Requisites to Our Country's Glory

DR. JOHN PIERCE S ELECTION SERMON. 1849. REQUISITES TO OUR COUNTRY’S GLORY. A BEFORE lis fercllfnnj Cwg? JL ®riggs, GOVERNOR, HIS HONOR JOHN REED. LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, THE HONORABLE COUNCIL, THE LEGISLATURE OF MASSACHUSETTS, THE ANNUAL ELECTION, WEDNESDAY, 3 JAN. 1849. BY JOHN PIERCE, D . D. Senior Pastor of the First Congregational Church, in Brookline. BOSTON: DUTTON AND WENTWORTH, STATE PRINTERS 1849. . COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. In Senate, 5 January, 1849. Ordered, That Messrs. Wright and Copeland be a committee to present the thanks of the Senate to the Rev. John Pierce, D. D., for the discourse delivered by him, on the 3d instant, before the Government of the Commonwealth, and to request a copy thereof for publication. CHARLES CALHOUN, Clerk. DISCOURSE. No subject seems more appropriate to the occasion, on which we are assembled, to the Body to be addressed, to the place, hi which we stand, or to the official station of him, who is appointed to lead in the devotions and counsels of this interesting anniversary, than the patriotic wish expressed by the psalmist in Psalm lxxxv. 9. THAT GLORY MAY DWELL IN OUR LAND. it is sometimes objected to the holy scriptures, that they are deficient in recommendation of patriotism. But the passage now read is one among the many examples, which may be quoted from the sacred records, to refute the calumny. It expresses the earnest desire of the writer for the glory of his land. To the same purpose how striking the following exclamation ! “ If I forget thee, O J erusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” How inexpressibly tender the language of Jesus, while contemplating the evils, which impended over the Capital of his beloved country ! “ When he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at least, in this thy day, the things, which belong unto thy peace ! But now they are hid from thine eyes. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou, that killest the prophets, and stonest them, that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not !”

Not only is there such incontestable evidence of patriotism, inspired by our holy religion, and exemplified by the Author and Finisher of our faith; we are also plainly instructed, by what means the glory of a people may be essentially advanced. The sum of them may be comprehended in these expressive terms. “ Righteousness exalteth a nation ; but sin is a reproach to any people. Render unto Caesar the things, that are Caesar’s ; and to God the things, that are God’s. Render unto all their dues ; tribute to whom tribute is due ; custom to whom custom ; fear to whom fear ; honor to whom honor.” But why select these public acts, as illustrative of patriotism 'l Its only sure foundation is laid in private life, in the individual character, in the family circle, hi the manners, customs, and habits of the municipalities, of which the community is composed. Great misunderstanding has prevailed, and much mischief has been occasioned by erroneous notions of patriotism. Thus how often do selfish, artful, and unprincipled men “pretend the public good, and mean them own” ! To effect them objects, they but too successfully address the passions. By such methods they gain adherents, who appear to think, that patriotism consists in exclusive pretensions to it ; hi noisy declamation ; in uttering all manner of evil against the wise and the good, who thwart their views ; and hi elevating to undeserved eminence those, who artfully flatter them foibles and their vices, though with the most selfish designs. To keep alive the flame thus enkindled, and to impart the same heat to others, they must have frequent social meetings, hi which by intemperate drhiking, by excitement of each other’s feelings, the^ lose them temper, neglect their families, and their business, contract habits of dissipation, and follow expensive and ruinous courses; and, hi this way, forsooth, claim to be the only true friends of them country ! But what can be more obvious, than that he only is a genuine patriot, who is virtuous, whose notions of government originate hi the government of himself, in the proper restraint of his appetites and passions, in faithful attention to his own concerns, in rightfully fulfilling his family duties, in fidelity to his engagements, in being a good member of the society, in which he lives, as well as in discharging the obligations, which more immediately relate to his God and Savior \ Does any one, with real or affected modesty, inquire, how can I, a humble, perhaps an insulated individual, do any thing, which may sensibly affect the public] How can my deportment, whether good or had, have even a remote bearing upon the community, of which I am an inconsiderable member ] To such a one I would reply, my friend, the ocean is composed of individual drops ; the seashore may be reduced to single grains of sand. You are not so solitary, but you have associates, who are essentially influenced by your good or evil conduct. You are a part of a family, whose members are better or worse, happier or more wretched by your example and influence. And certainly you are either a help or a nuisance to the towm, in which you reside. You may then be useful to all around you, according to the degree of your good influence. Or one, who stands the lowest in the scale of rational beings, may prove a very troublesome pest to society. For it is a truth established as well by daily experience, as by scripture, that “ one sinner destroyeth much good.” The sentiment, that the individuals of a community thus operate from parts to the whole is strikingly illustrated by a well known passage in Pope’s Essay on Man. ‘ ‘ God loves from whole to parts ; but human soul “ Must rise from individuals to the whole. “ Self-love but serves the virtuous mind to wake, “ As the small pebble stirs the peaceful lake. “ The centre moved, a circle strait succeeds ; “ Another still, and still another spreads. “ Friend, parent, neighbor, first it will embrace ; “ The country next ; and next all human race.” Such being the influence of individuals upon the community, such the relation of parts to the whole, it becomes an interesting inquiry to every human being, whether high or low, rich or poor, bond or free, enlightened or ignorant, what course he is bound to pursue, so that “ glory may dwell in our land” ? The correct answer doubtless is, that every one should so demean himself, that were all equally scrupulous and faithful, the most important national objects would be harmoniously promoted.