A Sermon

EXCELLENCY LEVI LINCOLN, GOVERNOR, HIS HONOR SAMUEL T. ARMSTRONG, LIEUTENANT OOTERNOB, THE HONORABLE COUNCIL, AND THE LEGISLATURE OF MASSACHUSETTS, ON THE ANNUAL ELECTION, JANUARY 1, 1834. BY JOHN W. YEOMANS, Pastor of the Congregational Church In Pittsfield. ISontoti : BUTTON AND WENTWOllTH, PRINTERS TO THE STATE* 1834. tc s /2.yr^. 3^.//" >y 1 1 / 6 1, ^ *i #'..A /./ ^f J CommoiUDealt) of ^sis88c)usett«* House of Reprssxntatiyss, Januart Z, 1834. Ordered, That Messrs. McKat of Pittsfield, Swift of Nantucket, and Pierce of Stougfaton, be a Committee to wait on the Rev. John W. YeoAans, and thank him in the name of the House, for the Sermon delivered bj him yesterday before the (Governor, the Council, and the two branches of the (General Court, and to request a copy thereof for the press. Attest. L. S. GUSHING, CUrk. SERMON. SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO TOU. Matthew, 6: 33. The custom which annually convenes the Rulers and the Legislators of this Commonwealth for reli- gious worship, derives its propriety from the supreme authority of the Christian religion. Whatever we are bound to do at all, we are bound to do religious- ly ; and while, as individuals, we render our respec- tive acts of worship and obedience, it becomes us, as a people, to express, by our rulers and representatives, our united reverence for the institutions of religion. We are assembled, in the name of the State, to acknowledge the supremacy of God ; to recognize Him as the object of worship, the source of prosper- ity, and the judge of moral conduct ; to appeal to His word as the foundation of our laws, and to im- plore His protection and aid in the use and defence of our freedom. Religion, as it respects the supreme God, ought itself to be a supreme principle in man. It respects a Being who exercises a particular and universal providence over the world, by whom we live, and by whom our future destinies will be determined. It ought therefore to be cherished as a principle of su- preme importance, and of universal application to the affairs of human life. It accords with the plainest dictates of propriety, that we assemble, on an occa- sion like this, to pay an act of homage to the King of Kings.

The text which I have chosen, is one which the occasion itself might recommend. It demands that precedence for religion which we here publicly con- cede. With this demand, it presents the assurance that a supreme regard for religion will secure the good for which we live and labor. The precept and the promise will lead us to contemplate the union of true prosperity with true religion. We are invited to such contemplations by the voice of God. The kingdom commended to our supreme regard, is peculiarly the kingdom of God, exalted over all. Its laws overrule all other laws ; its sanc- tions, all other sanctions. It is that moral government which is administered in the world by the laws and sanctions of the Bible. It is called the kingdom of heaven. Heaven is its seat of power, the throne of its King, the condensed centre of its glory. It is a spiritual kingdom ; distinguished by its spiritual at- tributes from all the kingdoms of the world, and rendered consistent with all that are administered in righteousness. Could one command of God be sacred above all others in his own esteem, it would be that which calls the attention of men to His moral king- dom. We are invited to such reflections by the voice of our own interest. We might find entertainment in discussing the nature of the kingdom of God in the abstract. But our interest requires us to consider the relations of this kingdom to ourselves. The success of moral discipline depends on man's con- sciousness of personal concern with God. The demonstrations of abstract truth may discipline the understanding ; but a perception of the relations of the truth to our highest interest, is requisite to disci- pline the heart. The kingdom of God sustains a solemn relation to ourselves ; urges broad and impe- rious claims upon us ; and determines our everlasting destiny. It involves our highest prosperity; not indeed the gratification of every desire, or the success of every scheme of earthly advancement ; but our success in exalting all that merits exaltation in our nature, and in acquiring all that is worth acquiring in our life.

The kingdom of God denotes the spiritual admin- istration of God in the world ; and the righteousness of that kingdom, the character of its loyal subjects. To seek first that kingdom, is to make the cultivation of the righteousness which it inculcates, the primary object of our life. It is to cultivate true religion ; to cherish right affections towards God and man ; to form correct views of ourselves and our various rela- tions, and to obey the precepts of the divine word. In such a course we are assured of prosperity, by the plain declarations of God. The assurance is given in the text of this discourse : Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. It is given in the promises of compensation for sacrifices to religion : He that forsakes all for the gospel's sake, shall re- ceive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come, life everlasting. It is given in the Apostle's assertion, that godliness is profitable unto all things ; having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. It is given in the assurance, that all things work together for good, to them that love God. These are assertions of the word of God. They constitute a promise and pledge on the veracity of God, that true prosperity and true religion, shall ever be united. But 1 am aware that implicit and practical faith 9' in the word of God, is yielded by the majority of mankind with extreme reluctance. The hopes of man have this alternative : to rest on the word of God, or on the laws of nature. Faith is often tried by the apparent contradiction between the word of God, and the course of human affairs ; and in such trials the mind is swayed rather by the latter, than the former. We walk rather by sight than by faith. The statesman looks into futurity, not through divine promises and predictions, but through principles of human nature, which are operating before his eyes. For an indefinite future, he forebodes evil or antici- pates good, as visible occurrences are adverse or auspicious. His expectations seem to rest on the presumption that he discerns all the causes that can effect their fulfilment. Yet he knows and acknowl- edges the mysteries which hang around the laws of nature ; the mutual conflict which attends their operation ; how often they thwart each other, and how often they mock our most deliberate hopes.