WallBuilders - Historical Documents

At the time of the Founders, it was a common practice for ministers to preach "Election Sermons," and it was very common for a clergyman to be invited to give a sermon before the newly-elected government officials. This 1790 election sermon by Rev. Daniel Foster was given before the Massachusetts Governor (John Hancock), Lieutenant-Governor (Samuel Adams), and both houses of Legislature. Rev. Foster admonished these elected officials using Proverbs 8:16 (By Me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth), and encouraged them to govern according to God's ways. (For the full text of Foster's Election Sermon click here.)

A
S E R M O N

PREACHED BEFORE

His Excellency JOHN HANCOCK, Esq.
GOVERNOUR;

His Honor SAMUEL ADAMS, Esq.
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOUR;

The Honourable The

COUNCIL, SENATE, and HOUSE of
REPRESENTATIVES,

Of The

C O M M O N W E A L T H
of
M A S S A C H U S E T T S

MAY 26, 1790.

BEING THE DAY OF

GENERAL ELECTION

By DANIEL FOSTER, A.M.
PASTOR of the CHURCH in NEW BRAINTREE

BOSTON, Massachusetts:
PRINTED BY THOMAS ADAMS,
PRINTER to the HONOURABLE, the GENERAL COURT

M,DCC,XC

John Hancock (1737-93) was a soldier, public official and Harvard graduate(1754). He served several terms as a Selectman of Boston; member of the Provincial Legislature (1766-72); member of the Continental Congress (1774-78) where he was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and President of Congress (1774-77); He was a Senior Major-General of the Massachusetts Militia (1778); a delegate to the State constitutional convention (1779); and Governor of Massachusetts (1780-85, 1787-93).

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) was a leader in the opposition to the acts by British Parliament which precipitated the American Revolution (1765-76); formed Boston’s Committee of Correspondence (1772); was a member of the Continental Congress (1774-81) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); and helped draft the Articles of Confederation (1777); He served as president of the Massachusetts senate (1781); Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts (1789-94); and Governor of Massachusetts (1794-97). He is called both the “Firebrand of the Revolution” and “The Father of the American Revolution” for his important leadership in the cause of American independence.