One of the earliest New England traditions contributing to the strength of the United States of America as a democratic republic has been “The Election Day Sermon”.
On Election Day citizens would be reminded to:
- Faithfully exercise the privilege of voting
- Vote wisely
Candidates would not be endorsed from the pulpit. But all citizens would be reminded, both candidate and voter, of the serious matter before them. They had a sacred responsibility to choose wisely and freely with a sufficiently informed mind and conscience.
In 1630 John Winthrop and the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony spelled out their aspirations for a new form of government that would be ‘a model of Christian charity’, ‘a city on a hill’ that might exhibit compelling evidence for the kind of reform the Puritans believed were needed in Old England.
In 1636 Thomas Hooker moved from Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he had served briefly as pastor, to found the new settlement of Hartford, Connecticut. The new colony in the Connecticut Valley set out to compose its outline of ideals and practices for self-government following the Bay Colony’s example. These early New England social compacts of fundamental laws were the early forerunners of the Federal Constitution.
In 1638, before the first voting for election in Hartford, Thomas Hooker preached an Election Day sermon that summarized the Puritan zeal to promote basic freedoms in both the exercise of government and religion that had been denied them during the Stuart regime in England- the rights to vote, to run for public office and to worship God according to conscience.
His text for this first Election Day sermon was Deuteronomy 1:13:
"Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes and I will set them over you.”
Hooker expounded this portion of Scripture where Moses was recounting to the people of God their history and reminding them of their responsibilities in representative government.
We need to be reminded again today:
Choose those who are wise. The Scriptures teach us that the fear of the Lord (reverential respect for God and obedience to His Word) is the beginning of wisdom. (Psalm 11:10; Proverbs 9:10)
Choose those who are understanding. Those who do not know where they have come from, will not appreciate or understand where they are. And if they remain ignorant of these things we have no reason to believe that they will know where they will take us in the future.
Choose those who are respected. (The Hebrew ‘yada’ implies being known and proved as experienced, knowledgeable competent and seasoned individuals.) We are to choose leaders whose exemplary character has been proven.
Not only did Thomas Hooker point out that the responsibility of choosing leaders was Moses’ directive by God’s allowance but he told them how to vote:
“The privilege of election, which belongs to the people, must not be exercised according to their humors but according to the blessed will and law of God.” (Thomas Hooker’s election sermon notes, 1638)
'Humors' refer to emotional dispositions based on external, fleeting superficial impressions and passions. Hooker would warn us today of our visceral responses to image, rhetoric, personality, glitz, hoopla, charisma and moods of the moment generated by straw polls and advertisement campaigns!
We must vote taking into account that there is a law that stands taller than the laws of men. As Christians we must vote and hold leaders accountable to lead in the light of the truth of God’s law.
Article Three of the Bill of Rights of the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 asserted that
"the happiness of a people, and the good order and preservation of civil government, essentially depend on piety, religion and morality."
In our current election there is much at stake.
Separation of church and state does not mean separating our civic responsibility from piety, religion and moral sensibility. As Christians we need to vote with the prayerful consideration of the revelation of God’s will according to Scripture.
Our nation is facing a financial crisis due to covenant-breaking and dishonesty. Our nation continues to disrespect life in the womb and consents to the slaughter of millions through abortion. The rights to life and liberty, once considered to be ‘inalienable’, are being progressively reduced to society’s privileged. Marriage is being redefined by renegade judiciaries as being no longer the monogamous hetero-sexual union of husband and wife, but “Party A” and “Party B” as it now appears on our Massachusetts wedding licenses (a disregard for the basis of marriage in Genesis 2:24 and the clear teaching of Scripture regarding sexual immorality (See 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Romans 1:27; Heb. 13:4; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13).
In some American cities decriminalizing prostitution is currently being considered. So are legal protections for infanticide and euthanasia. The right to kill expands. The right to life diminishes.
The next president will face many issues. Some of these are foreseeable. Some are not. It is most likely that he will appoint at least one justice to the Supreme Court. It is certain that he will have to understand the nature of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and the agenda of the terrorist. It is certain that the protection of marriage is at stake. It is certain that inless the whistle is blown and heard, our nation will continue to turn a blind eye and rationalize the slaughter of innocent babies.
The Election Day Sermon was a good idea. It is good to be reminded of the privilege and responsibilities we have as voters and elected officials knowing that there is a greater accountability we must face at the end of the Day.
According to the notes that survive from Hooker’s archives, his Election Day Sermon concludes:
“And lastly: as God has spared our lives and given them in liberty, so (we are) to seek the guidance of God, and to choose in God and for
God.”
