinson issued while he was the president of Pennsylvania in 1782.

By the President and Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

A Proclamation.

As the best and greatest of Beings commanded mankind into existence with a capacity for happiness, bestowing upon them understanding and many “good gifts”; so when they, by an abuse of the blessings thus intrusted, had involved themselves in guilt and misery, his compassion was extended towards them, and in “his tender mercies,” not only “seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night,” were continued unto them, but “the eternal purposes’ were revealed, and the heavenly treasuries opened, to restore the human race to the transcendent privilege from which by transgression they were fallen: And in this “marvelous work,” the laws of righteousness have been with such infinite wisdom adjusted, and united to the obligation of nature, that while they jointly tended to promote the felicity of men in a future state, they evidently cooperate to advance their welfare in the present, and to offend against the sanctions of revelation, of the dictates of reason and conscience, is suredly to betray the joys of this life, as well as those of another.

Wherefore, as we are entirely persuaded that just impressions of the deity are the great supports of morality, And As the experience of ages demonstrates, that regularity of manners is essential to the tranquility and prosperity of societies, And the assistance of the Almighty, on which we rely, to establish the inestimable blessings our afflicted country is contending for, cannot be expected without an observance of his holy laws, We esteem it our principal and indispensable duty to endeavor, as much as we can, that a sense of these interesting truths may prevail in the hearts and appear in the lives of the inhabitants of this state; And Therefore have thought proper to issue this Proclamation, sincerely desiring that they seriously meditating on the many signal and unmerited benefits of public and private import conferred upon them, the affecting invitations and munificent promises of divine goodness, and the “terrors set in array” against disobedient, may be urged to exert themselves in avoiding, discountenancing, and suppressing all vice, profaneness and immorality, and feeling a due gratitude, love,and veneration for their most gracious, all-wise , and omnipotent Benefactor, Sovereign, and Judge, and correspondent temper of resignation to the dispensations of his Supreme Government, may become a people “trusting in him, in whom they live and move and doing good.”

And to the intent that these desirable ends may be forwarded, all persons are herby fervently exhorted, to observe the Lord’s Day, commonly called Sunday, and thereon constantly to attend the worship of God, as a service pleasing to him who is, “a hearer of prayer,” and condescends to “inhabit the praises of his people,” and profitable to themselves; a neglect of which duty has, in multitude of instances, been the beginning of a deviation into the ways of presumption, that at length have led into the deepest distresses and severest sorrows:

And As the education of youth is of so much moment to themselves and to the commonwealth, which cannot flourish unless that important point be diligently regarded, the sentiments, dispositions, and habits begin then generally formed that pervade the rest of their lives, all parents, guardians, masters, and tutors are herby strenuously called upon, to discharge the high trust committed to them, and for which they must account, by a faithful attention; that those under their care may be nurtured in piety, filial reverence, submission to superiors in age or station, modesty, sincerity, benevolence, temperance, industry, consistency of behavior, and frugality regulated by an humble reliance on Providence, and a kind respect for others; that their inexperienced minds may be by wholesome instructions fully convinced, that whatever employment they are designed for, virtue will be a chief promoter of success, and irregularity of conduct the greatest obstacle to it; that the intellectual faculties are aided by moral improvements, but weakened by illicit courses; and in brief, that Religion is the fiend of their peace,health and happiness; and that to displease their Maker, or trespass against their neighbor, is inevitably to inure themselves.

And we expect and hereby require, that all well disposed persons, and especially those in places of authority, will by their conversation and demeanor encourage and promote piety and virtue, and to their utmost contribute to the rendering these qualities truly laudable and honorable, and the contrary practices justly shameful and contemptible; that thus the influence of good men, and the dignity of the laws, may be combined in repressing the follies and insolencies of scorners and profligates, in directing the weak and thoughtless, and in preserving them from the pernicious contagion of evil examples; And for further promoting such reformation, it is hereby enjoined, that all magistrates, and others whom it may concern, be very vigilant and exact in discovering, prosecuting, and punishing all persons who shall be guilty of profanation of the Lord’s Day, commonly called Sunday, blasphemy, profane swearing or cursing, drunkenness, lewdness, or other dissolute or immoral practices; that they suppress all gaming houses, and other disorderly houses, that they put in execution the act of General Assembly, entitled, “An Act for the suppression of Vice and Immorality,” and all other laws now in force for the punishing and suppressing any vice, profaneness or immorality: And for the more effectual proceeding herein, all Judges and Justice, having cognizance in the premises, are directed to give strict charges at their respective Courts and Sessions, for the due prosecution and punishment of all who shall presume to offend in any of the kinds aforesaid; and also of all such as, contrary to their duty, shall be remiss or negligent in putting the laws in execution: And that they do at their respective Courts and Sessions cause this Proclamation to be publicly read, immediately before the charge is given: And every Minister of the Gospel is requested strongly to inculcate in the respective congregations where they officiate, a love of piety and virtue, and an abhorrence of vice, profaneness, and immorality.

Given in council, under the hand of the President, and the Seal of the State, at Philadelphia, this twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty two.

Attest. T. Matlack, Secretary.

John Dickinson.

God Save the Commonwealth.

Yorktown Mortar Shell

Throughout the War for Independence, from the Siege of Boston to the Battle of Yorktown, artillery played a decisive role in securing America’s freedom.

Starting on September 28^th and ending with British capitulation on October 19^th, the Battle of Yorktown was the last major military engagement of the war. Commanders for the Allied land forces included Generals Henry Knox, Marquis de Lafayette, and Rochambeau under George Washington, while the Allied naval forces consisted of the French fleet led by Comte de Grasse. Most of the engagement at Yorktown centered on the artillery of the two sides, while the main infantry movements were the capture of Redoubts 9 and 10.

The military journal of Major Ebenezer Denny, a Pennsylvanian recruit present at the Battle of Yorktown, describes the stages of the siege and the dramatic effect the artillery had. On the 28^th of September, the beginning of the engagement, Major Denney noted that:

One-third of the army on fatigue every day, engaged in various duties, making gabions,¹ fascines,² saucissons,³ &c., and great exertions and labor in getting on the heavy artillery. Strong covering parties (whole regiments) moved from camp as soon as dark, and lay all night upon their arms between us and the enemy. … Now and then a heavy shot from the enemy’s works [artillery pieces] reached our camp.⁴

After getting the artillery parks in place and operational, he gives an account of siege works and the nightly barrages:

At length, everything in readiness, a division of the army broke ground on the night of the 6^th of October, and opened the first parallel [trench] about six hundred yards from the works of the enemy. Every exertion to annoy our men, who were necessarily obliged to be exposed about the works; however, the business went on, and on the 9^th our cannon and mortars began to play. The scene viewed from the camp now was grand, particularly after dark—a number of shells from the works of both parties passing high in the air, and descending in a curve, each with a long train of fire, exhibited a brilliant spectacle.⁵

On October 11^th he explains that the:

Second parallel [was] thrown up within three hundred yards of the main works of the enemy; new batteries erected, and additional number of cannon brought forward—some twenty-four pounders and heavy mortars and howitzers. A tremendous fire now opened from all the new works, French and American. The heavy cannon directed against the embrasures and guns of the enemy. Their pieces were soon silenced, broke and dismantled. Shells from behind their works still kept up.⁶

Major Denny mentions all three types of artillery—cannons, howitzers, and mortars. Denny noted that of these three, the mortars were the ones most notable for firing the distinctive bomb shells which left the long trains of fire. Mortars have short barrels with an extremely large bore in proportion to the length. Their main purpose was to “throw hollow shells, filled with powder, which falling on any building or into the works of a fortification, bust, and their fragments destroy everything within reach.”⁷

Major Denny participated in the assault led by Alexander Hamilton upon the redoubts on the 14^th of October, and the next day he noted:

Heavy fire from our batteries all day. A shell from one of the French mortars set fire to a British frigate; she burnt to the water’s edge, and blew up—made the earth shake. Shot and shell raked the town in every direction. Bomb-proofs the only place of safety.⁸

General Cornwallis, realizing that his troops could not continue through such an unrelenting barrage and seeing that his supplies were dwindling due to the French blockade, made the decision to surrender. After the articles of capitulation were signed and the British grounded their weapons on the 19^th of October, Major Denny and the rest of the troops took possession of Yorktown, whereupon he stated:

Never was in so filthy a place—some handsome houses, but prodigiously shattered. Vast heaps of shot and shells lying about in every quarter, which came from our works. The shells did not burst as expected.⁹

The shells Major Denny refers to were mortar-fired hollow casings made of iron which would have a hole an inch in diameter for the fuse to enter. In operation, the shells would be filled with powder, a fuse would be fed through the hole, and the hole would be sealed with a plug of either cork or wood.¹⁰ The bombs themselves would be prepared during the days leading up to the engagement in what was called the laboratory.¹¹ When packing the shells in the laboratory, it was generally accepted that, in order to achieve the most complete fragmentation, the shell should not be completely filled; with some saying that it should be as much as 1/3 empty.¹² What exactly Major Denny meant when he said that the shells failed to burst as expected could mean two things. It could mean that the shells did not fragment at all, due to a failure in the fuse or powder; it could just mean that the fragmentation was not even or to the desired degree.

Whatever the case, is was the incredible skill of the French and American artillery men which forced General Cornwallis to surrender Yorktown to George Washington, thereby ensuring independency for the American people.¹³

In our collection at Wallbuilders we have an unfragmented mortar shell excavated near Yorktown at the site of an overturned wagon. It is 8 inches in diameter making it a medium sized mortar. The pitted surface was standard among the shells from all nations. You can clearly see the hole which the fuse would be fed through and the seam connecting the two halves of the shell.

Endnotes

¹ Gabions are cages made from wicker which then are filled with either stones or soil in order to construct defensive fortification such as parapets.

² Fascines are bundles of sticks tied together which are employed for crossing marshy ground or trenches, and sometimes used for supporting the sides of preexisting earthen works.

³ Saucissions, deriving their name due to perceived similarities to French sausages, are longer versions of fascines which typically take more than one man to transport, typically being from 18 to 20 feet long. See The British Military Library, or, Journal Comprehending a Complete Body of Military Knowledge (London: J. Carpenter and Co., 1801), II:531.

⁴ Ebenezer Denny, The Military Journal of Major Ebenezer Denny, an Officer in the Revolutionary and Indian Wars (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1859) September 28, 40.

⁵ Denny, Military Journal, 41.

⁶ Denny, Military Journal, 42.

⁷ The British Military Library, II:508.

⁸ Denny, Military Journal, 43.

⁹ Denny, Military Journal, 45.

¹⁰ The British Military Journal II:570-571.

¹¹ The British Military Library, II:415.

¹² John Muller, Treatise of Artillery (London: John Millan, 1768), 90.

¹³ Jerome A. Greene, The Guns of Independence: The Siege of Yorktown, 1781 (New York: Savas Beatie, 2005), 384.

Four Letters on Government – John and Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) and his second cousin, John Adams (1735-1826), were important and longstanding actors in the struggle for American independence. John Adams expounds on this in his diary on February 9, 1772:

Is it not a pity that a brace [pair] of so obscure a breed should be the only ones to defend the household, when the generous mastiffs and best-blooded hounds are all hushed to silence by the bones and crumbs that are thrown to them, and even Cerberus himself is bought off with a sop? … they [John and Samuel Adams] have a sense of honor and a love of their country, the testimony of a good conscious, and the consolation of philosophy, if nothing more, which will certainly support them, in the cause of their country, to their last gasp for breath, whenever that may happen.¹

This “brace of Adamses” kept their word and continued to advocate for the liberty of their country through the War for Independence, and throughout the course of their lives, as demonstrated by a series of letters between them in 1790. John Adams was the vice president of the US and Samuel was the lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts during this period. Published in 1802 under the title Four Letters, discuss the future government of America from the perspectives of both the Federalist John Adams and the Anti-Federalist Samuel Adams.

John Adams, responding to an earlier letter from Samuel, recounts a recent visit to Philadelphia:

The sight of our old Liberty Hall and of several of our old friends, had brought your venerable idea to my mind, and continued it there a great part of the last week; so that a letter from you, on my arrival, seemed but in continuation.²

He then asks Samuel:

What, my old friend, is this world about to become? Is the millennium commencing? Are the kingdoms of it about to be governed by reason? Your Boston town meetings and our Harvard College have set the universe in motion. Every thing will be pulled down. So much seems certain. But what will be built up? Are there any principles of political architecture? What are they?³

Samuel Adams answers this query in his response:

You ask,—what the is about to become? and,—is the millennium commencing? I have not studied the prophecies, and cannot even conjecture. The golden age, so finely pictured by poets, I believe has never as yet existed but in their own imagination. … The same tragedies have been acted on the theatre of the world, the same arts of tormenting have been studied and practiced to this day and even religion and reason untied have never succeeded to establish the permanent foundation of political freedom and happiness in the most enlightened countries on the earth.⁴

The elder Adams, as he turns his attention towards the hopeful element that he sees in mankind, becomes more positive:

The love of liberty is inter-woven in the soul of man, and can never be totally extinguished and there are certain periods when human patience can no longer endure indignity and oppression. The spark of liberty then kindles into a flame, when the injured people, attentive to the feelings of the just rights, magnanimously contend for their complete restoration.⁵

He reverts to his previous manner as he recounts how history shows that so often these sparks of freedom lead not to the flame of liberty, but rather to the flame of tyranny, remarking that, “such contests have too often ended in nothing more than ‘a change of impostors and impositions.’”⁶ Seeing that such a threat faces America as well, Samuel Adams explains the only hope he sees for preserving liberty:

Let the divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age, by impression the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls; of inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity and universal philanthropy, and, in subordination to these great principles, the love of their country; instructing them in the art of self-government, without which they never can act a wise part in the government of societies, great or small; in short, of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system, which will happily tend to subdue the turbulent passions of men, and introduce that golden age…⁷

Samuel, having placed his hopes in subsequent generations’ education in the tenets of true virtue, quips: “When this millennium shall commence, if there shall be any need of civil government, indulge me in the fancy, that it will be in the republican form, or something better.⁸

In his response, John Adams expresses his own pessimism regarding the nation’s—and more generally the world’s—ability to provide such an education. He agrees with his older cousin but reflects:

I think with you, that knowledge and benevolence ought to be promoted as much as possible; but, despairing of ever seeing them sufficiently general for the security of society, I am for seeking institutions which may supply in some degree the defect. If there were no ignorance, error, or vice, there would be neither principles nor systems of civil or political government.⁹

In this, the difference surfaces between the two Adams’. Anti-federalist Samuel Adams prefers to hope for the elevation of the people to a sufficient capability for self-government, while federalist John Adams places his hopes in the ability of an active government to preserve the safety of the nation by institutional means. Both aim for the secured liberty of America, but one seeks to achieve it by strengthening the people first, while the other aims to strengthen the government first. John Adams further explains his position:

With you, I have also the honor most perfectly to harmonize in your sentiments of the humanity and wisdom of promoting education in knowledge, virtue, and benevolence. But I think that these will confirm mankind in the opinion of the necessity of preserving and strengthening the dikes against the ocean, its tides and storms. Human appetites, passions, prejudices, and self-love will never be conquered by benevolence and knowledge alone, introduced by human means.¹⁰

John also takes a different route regarding the effects of the people’s strong affection for liberty and freedom so lauded by Samuel Adams. The younger says:

The numbers of men in all ages have preferred ease, slumber, and good cheer to liberty, when they have been in competition. We must not then depend alone upon the lover of liberty in the soul of man for its preservation. Some political institutions must be prepared, to assist this love against its enemies. Without these, the struggle will end only in a change of impostors. … Let us be impartial, then, and speak the whole truth. Till we do, we shall never discover all the true principles that are necessary.¹¹

To the objections on the primacy of universal education over a strong government Samuel Adams responds:

I am very willing to agree with you, in thinking that improvements in knowledge and benevolence receive much assistance from the principles and systems of good government. But is it not as true that, without knowledge and benevolence, men would neither have been capable nor disposed to search for the principles or form the system? Should we not, my friend, bear a grateful remembrance of our pious and benevolent ancestors, who early laid plans of education? by which means, wisdom, knowledge, and virtue have been generally diffused among the body of the people, and they have been enabled to form and establish a civil constitution, calculated for the preservation of their rights and liberties.¹²

He then continues to argue for the necessity of a widespread educational system directed towards the moral development of the community:

I am far from thing the people can be deceived, by urging upon them a dependence on the more general prevalence of knowledge and virtue. It is one of the most essential means of further, and still further improvements in society, and of correcting and amending moral sentiments and habits and political institutions; till, “by human means,” directed by Divine influence, men shall be prepared for that “happy and holy state,” when “the Messiah is to reign.”¹³

Samuel Adams end by expressing that while John views government as the tool which will level both the aristocracy and the people, he believes that education is the true leveling agent:

Wise and judicious modes of education, patronized and supported by communities, will draw together the sons of the rich and the poor, among whom it makes no distinction; it will cultivate the natural genius, elevate the soul, excite laudable emulation to excel in knowledge, piety, and benevolence; and, finally, it will reward its patrons and benefactors, by shedding its benign influence on the public mind. Education inures men to thinking and reflection, to reasoning and demonstration. It discovers to them the moral and religious duties they owe to God, their country, and to all mankind.¹⁴

These four letters provide a window into the party conflicts which were raging between the Federalists and Anti-Federalist—though they show a much more civil and thoughtful tone than was generally seen at the time. In its most basic form, the “brace of Adamses” are seeking to answer how best the freedom of society can be improved. While they both value the necessities for education and political principles, the real difference arises from where they place primacy.

Endnotes

¹ John Adams, February 9, 1772, The Works of John Adams (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1850) 2:295-296.
² The Works of John Adams (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1851) 6:411.
³ John Adams to Samuel Adams, September 12, 1790, Works (1851), 6:411-412.
⁴ Samuel Adams to John Adams, October 4, 1790, Works (1851), 6:412.
⁵ Samuel to John, October 4, 1790, Works (1851), 6:413.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Samuel Adams to John Adams, October 4, 1790, Works (1851), 6:414.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ John Adams to Samuel Adams, October 18, 1790, Works (1851), 6:415.
¹⁰ Adams to Samuel Adams, October 18, 1790, Works (1851), 6:416.
¹¹ Adams to Samuel Adams, October 18, 1790, Works (1851), 6:418.
¹² Samuel Adams to John Adams, November 1790, Works (1851), 6:422.
¹³ Samuel Adams to John Adams, November 1790, Works (1851), 6:423.
¹⁴ Samuel Adams to John Adams, November 1790, Works (1851), 6:425.

Pastors Lead the Charge

March 17 is annually celebrated in Boston as “Evacuation Day,” commemorating the departure of the British from the city¹ after an extended eleven month occupation² at the start of the American War for Independence. That occupation lasted from April 19, 1775, through March 17, 1776, encompassing the Siege of Boston³ and including early notable events of the War, such as the Battles of Lexington and Concord,⁴ Bunker Hill,⁵ and George Washington taking command of the American army.⁶

The occupation started when British leader Thomas Gage led troops into Boston, and then dispatched hundreds to seize or destroy ammunition stored in Concord.⁷ Riders such as Paul Revere set out to warn local inhabitants,⁸ and also to alert John Hancock and Samuel Adams (who were under threat of death by the British⁹) of the approach of the British army.

Hancock and Adams were staying in the home of Lexington Pastor Jonas Clark.¹⁰ Pastor Clark and 77 militia from his church¹¹ gathered to meet the approaching British–a skirmish easily won by the 800 British troops.¹² (In the WallBuilders library is a sermon preached by Jonas Clark on the one-year anniversary of the Battle of Lexington.¹³)

After Lexington, the British pressed on to Concord, where they were met by Rev. William Emerson and some 400 Americans.¹⁴ After the British suffered casualties in that skirmish, they retreated to Boston,¹⁵ and all along the way, British forces were fired upon by American militias from the surrounding countryside, including those led by pastors such as Philips Payson and Benjamin Balch.¹⁶ (Many additional preachers also fought in other engagements throughout the War.¹⁷)

Evacuation Day is a reminder of the courage and backbone shown by the spiritual leaders of earlier generations–a spiritual leadership still badly needed today!

Endnotes

¹ “March 17, 1901: Boston Celebrates First Evacuation Day,” Mass Moments, accessed January 17, 2024.
² “Siege of Boston,” Massachusetts Historical Society, accessed January 17, 2024.
³ Richard Frothingham, History of the Siege of Boston, and of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and Bunker Hill (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1851), 91-119.
⁴ “Lexington and Concord,” US History, accessed January 17, 2024.
⁵ Frothingham, History of the Siege of Boston (1851), 121-132.
⁶ “Washington takes command of Continental Army in 1775,” US Army, April 15, 2016.
⁷ Frothingham, History of the Siege of Boston (1851), 55.
⁸ “The Real Story of Paul Revere’s Ride,” The Paul Revere House, accessed January 17, 2024.
⁹ “Attempted Capture of John Hancock and Samuel Adams,” WallBuilders.
¹⁰ J. T. Headley, The Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution (NY: Charles Scribner, 1864), 78.
¹¹ Jonas Clark, “Sermon-Battle of Lexington-1776,” WallBuilders.
¹² Benson J. Lossing, A History of the United States for Families and Libraries (NY: Mason Brothers, 1860), 232.
¹³ Jonas Clark, “Sermon-Battle of Lexington-1776,” WallBuilders.
¹⁴ Benson J. Lossing, A History of the United States, From the Discovery of the American Continent (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1864), VII:290, 299.
¹⁵ Lossing, History of the United States (1864), VII:303-306.
¹⁶ Headley, Chaplains and Clergy (1864), 60; Balch Leaflets (Salem, MA: Eben Putnam, 1896-1897), 28.
¹⁷ Daniel Dorchester, Christianity in the United States From the First Settlement Down to the Present Time (NY: Hunt & Eaton, 1889), 265.

Address – Why Are You A Christian – 1795

John Clarke (1755-1798) biography

Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Clarke grew up in a strongly patriotic family during the American War for Independence. In fact, his uncle, Timothy Pickering, was not only a military general under George Washington and later became Postmaster General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State under President Washington. Clark graduated from the Boston Public Latin School in 1761, while only six years old. In 1774 at the age of nineteen, he graduated from Harvard. He returned for his Master’s Degree (1777), and then studied theology, receiving his Doctor of Divinity from the University of Edinburgh. He took a job on the staff of First Church of Boston, alongside the great preacher Dr. Charles Chauncy, who himself had been a significant influence in the years leading up to the American War for Independence. When Chauncy died in 1787, Clarke became pastor, where he continued until he suffered a stroke while preaching in 1798, passing away the next day at the age of forty-three. A two-volume set of his sermons were published after his death. The following sermon was the one he preached at the interment of the Rev. Samuel Cooper of Boston on January 2, 1784. (Note: the Rev. Cooper was a highly influential clergyman, identified by Founding Father John Adams as one of the individuals “most conspicuous, the most ardent, and influential” in the “awakening and revival of American principles and feelings” that led to American independence.)

ANSWER

TO THE

QUESTION

WHY ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?

BY JOHN CLARKE
Minister of a Church in Boston

AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHY ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?”

Not because I was born in a Christian country, and educated in Christian principles; — not because I find the illustrious Bacon, Boyle, Locke, Clarke, and Newton, among the professors and defenders of Christianity; – nor merely because the system itself is so admirably calculated to mend and exalt human nature: but because the evidence accompanying the Gospel, has convinced me of its truth. The secondary causes, assigned by unbelievers, do not, in my judgment, account for the rise, progress, and early triumphs of the Christian religion. Upon the principles of skepticism, I perceive an effect without an adequate cause. I therefore, stand acquitted to my own reason, though I continue to believe and profess the religion of Jesus Christ. Arguing from effects to causes, I think, I have philosophy on my side. And reduced to a choice of difficulties, I encounter not so many, in admitting the miracles ascribed to the Saviour, as in the arbitrary suppositions and conjectures of his enemies.

That there once existed such a person as Jesus Christ; that he appeared in Judea in the reign of Tiberius; that he taught a system of morals, superior to any inculcated in the Jewish schools; that he was crucified at Jerusalem; and that Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor, by whose sentence he was condemned and executed, are facts which no one can reasonably call in question. The most inveterate deists admit them without difficulty. And indeed to dispute these facts would be giving the lie to all history. As well might we deny the existence of Cicero, as that of a person by the name of Jesus Christ. And with equal propriety might we call in question the orations of the former as the discourses of the latter. We are morally certain, that the one entertained the Romans with his eloquence; and the other enlightened the Jews with his wisdom. But it is unnecessary to labor these points, because they are generally conceded. They, who affect to despise the Evangelists and Apostles, profess to reverence Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny. And these eminent Romans bear testimony to several particulars, which relate to the person of Jesus Christ, his influence as the founder of a sect, and his crucifixion. From a deference to human authority, all therefore, acknowledge, that the Christian religion derived its name from Jesus Christ. And many are so just to his merits, as to admit that he taught better than Confucius; and practiced better than Socrates or Plato.

But, I confess, my creed embraces many more articles. I believe, that Jesus Christ was not merely a teacher of virtue, but that he had a special commission to teach. I believe, that his doctrines are not the work of human reason, but divine communications to mankind, I believe, that he was authorized by God to proclaim forgiveness to the penitent; and to reveal a state of immortal glory and blessedness to those who fear God, and work righteousness. I believe, in short, the whole evangelic history, and of consequence, the divine original of Christianity, and the sacred authority of the Gospel. Others may reject these things as the fictions of human art or policy. But I assent to them, from a full conviction of their truth. The grounds of this conviction, I shall assign in the course of this work. And I shall undertake to show, why the objections of infidelity, though they have often shocked my feelings have never yet shaken my faith.

To come then to the Question : WHY ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN? I answer, because the Christian religion carries with it internal marks of its truth; because not only without the aid, but in opposition to the civil authority, in opposition to the wit, the argument, and violence of its enemies, it made its way; and gained an establishment in the world: because it exhibits the accomplishment of some prophecies; and presents others, which have been since fulfilled : and because its author displayed an example, and performed works, which bespeak, not merely a superior, but a divine character. Upon these several facts, I ground my belief as a Christian. And, till the evidence on which they rest, can be invalidated by counter evidence, I must retain my principles and my profession.

Section I.
The internal evidence of Christianity.

First—I am a Christian, because the intrinsic excellency of Christianity points it out as a system worthy of my belief; because the laws which it prescribes, the spirit which it breathes and the discoveries which it makes, are so admirably suited to the constitution and circumstances of man, that I cannot reject it. The perceptive part of Christianity has been very generally approved. And how is it possible, that any one should seriously object to laws, which tend to correct the errors, and reform the vices of human nature; and to exalt the character of man to the highest stage of moral perfection? If Christianity prescribed the austerities of the monk, the solitude of the hermit, or the wanderings of the pilgrim; if it even gave countenance to such extravagancies or allowed them the lowest degree of merit, I should esteem it a formidable objection to the system. But nothing of this description can be found in the writings of the Evangelists or Apostles. Those writings pure contempt upon al superstitious practices; and lead us to ascribe no value to any works, but those of true piety and virtue. They teach us to worship God in spirit and in truth; to love him supremely; to be grateful for his favors, and resigned to his dispensations; to trust his mercy, and rejoice in his government. They teach us to love our neighbor as ourselves; to forgive him when he has injured us; to bear with his infirmities, and to excuse his follies; to weep with him in his distresses; when he is in want, to afford him our assistance; and to do to him, as we should think it fit and reasonable, that he should do to us. They teach us to love even our enemies, so far at least, as to abstain from revenge; and to render them offices of kindness, when their circumstances call for commiseration. They teach us to govern our appetites and passions to be chaste, humble, temperate, pure, and as much as possible to be like our father in heaven, whose character is an assemblage of every natural and moral perfection. They teach children to reverence and obey their parents; and parents to love, instruct, and provide for their children. They teach the husband conjugal fidelity and affection; and the wife, the peculiar duties of her station, and the amiable virtues which adorn the sex; and bless the marriage union. They teach masters lenity, and the servants faithfulness. They teach rulers to exercise their authority for the public good; and persons in private life, not to withhold honor and submission from those, under whose wise and just administration, they lead quiet and peaceable lives. I a word, the affluent and the poor, the prosperous and the afflicted the aged and the young, may all find their duty in the sacred books. And the duties, there enjoined, are such as the enlightened reason of every man must approve.

These sublime lessons of morality are found in various parts of the New Testament. They enrich the divine sermon on the mount. And they are contained in the excellent parables delivered by Jesus Christ. I also find them in the discourses of the Apostles, and in their pastoral letters. I may say, wherever I open the Christian volume, I find some direction which if properly observed, would render me a good neighbor, a good member of society, a good friend, and a good man! And it is possible for me to doubt the divine original of a system, which furnishes such rules; and contemplates so glorious an object?

If the prohibitions of Jesus Christ were universally regarded, and his laws obeyed, what blessings would pour in on society? There would be no wars among the nations of the earth. There would be no oppression. There would be neither tyrants nor slaves. Every ruler would be just; every citizen would be honest; every parent would be faithful to his charge; every child would be dutiful; the purest affection would recommend domestic life; and neighbors would be mutual blessings. Under the dominion of Christianity, envy, pride, and jealousy would give way to the most enlarged benevolence. Human nature would recover its dignity. And every man would reap the present reward of his own virtues.

From these facts, others may draw their own conclusions : my inference is, that Christianity is true. I do not believe, that such a system of morals can be the work of human wisdom. That these laws originated with God; and that Jesus Christ was commissioned to promulgate them, appears to me a much more rational supposition. The more I inspect them, the less am I inclined to compliment human ingenuity with so glorious a production. If then, I continue to believe in this age of refinement, and free inquiry, it is because I am unable to resist the evidence arising from the transcendent excellency of the Christian precepts. I think it infinitely more probable, that they should be a communication from God, than that philosophy should justly claim the honor of the invention.

The doctrines of the Christian religion furnish an additional argument in its favor. They are such as appear worthy of God and answerable to the natural expectations of men. The perfections of the Deity, his agency in the creation and government of the world, the conditions of his approbation, the consequences, and a future state of existence, are points, respecting which every reasonable being would wish for information. And it is a fact, that the New Testament throws divine light on all these articles. It informs us, that there is One God; that he is infinitely holy, wise, benevolent, and just; that he is self-existent and independent; that his power is irresistible, and his presence universal; that he made and upholds all worlds; that he created the human species, and every inferior being; that he is moreover, their preserver and benefactor; that he exercises a moral government over man; that he requires obedience to his laws, and consequently, resents their infraction; that forgiveness is possible, and repentance and reformation the conditions; that death is not utter destruction; that all who die, will live again; that all who are raised, will be judged; and that there is a future state, in which virtue will shine with unfading luster, and receive an everlasting reward. These are not useless speculation, but doctrines of infinite moment. They interest as well the heart, as the understanding. And their influence extends both to our actions and our enjoyments.

It would be easy to produce the various passages, in which these points are maintained. But it is unnecessary; as everyone will allow them to be doctrines of Christianity. Whether the system be true or not, it certainly contains these articles. I would now put the question to every sober Theist, whether I must renounce either my understanding, or my creed? Is there anything incredible in this representation of God and man, of the demands of the one, and the destination of the other? Must I offer an affront to my reason, if I believe in one God, exercising the authority; and possessed of all the glorious attributes, ascribed to him in the Christian writings? Does my understanding revolt at the evangelical account of his providence and moral government? That I should make it my study to obey him; when guilty of disobedience, that I should repent and reform; and that, as I behave so I may expect to be treated; is there anything irrational in these doctrines? We read of a mediator, and a rich variety of blessings dispensed through him; and is not this agreeable to the established constitution of things in the world? Do not temporal mercies often flow to us through the mediation of others? And may not many instances be produced, in which the political redemption of a nation has been accomplished by the labors; or purchased by the blood of some virtuous patriot? Is common sense insulted by the doctrine of a resurrection? This has been asserted; but with what reason, I never could conceive. When I examine the power and wisdom of God, they do not appear incompetent to such an affect. When I consider the divine goodness, I see nothing in the resurrection of man irreconcilable with that perfection. And when I reflect, that God formed the human body; and inspired the breath of life, I can easily believe, that he is able to raise us up at the last day. Before I can reject the resurrection of mankind, it must therefore be demonstrated that the terms imply a contradiction.

As to a future state of retribution, I would ask, what presumption there is against it. We find, that we have already experienced great changes. Since our first introduction to this world, our active and intellectual powers have gained strength, as we have advanced towards maturity. And why may we not hereafter possess them in higher perfection? Why may we not move, not merely in a new, but in a nobler sphere? And as a moral government is evidently begun in this state, why may it not be completed in another? In these expectations, I think we are supported by the analogy of nature. As we have already existed in different states, new scenes may be in reserve for us; and new capacities of action, enjoyment, and suffering may await us beyond the grave.

Combining the doctrines and precepts of Christianity, I am led then to infer from them the truth of the system. Because the former are so important, and the latter so beneficial; because the doctrines of Christ tend to make us so wise, and hiss laws so good, I am , in a manner, compelled to receive them as divine. Such is their supreme excellence, that I must ascend to heaven for an adequate cause. I assent therefore, most unfeignedly to those words of our savior, “my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me.” And I do Assert, were there no other evidence that our religion is from God, it would be more reasonable to admit its claims to a divine original, than to reject them.

Section II.
Evidence arising from the early triumphs of Christianity.

But my faith, as a Christian, does not rest on this single foundation. I have other reasons for believing the Gospel. The early triumphs of Christianity furnish a Second, and in my view, a most weighty argument in support of my religion. And my conviction of its truth gains strength every time I examine its introduction, progress, and establishment in the world. Recurring to the period of its infancy, I find, that it made its way not only without the aid, but in opposition to the civil authority. I observe, that it rose superior to the wit, the argument, and the violence of its enemies. I perceive, that it baffled the arts of the Jewish priests and rulers; and supported itself against the rage of the multitude. When Heathens become its enemies and persecutors, I find their opposition as ineffectual as that of the Jews. Though it was the contempt and derision of the more leading characters in society, yet I take notice, that it gained a wonderful ascendency over the human mind; and at length became the religion of the Roman world. These are facts : and how am I to account for them, if Christianity be a mere fable?

I can easily believe, that an imposture may succeed, if it have the public prejudices, the learning, wealth, and influence of the country, or the sword of the magistrate on its side. I never wondered that the attempts of Mahomet to establish his religion, were crowned with successes. When I peruse the Koran, and examine the materials of which it is composed; —when I observe how much art the whole is accommodated to the opinions and habits of Jews, Christians, and Pagans; —when I consider what indulgences it grants, and what future scenes it unfolds; —when I advert to the peculiar circumstances of the times, when its author formed the vast design of assuming the royal and prophetic character; —and more than all, when I contemplate the reformer at the head of a conquering army, the Koran in one hand, and in the other, a sword, — I cannot be surprised at the civil and religious revolution which has immortalized his name. With his advantages, how could he fail of success? Everything favored the enterprise. The nations beheld a military apostle. And they, who were unconvinced by his arguments, trembled at his sword.

But did Jesus Christ have recourse to such measures in order to establish his religion? Was he a general, or his apostles soldiers? In proof of his divine mission, did he affront the reason of mankind, by appealing to the sword? Did the learning of the age come to his assistance? Di genius and eloquence plead his cause? Were the principles of his religion such as would easily captivate persons of figure and fashion? Would wealth be partial to them? It is granted, that the laws of Christianity are perfectly accommodated to the reasonable, and moral nature of man; but did the habits of the age, in which they were promulgated, predispose the public mind to receive those laws? An were the doctrines of the gosp0el consonant to prevailing and popular opinions? There is not a man, who has examined the life, the actions, and the religion of Jesus Christ, Who will answer one of these queries in the affirmative.

In the whole compass of history, no fact is better established than the pacific character of our great master, and the inoffensive measures by which he prosecuted his cause. He proclaimed the truths; and inculcated the duties of his religion; but he used no violence to make men believe the one, or practice the other. He addressed himself to the reason of mankind; and then let them to make up their own judgment. At length he suffered; and his cause developed upon certain persons who had attended upon his ministry, and been witnesses of his actions. These persons, called apostles, went forth into the world; and taught the same truths, which they had learned from their master, and which he had sealed with his blood. In imitation of their great pattern, they likewise applied, not to the passions, but to the reason of the age. With the Jews, they argued on their own principles. And for the conviction of Gentile, they appealed to facts. Not one of their enemies ever pretended, that more formidable weapons were employed by the apostles in the Christian Cause. How then shall we account for their success? What induced several thousands of the Jewish nation to embrace Christianity? And why did such multitudes of the Gentile world forsake their superstitions; and receive the religion of the Gospel?

Was Christianity a popular system? None could be less so. Did it open the way to a seat in the Sanhedrim, to the honors of the priesthood, or to an office under the Roman government? I never heard the insinuation. Was it an introduction to wealth or power? It was the very reverse. Did it flatter any of the ruling passion of the human heart, or permit their gratification? Every one, who has examined it, knows the contrary. If then, as the terms are generally understood, it was neither honorable, profitable, nor popular; — if it was the derision of philosophy, and the contempt of learning; — if the wit of the age was exerted against it, — if the priesthood hated, and the magistrate persecuted it, to what cause am I to ascribe the prevalence of Christianity? Under all these disadvantages, what enabled it to keep its ground? Upon one principle only, can I account for this fact to my own satisfaction, and that is the truth of the system, and the patronage of heaven. I can believe, that truth may triumph over the most formidable opposition; and that God is able to defend his own cause.

For every phenomenon in nature, there must be a sufficient reason. This is a doctrine of philosophy; and not only so, but a dictate of common sense. Taking this principle for granted, I therefore, endeavor to account for the existence of Christianity. I find, that the religion of Jesus is not coeval with many events preserved in history. By means of various records, which have escaped the ravages of time, I perceive, that less than eighteen centuries will carry me back to the age, in which this religion was first proposed to the world. By the confession of its enemies, it derived no support from the family connections, outward circumstances, or fate of its author. So far from it, all these things operated against it. Jesus Christ, though a very excellent, was in the estimation of the world, a very obscure person. His family though once exalted, had fallen into decay. And his fate was as infamous as it was unmerited. His followers likewise, and those with whom he left his cause, were generally as obscure as their master, they had not wealth, to give them importance. They were not men in power. Nor were their natural abilities, or literary attainments so great, as to give them a decided superiority over their enemies. It is certain therefore, that Christianity did not woe its successes to anything dazzling in the personal accomplishments or circumstances of its first preachers.

Where then, shall I look for the cause? The religion of Christ did prevail; though to persons of figure and influence, its author was an object of contempt; and though his fate was that of the vilest malefactor. It did make its way; though its ministers were the farthest possible from that description of men, who take the lead in society; whose example it is their ambition to follow. It did succeed; though it bore an uniform testimony against all the impiety and immorality practiced in the world. Without flattering one disorderly passion of the human hart, without accommodating itself to one corrupt habit, it triumphed over the prejudices of multitudes. And whilst its profession was attended with every temporal discouragement, not only the provinces, but the very city of Rome, abounded with Christians! I ask the question once more, if Christianity be a fable how am I to account for this revolution?

I well know the solution which modern ingenuity has proposed. Gibbon’s secondary causes I have repeatedly examined; I would hope, with impartiality: I certainly have done it with attention. But they never gave me satisfaction; and for a reason, which the great Sir Isaac Newton shall assign. He says, that a cause must be known to exist; and that it must be adequate to an effect, before it can be admitted into sound philosophy; and before such effect can with propriety, be referred to it. But the causes, assigned by those who reject the Christian religion, appear to want both these conditions. We have no proof that many of them ever existed. And united, they seem utterly inadequate to explain the various appearances; and account for the phenomena, to which they have been applied. I am therefore a Christian, because the early conquests of Christianity will not suffer me to reject it as a fable.

Section III.
Evidence arising from the completion of prophecy.

But though conclusive, yet these are not the only arguments which give authority to the Gospel. The completion of prophecy furnishes a Third reason for that reverence, which I feel for Christianity; and for my assent to it as a divine religion. In perusing the Jewish and Christian writings, I find several predictions. Some of these preceded the savior; and others were uttered by him. Some were accomplished in him; and others in events, which took place after his appearing. Examples of each I shall first exhibit; and then show, why they determine me to be a Christian.

It was predicted that the Messiah should come, “before the scepter departed from Judah.” And does not history confirm this prediction? Did not Jesus Christ appear and suffer, before the Jewish government was subverted by the Romans? It was predicted, that “he should come whilst the second temple was standing” and that the house should derive glory from the occasional visits of so great a character. And was not this prophecy fulfilled? It was predicted, that he should come “in four hundred and ninety years,” from the time in which the city of the Jews should recover from the disgrace, under which it had lain during the captivity; that he should “be cut off;” and that “Jerusalem and the temple should be afterwards made desolate.” And did not these things happen in the order, and at the period here described? It was predicted, that in that age of the Messiah many astonishing works should be performed. And were not such works performed by Jesus Christ? At least, is it not an article in his history, that through his benevolent interposition, and in consequence of his supernatural powers, the blind received their sight, the lame walked, the deaf heard, the dumb spake, the sick recovered, and the dead revived? Finally, it was predicted, that “he should enter the holy city in triumph;” that his enemies should conspire against him; that “he should be sold for thirty pieces of silver;” that “he should be scourged,” and treated with every species of contempt; that his persecutors should “spit upon him;” that they should “pierce his hands and feet;” that the spectators of his crucifixion should mock him; that “the soldiers should draw lots for his garment;” that he should be numbered with transgressors; that “gall and vinegar” should be presented to him, when in his last agonies; and that he should “make his grave with the rich.” And in the history of Christ, have we not the completion of these prophecies? Comparing the predictions and the events, can we deny, that the latter are a perfect counterpart to the former?

But the person, whose fate was so particularly foretold, was himself a prophet. On various occasions, he declared to his followers, that he should suffer a violent death. He predicted, that his own countrymen would condemn him; and the Gentiles execute the sentence. He foretold the cowardice of Peter, the treachery of Judas, the terror and flight of all his disciples, when he should be arrested, his resurrection from the grave, the effusion of the holy spirit, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, with all the horrors attending it the dispersion of the Jews, the persecutions of his followers, and the success of the Gospel, notwithstanding the opposition, which would be made by its enemies.

And, according to the records of that age, did not all these things come to pass? Have we not the highest evidence, which history can afford, that Jesus Christ both suffered, and triumphed in the manner, which he had before described? Were not his disciples hated of all men? Were not the most wanton cruelties exercised upon them? And did not the time come, when their extermination from the earth was contemplated as a sacrifice, which the honor of God, the interests of truth, and the good of society required? Was not Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans? And as to the temple, did the resentment of the conquering army leave one stone of that magnificent building on another? Before their reduction, were not the sufferings of the Jews such as no other people had ever experienced? And after that event, were they not dispersed among all nations? Does not their dispersion still continue? And are they not, at this very moment, a standing proof of his veracity, who predicted their ruin? When I compare the denunciations of Jesus Christ with the fate of the Jews, I am unable to account for their conformity, if I reject his divine inspiration? The history of Josephus, who beheld the ruin of his country, comes in aid of the evangelists. And I feel the same confidence, that Christ foretold, as that the historian related, this terrible event.

After a cool and impartial examination of these facts, can it be strange that I should profess myself a Christian? How can I resist the evidence arising from the completion of prophecy? I find many predictions of prophecy? I find many predictions accomplished in Jesus Christ. And many, which were uttered by him, I find incontestably verified by succeeding events. Will it satisfy my reason, to insinuate that this may be the work of chance? Will it be sufficient to say, that the author of our religion, and certain persons, who assumed the name of prophets, happened to guess right? To those, who have any acquaintance with the doctrine of chances, this insinuation will appear both impertinent and absurd. That there could not have been such a series of fortunate guesses, is a point capable of arithmetical demonstration.

The man who can persuade himself to admit this supposition, must, with a very ill grace, object to the miracles, wonders, and signs, ascribed to Jesus Christ. And of all persons, he ought to be the last to charge others with credulity. As to myself, I cannot believe, that some hundreds of years before the savior appeared, the peculiar circumstances of his life and death were guessed by some imposing diviner. I cannot be reconciled to the supposition, that one by mere accident, guessed that he would enter Jerusalem, riding on an ass, and be there sold for thirty pieces of silver; another, that his enemies would pierce his hands, and his feet, would mock his agonies, and cast lots for his garment; a third, that he would be numbered with transgressors, and be laid in the tomb of a rich man. Such a wonderful resemblance of mere conjecture and fact would exceed any prodigy recorded in the sacred volume.

And the same observation will apply to the predictions of Jesus Christ; whether they relate to his own sufferings, or those of his devoted country. It is impossible that he should have described them with so much precision, unless his mind had been divinely illuminated. The success of modern conjectures is well known and if Jesus Christ be degraded to the rank of those, who have been most expert at guessing, I must say, their talents will admit of no comparison with his. The art, if it was only an art, makes no figure at the present age. I must therefore, conclude, that real predictions were uttered and accomplished. And I must draw from them the inference, that the system is divine, in support of which they have been urged. I have no other alternative, than either to admit this conclusion, or the most extravagant suppositions that ever disgraced the human kind.

Section IV.
Evidence arising from the character and miracles of Christ.

But I have a Fourth reason for my belief and principles as a Christian : and that is, that the author of my religion displayed an example: and performed works, which proclaim, not merely a superior, but a divine character. No human language can do justice to the temper and morals of Jesus Christ. The excellency of the one, and the purity of the other, render him an object worthy of our highest admiration. In ho wonderful a manner did he exemplify his own moral lessons? And how divinely did he support his character, as the friend of mankind? With what exquisite tenderness did he conduct towards the miserable? And what patience did he display, under every species of provocation? How condescending was he to the weak, how humble, how just, how ready to forgive his enemies, how benevolent to all? What a sublime devotion possessed his heart? And in scenes of the deepest distress, how perfect was his resignation? How amiably did he converse? How unblamably did he live? How nobly did he die? And can I reconcile the appearance of such virtue with the mean and interested views of an ambitious impostor? Is it credible, that such pure streams should proceed from a corrupt fountain?

Many, who reject the claims, and deny the miracles of Jesus Christ, admit the moral excellency of his character. A greater inconsistency cannot be conceived! What, is it no offence against the laws of morality to appeal to works never performed; and to pretend to the exercise of powers, which never existed? Are deliberate falsehood, imposition, and hypocrisy, to be crafted from the catalog of crimes? Is impiety no stain? And to die with an obstinate and inflexible adherence to false pretensions, is there nothing immoral in such behavior? I confess, I have very different views of right and wrong. And I feel a strong conviction, that falsehood and deceit, for whatever purpose they may be employed; and to whatever end they may be directed, are to the last degree, criminal and disgraceful.

Yet this accusation must be brought against Jesus Christ, if he did no miracle; and was only a self commissioned reformer. He certainly did profess to work miracles; and he did appeal to them, as divine attestations to his sacred character. If he insisted, that he was sent of God to enlighten and save mankind, he was careful to add, “The works, which I do, they bear witness of me.” I must therefore, deny that he was that excellent person, which some modern unbeliever profess to esteem him. Or, I must admit the reality of those miracles, to which he so often, and with so much solemnity, appealed. There is no other alternative. It cannot be, that he was a splendid pattern of pure and sublime morality; whilst his mission, and supernatural powers, were an artful pretence.

Reduced then, to the necessity either of admitting, together with the moral excellencies, the miracles of Jesus, or of rejecting both, I can, without difficulty, make up my judgment. However unphilosophical it may be thought, I am persuaded that he “did such works as no man could perform, unless God were with him.” Yes, notwithstanding the metaphysics of some and the sneers of others, I do believe that he appealed to facts, when he said, “The blind see; the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; and the dead are raised.” God who ordained the laws of nature, can certainly control or suspend them. Nor is there anything absurd in the supposition, that occasions may offer, on which such an application of almighty power may be worthy of God; and reflect honor on his wisdom and benevolence.

It is true, such interruptions of the general course of nature are not visible at the present age. Our eyes have never been gratified with the sight of a miracle. But this is no proof that they eyes of other men in other ages, have imposed upon their understandings. The king of Siam, because he had never seen ice, denied the possibility of its existence. His narrow experience, under a burning sun, was opposed to the testimony of a credible witness. If this prince had been a metaphysician, with what a multiplicity of arguments, would he have encountered and overwhelmed the European, who related the effects of cold upon the waters of his country? If he had been a philosopher, how learnedly would he have reasoned upon the elementary particles of fluids; and from their spherical form, how easily would he have demonstrated the impossibility of congelation? But what is logic, when opposed to fact?

The miracles ascribed to Jesus Christ, and the apostles, rest upon the same foundation with other articles, which we find in the narratives of his life. They have not come down to us through the channel of tradition; but by means of a formal record, made by persons, who declare themselves witnesses of the scenes which they describe. Nor are they introduced into these records merely by way of ornament; or to animate a dull narration: they are an essential part of the work. In the same page, we find the miracles and moral lessons of Jesus Christ. In the same artless manner, they are both related. For which reason, I feel myself unable to draw the line, where truth ends; and fiction begins. All my information concerning Jesus Christ, is derived from the same source. Where testimony is so explicit and circumstantial, I must therefore, admit the whole; or reject the whole. I mention this, because some have professed to believe the history of our Lord’s discourses, whilst they denied that of his miracles. But these articles are so connected, that there can be no discrimination. If an evangelist deserves credit, when he solemnly declares the things which he heard; why not, when he as solemnly declares the facts which he saw? Why should I ascribe more veracity to his ears, than to his eyes?

That the miracles of Jesus sand as fairly recorded as his moral instruction, is not however, my only reason for believing them. Certain events which took place at the memorable period, when these miracles are said to have been exhibited, are a demonstration of their reality. I find, that multitudes, who had the best means of informing their minds on this subject; and who could have detected the imposition, if any had been practiced, were fully persuaded; that supernatural powers had been exercised by Christ and his apostles. So strong was their conviction, that it overcame early habits; and induced them to embrace the religious system, which appealed to this evidence. Nor was this all : it overcame the apprehensions of contempt, of worldly losses, of every species of injury, and of a cruel and infamous death. Upon the principle of miracles, it is easy to account for this magnanimity. But, if the Christian record of miracles be a mere fable, how came the conviction of their reality to take possession of so many fair and honest minds; and to produce such astonishing effects? Why did they believe, who were placed beyond the reach of imposition; and who could have no motive assent to the powers, claimed by the founder, and first preachers of religion, but the certainty that they existed? I am free to confess, that the faith of multitudes, situated as they were, has great influence in confirming my own.

But to pursue the argument : I believe the miracles recorded in the New Testament, because they were not called in question by early infidels. The Jews were compelled to won, that the powers, occasionally exercised by Jesus Christ, were supernatural. “This man doeth many miracles,” was the confession even of the priests and Pharisees. And the modern Jews do not pretend to deny, that the founder of the Christian sect performed many things, which no man could do, unless he were assisted by invisible agents. But, to avoid the consequences of such a concession, they both ascribe his miracles to an infernal cause. Succeeding unbelievers were likewise as well convinced of this part of our Lord’s history. Julian acknowledges, that Christ opened the eyes of the blind; restored limbs to the lame; and recovered demoniacs of their malady. But he intimates, that these are no very extraordinary feats. And Celsus, another violent enemy to Christianity, not presuming to deny the mighty works of Jesus endeavors to depreciate them, by pretending that he learned magic in Egypt. Besides, it is well known, that because the miracles of Christ could not be denied, attempts were made to eclipse their glory. Appollonius Tyanaeus was brought into public view by two unbelievers, as a person whose powers exceeded those of Jesus. The concessions of Julian and Celsus, and this attempt to set up a rival to the savior, may be easily accounted for, if we admit that signs were displayed; and miracles performed by him. But if his supernatural powers were an artful pretence, why did not these adversaries publish the imposition? They did not want sagacity to detect any unfair dealing. And such a discovery would have given the triumph to their cause. That early unbelievers, and some of them persons of the most extensive information; that a Julian and a Celsus did not deny the miracles of Chris, is with me a very strong argument in favor of those miracles. And combined with other evidence, this circumstance is sufficient for my conviction.

Finally, the lying wonders, and pretended miracles of impostors, are a proof that supernatural powers have been employed for religious purposes. This appears to be the just conclusion from these facts. Impostors would not have had recourse to such arts, if they had not known the success of real miracles. Would counterfeits have found their way into circulation, if there never had been genuine coin? Did not the latter unquestionably suggest the former? We may be assured, that pretended miracles would never have enriched the legend of a faint, if real miracles had never attracted the attention of mankind. Supernatural powers have been feigned tin later times, because, in the primitive ages, such powers really existed. And lying wonders, at the tomb of the Abbe DeParis, cam in aid of his doubtful reputastion, because the tomb of Christ was the scene of wonders and sign, which gave immortal spendor to his character; and ensured the final triumphs of his cause.

I have now assigned the various reasons, on which I ground my assent to the miracles, which stand recorded in the Christian volume. I believe them, because they rest on the same historic evidence, with the moral instruction, and common facts contained in that book. I believe them, because co-temporary and subsequent events were such as might have been expected from the operation of miracles on the human mind. I believe them, because the early opposers of Christianity did not call them in question. And I believe them, because their reality appears to me, to be a fair deduction from many unsuccessful attempts to imitate, and to rival them. Thus convinced of the supernatural powers of Jesus Christ and the apostles, I am persuaded that they spake by authority; and consequently, that the religious system, church derives its name from the former, is not only superior to all others, but that it is DIVINE.

With such force, do these arguments operate on my understanding, that I feel an increasing confidence in my principles as a Christian. The more I examine the evidences of my religion, the more am I convinced, that it will not be overthrown by the weapons usually employed against it. The foundation which supports it, is not to be weakened by the shafts of wit; or blown down by the breath of ridicule. I am sensible, that there is no subject which may not be placed in a ludicrous point of light; as there is no character which may not be vilified. Religion, patriotism, chastity, and almost every moral and social virtue, have, in their turn, been so exposed as to invite contempt. Soame Jeyns has discharged all wit upon the rights of man, and the leading principles of a free government. If ridicule were the test of truth, his book would be unanswerable. But though it abounds with wit, it contains one argument. And for this reason, the cause of civil freedom has suffered no injury from such an assailant. Though republican principles be the butt of his ridicule, yet they command the highest respect, wherever they are seriously examined. And the same observation may be applied to the subject of religion. To overthrow the faith of one, who has studied its evidence, arguments must be employed, and not the false colorings of wit. Facts must be fairly and clearly disproved. Otherwise, the Christian will retain his reverence for religion; and thoughts ashamed of the disingenuity of an opposer, he will not be ashamed of the Gospel.

But from the wit exerted upon Christianity, I proceed to more sober objections. And I must say, that however plausible they may seem at first, they do not, by any means, invalidate its evidence. Many of them are impertinent; because they are leveled, not against the Christian religion, but against its corruptions. And many more are sufficiently answered by an appeal to the constitution of nature; and the degree of evidence upon which we act in general concerns. Some objections, if admitted, would overthrow the credit of all history. And others, when pursued to their just consequences, would not only subvert the religion of Christ, but would bury natural religion in its ruins.

In vain then, are objections of this kind urged against Christianity. In vain am I reminded that the Gospel was first preached to the multitude; and not to the learned wise. I know that there is as much fairness of mind in the former, as in the latter; and, in regard to matters of fact, that they are as competent judges. In vain am I called to reflect, that false pretences to inspiration, and lying wonders, have, in all ages, been employed for political purposes. The fact I do not dispute; but I deny the conclusion. Falsehoods are daily uttered; but does it follow, that the truth is never spoken? Because many counterfeits are in circulation, is there no unadulterated coin? As I have before had occasion to observe, the various arts of religious imposition take their origin from real miracles, and a real inspiration. In vain am I told, that the Christian system is not universal; and of consequence, cannot proceed from the common parent of mankind. I know that reason is imparted in various degrees; that the means of improvement, civil liberty, and all the outward blessings of life, are bestowed in different measures on different objects : and yet, I am persuaded, that they all come from God. In vain is my attention called to the angry disputes of Christians, respecting the doctrines of the Gospel I am convinced that such is the weakness of the human mind, disputes may arise on any subject. I hear men dispute on the principles of government, the rights of citizens, and the nature and extent of civil liberty : and yet, I doubt not, that these rights, and this liberty, have a real foundation; and that the end of government is their security. Why then, should the disputes of Christians discredit the Gospel? In vain is my faith insulted with the mortifying insinuation, that professors do not exemplify the virtues of their religion; that their principles and practice are often at variance. I am sensible that Christians are rational agents; and that the influence of their religion is not compulsory, but moral. Why then, should I be more surprised that the laws of the Gospel should be occasionally disregarded, than that the dictates of conscience, or the laws written on the heart, should not always maintain their authority? In vain will any urge, to the prejudice of Christianity, the ambition of a priesthood; and the various steps, by which the ministers of religion ascended from the condition of instructors, to that of oppressors. The Gospel I am certain, gives no countenance to such abuses. So far from it spiritual pride, and spiritual tyranny, are objects of its execration. I might go on to enumerate other popular objections against the system; but he who has formed his ideas of Christianity from the writings of the apostles and evangelists, will be certain that its credit is not injured by them.

As there is not any subject, which may not be turned into ridicule, neither is there any historical fact against which many plausible objections may not be raised. Considering his power, influence and popularity, the destruction of Cesar, by the Roman senators, may be opposed with great ingenuity; and many arguments may be brought to fix a suspicion on this part of ancient history. The execution of Charles the first, and the triumphs of Cromwell, are likewise articles which a logician might assail with many objections. And if a skeptic were so disposed, now easily might he refute (as the term is sometimes understood) the American history of independence4? He might contrast the naval and military strength, the riches, and the population of Britain, with the poverty and weakness of the colonies: —he might also expatiate on the different principles, habits, interfering interests, and jealousies of the colonists; — and subjoining the fears of some, and the strong attachment of others to their political parent, he might, from the whole, show the incredibility of our revolution. Still, the glorious fact is a refutation of such reasonings. And I must observe, that in regard to historical relations, the testimony of one credible witness will outweigh millions of such objections, as a fruitful imagination may easily invent.

This conviction never fails to accompany me, when I repair to the sacred oracles. In the New Testament, I find a detail of instructions given, of wonders performed, and of futurities revealed. I am also entertained with a particular account of the sufferings, death resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Other astonishing events likewise, as circumstantially related. And the history containing these things appears to be as fairly written; and to carry with it as substantial proofs of its authenticity, as any history which has gained credit in the world. Do any ask, why I believe the antiquity of the Christian records? I answer, for the same reason that I believe the antiquity of Virgil’s Poems, Cesar’s Commentaries, or Sallust’s Narrations: and that is, the concurring testimony of all intervening ages. Do any ask, why I believe, that the several books were written by the persons whose names they bear? I answer, for the same reason that I believe the Georgics to be the production of Virgil; — Jerusalem Delivered, that of Tasso; — Paradise Lost, that of Milton; —an Essay, upon the subject of Miracles to be the work of Hume; —and a Refutation of that Essay the performance of Campbell. Do any inquire, whether the sacred pages have not been greatly corrupted? I answer, they have not been greatly corrupted; as appears by a collation of the earliest manuscripts, and an appeal to the earliest versions, and ancient fathers. So many corroborating circumstances plead in favor of the Gospel, that I must either distrust all records; or continue to admit the authenticity of those, which display the duty and hopes of a Christian.

To conclude: the religion of Jesus Christ does not decline a fair examination. It consents to meet opposition; but in the character of its opponent, it requires certain qualifications, which have not always appeared in the contest. It requires a large acquaintance with the system itself, an acquaintance formed, not through the medium of human creeds, but by a direct application to the evangelic records. And it requires an extensive knowledge of the peculiar language, in which those records were originally composed, of the various readings grounded on different manuscripts of Heathen and Jewish testimonies, of the customs and moral state of those countries where Christianity was first published, of the concessions and objections of the earliest unbelievers, and of the general history of the church. Thus furnished, several have attacked this religion; but the contest has generally terminated in their conviction. I know many instances, where men have opened the history of Christ with the disrespect of unbelievers; and closed it with the reverence of Christians.

The prevailing sentiments of Americans will be naturally on the side of that religion, which has been the subject of this work. Its influence in the first settlement of the country, will not be soon effaced from their minds. Their political principles will inspire a reverence for a system, which admits of no respect of persons; but inspire a reverence for a system, which admits of no respect of persons; but enjoins the same duties on all; and opens to all, the same prospects of glory, honor, and immortality. Its benevolent tendency, conspiring with its evidence, must ensure to it a fair examination. And those, who thus examine, even if they remain unconvinced will consent, that others should cultivate its temper; and follow its rules. They will not be displeased at seeing the virtue of their neighbors, directed and invigorated by Christian principles. And though they may not see fit to adopt their language yet they will impute no uncommon weakness, credulity, or fanaticism to those, who say with apostle, “LORD TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? THOU HAST THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.”

Celebrating First Amendment Rights

Religious Freedom Day

is celebrated in America each year on January 16 — the date of the 1786 passage of Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. That measure ended the state-established church in Virginia and for the first time placed all denominations on the same legal footing. That act fully protected the right of religious conscience — one of the first rights protected in America. As John Quincy Adams affirmed, “The transcendent and overruling principle of the first settlers of New England was conscience.”

When America became an independent nation, the first state constitutions similarly protected the rights of religious conscience, such as that of North Carolina:

That all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God, according to the dictates of their own conscience.

The rights of religious conscience were then enshrined at the federal level in the First Amendment of the Constitution. As Thomas Jefferson affirmed multiple times:

No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience.

[O]ur rulers can have no authority over such natural rights, only as we have submitted to them. The rights of conscience we never submitted.

[I]t is inconsistent with the spirit of our laws and Constitution to force tender consciences.

Also celebrated today is the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This pastor practiced many First Amendment rights, including not only that of free-exercise of religion but also assembly, petition, and speech. Dr. King’s use of non-violent protests during the Civil Rights movement caused him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Let’s celebrate the First Amendment — and heroes such as Dr. King who championed its rights. Currently, only 1 in 1,000 Americans can name the five rights in the First Amendment (religion, or conscience; press; speech; assembly; and petition), and 33% can’t name even one of them. So be different! Take the time to memorize these five important rights.

Sermon – Election – 1787, Massachusetts

Joseph Lyman (1749-1826) graduated from Yale in 1767 and was pastor of a church in Hatfield, MA (1772-1826). This election sermon was preached by Rev. Lyman in Boston, MA on May 30, 1787.

A
SERMON
PREACHED BEFORE
His Excellency JAMES BOWDOIN, ESQ.
GOVERNOR
His Honor THOMAS CUSHING, Esq.
Lieutenant – Governor;
the Honorable the Council, And the Honorable the Senate, And the House of Representatives,
Of the Commonwealth of
MASSACHUSETTS
May 30, 1787
Being the Day of GENERAL ELECTION
By Rev. JOSEPH LYMAN
Pastor of the Church in Hatfield
Boston:
Printed by ADAMS and NOURSE
Printers to the Honorable the General CourtN.B. The Address to His Excellency JOHN HANCOCK, Esq; Governor elect, was omitted in the delivery, as his choice and acceptance of the office, was not then declared.

AN ELECTION SERMON
ROMANS, Chap. 13: 4, first clause
For he is the Minister of God to thee for good.It is the appropriate privilege of Christianity, to afford doctrines and precepts adapted to the circumstances of all characters of men. Other systems of morality are partial in their instructions, deficient in motives, and erroneous in the maxims of human life. But the author of our faith hath grounded our obligations upon a rational foundation, excited us to duty by suitable and efficient motives, and extended his instructions to every class of men. With equal regards he respects the wise and the noble, the uninstructed and him of low degree. To render his system the more beneficial, he has appointed ministers to explain its principles, and inculcate his saving doctrines upon men of all degrees; to vindicate and magnify his institutions before Kings, and to preach the gospel to the poor.

And this is the minister’s happiness, that he is ready furnished with instructions suited to every auditory before whom we may speak. All men need instruction, to be prompted to the discharge of their supreme obligation to God, and their relative obligations to each other: And this their common privilege that the blessed Jesus by his written word and preached gospel, provides for all a portion in due season.

The words selected for the basis of a discourse upon the present occasion, contain instruction for rulers; to point them to the origin of their power and the use they should make of it: They comprise a lesson equally useful to subjects; how to conduct themselves in relation to their rulers, and what views to entertain of their authority.

Should the Preacher conform himself to the text, and place to view the solemn importance of it, the present occasion might be richly profitable to this great assembly. May that Divine Teacher, who spake as never man spake, by the aids of his a Spirit, assist the Preacher to find out acceptable words and the words of truth and soberness; to recommend his doctrines in their purity and power to his servants, now convened to learn the law in his sanctuary.

For he is the minister of God to thee for good.Our first enquiry is. Who is this minister of God? The context informs us, that he is the civil magistrate, called in a preceding passage, the higher powers, since the magistrate is raised in the community to a station above his brethren, and instructed with authority, to govern others, by ordaining and executing laws for the common good. That magistrates are designed by the Apostle appears from his terming them, Rulers who are not a terror to good works, but to the evil: they are appointed to support good morals and punish vice. And this part of the description agrees with the civil magistrate, He is a Revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil: and as acknowledgement of his services and dignity, he receives tribute. It is thus evident from the Apostle’s calling him the Higher Powers, the Ruler and the Revenger, that the civil magistrate is intended by the minister of God. In speaking upon this subject, four general propositions will merit our attention, viz.

IV. What are the obligations of subjects to the civil authority?

1. Civil authority is of Divine institution.He is a minister of God.

Order is Heaven’s first law. Without it the gracious designs of the Creator cannot be accomplished. He has made his creatures of various powers and degrees; rising by an easy and happy graduation, from the lowest species of animals, to the most exalted rank of heavenly intelligencies. Creatures of the same species are constituted with certain differences, by which they greatly excel each other. Men, who are said to be born in a state of equality, are yet endowed with unequal measures of strength and wisdom. And hence there is a greater variety amongst men, than amongst several species of animals. Some are qualified to teach and guide; others to be taught and led by their superiors. To affirm that in the qualifications to rule and guide, all men are equal, is to blend characters totally diverse, to confound wisdom and folly, and affability and condescension with ill-nature and pride. There have been distinctions in the world, and various degrees amongst men; while endowed with such various qualities and affections, the distinction will remain. To gainsay this distinction, is to counteract one of the principal laws of humanity. Some must be in authority; others in subordination. And happy id that people who are allowed in Providence, to look out from among their brethren persons of the best disposition, and most aptly qualified to rule over them.

That particular persons should be distinguished and exalted in society, may be argued from the methods of Providence, ever since man hath been upon earth. No people were ever able to subsist for a length of time, without forming into some kind of civil government, and setting aside those boasted equalities, with which men are born into the world. They must be subject to some common rule and authority, in order to possess any measure of happiness and security. Where there are no rulers to govern the community, all things are immediately involved in confusion and misery. The countenance of our original equality is a state of nature, and all ages have found a state of nature to be a state of war. Therefore it has pleased the common Parent of man, to lead them to a state of civil subordination , by which a part of the community are intrusted to ordain and carry into effect, laws and regulations for that whole.

That the establishment of civil government is by the counsel with wisdom of God, we are taught both from the history of his Providence, and the testimony of his inspired truth. Israel, the people of his love, were formed into a civil community, and made subordinate to established laws, to be administered by rulers appointed by rulers appointed for that purpose. And it was time of sore rebuke, when there was no magistrate in the land of sufficient authority, to put them in fear. The exaltation and degradation of rulers is the work of god, and not the production of a blind and fortuitous chance, according to the opinion of idle and infidel wits. For faith the word of enlightening truth: Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the Judge; he putteth down one and setteth up another. The prerogative of ordaining magistracy and civil authority belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ; this claim he assumes to himself under the name of Wisdom. “By me Kings reign and Princes decree justice. By me Princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.” These words imply the power of God, in supporting civil authority, and also his approbation of civil magistracy, as one of the blessings of the Redeemer’s purchase. In what estimation the blessing of civil government is holden by God, may be learned from the apostolical direction to Titus, how to teach the flock of Christ.

“Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, and to obey magistrates.” So far is Christ interested in the support of civil authority, that he will acknowledge those only to his be his followers, who willingly obey rulers, and submit to their administrations.

But we need not go far for arguments: Our text is encompassed with proofs of the divine institution of civil authority. The argument in the first verse, for subjection to the higher powers, is, for there is no power but of god: the powers that be are ordained by God. The reason alleged for not opposing the power, is in the second verse. Whosoever resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Thrice in this argument the Apostle stiles the magistrate, God’s minister; that is, a public servant appointed by God. He is stiled also into God’s revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil. And Christians must needs be subject, not only from fear and constraint, but cheerfully in discharge of a good conscience. Therefore our argument for the Divine institution of civil authority, rests upon the uniformity of Providence, in bringing mankind under government; upon he clear testimony of scripture; and upon our Lord’s repeated instructions to his disciples to yield a willing homage to rulers, even when they are neither of their faith, nor even of exemplary morals.

Not that God hath ordained any particular form of Government. This is left to the judgment of men, and the circumstance of particular countries and communities. But some government is necessary. God wills mankind to be in subordination, and that they stand to each other in the relation of rulers and subjects. He does not set up the claim of Kings, to an indefeatible and hereditary right: Such a claim is without support n scripture, and is repugnant to common sense. The leading idea of scripture is, that communities constitute certain of their brethren to rule over them: and thus constituted, they the ordinance of the Supreme Ruler.

Our argument is not, hat every power which assumes to be authority is really so; or that God would have it acknowledged as his institution. Usurpers and incurable tyrants are not the ordinance of God. Invaders are to be rejected as hostile to civil authority and subversive of government. The Apostle would show, that rulers allowed by long use, submitted to by promises of allegiance, or introduced according to the stated maxims of the community over whom they preside, are invested with power by God himself, and are to be obeyed by Christians as his ordinance; and this, however their characters may be faulty, and their administrations in many respects injudicious and reprehensible.

I proceed to prove,

II. That civil authority is instituted for the good of the people in general, and for the benefit of the church of Christ in particular.He is the Minister of God to Thee for Good.

That God has instituted civil authority for the common good, is a full demonstration, that he utterly abhors that tyranny and oppression, which is so frequently practiced by the intolerant Rulers of the earth: His benevolence is incensed at the abuse of his gifts, and the perversion of those prayers and talents which he has bestowed upon magistrates for the happiness of his creatures. Rulers, who misapply their authority for their personal advantage, and use of force of the State, to feed their ambition and revenge, or to gratify the guilty passions of minions and favorites, at the expense of public misery, are singular objects of divine resentments, and a strange punishment is prepared for them by the righteous Avenger. No man has authority from God for partial advantage, but for the common good. And while God suffers such rulers to hold dominion among men, he utterly abhors the injustice and wickedness of their administrations; he will bring to swift destruction these haughty oppressors of the nations, and proportion his plagues to their violence, and to their fellow men. He will eventually shew his power, and makes his wrath known in their wonderful perdition.

But let none imagine, that God has no gracious purposes to answer by an iniquitous administration of civil government. Insatiable oppressors, bloody conquerors and imperial butchers, are of use in the scheme of Providence, to correct and amend the revolting tribes of men. While they make the earth to tremble, and turn fruitful fields into a desolate wilderness, they are the messengers of divine displeasure, the rod of God’s anger, and the staff of his indignation, against an hypocritical and rebellious people. If a wise and merciful administration will not correct the dissoluteness of an obdurate people, God scourges them with the stings of scorpions, with the relentless cruelty and ambition of unprincipled tyrants. Such dispensations are necessary, both to reclaim the disobedient, and as an example of retributive justice upon the incorrigible, that others may shun the rocks on which they split.

God’s judgments are full of mercy. That greatest temporal calamity which men experience, an unrighteous administration of civil power, has yet a gracious mixture of compassion, and tends to make perfect the scheme of Providence.

But a good and equal administration of government is a blessing to the community in a different sense. The enjoyments and tranquility of subjects are ae secured by the protection of rulers. To advance general happiness, to secure property, to increase true, rational liberty, and to preserve the lives of men, are the original purposes for which civil laws and magistrates are ordained by heaven. The Supreme Ruler has given to magistrates no warrant to pursue unequal or partial measures; to consult personal or family interests; nor to foster the wishes and pursuits of the cringing favorites.—The sword of the state is not committed to them for the exclusive advantage of particular societies or classes of men. To promote the general good, to cherish virtue, and to diffuse joyous prosperity through the whole community, are the ends for which God has exalted them to power. And they may pursue the interests of individuals, only in consistency with the public benefit. The design of their institution is to encourage virtue, to protect good men, to frown upon the courses of the wicked, and to repress the fraud and injustice, by which oppressors consume the faithful of the land, and devour the widow and him who hath no helper.

Our Apostle would teach the civil authority, that the great objects of their care, are to cherish virtue, and extirpate vice; to avenge public and individual wrongs; to curb the excesses of selfish avarice and ambition, and to foster that philanthropy and integrity, by which alone, nations can be built up and established. And they would do well to remember, that not only the general welfare of the community is a principal object with all rulers who pursue the end of their appointment, but that god requires of them, a constant and watchful attention to the happiness of the church of Christ; and for this plain reason, that magistrates can in no way so substantially promote the public good, as by honoring the doctrines and followers of Jesus. Whatever infidel wits may dream to the contrary, Jesus Christ is appointed by the Father to a universal kingdom. For the Father hath committed all judgment to the Son: And gave him to be head over all things to the Church. By him Kings reign, and at his pleasure he sets up and casts down all human rule and authority. And those are short sighted politicians, who pay no special regard to Christ. As the Governor of all States, he will be acknowledged Supreme, sitting in the assemblies of the mighty, and judging among the God’s: States that have heard of Christ, and his exaltation, and give him no public acknowledgments, are profanely impious against the Father and the Son, and may well fear the wrath of the Lamb. Let rulers then receive their power, as proceeding from Christ, and by solemn testimonies of respect to him and to his disciples, honor him as their Sovereign: And thus kiss the Son, lest he be angry and they perish from the way. They are ordained for the particular benefit of the Church, for the prosperity of which, all the wheels of Providence, and all the revolutions of empire, have been in motion from the morning of time. It should lie upon the minds of rulers, especially of those who make a profession, that they believe the truth of the Christian religion, to honor Christ by a true profession, and an answerable life, and by their immediate regards in all their administrations, to the prosperity and dignity of Christ’s family upon earth. This is God’s governing end in their appointment to rule, that his children may lead peaceable and quiet lives in godliness and honesty. It is a gross mistake, an affront upon the Lord of all worlds, to affirm, that civil magistrates have nothing to do for the church of Christ: Their paramount Sovereign, their civil trust, without a diligent attention to his church upon earth. As well may the minister of an earthly Prince allege that he has nothing to do for the peace and dignity of his master’s family, as civil rulers can allege that they have no concern with the church, the family of the King of Zion. The magistrates most assiduous and unwearied labors are due by his appointment to the church of God.

Our attention is called under the next head, to specify,

III. What measures the civil authority must pursue, to answer the end of their institution.The God of Heaven, who setteth up Kings, and removeth Kings at his pleasure, gives to rulers the kingdom, strength, power, and glory, for the benefit of his people. To answer this benevolent purpose of Heaven should be the magistrates’ first employment. How this purpose may be most effectually answered is our present enquiry. And here I shall be indulged in several particulars. And

1st, to be the minister of God for good, the ruler must entrain an ardent love for his people.

Love is the main spring of every interchange of kind offices amongst men. In no case has this Divine principle a more efficacious operation, than when the ruler’s heart is inspired with a paternal affection towards his subjects. To be the father of his people, is the magistrate’s dignity: This constitutes his nearest conformity to our universal Parent: This will animate him to prosecute the common happiness, under all temptations, and in seasons of the most pressing trials and difficulties: Without this, he will faint under the perverseness and ingratitude of his people, when they oppose his labors for their good, and ill requite his faithful and painful services for national establishment and prosperity. Love animated the patience and perseverance of Moses, to plead for Israel in their numerous rebellions, and finally to pledge his own prosperity, for their salvation, when he prayed that God would spare them, altho’ to vindicate his justice, he should blot him out of his book; that is, cut him off from a name and inheritance among the tribes of the Lord, in the land of promise.

This noble affection filled David with all the agonies of distress, and the importunity of prayer, that God would spare the sheep of his flock, from the sword of the destroying Angel, which was drawn over Jerusalem. This fortified Nehemiah, to a life of denial, conflict and danger, while he built the city of his father’s sepulchers. And this will give energy to the endeavors of all magistrates for the prosperity of their brethren, and make them to esteem diligence, watchfulness, personal expense, self-denial, continual humiliation and supplication before God, but reasonable and pleasant services for the public benefit. That he may pursue their prosperity, the ruler must cultivate a tender and benevolent affection for his people. Again,

2nd, to be God’s minister for good, the ruler must learn the characters and interest of his people.

Ignorant and uninformed Statesmen, however honest in their intentions, can do very little for the happiness of the community. Their limited views create local prejudices, and subject them to the artifices of interested politicians. While a part of the community make undue advantages of their ignorant mismanagement, the body languishes and withers away for want of counsel, energy and uniformity in the civil administration. It concerns rulers, therefore, to be well acquainted with the tempers, capacities, views and interests of the citizens, in all parts of their government, that they may adapt their administration to the advantage of the whole, without material injury to individuals. Rulers unacquainted with the interests of the several professions, and the reputation and capacities of the principal characters, will make grievous mistakes in government, by confining their labors to a narrow circle, and by losing the services of the most suitable men in the community. What is more preposterous, than for rulers to exert their influence and authority, for the partial interest of the territory in their vicinity, to make the interest of one class or profession yield to the avarice and ambition of another; to be a stickler for this or that faction in the State? A ruler should have an enlarged heart, a noble, well-instructed mind; able to comprehend the characters and interests of his brethren, and disposed, with a generous impartiality and dissuasive benevolence, to speak peace to all his seed. And for this end he must study the dispositions, the employments, the weaknesses and abilities, and the substantial interests of all his subjects. This knowledge is essentially requisite to be a useful and reputable magistrate. Again,

3rd, to be a minister for good to the people, the ruler must be instructed in the political maxims and laws of the State, in which he governs.

The safety of a people, especially of a free people, depends upon a sacred adherence to the original principles of their government. When those principles are disregarded, every blessing is insecure, and the administration degenerates into an arbitrary despotism. Therefore rulers should understand the system of laws, and those forms of administration, to which the people are accustomed, and conform themselves to those original principles; then they will have a line of conduct in their office, and the people will know what to expect from them. As a general knowledge of civil policy is necessary to make an accomplished ruler, so a thorough acquaintance with their own state policy is necessary to make a tolerable one. When ignorance is in place, the people will mourn, and folly and wickedness be exalted on every side. It was an essential qualification for government in Solomon, that God had given him wisdom of heart, very much, even as the sand upon the sea-shore. WO to thee, O land, when thy King is a child. The curse of ignorant uninformed rulers is taught us by the prophet Isaiah, and I will give children to be their Princes, and babies shall rule over them: As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them: O my people, they which lead thee, cause thee to err. And faith Solomon, the Prince that wanted understanding, is also a great oppressor. But by wisdom and understanding the throne is established, and the expectations of the people are richly gratified. No man therefore, should undertake to rule amongst men, until he is fully instructed into the civil constitution and laws of the community, where he is to govern. Again,

4th, to promote the public good, rulers must be controlled in all their measures, by truth and integrity.

For wisdom without integrity, will soon degenerate into cunning and artifice, by which the interests of the community will fall a prey to those who should be their friendly protectors. A magistrate without truth and sincerity is the snare and perdition of his subjects. All power should be founded in truth, both in the attainment and the exercise of it. The lip of truth shall be established forever: but a lying tongue is for a moment. Excellent speech becometh not a fool; much less do lying lips a prince. An administration founded in truth and righteousness, will bear the test of scrutiny: and measures dictated by honesty, shall come forth approved and prosperous in the end: while the duplicity of deceitful politicians shall perish, and involve both rulers and subjects in the snares of perplexity and ruin. All men, especially all leading men, carry their measures with the most success and reputation, when they prosecute them with simple uniformity and honest sincerity. It should therefore be the first object with him who rules over men, to be just, to be true in his administrations: not having a mysterious system of delusion to deceive others into his fraudulent intentions.

To gain the confidence of their subjects, rulers must be men upon who whom they may safely depend. And without this confidence, subjects can derive very little advantage from government. Men in place, therefore, must make declarations and promises strictly just and clearly intelligible, and by adhering to them, the subject must know what to expect from authority. Rulers, to be useful, must deal fairly and honestly with the people; distribute equal justice; protect them from wrongs, and punish injuries with integrity and decision: not leave honest men the prey of fraud.

It is a sad time, when rulers are so inattentive to justice and veracity, that truth falls in the streets, and he who departs from iniquity, makes himself a prey. Good rulers make fair promises and keep them, and are exemplary in fulfilling contracts. The magistrate, who defrauds his subjects, will have a poor face to punish individuals who defraud one another. Do rulers wish to be public blessings? Then let them keep good the public faith, sustain the credit of the state, and pay punctually the public contracts. This will give energy to government, establish the influence and credit of authority, and teach the people that uprightness and veracity, by which alone the various members of society can be closely cemented. A dissembler and a cheat among individuals, is a base character; and a fraudulent administration of government, is a character as much more detestable, as the number and authority of the rulers exceed one individual. Some have acted as though a fraud or falsehood might be lost in the number of partners, or be sanctified by great and powerful names: but he who sitteth in the Heavens, will manifest their error, and prove, that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, that they are but for a moment, that the feet of unrighteous rulers stand in slippery places; and when the good man seeth their end, he shall suddenly curse their habitation. Does the ruler wish to be useful and reputable? Let him be a true and honest man. Would he involve himself and the community in infamy and perplexity? Let him be unequal in his administrations; let his performances contradict his promises; by false weights and false measures of justice and equity, let him frame iniquity by law, and teach the Lord’s people to transgress. Again,

5th, to rule well, the magistrate must cultivate habits of industry and frugality.

Rulers have so much to do, that they have no time to lose. An indolent ruler, like the useless and unwieldy drone, devours the honey which others have gathered. He consumes the people’s tribute without earning it. The support which subjects should liberally furnish for the maintenance of government, rulers should merit by their diligent services. And while they carefully avoid avarice in withholding expenses for the public good, it concerns them to use the revenues of the State, with economy, that no part of the public treasure be applied to useless and trifling purposes. Covetousness and prodigality are both mischievous vices in rulers, and they should avoid each extreme, if they would be blessings to the people.

Indolent rulers will be other ways vicious. Idleness will cloud their minds and extinguish the nobler sensations of the soul, and the most noxious weeds will spring up in their place. By their example, habits of idleness, intemperance, dissipation, gaming, and profaneness, like some infectious contagion, will spread through all ranks of people. An enervated, poor and contemptible people will be the consequence of an indolent and dissipated administration of government. Such wicked rulers will rule over a poor, worthless people; the community will sink into effeminacy, dependence and wretchedness. It becomes the magistrate then to be a man of business, not a man of pleasure; to be attentive to his office, and painful in his exertions for the common good. Thus shall his example recommend hardiness, patience, frugality and self-denial to his subjects, and through the prevalence of these virtues, they shall be able to meet the enemy in the gate, and rise with luster among the nations. It was the maxim of a Grecian Prince, worthy to be adopted by the Christian magistrate; it ill becomes a Statesman, to sleep all night.

The virtues of industry, and well-judged frugality, are the support of republican governments, and are therefore peculiarly requisite in their civil authority, who by their example, should teach the people habits of diligence, hardiness and economy, not to consume, according to the baneful customs of our republics, in dissipation and luxury, much more than we earn by our labor and industry. Again,

6th, to answer the purpose of their institution, civil rulers must protect good citizens, and punish the wicked.

The scripture character of rulers is that they are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Power is grossly abused and perverted, when wicked citizens are fostered and protected by authority.

God has ordained rulers to avenge the wrongs of injustice and oppression, and the violence of sedition and rebellion. It is only when bad men are in authority, that vile men are exalted and screened from justice. No favor or friendship, no relation or connection with men in power, should cover the wicked from punishment. Rulers are to execute the laws: And the laws are made for the lawless and disobedient. All delays of justice, the exemption from chastisement , which corrupt citizens receive in breaking the peace and violating the ordinances of justice, is a sore malady in the State, and proves that the head is sick and the heart faint. Good magistrates, by their influence, suppress immorality, and every transgression of relative justice. God commands it, and faithful subjects have a claim upon their rulers, to be protected from fraud and oppression, to have the laws executed, their persons, and their liberty and properly protected, from the depredations of designing and unprincipled men. And the magistrate who does not endeavor to punish and reclaim, or utterly to purge from the State wicked and disobedient subjects, forgets the main design of his exaltation. And when good men are left to the fear and danger of losing their privileges and possessions, they are sadly neglected; and the God of Heaven will avenge their quarrel against such slothful and unrighteous magistrates. To let the wicked go unpunished, and the righteous live without protection, is both a contemptible weakness and a scandalous wickedness in authority. For it should be an abomination to Kings to do wickedness, and the throne is established by righteousness. Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is the reproach of any people. He that justifies the wicked and he that condemns the just, even they both are an abomination to the Lord. For this end rulers wait upon their work to make a clear distinction between the just and the unjust; and it is an illustrious display of benevolence, to over-whelm incorrigible offenders by the arm of power, and raise to safety and honor the faithful of the land. It is a precept grounded upon moral reasons, and consequently of perpetual obligation,– The man that will do presumptuously and will not hearken unto the Priest, which standeth there to minister before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die; and thou shall put away the evil from Israel. The State must employ punishments adequate to the suppression of vice, and rewards commensurate to the encouragement of virtue and fidelity: and the ruler who permits the rod of the wicked to rest upon the lot of the righteous, is disobedient to God, and an enemy to his people. Again,

7th, Rulers, to be ministers of God for good, must be men of religion.

All Christian graces are of immediate use in the administration of government. And as rulers receive their ordination from God, he expects that as servants they honor him, and obey his Son Jesus Christ, as their liege Lord. Since religion furnishes men with those excelling gifts and good dispositions, which qualify them to govern, so they can never cultivate faith and piety with too careful an assiduity. Their success in office, and their usefulness among their subjects, depends primarily upon the Divine presence and blessing. Therefore they should be men of exemplary faith in their King and Savior, and not lean unto their own understanding. That illustrious magistrate Nehemiah thought it a most essential qualification in his brother Hananiah, to take charge over Jerusalem. Because he was a faithful man and feared God above many. Magistrates should be men of prayer, that God may dwell with them and direct their counsels. They should be accustomed to appear before God in the posture of suppliants, that he would enlighten their ignorance, and prosper their exertions. None have more need of wisdom than they; and to whom should they apply but to give to him who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not. Would they be honored by the obedience of their subjects? Let them obtain this honor by obeying God, by lives of temperance, sobriety and a becoming gravity. Like their blessed Master, let them be meek, humble and gentle towards all men; like him, love righteousness and hate iniquity, be constant, watchful, and fervent in duty, bearing their sorrows, and relieving the distresses of their fellow men; like him go about doing good. It is incumbent upon them , to honor Christ in his institutions, setting a pattern before their brethren of family religion, resolving with the pious and valiant Joshua, that as for us and our houses, we will serve the Lord; attending uniformly upon the ordinances of public worship, hallowing God’s Sabbaths, and receiving his sanctuary, attentively waiting upon the dispensation of the gospel. From rulers we may well expect submission to all God’s commandments, and that they cherish the appointed means of diffusing Christian knowledge, and by honoring Christ’s ministers and followers, become nursing fathers of the Church. Some have thought that religion is no important part of a ruler’s character: It is true, that rulers without religion are to be obeyed. But when it is considered that they are made rulers ultimately for the good and prosperity of the Church, we must censure those for their ignorance or irreligion, who adopt a maxim so pernicious to civil society, and embarrassing to the interests of virtue and morality. Without religion, rulers have no God, unto whom thy may repair and expect his blessing upon their administration. God is not with them, and when his presence is withdrawn, darkness and perplexity will fill their paths with snares and adversity. Immoral and ungodly rulers may affect courtesy, affability, and patriotism to gain popularity; but they have no moral principle upon which the public may depend, and too often have they proved the scourge of the community, and the rod of God’s indignation against a profane or hypocritical people. Therefore we lay it down as a qualification of great moment to the State, that magistrates be men of piety, who have a governing regard to the glory of God, and a warm affection for the gospel of Christ. Such are the sentiments avowed in our form of government, which requires the great officers of government, before they enter upon their trust, to declare their belief of the Christian religion, as the religion taught from Heaven, for the happiness and salvation of lost men. Again,

8th, to influence them to a useful discharge of their trust, it is important, that rulers keep in mind their mortality and their future account before the bar of God.

I have said ye are Gods: and all of you are children of the Most High. But ye shall die like men. Like their brethren of the dust they shall go to the grave, the house appointed for all the living. To death succeeds their solemn account at the tribulation of the son of man, who will judge the secrets of men according to our gospel. The wise, the great and the mighty of the earth, will stand before the impartial judgment-seat, upon a level with the despised and indigent of their subjects. At that solemn hour when the opinions of men shall be lighter than the dust of the balance, and the flattering tongue shall be put to perpetual silence, when the judgment shall be the Lord’s and shall be administered without respects of persons, the enquiry will be, not whether we have been great in the earth, enjoyed the applauses of our fellow worms, and exercised dominion among the sons of the dust: but whether we have filled our station, kept in view our last account, and prepared matters for our acquittal at the solemn trial. Rulers should remember that their reward will be in exact proportion to their benevolence and fidelity, not according to their power and authority; and that their punishment will be alleviated by any instances of present impunity from the importance of human justice: but according to their sloth and luxury, their wantonness and ambition, their oppression and avarice, such will be their retribution from the sentence of the Lord of Saboath, who hears the groans of injured and neglected subjects, and has prepared a strange punishment for the haughty oppressors of the earth.

Were the day of retribution, which will soon overtake us all, duly realizes by magistrates, how could they fail to discharge with assiduity and care their sacred trust, and to be in earnest to become ministers of God for good, to the people? Having stated the methods, by which rulers may answer the benevolent purposes of Heaven in their appointment, it concerns us under the last general head,

IV. To point the obligations of subjects to the civil authority.It is the prerogative of a free people to appoint men from among their brethren to rule over them. It is their duty and only security to use this prerogative with discretion and fidelity, not using their liberty before them; not by ambition and turbulent passions, disturb the quiet of society; not by tumults and sedition augment the miseries of this miserable world. Men who have not a temper of subordination, are not charitable, humble and quiet in their demeanor, are poorly qualified for heaven. Men who resist lawful authority, and are engaged in tumult and confusion, may be fit for the realms of anarchy, darkness and despotism; but without repentance they shall never behold the seats of the blessed, where everyman is content with his station. Do we wish for present security and enjoyment, for national strength and dignity? Do we wish to behold the seats of the blessed? Then we must obey magistrates.

I have finished my doctrinal observations; may I be indulged in some practical reflections, and sundry cursory observations upon the present situation of this Commonwealth, and the methods which god requires to be pursued for restoring and lengthening out our tranquility, and then conclude with addresses suited to this important occasion. As I have endeavored in the whole, so in this branch of discourse I would with to speak with the unfettered freedom of a Servant of that Prince, whose kingdom is not of this world.

This country was planted by men of singular piety, of whom the old world was not worthy. God found them a refuge from the oppression of civil and spiritual tyranny. Having planted, he protected them from the most pressing dangers. Often hath he delivered them by signs and wonders, and by an out-stretched arm. In some feeble measure our Forefathers lived worthy of the Divine care over them, and by grateful obedience acknowledged the salvations wrought for them. But their children forgot his benefits, and by irreligion and sensuality, by dissipation and luxury, by worldliness and pride, they provoked the Holy One of Israel, to threaten them with the loss of those privileges and blessings, which he had so richly bestowed, and they had so unthankfully abused.

Many have celebrated the virtues, and confidently predicted the rising glories of the American States. But while we continue our provocations, we may do well to enquire, whether these flattering panegyrists do not speak to us smooth things, and prophecy deceit? Would not the sublime prophet Isaiah address us in another stile? ”Hear O heavens, and give ear O earth! For the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters, they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they have gone away backward. Because the Lord was wroth with his heritage, he did of late raise up adversaries unto them of their brethren. The British parliament, in support of a groundless claim, levied an unnatural war against us, and assumed without warrant to be the Highest Powers in our governments.

By the will of God, and the direction of his ordinance, our civil authority, to whom our first allegiance was due, we were called to contend for our possessions, our liberties, and our lives, even unto blood. Long and distressing was the conflict. In the confusions of war, and especially in the perplexities of such a war, in which the minds of the people were divided as to their duties of allegiance, order and government were essentially injured among us, and the spirit of subordination and loyalty, which was before habitual, was nearly lost, and for a season we were threatened with all the miseries of that people, who have no magistrate to put them in fear. But in the season of our declensions, He who remembered mercy for his people, interposed for our help, and in due time ordained peace for us. But in nothing was his grace more remarkable than in leading us out of a distempered state of partial anarchy into a state of order and government. He gave us laws and testimonies right and good, a civil constitution perhaps the most perfect in the world, which is the security of good citizens, the admiration of the wise, and the envy of tyrants: To which if we strictly adhere, we cannot in a political sense, fail of being a happy people.

Since this mercy of our God upon us, in saving us from the evils of war, and plucking us from the confusion of anarchy, we have walked unworthy of his great goodness. We sang his praises, but soon forgot his benefits. We have continued to those follies and excesses, for which he had already chastised us. While deeply involved in debt, our distempered passion for the fashions of luxurious and affluent nations plunged us into our former prodigality and unprofitable expenses. Instead of applying ourselves to discharge the claims of public and private creditors, and thus to vindicate our honor and independence, we employed the riches of our soil in purchasing the trappings of an exotic dress, and in indulging our vitiated appetites in the expensive productions of distant regions, and thus are we become the servants of foreigners, and strangers rule over us. Poor and dependent, our minds are enervated to the pursuits of a national freedom and dignity. And yet restless under the unavoidable pressure of our follies, we are little inclined to satisfy our creditors, and pay the price of our beloved dissipation. Like the prodigal, exhausted and worn down by riot, we complain of our pains and embarrassments, and idly resolve into a grievance, that poverty, from which no created power but our own can save us. Jaded by our devices, indigent through profuse living, rendered intractable by long exemption from the restraints of human and Divine laws, and proud in a licentious liberty, that fore-runner of despotism, we have become restless under necessary burdens, and with a mistaken resentment, have complained of public requisitions as the source of our sorrows and perplexities. Lavish expenses have made us poor, and a temper not duly subordinate, has turned our complaints from our own follies, against our Fathers, our best friends and benefactors. How many of us have labored to free ourselves from the necessary burdens of public and private debts, that we might obtain a wider scope for the indulgence of appetites, which it were much better to mortify?

Will the enquiry be thought immodest, when I ask, whether our wealthy and leading characters have not been first in this transgression? Of the legislators of our republican government, we might have expected effectual laws to discourage excesses, by which the citizens are so certainly degraded to a state of servility and dependence. They knew better than their constituents, the evil of such excesses. Might they not in due season, have encouraged industry, temperance and frugality, among the people; laid restrictions upon foreign luxuries, and made it as necessary as it was useful, for the people to produce the accommodations of life by their own labor, and upon their own soil. And especially might not the examples of men in power, and families of fashion and affluence, in preferring the productions of our own country, to commodities received from abroad, have produced the most salutary effects among all classes of our citizens? Such examples would have been more influential and authoritative, than a whole code of commercial regulations. This is one of our wounds: I mention it freely, since I hope in good Providence, that our rulers, our public teachers and the multitude of our brethren, will think it important to apply themselves to a radical cure of the evil. For nothing kills the noble spirit of freedom, like the state of dependence, which will ever attend the folly of spending more than we earn. Let our rulers not merely in word, but indeed, by a laudable example, be first in this matter, and teach republicans to be honest, industrious and frugal in their modes of living. Then shall substantial wealth and independence be the joyous portion, of all classes of our happy citizens.

That we have been transgressors in many moral and Christian duties, the god of judgment hath testified, in the calamities brought upon us. To punish and to reclaim us, he hath sent among us the rod of his visitation. Shall there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it?

The last year, a year equally distinguished for the gifts of Providence, and for our unthankfulness and disobedience to human and Divine authority, has been fruitful in new and perplexing evils. God has suffered a spirit of insurrection and resistance of lawful authority to rise up in this Commonwealth. As a correction from him, it is a righteous testimony of his holy displeasure; as proceeding from man, perhaps an opposition to government, and a war against the community, has been seldom more wanton and unprovoked. The objects sought after, in these tumults, have been of the most faulty kind. One avowed end was to compel the Legislature into an emission of a paper currency, to be a tender in payment of all public and private contracts. A measure wholly preposterous, when the public ought to be discharging their old obligations, and not contracting a new debt by borrowing money by an emission of paper; a measure totally unjust, and as truly impolite as to administer opiates to cure a lethargy. The faultiness of such violent attempts arose also from the utter impossibility in the present state of our affairs, that the Legislature could make a promise upon their paper and keep it; that is, they could never honestly redeem the money, by saving it from a rapid depreciation, and making punctual payment. Such a measure then would have been a gross violation of commutative justice, the unwavering observance of which is enjoined upon all bodies of men under all possible circumstances. To endeavor by hostility to compel the Legislature into a measure, which they wisely thought impolitic, and knew to be palpably unjust, was a high-handed offence, and clearly proves, that multitudes were under the clouds of God’s anger, and were sadly forsaken of restraining grace.

But the design was filled with other mischiefs. It was to wrest from the Legislature the power of governing; from the tribunals of law the power of decreeing justice; and from the Executive, the essential prerogative of carrying into effect the laws of the Commonwealth. Thus were our foundations to have been destroyed. The declared intentions of the male-contents, and what they attempted by levying an impious war upon their country, was to arrest the arm of government, and seize the administration of a despotic rule into their own hands; to sap the foundations of our glorious constitution, to change its essential forms, and thus to break down the barriers of our rights, and overwhelm this great republic in dreary confusion and irretrievable ruin. Whoever has been acquainted with their complaints and their claims, and has been a witness of their proceedings, will consider this, as a charitable representation of their views and pursuits.

Blessed be the Lord god of our salvation, that in the midst of our unworthiness and provocations, he has interposed and saved us from the sword of the oppressor, and the violence of the wicked men. Ardent thanksgivings are this day due to the Father of mercies, that in the season of alarming dangers, he raised up an administration of government, who, in the faithful page of history, will be celebrated for their wisdom, their moderation and integrity.

After many outrageous and treasonable excesses, had prevailed, in several parts of the State, and the lives and estates of the guilty authors were forfeited to their country, our Chief Magistrate, at the request of the Legislature, offered a free and full pardon to all the promoters and abettors of those seditious tumults. Through an infatuated obduracy, that pardon was scornfully rejected, even under the clearest light and evidence exhibited to them, that their complaints were groundless, and that the government had been administered with great integrity. Former violences were renewed, the criminal demands of the insurgents increased, and the existence of the Commonwealth, was put to the hazard. When unmixed mercy could not reclaim bur raised to higher excesses the resistance of the offenders, authority assumed a more firm and decisive tone, and raised a military force to repel their violence: Yet great as the forbearance and compassion of the government in all their exertions to suppress the rebellion. Forgiveness was still extended to the body of the rebels; the leaders only were left to the justice of the law, and even with the leaders much lenity was used by proffering terms of pardon to many of them. The steps of our civil administration were the marks of their justice and humanity. The wisdom and decision of the Council demand our admiration and gratitude: the measures of our Chief Magistrate all denoted the firmness of his spirit, his regard for our laws, his inflexible adherence to the principles of the constitution, and his unshaken determination to protect his country, and repress the violence of wicked men. His conduct was equally distinguished for benignity and moderation, that aversion from bloodshed and that ardent wish to recover and preserve offenders, which is a shining part of the character of a good man and a Christian magistrate. He hath shewed himself the Father and Friend of his country: The minister of God for good to his people.

That worthy personage, who acted under his immediate orders in suppressing the public commotions, has added fresh laurels to his former honors, and evinced how much he deserves the appellation of the Christian Hero. The officers and men employed in this important and unwelcome service, by their firm, temperate and wise conduct, discovered that excellent spirit which ought ever to reign in the bosoms of free citizens. Ye authors and leaders of these happy operations, if we forget your services, let our right hand forget its cunning. Thou country thus saved of the Lord from the horns of the unicorn, if we do not remember thee above our chief joy, let our tongue cleave to the roof of our mouth.

Thrones of judgment are established, and the fear of violence is drive from us: and by the uninterrupted execution of our wholesome laws, we may sit quietly under our own vines and under our own fig-trees. And we may gladly hope that without connivance from men of influence, these seeds of sedition will e’er long be totally eradicated from our republic: The methods of Providence in protecting the Commonwealth and succeeding the measures of government, merit particular notice and unfeigned gratitude. The finger of God has been conspicuous in directing and prospering our public counsels. Operations dictated by wisdom and moderation, have been succeeded by remarkable interpositions of Heaven. The hearts of those in rebellion melted like wax, and they could perform no part of their enterprise; and the measures of administration were crowded with the wishes for success.

May the author of all effectual influences impress the minds of deluded citizens with a conviction of the criminality of their conduct, and of the evident hand of God, which was lifted up against them. It is but justice to observe, that the measures of government, have been conformable to the system of God’s government over a sinful world. Mercy has been freely proffered, and when despised, has been followed by a mixture of judgment and mercy. Because the Lord loved his people, he hath inclined the hearts of their rulers into such a prosperous and salutary administration. To regard these foot-steps of Providence, and pursue a similar system of administration, can scarcely fail to recover us from our confusions, and establish our public tranquility. But inattention to the finger of God, and an abuse of his healing mercies, the continuance of our rebellious and resistance of his civil ordinance, will provoke him to empty us from vessel to vessel, and for the iniquities of our land, many will be the rulers thereof, unstable as water we shall not excel. But if conscious of past ingratitude and abuse of blessings, we will turn unto him by repentance and works of righteousness, will speak the truth one to another and love as brethren; if our rulers will go before us in the duties of prayer, faith and obedience, submission to Christ, and respect to his doctrines and institutions; if they will love the people and consult their interest by integrity and goodness, study rather to do them good than to gratify their idle humors; if they will measure their administrations by the line of truth and honesty, although thousands frown,; if they will be temperate and industrious in their work, will punish the wicked and protect obedient subjects, and thus set the Lord always before their face, then shall their reputation flourish and their authority prove an unspeakable blessing to the people: God shall fill Zion with judgment and righteousness, and wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of our times and strength of salvation: And the fear of the Lord shall be our treasure; and shall lift us high among the nations.

The time calls me to a conclusion, in suitable addresses.

Our first attention is due to our worthy Chief Magistrate, called by God and his country to the chair of government.

May it please your Excellency,

THAT happy tranquility which we enjoyed under your former administration, cannot fail to excite our congratulations, that God has so far restored your health, that you are able to accept the chief Magistracy in this Commonwealth. Appointed by God to bear the rule over your brethren, you will be pleased to accept our best wishes that your health may be adequate to the weighty burthens of your high and sacred office. Our prayer to the almighty is, that he would be the health of your countenance and your God; that he would strengthen you to eminent usefulness among the people. May divine preservation and illumination accompany your administrations that you may continue to act worthily for Christ our King, and be accepted of the multitude of your brethren. May that diffusive love which you so early manifested for your country, by placing yourself in the first rank of danger s, to repel foreign usurpation, and vindicate the privileges and laws of your country still animate you, to pursue the happiness of the community, by supporting the dignity of civil authority, the prerogatives and independence of the Supreme Executive, and the other branches of administration; by making law terrible to all invaders and usurpers of the powers of government, and by drawing aa line of distinction between faithful subjects, and those who may be so lost to virtue, as to disturb the public peace, and assail the property, the liberties and the lives of their fellow-citizens.

With pleasing anticipation, we behold your Excellency God’s minister for good, bearing the sword of the State, not as a terror to good works, but to the evil. Our eye with delight marks your path, while you lead us your children into the duties of relative of relative and Christian life, and by your example teach us, that self-denial, frugality and industry, so essential to the happiness of a free people. From your Excellency, will our Legislature expect advice in those measures, which may maintain inviolate the principles of our civil constitution against every species of encroachment; how the public good is to be pursued, honesty and integrity, diligence and application encouraged, and dissipation driven from the State; how the laws of justice may be effectually vindicated, and the seat of fraud and oppression, be removed far from us. Our expectations are from your Excellency, that liberty shall be maintained by law, and all subjects be secure in their possessions; that public faith, and national credit and dignity, be solicitously preserved.

May the institutions of literature flourish under your friendly patronage; especially may that illustrious university to which the public is so much indebted for laying the foundation of science in your Excellency, and qualifying you for such extensive services in this, and through the United States, be the object of your peculiar care, and by your powerful influence be protected in all its important rights and immunities.

We hope in the goodness of the universal Parent, that by affording you his presence and grace, he will shew, that because he loved his people, he hath therefore appointed you to rule over them. From your Excellency, the interests of piety and the Christian religion justly expect continual aid and friendly countenance. May the Angel of the Divine presence, enlighten and beautify the paths of your administration. In your days, religion, truth and peace dwell on the earth, and after you have served your generation by the will of God, may you receive the rewards of your fidelity, from the approbation of your Judge. May you here enjoy a portion, better than many sons, and late be welcomed to the presence of your Divine Savior and Judge, and from him obtain that Crown of glory which fadeth not away.

Our respects are now due to the Gentlemen who compose the Honorable the Senate, and the Honorable the House of Representatives.

Fathers of our country, and Elders of our tribes,

YOU are this day, constituted by Jesus Christ, the ordinance of God, for the god of his church, and the sacred principles of our excellent constitution: a constitution which wisdom will approve, as the national bulwark of our independence and sovereignty, the effectual protection of good citizens, the security of freedom, property and life, and our defense against the rude encroachments of anarchy and despotism. You have this day declared your belief of the Christian religion. Integrity in this profession will lead you to prize our constitution the more, since it is so friendly to morality, and the Christian faith. You have bound yourselves in the discharge of your office, to promote the common good upon gospel principles, by cultivating in your temper, and practice, those benevolent graces of Christianity, which will enable you to rule with reputation to yourselves, and advantage to the people. You have pledged yourselves to honor Christ’s institutions, to protect his servants, to discountenance all contempt of the doctrines and maxims of his holy faith. Thus from the manner of your inauguration, we may expect, that you may be nursing Fathers to the Church. It becomes a minister of that church,(and will therefore be acceptable to you) to stir up your pure minds to use the gift that is in you, for the good of the people. YOU ARE THE Ministers of God, and as such, accountable at the tribunal of the Son of Man, in the great day of dread decision. Let me exhort you as candidates for eternity, to keep in mind that solemn day, and as faithful servants, to be habitually prepared for it. And that through Divine grace, you may give up a good account at last, be entreated to regard the eye of God, which is upon you, and look to him to pardon your unworthiness, to counsel you by his unerring wisdom, and to quicken you by his truth: that he would not take his Holy Spirit from you, but by his effectual influences, guide you into the paths of uprightness. The scriptures will teach you your liableness to error; and your desire to be useful. Will excite your applications for that anointing of the Holy One, by which you will not err fatally. As Rulers, it concerns you to be men of prayer, to maintain an intercourse with Heaven, and a humble dependence upon Divine teaching and guidance. Do you wish to be honored of God in your office? You must honor him by submitting your administrations to his government, by a respect to his name, his institutions and those eternal laws of righteousness, ordained for the careful observance of all his rational subjects. With you the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.– To you as their Fathers , will the people look for patterns of moral and Christian duty. You will therefore go before them in personal, in family and public religion and obedience. Care for the State will arm your zeal and fortitude against vicious and immoral practices, to frown upon gross breaches of human and divine laws. Your services will be approved of God, and useful to the community, whenever you shall punish with decision and impartiality, the lawless practices of vicious and disobedient subjects. Through your example and official exertions shall those virtues of benevolence, integrity, industry and frugality, so essential to a republican and Christian community, greatly prevail. And your testimony shall suppress the insolence of fraud and injustice, falsehood and perjury, by which the bonds of society are dissolved. May the oath of God become terrible, and all human promises and contracts be held sacred. Punctuality in Rulers to their contracts is the first step towards a general honesty in the State. Their example gives energy to laws against private fraud and injustice. You will feel the bond of that law of your Master, to owe no man anything; but according to the ability of the people, to make a punctual and satisfactory payment of public debts. You will utterly disallow all measures, which may put honest and feeble citizens into the power of griping and unprincipled oppressors; than such measures, nothing is more repugnant to that Gospel, by which you are to be judged. Every indirect method to extricate the people from embarrassments is a new load to sink them in the mire. The Fathers of our tribes will therefore cultivate public and private faith, and teach us all not to go neighbor beyond, or to defraud our neighbor.

May the good God influence our honorable Legislature, into a system of administration, which shall defend our Constitution, render venerable our laws, protect from violence the seats of Justice and the Throne of Judgment, and by a due mixture of mercy and justice, allure offenders to obedience, or by adequate penalties incapacitate them from disturbing the public tranquility. You will think nothing too much to encourage a spirit of loyalty and patriotism; and to this end you will encourage the means of grace and education. To your wisdom does it belong to discover the political measures, for promoting the good designs which have been mentioned, but I may suggest, that they should be such as are approved by the gospel of Christ.

OUR national concerns, as a confederated Republic, are serious concerns. Your deliberate counsels will be requisite to invent some remedy for our national imbecility and reproach. Unless effectual and liberal measures are soon taken, our glory and independence will vanish into air. Be entreated Fathers, to lay aside limited views and local prejudices, and to encompass the Union in exertions of your wisdom and patriotism.

THE better to answer the ends of your appointment, you will consider it highly important, in filling up the vacancies in the Legislature, and in constituting a Council for His Excellency, to choose faithful and approved men, who fear God and obey Christ above many, men of noble minds, superior to intrigue, and unfettered by faction, or independent sentiments, who abhor covetous practices, men whose circumstances are not embarrassed, and who will not fear to do the thing which is just, who love the people, and will by personal labors and self-denial, and unwearied diligence, pursue their solid and lasting advantages, and yet disdain by meanness and artifice, and by sacrificing their own judgment, to gain an empty popular applause.

A Legislature thus constituted, and what a respectable number of such amiable and worthy characters do I now behold; such a Legislature, shall in the issue enjoy the blessings of their country, while time serving politicians, shall sink in the dirt of their deserved ignominy: Such a Legislature may hope to have God with them, to prosper the work of their hands. From the faithful discharge of an earthly trust, they shall in their time and order, be received to the plaudit of their final Judge. Such is the reward which we pray that every member of our public administration, in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial department, may now deserve, and in future obtain from the mouth of him, who sits upon the Throne.

MAY we all repent, and do our first works, that God may be in the midst of us. That he may sit in the assembly of our Rulers, is the devout supplication of all, who hope in his mercy, and wish well to this Commonwealth.

BLESSED art thou O land, hen thy King is the Son of nobles, and thy Princes eat in due season. Happy is that people, that is in such a case; yea happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.

Thus with sincerity, and as well as I was able, have I spoken unto you the Lord’s message. May the effectual co-operations of the Blessed Spirit, render the truths which have been delivered, useful to this whole Assembly, and by the consequent fruits may it appear, that in very deed God has been among us. And when we shall severally stand in the great congregation of the assembled universe, by a precious holy life, may we be prepared to be found of our Judge in peace.

AMEN

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Era or Event: 1770s-1780s: War for Independence

James Wilson

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A Lost Founder

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Siege of Yorktown

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America’s Birthday

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Proclamation – Lord’s Day – 1782

Yorktown Mortar Shell

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Four Letters on Government – John and Samuel Adams

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Pastors Lead the Charge

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Address – Why Are You A Christian – 1795

AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHY ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?”

Section I.
The internal evidence of Christianity.

Section II.
Evidence arising from the early triumphs of Christianity.

Section III.
Evidence arising from the completion of prophecy.

Section IV.
Evidence arising from the character and miracles of Christ.

Celebrating First Amendment Rights

Sermon – Election – 1787, Massachusetts

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A Lost Founder

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America’s Birthday

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AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHY ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?”

Section I. The internal evidence of Christianity.

Section II. Evidence arising from the early triumphs of Christianity.

Section III. Evidence arising from the completion of prophecy.

Section IV. Evidence arising from the character and miracles of Christ.

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Section I.
The internal evidence of Christianity.

Section II.
Evidence arising from the early triumphs of Christianity.

Section III.
Evidence arising from the completion of prophecy.

Section IV.
Evidence arising from the character and miracles of Christ.