Jacob Cushing (1730-1809) was a graduate of Harvard in the mid-18th century, and he served as a pastor in Waltham, Massachusetts, nearly a half century, from 1752 on. He had 15 sermons published and kept a full diary that supplements his sermons. This was his only political treatise that was published and it was in commemoration of the tyrannical acts at Lexington on April 19, 1775—the first day in America military history that would live in infamy. In this sermon (based on Dt. 32:43)—his only political sermon published—Cushing begins with a sound foundation, i. e., that God is not the deity of Deism; rather, he is the God who is quite involved in his creation and is neither so distant nor impotent as to carry moral suasion.

What is God’s view on certain political matters or events? That is a question often asked . . . and often mocked. Centuries earlier, however, preachers and their audiences were more sympathetic with the notion that God might actually have moral opinions on the acts of human beings. Earlier preachers like Jacob Cushing were not as timid as some today.

Jacob Cushing (1730-1809) was a graduate of Harvard in the mid-18th century, and he served as a pastor in Waltham, Massachusetts, nearly a half century, from 1752 on. He had 15 sermons published and kept a full diary that supplements his sermons. This was his only political treatise that was published and it was in commemoration of the tyrannical acts at Lexington on April 19, 1775—the first day in America military history that would live in infamy.

In this sermon (based on Dt. 32:43)—his only political sermon published—Cushing begins with a sound foundation, i. e., that God is not the deity of Deism; rather, he is the God who is quite involved in his creation and is neither so distant nor impotent as to carry moral suasion.

His sermon commences with the words “That there is a God” is not only the “prime foundation of all religion,” but if he is a particular type of God, his omnipotent actions will be flow into human events in public squares as well. A God devoid of providence, thought Cushing, was a solitary fiction who would yield little but “gloomy apprehensions.” Instead, God’s providence excites our gratitude and comforts during affliction. He is the sovereign God who “interests himself in the affairs of mankind,” and rational beings should consider how is providence is meted out.

He urged his audience to reflect on “the murderous war, rapine, and devastation” three years earlier on April 19, 1775. From the outset his purpose was practical, urging: “Under this visitation, or the greatest trials imaginable, we have abundant consolation, that God rules in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of this earth.” Specifically, that God would avenge the blood of his servants—the concluding words of Moses’ song in Deuteronomy 32—is designed to assure his people and to fortify them in resisting tyrants. This Deuteronomy prophecy is not limited to Israel, he preached, but applies to all God’s “chosen, though oppressed and injured people in all generations, that he will recompense their wrongs”—plead their cause—and do justice upon their enemies.

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