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ELECTION SERMON from 1792


Election sermons began in America in 1633 and continued for the next 270 years. These sermons reminded Christians of their Biblical responsibilities in the civic arena, addressing the issues of the day from a Biblical perspective. As the Rev. Ebenezer Thayer noted in 1725, the preachers of Election Sermons were to offer thanks for the blessings received and also were to be "watchmen upon Jerusalem's wall, whose proper business is to decry dangers and give seasonable notice thereof -- to observe the sins of the times and the awful symptoms of God's departure." Dr. Timothy Stone's Election Sermon from 1792 can be read online at this link: [David Barton]
 

We thank David Barton for posting this sermon. Let’s take some time the next few days before the upcoming election to consider these things, and what we might learn from them.

Here is the Scripture from which Pastor Stone preached…

Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whether ye go to possess it. Keep, therefore, and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

DEUTERONOMY IV.5, 6.
 
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Welcome to Tyranny

 
Personal integrity is not the consensus among the electorate. Integrity is one of those things the Founders meant by self government. We can no longer make the assumption that men are self governing because the culture has adopted a lawless philosophy. We see no outrage from the Left on the issue of voter fraud because it is in their favor. Republican attempts to force the Left to abide by election law is now seen as restricting the right to vote. This is evidence of the continued dismantlement of the rule of law.

Since the Left thinks of itself as superior, they represent the way things ought to be for the good of every one else. Therefore, it is only right that they take the necessary steps to insure that Americans don’t make a mistake in the election. Let’s not think of it as cheating or fraud, but rather correcting the error of the less informed.

When lawlessness is justified and the rule of law is mocked, then welcome to tyranny. What system of thought is able to deceive men into giving away their liberty? Or is it that the world view that produced liberty and prosperity is so hated that men will settle for anything else? Those who take liberty as their birth right will not realize its worth, nor its origin until it is lost.
 
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Truth vs Presumption

 
“Palin is on the ticket because she connects with everyday Americans.” –McCain advisor
 

If this statement is true, then what does it say of all those who continue to disparage her? It is apparent that the elites do not understand ‘we the people’ nor do they believe that government is to be of the people and for the people.

Sarah Palin seems to have a better understanding of American constitutionalism than any of the other candidates which makes her far and above the most qualified to be a leader.

The Biblical imperatives against women exercising authority over men have to do with the proper order of church government. The apostle is addressing the church, not the civil government.

Can constitutionalism to be learned in American universities today? The system that has brought liberty and prosperity is disparaged. The world view of the Founders is rejected because the new world view comes with the presumption of truth.

Having rejected the revelation of the Sovereign God it is only natural for man to declare himself the authority on truth. Those who agree with the Founders know better. The presumption of truth is not an adequate basis for knowledge, but it does breed arrogance.
 
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Peddling Discontent

 
The church is the proclaimer of truth as long as it shares the same view of Scripture as the Head of the Church…

’Thy word is truth…the Scriptures cannot be broken… till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled…the Scripture is God breathed and sufficient for doctrine…and training in righteousness’.

When the church accommodates a lesser view of the Bible than does the Lord of the Church, the culture will follow with its idolatry. Where idolatry reigns then every other sin will abound.

When men are discontent they are ripe for Marxism; being marked by unthankfulness, they are full of covetousness and envy. Marxism is no answer to discontentment; its power is that it provides an attractive and sinful response. I’ll give the state power over me in exchange for the promise of unlawful gain.

Those who peddle in Marxism are no better than the TV preachers who peddle the Bible.

‘Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out’ [1Timothy 6:1-7].
 
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Obama’s Consistent World View

 
Once we as a culture allowed “lawful” abortion, then the constitutional foundation of America became a fraud. Why do we think that the Constitution means anything to the Supreme Court when the protection of Life is disregarded? What confidence do we have in the Legislative and Executive branches that will not act to rein in the lawless court?

The Declaration of Independence declares to the world that governments are instituted among men to secure the God given rights of Life and Liberty. Life is the essential thing on which Liberty depends.

What difference does it make if the abortion is botched and the child is born alive? The death sentence has already been made. If there is no God and no accountability to His Law, then why should anyone act in defense of the helpless and unwanted?

If Mr. Obama can neglect the first thing in believing that the unborn have no right to Life, then why should it be a surprise that he has no regard for individual Liberty? He would have us give up our liberty in exchange for dependency on the state.

The world view of the Founders has been exchanged for a new world view. Man now thinks he is the sovereign rather than the creature. Autonomous reason has devised many vain things. Socialism as the enemy of Life and Liberty is one of the worst.
 
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Liberty or Equality: Prosperity or Famine

 
Socialism or capitalism: which system promotes liberty and prosperity?

The socialist ideal of fraternity is a myth because the state cannot promote both liberty and equality. Equality does not mean equality under law, but equality of outcome.

The French tried liberty and equality and the result was government by means of the guillotine. In order to insure equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity, the state becomes the promoter of tyranny rather than liberty.

Capitalism taps into wealth creation by allowing men to pursue their self interest. Even in the Plymouth colony made up largely of Christians the practice of socialism was a failure. Only when men were allowed to work for themselves and keep the fruits of their own labor did the colony begin to thrive.

When the Pilgrims came to America to establish the Plymouth Colony, they did so under the requirement that "all profits and benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means" were to be placed into the "common stock" of the colony and that "all such persons as are of this colony are to have their provisions out of the common stock."

The failure of this high-minded system was evident when the reality of famine overtook them. William Bradford abolished this experiment in socialism and converted to a free market society based on the Biblical model.

He did as the Jews did when they entered the promised land. The land was divided according to family. Men became responsible for their own; they kept what they produced and were free to trade as they saw fit. The famine not only ended, but prosperity overtook them.

These basic principles do not change because men do not change. Obama is dangerous because he does not understand that the state is the enemy of liberty and wealth creation. The power of the state rather than expanded must be limited as in American constitutionalism.
 
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Actions Preach Louder than Words

 
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” [Matthew 12:35].

Actions preach louder than words because they reveal the condition of the heart.

At the heart of the life issue is an understanding of the sovereignty of God. It is this knowledge that will put abortion to death.

It is written that all our days were known before we came into the world. God knew us before the foundation of the world. As King David says, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” [Psalm 139] 

In the same Psalm, David considers the wicked and the bloodthirsty. Those who shed innocent blood do not regard God as the Sovereign of life. They are worthy of our contempt. Christian, do not think you are more spiritual than David. If there is a time to hate, it is defined here…

Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
         Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly;
         Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?
         And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
         I count them my enemies
. [Psalm 139]
 
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Wisdom of God vs Wisdom of Man

 
Is there more of an intellectual Christian that the writer of Romans? Yet, he says that in the wisdom of God, the wisdom of man did not know God. Men who by nature suppress the knowledge of God do not grow out of atheism into the truth of the gospel. They are bound to their sin and without ability to do anything to help themselves; they are idolaters and spiritually dead with regard to the wisdom of God revealed in the gospel.

A radical change of heart is necessary. Christ called it the new birth. The apostles called it regeneration. We must be born again to see the kingdom. A man cannot enter into what is unseen until he has been given the eyes of faith.

Every believer has been confronted by Christ on his way to Damascus. Perhaps not as dramatic as Paul, but to some extent the risen Christ invaded our world; He changed us so that we began to walk in a different direction.

Intellectual persuasion has no power to raise the dead. That power rests with Christ alone. That is why Paul could write these words…

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God’ [1 Corinthians 2:1-5].
 
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Daniel 7 Prophecy fulfilled at the Ascension of Christ

 
Here is Daniel’s prophecy of the Son of Man coming to the Ancient of Days and being given the everlasting kingdom…
 
     “I was watching in the night visions,
      And behold, One like the Son of Man,
      Coming with the clouds of heaven!
      He came to the Ancient of Days,
      And they brought Him near before Him. 
 
      Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
      That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
      His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
      Which shall not pass away,
      And His kingdom the one
      Which shall not be destroyed
” [Daniel 7:13-14].

Now when is this prophecy fulfilled? After the resurrection, Christ gave His disciples the great commission. Because Christ has been given all authority, He tells them to go into the nations and gather His people into His kingdom. Can there be any doubt that He was speaking in fulfillment of Daniel 7:14?

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:18-20]

This is the account of the ascension of Christ from the perspective on earth…

‘…He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” [Acts 1:9-11]

But what of His coming to the Ancient of Days? The account from the perspective of heaven is given in Revelation 5. Christ the Lamb of God is received by God and found worthy to open the eternal degrees of God. Behold the scene in heaven at Christ’s ascension…                                                                                            

The Lamb Takes the Scroll

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Worthy Is the Lamb

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying:

     “You are worthy to take the scroll,
      And to open its seals;
      For You were slain,
      And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
      Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
      And have made us kings and priests to our God;
      And we shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:

      “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
      To receive power and riches and wisdom,
      And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

      “Blessing and honor and glory and power
      Be to Him who sits on the throne,
      And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
[Revelation 5]

 
What do these things mean for us today?
 
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He Rules the Nations with a Rod of Iron

 
‘To the very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom—Lucifer.’ –Saul Alinsky

 
Mr. Alinsky may have read part of the Bible, but what he read was not mixed with faith. It is true that Lucifer has a kingdom and he holds captive many subjects under his control, including men like Mr. Alinsky that think they are acting independent of the forces of darkness.

The good news is that another kingdom has come with a king that is able to set the captives free. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to him. He rules the nations with a rod of iron and gives his people authority over the nations [Psalm 2:9 & Revelation 2:26-27].

What is this rod of iron?

Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations’ [Revelation 19:15]. He shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.

The sword of the Spirit is referred to as the Word of God. It is the word of this king that judges the nations and that is the sense in which his people have authority over the nations. Those who are released from captivity in the kingdom of darkness by the power of this king know the forgiveness of sins and have the word of truth written on their heart.

As sons and daughters of King Jesus we judge the nations when we measure them against the eternal truth of the Word of God. ‘He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet, and He has made us to be a kingdom of priests’ [1 Corinthians 15:25 & Revelation 1:6].

This is the theology that motivated the colonial Americans. If Christians are to judge the nations, then who is more qualified to be involved with the founding and sustaining of government? [1 Corinthians 6:1-3]

If this nation is not to be dashed to pieces by the rod of iron then it is the Christians that must lead in its recovery. We cannot expect help from those in rebellion.
 
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More alarming than Obama

 
Obama is alarming but more alarming is that so many Americans are so anxious to give away their liberty. Why is the socialist lie so popular in the country founded on individual liberty and responsibility? How is an American candidate for President taken seriously who says that health care is a right?

Freedom must bear its own responsibility. Not so says the socialist. Everyone must have more than opportunity. The state must insure equal outcome, not just equal opportunity. We must share responsibility for the irresponsible in order to be fair. Fairness has trumped our liberty.

Fairness allows the state to take the fruit of one man’s labor and give it to another. For the state to do this it must pit citizens against each other. The socialist state is guilty of thief and it uses envy between different classes of people to gain support. Socialism divides the citizenry against one another, expanding the dependent class and destroying the incentive of men to better themselves for the good of their family.

The founding documents contain the American ideal that the state is to insure life, liberty and opportunity. The socialist concept of fairness is foreign and destructive to these ideals. This is why socialism has always failed and will continue to fail, even in America. We have exchanged our dependence on the sovereign God for a mess of pottage given to us by the elites.

If ever there was a time to repent and rediscover the first things it is now.
 
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Standing up with Sarah Palin

 
‘So keep it up, Sarah, and maybe others will follow your courageous example.’
 

This statement reminds me of the story written for our instruction in Judges 4. No man in Israel would stand up to fight their enemy. Those responsible would not go unless Deborah would go with them...

Now Deborah, a prophetess…was judging Israel at that time…And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. Then she sent and called for Barak…and said to him, “Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men…and against you I will deploy Sisera…and I will deliver him into your hand’?”
 
And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!” So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” [Judges 4:4-9]
 
 
Now that Sarah has stood up to fight the enemy conservatives would do well to join her. We did not get into this crisis overnight nor should we expect to fix it overnight. We must begin somewhere. Why not where we are? There is no difficulty here in identifying the enemy. Let’s join together with those on our side and engage the enemy, not each other.
 
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Intrinsic Worth of Man

 
‘How do we teach our children that they have intrinsic value in God's eyes?’
 

This is difficult and near impossible if they are public schooled because they are being given conflicting information. You can’t tell a child that he is special and at the same time teach him that he is the product of mindless macro-evolution. The Darwinian understanding of existence and purpose destroys the truth that they are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ [Psalm 139:14] so that they can ‘know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent’ [John 17:3]. They must reject the naturalist world view and accept the Christian world view to know their real worth.

The teachings of Romans 1 are disregarded by the culture and trampled under foot. The abuse of these children is criminal in that the public education system is assisting them to suppress their innate knowledge of God. We as parents must be about reinforcing the knowledge of God. At every opportunity we point out that all children are special because they are image bearers of the Personal and Infinite God who has revealed Himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ. They are special because the Word of God made flesh gave Himself to redeem all who trust in Him. The worth of their soul is infinite.

We tell them the truth about sin and grace then we answer their questions. Men are fallen in sin, but they are still image bearers and therefore full of potential for greatness whether they are converted or not. Man has worth because of who he is. We give them the Law and the Gospel. Then we pray that the Spirit will make the Word effectual as we live out the Gospel in the home.
 
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Plenteous Grace with Thee is Found

 
Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing.

Wilt Thou not regard my call? Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—Lo! on Thee I cast my care;
Reach me out Thy gracious hand! While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand, dying, and behold, I live.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.

[Charles Wesley]
 
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Some Perspective on Church and State

 
In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed…’ [Daniel 2:44].

Centuries after Daniel wrote of the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, Jesus Christ spoke these words, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel” [Mark 1:14].

He told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations because all authority had been given to Him on earth and in heaven [Matthew 28:18].

Independent of the kingdoms of this world that come and go, Christ has been building His Church for two millennium. Just as He said, “I will build My Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” [Matthew 16:18]. That is, nothing can prevent the Church from fulfilling its mission of gathering together the people of God.

The churches of every age make up Christ’s Church. The church is where His authority is recognized; this is the kingdom of heaven on earth. Believers are the living stones being built up into a glorious temple; Christ Himself is the chief cornerstone.

The nations are as dust in the scale and as a drop in the bucket. They are counted by the Lord less than nothing and worthless [Isaiah 40]. But the Church is called the bride of Christ. He loves her and cherishers her as precious and has promised to present her blameless and holy having sanctified her for Himself [Ephesians 5].

The heritage given us by our forefathers is being trampled under foot. As a result we are going the way of all nations that suppress the knowledge of God. It is only the church that will endure.
 
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