The Importance of Moderation in Civil Rulers

The Importance of Moderation in Civil Rulers. A SERMON DELIVERED BEFORE HIS EXCELLENCY EDWARD EVERETT, GOVERNOR, THE HONORABLE COUNCIL, AND THE LEGISLATURE OF MASSACHUSETTS, AT THE ANNUAL ELECTION, JANUARY 1, 1840. BY JOHN CODMAN, D.D. Pastor of the Second Church in Dorchester. Boston: DUTTON AND WENTWORTH, PRINTERS TO THE STATE. 1840. C 648i Commonwealth of Massachusetts. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JAN. 2, 1840. Ordered, That Messrs. GREELE, of Boston, PIERCE, of Stoughton, and BAKER, of Dorchester, be a Committee to present the thanks of the House to the Rev. JOHN CODMAN, D. D. for the able and eloquent discourse, delivered by him yesterday, before the Government of the Commonwealth, and to request a copy thereof for publication. L. S. CUSHING, Clerk. C6481 SERMON. Philippians, iv. 5. LET YOUR MODERATION BE KNOWN UNTO ALL MEN: THE LORD IS AT HAND. THE service of this occasion is consecrated, and rendered venerable, by age. Two centuries have marked, with very few exceptions, its annual return. It originated in the piety of our ancestors, and, from a commendable regard to ancient usage, it has been continued, by their posterity, from generation to generation. It is grateful to the friends of religion and morality to behold their fellow citizens, high in office and authority, repairing to the house of God to seek wisdom and guidance from on high, before they commence the important and responsible duties of legislation. This public acknowledgment of their dependance upon the uncreated Source of wisdom and intelligence is well becoming the descendants of an ancestry, distinguished for their piety and their regard to religious institutions. The fathers of this ancient Commonwealth were men of faith and prayer. They laid broad the foundations of government in religious principle and sacred conformity to God's everlasting law. No people, since the dispersion of ancient Israel, were so remarkable for their religious character, as the first settlers of Massachusetts. Exiled from the land of their fathers, on account of their attachment to the purity of God's word and worship, they incorporated their religious principles with their civil institutions. They undertook no important measure they engaged in no hazardous enterprise they proceeded to no responsible duty, without invoking the presence and blessing of that all-wise Being, by whom kings reign, and princes decree justice. To his word, also, as the great statute book of first and last resort, they, unhesitatingly, applied for counsel and direction in all cases of doubt and difficulty and important bearing. This deep veneration for the institutions of religion, which so clearly stamped the character of our pilgrim fathers, has been cherished by their posterity, and, I trust, that our civil rulers will never cease to pay their annual homage, in the house of prayer, to the Creator and Governor of the Universe.

The present occasion, naturally, invites our attention to such subjects, as may be pertinent to the situation and correspondent duties of an assembled legislature. In reflecting upon the peculiarities of the times in which we live-upon the tendency to excitement, and extremes, and party spirit, by which they are confessedly distinguished, I have thought that I might perform a service, not altogether unprofitable nor unacceptable, by inculcating upon the respected auditory I am called to address, a spirit of moderation in the discharge of those important duties upon which they are about to enter in their legislative and executive capacity. The words of the text form a part of the Apostle Paul's exhortation to the church at Philippi; and may, with propriety, be applied to any class or description of men. And it, surely, will not be foreign from the design of the author of the text, who hath directed that supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks be made for all that are in authority, that those, sustaining important offices of power and trust, should be exhorted to let their moderation be known unto all men, and should be reminded of their responsibility, by the solemn and impressive consideration, that the Lord is at hand. Confining myself, therefore, to the occasion, upon which we have assembled, I shall consider the text, in its application to the character, and duties, of political men. The subject, which I have selected, is one of no ordinary delicacy. But, I trust, it may not be thought presumptuous, nor stepping aside from his vocation, for a minister of the gospel to attempt to moderate the zeal of party—to allay the excitement existing in the public mind, with regard to agitating topics-and to endeavor to recommend that firm, yet moderate, course of legislation, which, while it shrinks not from duty in the enactment and support of wholesome laws, avoids all unnecessary occasions of irritation towards those, who may honestly differ, in opinion, on questions of expediency. It is desirable to have correct and definite views of the nature of that moderation, which they, who are clothed with authority, and appointed to rule over their fellow men, should possess, and to distinguish between a time-serving and timid policy, and a calm, dispassionate, fearless and independent course of conduct. The moderation, which I would commend, is widely different from that extreme caution, which avoids committal for fear of giving offence. Such a course, although too often adopted by candidates for popular favor, will be regarded, with decided disapprobation, by every honest and ingenuous mind. The most perfect decision of opinion, and the utmost frankness in the avowal of it, are not at all inconsistent with the spirit and temper, enjoined in the text. Equally remote from this spirit, is that cold indifference and political apathy, which can regard, without emotion, the changes and revolutions, that are continually taking place in the public mind. It cannot be expected that such subjects will be viewed, with indifference, especially, by those, who, from their official stations, are more particularly affected by them. …