The Rectitude of Government the Source of Its Power

I [N K. BUTL GOVERNOR; III 'LIYKU AMI Ll: GOYERXOli ; THt: HONORABLE COUNCIL. AND THE LEGISLA- TIVE OF MASSACHl'SETTS, COLUMBUS AVENUE UMTERSALIST CHURCH, BY A. A. MINER, S.T.D., LL.D., 15O.-TON, I'ASTOK OF TIIK CHUHCH. BOSTON : WRK'iHT ,v POTTER PUINTLXd CO.. STATE PR IN 'I 1884. Hectitu&e of ©otJtmment tl)e Source of its JJoroer.

HIS EXCELLENCY BENJAMIN F. BUTLER, GOVERNOR; HIS HONOR OLIVER AMES, LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR ; THE HONORABLE COUNCIL, AND THE LEGISLA- TURE OF MASSACHUSETTS, p IN COLUMBUS AYENUE UNIYERSALIST CHURCH, JANUARY 2, 1884, BY A. A. MINER, S.T.D., LL.D., BOSTON, PASTOR OF THE CHURCH. BOSTON : WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS. 18 POST OFFICE SQUARE. 1884. C0mm0nfoealtjj of BOSTON, JANUARY 16, 1884. Rev. Dr. ALONZO A. MINER, Boston. DEAR SIR : — I am directed by the Committee on Printing to invite you to furnish a copy of the "Annual Election Sermon," delivered by you on January 2d instant, to the end that it may be printed, as provided by the statutes. I am, Very respectfully, yours, HOWES NORRIS, Chairman of Committee on Printing. BOSTON, JANUARY 18, 1884. Hon. HOWES NORRIS. DEAR SIR : — Herewith I transmit the manuscript of my Election Sermon, in accordance with your request. Respectfully yours, A. A. MINER. Ilje lectttuoe of tfowrnmtnt tljc I oum of tt0 Power. PRELIMINARY ADDRESS. Gentlemen of the Great and General Court: Assembled here at the altar of God in the open- ing hour of your important duties, you will permit an humble citizen to congratulate you, who but yesterday stood among your fellow-citizens, upon the vast prerogatives committed to your hands. In the on-flowing of the stream of time, by the voice of this people, God has called you to be the government of Massachusetts for 1884. In some respects the most advanced Commonwealth in the entire galaxy of states, Massachusetts properly calls upon her most distinguished citizens to ad- minister her affairs. It is a proud privilege, on general grounds, to be commissioned to preside over her varied interests, to conserve her good name in all things in which she merits it, and by a course of unquestionable patriotism win .for her honors in fields she either has not entered, or has but timidly explored. 8 Preliminary Address. As the government of 1884, you can neither claim the honors already achieved, nor be held responsible for the stains upon her escutcheon that still remain. If you have come to your high duties with truly patriotic purpose, as we trust you have, unpledged to aught that can clip your wings in your flight toward the sun, you have opportunity for great service that should fill your hearts with inexpressible joy.

It cannot but be profitable, then, to spend here a brief hour in which may be struck the key-note of all divine harmonies in life, in duty, in destiny. SERMON. ''JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT ARE THE HABITATION OF THY THRONE: MERCY AND TRUTH SHALL GO BEFORE THY FACE." Psalm Ixxxix, 14. Government is essentially a thing of principles. All that is visible about a government is but its machinery. Its offices, its elections, its function- aries of various grades and duties, are transient and changeable. The essential government, how- ever, remains the same through all change. This essential element, invisible and abiding, is moral; it is the element of rectitude, of truth and justice. Penalties, however necessary and however faith- fully inflicted, though a part of the machinery of government, are more especially an indication of the extent to which what is vital in the govern- ment has failed. In the best governed home the machinery of government has disappeared. The will of the parent finds a welcome in the heart of the child. 10 The Rectitude of Government That will is wisdom which the child has learned to appreciate and love. Penalty is not thought of; truth and duty fill the horizon, and peace blesses the home. Perhaps our educational institutions make the nearest approach to this of any department of our government. Their strength lies in the natural justice they embody, the lack of which vitiates all governments. The distinguished Cudworth says: " Covenants without natural justice are nothing but mere words and breath, and therefore can have no force to oblige. * * * None can be obliged in duty to obey, but by natural justice. * * * Whatever is iniquitous can never be made lawful by any power on earth." GOVERNMENT THE HIGHEST FUNCTION OF MAN. Substantially moral, government thus becomes the highest and divinest function of man — the embodiment of justice and truth. Recognizing the vital relations of the whole people, it aims to give protection to every genuine interest. Its pathway lies above the plane of passion, appetite, greed, unholy competitions, and every form of sinister ambition and self-seeking. It stretches out ts The Source of its Power. 11 arms to raise up the fallen; never to cast down others among them. Its power dwells in its righteousness. Truth is at once its life-blood, its weapon of aggressiveness, and its assured defence. It is this invisible power that makes Christ a king. He says: "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews." He was delivered, con- demned, crucified. All power seemed against him ; in fact, all power was with him. What was meant to be, and seemed, his utter overthrow, was but the foundation of a triumph that has enthroned his name above every name. What is power in Christ's kingdom would be powder in all king- doms. Human law is nothing of itself. Its majesty and strength are borrowed. Cicero says: "Law is right reason, congruous to nature, pervading all minds, constant, eternal, which calls to duty by its commands, and repels from wrongdoing by its pro- hibitions. * * * This law cannot be annulled, superseded, or over-ruled. …