Author
Joshua Bates
Joshua Bates was an eighteenth-century American clergyman whose theological contributions reflected the intellectual currents of the colonial period, particularly the intersection of Reformed theology and emerging democratic thought. His Election Sermon, delivered during a pivotal moment in American religious and political history, exemplifies the role of ministerial discourse in shaping public discourse on governance and moral philosophy. Bates's work represents the significant influence of New England clergy in articulating theological justifications for civic participation and religious liberty during the formative years of the American republic.
From An Election Sermon
AN , ELECTION SERMON. MICAH, IV. 4. They shall sit every man, under his vine, and under his figtree ; and none shall make them afraid. CIVIL government is essential to the existence of society. Men cannot maintain mutual intercourse without general rules of association; and these rules cannot be enforced without authority. That the members of a community may enjoy personal security, some restraint must necessarily be imposed on personal liberty. If every man were permitied to do what might seem good in his own eyes, no man could be secure, fora single moment, in the enjoyment of property or life ; the curse of Ishmael would fall upon all mankind ; and of each individual it might be said, at his birth, “He will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him.”—It is easily erceived, however, that man was…
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