Political Sermons From The Past: The Mediatorial Kingdom and Glories of Jesus Christ By Samuel Davies
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By David Hall - Posted at The Heidelblog:
IntroductionAllusions to Reformation themes abounded in early American sermons. The Waldensians, the eradication of the French Huguenots, Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli were all referred to in Samuel Davies’ 1756 sermon, “The Mediatorial Kingdom and Glories of Jesus Christ.”1
The Calvinist college at Princeton, where Edwards had once presided and where James Madison would later be educated, became a hive for anti-hierarchical theory. A line of distinguished presidents contributed to Princeton’s reputation as an educational laboratory for Calvinistic republicanism. Samuel Davies (1724–61) assumed that presidency in 1759. Taking the helm of this strategic college shortly after the death of the college’s third president, Jonathan Edwards, Davies straddled the watersheds of the Great Awakening and the Revolutionary War. His political Calvinism, which apparently fit well with that of Jonathan Witherspoon, is evident in his sermon, “God the Sovereign of all Kingdoms.” Davies maintained that “the Most High is the sole disposer of the fates of kingdoms” because of his divine perfections.2 Argued Davies:
How shall this [goodness] be displayed in this world, unless he holds the reins of government in his own hands, and distributes his blessings to what kingdom or nation he pleases? . . . His power is infinite, and therefore the management of all the worlds he has made, is as easy to him as the concerns of one individual.3God is not a remote “unconcerned spectator” but rules by his active providence. Active providence, by implication, leads to an active citizenry.
In his May 9, 1756 sermon, “The Mediatorial Kingdom and Glories of Jesus Christ,” Davies inquired about the nature and properties of Christ’s kingship. While many honorific titles were attributed to Christ, the office of King was assigned to him in both Old and New Testaments. The regal “character and dominion of our Lord Jesus” is a theme that spanned the pages of Scripture.4 Of course, Davies pointed out, the rule of Christ is not an earthly one; but nonetheless all earthly sovereigns are required to submit to his sovereignty. Since Christ has “an absolute sovereignty over universal nature,” he has superiority over any earthly ruler, and no earthly ruler is absolute.5
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