A Funeral Sermon on the Death of George Washington in Modern English

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A friend has informed the author that a sermon published by the Reverend Dr. Erskine of Edinburgh, preached on the death of Dr. William Robertson and based on the same text, has some similarities in its plan to the following discourse. He mentions this coincidence without intending any comparison between a work by that venerable and distinguished minister and this brief, hurried production of his own, which attracted attention only because of its subject. He mentions it simply to prevent suspicion by declaring, most explicitly, that he had never seen Dr. Erskine’s discourse or heard anything about its plan or contents until after he had delivered the following sermon and had transcribed and sent most of it to the printer.

The Source of Human Greatness

“And in thine hand it is to make great.” (1 Chr 29:12)

Greatness is a relative term. We use it in different senses, according to the object to which we apply it. Applied to material objects, it expresses great size or extent. Applied to human character, or used in any intellectual or moral sense, it has a figurative meaning. It implies exceptional power, dignity, or excellence.

Compared with the infinite and eternal God, no created being can be called great. In his glorious presence, the highest angels veil their faces and may be charged with folly by comparison. Much less can any such title, in relation to him, be applied to a human being. We are lower than the angelic hosts, worms of the dust who, before Jehovah, must confess ourselves to be “nothing, and less than nothing, and vanity” (Isa 40:17).

But when we compare one order of creatures with another, or, more particularly, compare individual human beings with one another, we may properly call them great or good. We do so when they possess an uncommon share of the limited excellence their nature allows. Many passages of Scripture give us examples of this use of language, especially the passage now before us.

David, the servant of God, was distinguished both as a monarch and as a saint. His zeal for God’s worship led him to plan a magnificent temple dedicated to God’s name. Although he was not permitted to carry out this plan himself or see it completed in his lifetime, he made extensive preparations before his death, in obedience to God’s direction. He arranged the work so that his son and successor could complete it more easily.

In making these preparations, the king contributed generously from his own property. After giving as much as he could, he called on the great men and princes of the land to do the same. They responded with a readiness, willingness, and generosity that showed how fully they shared the spirit that moved their king.

On receiving this generous contribution from the princes of the land, David offered God the humble and grateful acknowledgment of which our text is a part. “Thine, O Lord,” he says, “is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. Both riches and honors come of thee; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all” (1 Chr 29:11-12).

It would be easy to show, in the spirit of our text, that every kind of greatness, whether in the natural, moral, or political world, comes from God. Instead of entering this broad field, however, I will confine myself to the greatness sometimes bestowed on human beings. My purpose in this discourse will therefore be to show that when any human beings become great, it is God who makes them so. I will then apply the subject to that illustrious man whose loss our country mourns.

I presume that no one here will dispute the general truth expressed in our text. A Christian audience needs no proof that God is the source of all existence, the giver of every faculty, and the author of every advancement. As Scripture says, he made us, and not we ourselves, and the inspiration of the Almighty gave us understanding. He does his will and pleasure in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. Promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south; but God is the judge: he puts down one and sets up another (Ps 100:3; Job 32:8; Dan 4:35; Ps 75:6-7).

Rather than dwell on these plain and elementary principles of religion, I ask your attention to some of the various methods by which God makes people great and the means by which he ordinarily raises them to distinction. There is no need formally to prove that God is the source of all human greatness, a truth that an assembly of believers cannot doubt for a moment.

Human greatness takes different forms and appears in various ways. The means that infinite Wisdom uses to raise people to greatness also differ. Sometimes, in his dealings with them, “his path” is “in the deep waters, and his footsteps are not known” (Ps 77:19). At other times, the way he directs their advancement is clearer and easier to perceive. Let us humbly consider some of these methods, so that we may study the ways of Providence more diligently and admire them more devoutly.

1. Inherited Rank

God sometimes makes people great by giving them the advantage of distinguished and honorable birth. The context of our passage particularly directs our attention to this. We learn there that the generosity acknowledged by the royal psalmist was displayed by “the Chiefs of the Fathers” and “the Princes of the tribes of Israel” (1 Chr 29:6).

Those distinctions of birth founded on hereditary nobility and the general system of privileged orders are happily unknown in our land. I say happily because, whatever advantages some suppose these distinctions produce, they are generally acknowledged to bring many curses wherever they exist.

Descent from the truly great and genuinely virtuous is indeed an honor. But descent from people whose elevation rests merely on artificial distinctions and titles is an honor only in the judgment of frivolous minds. Such greatness in name alone, considered by itself, gives no real glory to its possessor’s character. Instead, it makes a petty character more contemptible, and weakness or vice more hateful.

Nevertheless, God has been pleased to permit birth to become the foundation of one kind of distinction in human society. When wisely used, this distinction, like every other arrangement of Providence, may become an instrument of much good, both to its possessor and to the world.

When the Creator brings people into existence with this distinction and these advantages, he may therefore be said to make them great. He places them in a prominent position of responsibility. He gives them an influence in society beyond what their personal worth supplies, and they are bound to use it for his glory and the general happiness.

As they are raised above their fellow human beings, their opportunities for usefulness grow more numerous and extensive. Their virtues become more valuable because of the force of an example set from a high position. Their vices become more poisonous because of the attractive form in which they appear. Their entire character becomes more consequential and influential in its relationships because of the artificial power attached to it.

It scarcely needs to be added that this is the lowest kind of greatness human beings can possess. This is true not only because it exists merely in name, but also, and chiefly, because it can generally be said to have less connection with personal excellence than any other kind. The wise and the foolish, the righteous and the wicked, share equally in this elevation. Thus, while it places its possessors under special and solemn obligations, it gives them no excuse for boasting about themselves.

2. Wealth

God sometimes makes people great by giving them a large share of this world’s goods. “Wealth is power” is an old and sound saying. Wealth gives its possessors importance in society and a capacity for usefulness that, when properly exercised, is beyond price.

When God makes people rich, he places them in a high position. He gives them influence over others and the means of promoting happiness on a broad scale. This was undoubtedly one kind of greatness the psalmist had in mind when he spoke the words of our text. “The chiefs of the fathers, and the princes of the tribes of Israel” were great in their riches as well as their honors. Because of this distinction, their devout monarch called on them to “honor the Lord with their substance” (Prov 3:9). It was probably with reference to them that he acknowledged God’s hand in “making great” and “giving strength” to human beings.

When the Supreme Ruler of all things bestows a large share of this world’s goods on any of our race, he may therefore be said to make them great, provided he also gives them a heart to use his gifts with noble generosity. Remember that wealth alone, without a disposition to use it as its Giver intended, does not constitute greatness in the judgment of the wise and good.

On the contrary, the rich miser is among the most despicable and base characters on earth, in the sight of both God and humanity. There is a pettiness in his character to which even the most impoverished person living outside civilized society cannot sink. The true elevation that property can bring belongs only to those who combine wealth with a generous and benevolent spirit.

David’s prayer before us seems to allude to this principle. In calling the princes and leading men of the land great, he probably had in mind not only the extent of their possessions. He was probably also thinking of the noble spirit that prompted them to dedicate a large portion of their wealth to the worship and glory of their Almighty Benefactor.

3. Intellectual Powers

God makes people great in a still higher sense by giving them exceptional intellectual abilities. Intelligence and reason raise human beings above the animals. Through the ability to compare, distinguish, and combine ideas, and to know, serve, and enjoy God, a human being “is placed a little lower than the angels, and crowned with glory and honor” (Ps 8:5). Even the smallest measure of this intellectual power carries a dignity and greatness far surpassing all the splendors of material magnificence. When we compare mind with body, or mental activity with mere lifeless matter, the former holds a superiority of the highest importance.

But just as our Creator has formed different orders of intelligent beings, he has also made beings within the same order differ from one another. To some he has given limited abilities; to others, greater and more powerful ones. On those whom he intends to employ in prominent positions and make instruments of extensive good to the world, he usually bestows abilities of a special and distinguished kind. He gives them unusually sharp perception, ingenuity in combining ideas, force of reasoning, and accurate, sound judgment.

These elevated minds receive and deserve the name of great because of the reach of their powers and activity. Their views are broad and comprehensive. They are capable of great undertakings and qualified to accomplish noble enterprises. To them generally belong the deep investigations, splendid discoveries, and wise improvements that adorn and elevate human character. They have the high privilege of being studied and admired by millions who have never seen their faces, and of entertaining and enlightening distant nations and ages through the work of their genius.

We should observe and remember, however, that true greatness consists less in brilliant talents than in soundness, strength, and perseverance of mind. The stream that carries everything before it is not the swift and noisy one, but the deep, majestic, solemn one. The heavenly light that illuminates the world is not the dazzling meteor, which astonishes by its speed and frightens by its flashes and sound. It is the steady, serene light that moves in its regular course.

Who can read Sully’s memoirs without judging him a far greater man than Servin, that prodigy, even monster, of talent whose character Sully recorded? Servin’s powers were indeed brilliant, almost miraculously so. But they were corrupted, put to degrading uses, and useless to the world. Sully’s genius, by contrast, was lofty in its aims, practical in its direction, and persevering in its efforts. It continually planned and carried out the noblest enterprises, and thus became an instrument for bringing countless blessings to his country and to humanity.

4. Occasions and Events

God makes people great by creating occasions and arranging events to call forth and display their abilities. “Occasions make men” is an old and familiar saying. If it means that a chance combination of causes, without the action of any purposeful agent, creates and raises up distinguished people, it is undoubtedly a deeply impious sentiment. But if it means that the Governor of the universe uses great and momentous occasions to awaken, expand, and display the faculties he has given, then both philosophy and religion give us every reason to consider the saying sound.

It is certainly true that anyone who is to become prominent in politics, war, or science needs preparatory circumstances, favorable occasions, and a fortunate combination of events. What would all the learning and wisdom of the most profound expert in civil law accomplish for him or the world if he had no opportunity to put them into practice or bring them to public notice? How could the most brilliant military abilities raise their possessor’s reputation if he lived in a time of peace and tranquility? In that case, they would end in frustrated wishes and useless plans.

Great powers can be displayed only when great needs provide a field for their action. Such needs arise only seldom. Thus, the qualities most worthy of humanity’s admiration and esteem often lie hidden, like the riches of an undiscovered mine. People walk over the cavern filled with gold as though it were ordinary ground, until necessity or accident breaks it open and reveals its precious riches.

There can therefore be little doubt that many whose lives have slipped away uselessly in idleness and obscurity might have become highly distinguished and remarkably useful if an opportunity to exercise their powers had arisen.

As Gray writes:

Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flow’r is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

When God intends to raise up a great man, he therefore arranges occasions and events in a suitable sequence for that purpose. He causes these events to act on the mind of the future hero. The hero’s mind, in turn, reacts upon the events and gives increasing greatness and importance to the scenes in which he takes part. Thus, at least at certain stages of their development, each may be said to act as both cause and effect in relation to the other.

The age into which people are born, the circumstances of their education, the company they keep, and the events occurring around them each day may all help to form and strengthen the mind. They may, and undoubtedly often do, act as causes that develop abilities, elevate tastes and aims, and give dignity and energy to the whole character.

Who can read Alexander’s history without seeing that, humanly speaking, he would have lived and died unknown beyond a small district had his ambition not been fired by the achievements of his father Philip and the lessons of his tutor Aristotle? And would this not have been his fate had Persia’s divisions and weakness not opened an easy road to conquest and glory?

Who can trace the career of the emperor Justinian, from the rank of a private soldier to the imperial throne, without admiring the mysterious ways of Providence? Who can doubt for a moment that advancement is brought about by the power of the Most High?

Had God placed the illustrious emperor Charles V of Germany in other times or circumstances, had other princes occupied the neighboring thrones, or had his reign been less troubled and critical, would he not probably have passed silently and unnoticed down the stream of time?

Indeed, consider a still more striking and familiar example. Suppose the noble enthusiasm for American independence had burst forth half a century earlier or later. Or suppose our glorious liberation from Britain had been accomplished without resorting to arms. Is there not every reason to believe that the great man whose death we deplore, and whose memory is treasured in the hearts of a grateful people, would have remained nothing more than a respectable Virginia farmer to the end of his life?

But God does not use only great and splendid occasions to lead people to distinction. In his hands, the smallest events sometimes produce similar effects. Acts of Providence that at first appear trivial often determine the pursuits people enter. The same infinite wisdom then uses those pursuits to reveal the soul’s hidden energies, stir inactive powers into action, and awaken a genius that might otherwise have slept forever.

If we trace the careers of some of the greatest people who have ever lived, we will find that unexpected means raised them to distinction and that apparently small events brought about their advancement. How often has a chance meeting, from which no consequences were foreseen, led to such a result? How often has a passing courtesy, intended to accomplish nothing extraordinary, or a marriage from which no substantial advantage was expected, done the same? How often have such trivial events raised people from private life to imperial thrones and the command of millions!

Who, reasoning by human wisdom, could have foreseen that a little domestic discord would become the first link in a chain of causes raising Joseph from an obscure private life to the position of chief ruler over Egypt? Who, following the young David when his father sent him on a humble errand to the Israelite army, would have imagined what that brief visit would bring? Who would have thought it would lead this youthful shepherd to deliver his countrymen from the proud Philistines and afterward become an ornament of the Jewish throne?

And, coming down to more modern times, how extraordinary and unforeseen were the means by which the great William III, whom Britain calls her deliverer, gained sovereign power in that kingdom! How small and apparently unimportant were the events through which Empress Catherine rose from the deepest poverty to wield the scepter of the Russias!

These examples, and a thousand similar instances occurring daily, prove what can happen in God’s hands. Not only can “weak things of the world” be made “to confound the mighty, and foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and things that are not, to bring to nought things which are” (1 Cor 1:27-28). The feeblest instruments and circumstances scarcely thought worth noticing can also become means of imparting wisdom, conferring power, and leading people to the highest fame and honor.

5. Public Affection and Confidence

God makes people great by giving them the affection and confidence of their fellow human beings. A man may possess great abilities, extensive wealth, and a prominent role in human affairs, yet still lack important attributes of greatness. If he cannot win the respect and affection of those around him, he falls short in an important respect.

“The perfection of glory,” says Cicero, a great and admired pagan, “consists in these three particulars, that the people love us, that they have confidence in us, and that being affected with a certain admiration towards us, they think we deserve to be honored.”

This sentiment rests on principles that are partly mistaken, so a Christian cannot accept it in its full extent. Yet it undoubtedly contains some truth. Winning the reverence and love of our fellow human beings is an important part of earthly greatness. It is true that some of the greatest and best people who ever lived almost entirely lacked it. But would they not probably have been greater and more useful if they had possessed this influence over the minds around them?

Reputation, in a still higher sense than wealth, is power. It is a highly desirable kind of power, whether we consider our own happiness or the effectiveness of our service to others. “A good name,” says Solomon, “is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver or gold” (Prov 22:1).

Accordingly, when God wills to make a man great or an instrument of extensive good to the world, he usually gives him the hearts and confidence of those around him. He arranges events so that the man’s actions appear wise and dignified. He also directs people’s affections so that they view all his conduct favorably.

When properly used, this popularity has excellent effects. It benefits those who possess it, both guarding their virtue and encouraging their duty. The awareness that the world’s eyes were upon them and its confidence placed in them has inspired patriots, fired heroes, and produced some of the most splendid and useful enterprises ever accomplished.

But although public confidence often benefits those who possess it, it is still more important to their usefulness in the world. Their influence grows in proportion to the good opinion they enjoy in their community. People listen willingly and favorably to a teacher they honor. Their affectionate attachment gives weight to his example and authority to his advice. His efforts to do them good are therefore more effective than those of others. They readily enter into the spirit of his plans and cheerfully cooperate in his benevolent work.

Few peoples have seen a more illustrious example than we have witnessed of the influence of a beloved name on the public mind. We have seen it unite the affections and counsels of people who would probably otherwise have been divided. In the most trying times, we have seen it work more effectively than official power to silence complaints, calm fears, and win the confidence of the divided and discouraged.

6. Virtue and Holiness

Lastly, God makes people great by adorning their hearts with virtue and holiness. This is the crowning stone in the structure of human advancement. Without it, the whole structure is incomplete.

Let a man possess all the abilities, wealth, and honors that any human being can enjoy or a grateful people can bestow. Still, if his heart does not expand with benevolence and reflect his Creator’s moral image, “wanting” must be written over all his greatness. What the sun’s light and welcome warmth are to the natural world, “the beauty of holiness” (Ps 29:2) is to the soul. It casts glory over every human faculty. It forms that godlike nature which makes rational beings resemble God and fits them for the pure joys of his presence.

We must acknowledge that many whom the world has called great, and who in some respects deserved the name, have lacked this noblest of all distinctions. Their ambition was entirely selfish. Their aims, though broad, reached no further than this present life. Their activity was more a curse than a blessing to humanity.

Viewed rightly, the characters of the mightiest conquerors display a degree of moral degradation from which humanity, even apart from religion, turns away in horror and shame. The greatest wish of that ambitious heart for which the whole earth supplied too few objects of conquest was, after all, to receive the Athenians’ praise. And the Caesars and Pompeys of our race have waded to glory through the tears and blood of their fellow human beings.

But when the Supreme Ruler of all things intends to raise people to the highest summit of greatness, he adds to every other kind of elevation the nobility of virtue that sanctifies their abilities. He adds the unselfish benevolence that dignifies their character and the transformation of their whole being into God’s image that raises the soul from earth to heaven.

Human beings never appear more truly noble and honorable than when their faculties are directed to their proper objects and all their powers dedicated to the divine work of doing good. The hero in virtue is as far above the hero in conquest as the heavens are above the earth, or as light surpasses darkness.

How small Darius, Agrippa, and Nero appeared beside Daniel and Paul, even when these holy men stood in chains before them! How far Howard’s character rises above the most powerful monarch or the most renowned destroyer of his fellow human beings in all his glory! To devise and carry out plans for reducing human misery and promoting human happiness was his food and drink. He caused no tears except tears of gratitude and love. The widow, the fatherless, and the prisoner privately spoke blessings upon him. Future generations will rise up and call him blessed.

Such is the greatness of the person whose understanding is enlightened by divine knowledge and whose heart is warmed by holy love. His abilities no longer serve the narrow plans of selfishness. They move in a wider sphere and take in a broader horizon. His ambition, once confined to worldly advancement, now aims higher. Instead of earthly wealth and honors, he seeks heavenly treasures, God’s approval, and the honor of advancing God’s glory.

Instead of thirsting for conquest and destruction, his heart is stirred by the noble desire to promote universal happiness. His benevolence, no longer confined by names or territory, embraces God’s whole family. His hopes, rather than ending in earthly pursuits, rise to the noblest, loftiest, and most excellent objects in the universe. His expanded soul can now accept nothing as its supreme good but infinite excellence and “an eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor 4:17).

Lessons from Human Greatness

I have thus attempted, brothers and sisters, to give you a brief outline of some of the various means by which God raises people to distinction and greatness. I must leave it to your own reflections to fill in that outline with more detailed examples. Meanwhile, I ask your attention to a few of the many practical lessons this subject offers to the serious mind. The following are clear and important.

1. Give God the Glory

If the doctrine presented here is true, great people have no reason to boast about themselves, nor may others make them idols. Who made them to differ from others? And what have they that they did not receive? If, therefore, they have received all they possess, why should they glory as if they had not received it? (1 Cor 4:7)

The truth of our total dependence on God for our existence and for every power and enjoyment connected with it removes, at one stroke, every ground for human pride and self-confidence. The most gifted, honored, and exalted people are nothing more than Jehovah’s instruments. To him, therefore, ultimately belongs all the honor of their great and good actions.

As we contemplate the virtues and services of distinguished people, we should adopt the inspired psalmist’s language: “From thee, O Lord, both riches and honors come; and in thine hand is power and might, and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name be the glory!” (1 Chr 29:12; Ps 115:1).

2. Trust God When Great People Die

Is it true that making people great belongs to God? Then this doctrine teaches us not to give way to anxiety or despair when people raised to high distinction and made exceptionally useful in the world are taken away. The same God who raised them up, strengthened them, inspired them with wisdom, and fitted them for their work still lives and will live forever. He can equip others, as he pleases, to take their places and meet whatever needs arise.

For every crisis in human affairs, he has laid his infinitely wise plan and prepared his instruments to do his will in every part of the scene. Even from wood and stones he can raise up agents to accomplish his purposes.

Brothers and sisters, how comforting it is to think that we live under the government of such a God! What if those we admire and love are taken away? What if the instruments on which we placed our hopes are unexpectedly removed from the scene? “The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of the isles be glad thereof!” (Ps 97:1).

3. Use Your Gifts Responsibly

If this account of the subject is true, what an awesomely responsible position belongs to those whom God has made great! To whomever much is given, of them much will be required; and to whom God has committed much, of them he will ask the more (Luke 12:48).

I speak to all such people within my hearing: the rich, the gifted, the learned, and the honored. Great ones of the earth! Your Creator has made you prominent among others. He has placed many talents in your hands. He has given you standing in society and influence over those around you. These enable you to do extensive good and bring great glory to his name. Let me remind you that, for the use you make of all these advantages, “he will bring you into judgment” (Eccl 11:9).

What use, then, are you making of your distinctions and talents? Your accounting will indeed be dreadful if you are found to have buried them in idleness and inaction or turned them to the unholy purposes of sin. In that case, it would have been better for you to creep through life among the most obscure and lowly of your fellow human beings, or rather that “you had never been born” (Matt 26:24).

I urge you, then, to consider the purpose for which you were raised to distinction and the obligations it places upon you. Strive to be great in virtue, holiness, and zeal for God’s glory and the public good, as well as in worldly pursuits. Then your elevation will prove a blessing to yourselves and humanity. Then the passing honors of earth will become an introduction to higher honors: the scepters and thrones of glory reserved for the righteous in “a better country, that is, an heavenly” (Heb 11:16).

4. Honor Washington and Follow His Example

This subject teaches us to honor those whom God makes instruments of great good to the world. When he honors them, it is our duty to do the same. If we do this with the conviction and on the principle that they are his instruments, we ultimately glorify him.

Here, allow me to apply the subject we have been considering to the character of that illustrious man whose death has draped this pulpit in mourning, and whose loss presents us with the extraordinary spectacle of a nation grieving.

Brothers and sisters, I do not intend to subject you to the pain of hearing servile flattery of this venerable man. Apart from other considerations, such language would be especially inconsistent and inappropriate after the doctrine I have presented. But I trust I need not prove to this audience that duty calls us to take particular notice of this solemn act of Providence.

It is our happiness and our boast that we live under a government in which the people’s voice is the supreme law. The approval and applause of that voice should therefore reward long and faithful service to the people. Let it never be said that republicans are ungrateful. Let our conduct show that we understand the difference between the showy pomp and mockery of grief attending a tyrant’s death and the warm, spontaneous affection with which a grateful people can cherish and honor the memory of a patriot and benefactor.

Do not understand this discourse as an attempt to portray this distinguished man’s character in full. That task would be too difficult and is, happily, unnecessary. The record of his virtues and services is so deeply impressed upon your hearts, his great actions occupy so splendid a place in our history, and the blessings they have brought his country are so numerous and extensive, that I am persuaded your feelings today are his best eulogy. But allow me, in a few sentences, to recall some of the reasons that demand a tribute of gratitude and respect to his memory from the American people.

Our beloved and mourned Washington was, emphatically, a man whom God had made great. Without the glittering ornament of titled nobility, without the advantage of what is called distinguished and honorable birth, the Governor of the world raised him to a greatness of which human history offers few examples.

He did not possess those brilliant and dazzling abilities that many mistakenly imagine to be the only valuable ones. His mind was of a higher order. Providence intended him to act in a sphere where dignified prudence, sound judgment, firmness, self-control, and consistency were especially necessary. These were therefore the leading features of his character. With these worthy powers, he began his career of military glory early in life, fighting against savage invaders. Even then, he gave the clearest and most honorable indications of his future greatness.

In 1755, when he was only twenty-three, he held the rank of colonel in the Virginia forces. In that rank he accompanied General Braddock on the celebrated expedition in which Braddock was defeated and lost his life. Washington faced imminent danger and displayed great bravery and military skill. It is said that, humanly speaking, the dreadful catastrophe occurred because his advice was not followed. After the commander in chief fell, it was chiefly Washington’s resourcefulness and capable conduct that brought the shattered remnants of the army off the field.

A few weeks later, the Reverend Samuel Davies, afterward president of the College of New Jersey and then serving in Virginia, was called to preach before an independent company of volunteers. The company had just been raised and was about to march against the same enemy. During his sermon, Davies spoke approvingly of the military enthusiasm his hearers displayed. When the discourse was later printed, he added these remarkable words in a note: “As an instance of this, I may point out to the public that heroic youth Colonel Washington, whom I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto preserved in so signal a manner, for some important service to his country.”

When Britain’s encroachments and oppression prompted our countrymen to throw off her yoke, when a few young colonies rose to contend with a gigantic, grasping, and arrogant parent, you saw Washington step forward as their patriotic leader. He asserted their precious rights and braved every hardship of a dangerous conflict whose outcome was uncertain.

Though little experienced in the art of war, though placed at the head of a raw and undisciplined army, and though facing skilled, seasoned, and more powerful enemies, you saw his wisdom, perseverance, and courage overcome the most formidable difficulties. You saw him lead his fellow citizens, again and again, to conquest and triumph, until the beautiful structure of independence stood complete over tyranny’s tomb.

To give an adequate account of his services to his country during this difficult struggle would require a detailed account of a principal part of the Revolution’s history. His abilities as a military commander appeared less in the number or size of the battles he won, or in “marching over thousands and tens of thousands who had fallen by his victorious sword,” than in the skill with which he made the most of his small force.

He prevented bloodshed, used skillful diversions and movements, exhausted his enemies’ strength, and delayed wisely, avoiding decisive battles when they could only do harm. He concealed his army’s weakness not only from his opponents but even from his own soldiers. Finally, with admirable judgment, he seized favorable times and opportunities to strike the enemy effectively.

Rash and thoughtless people measure a general’s abilities only by the multitudes he has destroyed, the cities he has plundered, and the extent of the devastation he has caused. They may readily imagine that this account gives little evidence of high military ability. But sober and thoughtful people will consider his unusual position, his limited resources, and the formidable difficulties he faced. Without hesitation, they will pronounce the leader of our revolutionary army one of the most worthy commanders of ancient or modern times.

Do not understand me as giving this beloved hero all the honor for freeing us from foreign rule. Many illustrious men undoubtedly shared greatly in both the burdens and the honors of those trying times. But his outstanding services in accomplishing our glorious Revolution have been universally acknowledged. They have long been a subject of wonder and praise in both hemispheres.

Who was it, under God, who encouraged our suffering army, lifted their drooping spirits, and united their affections and strength in the darkest crises? Who, through prudence and fortitude, escaped the traps laid for his weak forces and led them by unexpected means to victory and glory? Patriots of 1776 and 1777! You who witnessed the hardships, dangers, and disasters of that memorable period, do not your hearts, swelling with powerful emotions, answer, “It was he”?

Yes, under the direction of the God of armies, it was indeed he. There was a majesty in his presence, and, if the expression may be allowed, a magic, that dispelled fear, inspired confidence, and commanded reverence even from enemies.

When his country’s independence was established, you saw him retire to his farm like Cincinnatus. With a greatness of soul even greater than he had displayed in military achievements, he exchanged the soldier’s role for the citizen’s. When his fellow citizens again called him into public life, you saw him obey their command. A second time, he left his beloved retirement and risked his splendid, untarnished reputation in political conflict. It is probable that no mortal had ever enjoyed the united applause and admiration of so large a portion of humanity as he did on the day he accepted the presidency of the United States.

As for our departed friend and father’s administration as a civil ruler, it may be impossible at present to form an impartial opinion. Only future generations can fully assess the tendencies and effects of some of his measures. I need not tell you that his countrymen agree less about these than about his military services.

We should always remember, however, that he took the helm of state only a short time before a storm gathered in the political world. That storm has overthrown the work of ages, still shakes Europe to its center, and has consequences no one can calculate or an end no one can foresee. Many of the situations in which duty required him to decide and act were exceptionally critical, difficult, and perplexing.

To investigate the untried interests of a young empire and choose the safest connections abroad, when almost the entire civilized world had risen in arms, was surely an immense task, full of danger and uncertainty. Nor is it surprising that, at such a time, his constituents’ feelings and passions were acutely sensitive to public measures. Neither is it surprising that human minds, weak, fallible, and shaped by differing circumstances, rushed to opposite conclusions.

Such recollections cannot fail to soften the bitterness of party conflict. They suggest grounds for excusing both the mistakes attributed to the illustrious deceased and the vehemence of many who disagreed with him. It is pleasing, and highly honorable to his memory, to observe that his integrity has remained unchallenged and unsuspected. This has been true amid every difference of opinion and clash of parties, and amid all the mutual accusations of foreign influence and domestic corruption that have unhappily disturbed our country. Even those who believe his political errors were most numerous have acknowledged that they were the errors of a mind moved by the purest motives and pursuing the public good with an unwaveringly upright intention.

Many great men have dazzled the world with splendid actions and begun their careers professing unlimited devotion to liberty. Yet they have seized the first opportunity to usurp power and have proved the worst of tyrants. Cromwell’s history is the history of many deceivers and false patriots.

But the man whose memory we delight to honor was never open to this charge. You never saw him push himself uninvited into public view or seek admission to positions of trust and authority. On the contrary, a grateful people always brought him forward with a united and insistent voice. He used no opportunity to satisfy ambition or increase his personal power and standing. He seemed to hold his country’s commissions for no purpose but to serve it, and he immediately surrendered them when the work for which they had been given was complete.

Extraordinary success and widespread fame have too often made even strong minds overconfident and boastful. A successful general of antiquity, recounting his many victories, came to one that surpassed all the rest and boasted, “In this, Fortune had no share.” Fortune was the imaginary deity to whom he had conceded some part in his earlier victories.

The hero of America offered so strikingly opposite an example that his greatness of soul appeared no less in how he bore prosperity and received applause than in his greatest public achievements. Neither the success of his great undertakings nor universal praise diminished his dignified, retiring modesty or tempted him to forget human weakness. He took every opportunity to express firm reliance on God’s providence, and he never failed to give divine goodness and aid the glory for every favorable event.

You have heard that, among the various kinds of greatness to which human beings aspire, moral heroism is most worthy of our ambition. The laurels virtue bestows are more precious than crowns and scepters. “He that is slow to anger,” says the wise man, “is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city” (Prov 16:32).

But how seldom have fame’s proud favorites seemed to recognize or heed this truth! How often, perhaps we might say how generally, have great men combined splendid and commanding abilities with degrading passions and the basest vices! They have violated the bonds of justice, benevolence, and gratitude to accomplish magnificent but selfish plans. A clear exception to this general character is rare in history.

You have undoubtedly anticipated my application of these remarks. The patriotic citizen whose memory we honor provided such an exception. His private conduct matched the splendor of his public reputation. Amid the noise of battle and the heavy cares of office, he did not forget the virtues required of him as a man. His ear was always open to the appeal of humanity. His attention to the varied duties of social life and personal relationships was dignified and exemplary.

It is not uncommon for the most distinguished heroes, after a career of great fame and honor, to end their lives neglected and obscure. To the long and humiliating catalog of old age’s evils supplied by moralists and satirists, we may generally add a decline, if not a complete loss, of fame. As Johnson writes:

In life’s last scene what prodigies surprise,
Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise!
From Marlb’rough’s eyes the streams of dotage flow,
And Swift expires a driv’ler and a show.

But our beloved and admired hero was largely exempt from this general rule. He retained his countrymen’s affection and the world’s admiration to the end of his life. He went down to the grave full of years, laden with honors, and covered with glory. Though his mortal body is committed to the tomb, every day gives us fresh reason to believe that his reputation will live and that distant generations will speak his name with enthusiastic warmth.

Such was the man whose death we mourn today. Citizens of America! Let his memory always be dear and honored among you. Tell your children and your children’s children what great things God has accomplished through him for your country. Tell them of his love of liberty. Tell them of his long, faithful, and triumphant efforts to establish her standard in our land. Tell them how he lived and how he died. Then, if national danger should call again, they may be ready, like him, to step forward in defense of their rights and prove themselves worthy of the ancestry they proudly claim.

And you, young people of America! Look at the example set before you today, and let a noble ambition fire your hearts. It would be extravagant praise to present our departed leader as an absolutely perfect example or to claim that every possible excellence was united in his character. Such indiscriminate and excessive praise, applied to any mortal, must have the effect of disguised satire, whatever its intention.

But he undoubtedly left an example so unusually illustrious that it provides a worthy object for your aspiring imitation. Go, then, beloved young people! Learn from him to dedicate your abilities to the public good. Learn from him to love freedom, humanity’s birthright, and always to be ready to sacrifice your lives in defense of your country’s rights. Learn from him to maintain the self-control, dignity, and orderly conduct so essential to society’s welfare. Finally, learn from him to maintain to the end of life that consistent and unwavering attachment to principle for which he was so distinguished.

And you, illustrious spirit! Father, friend, and benefactor, farewell! We will always cherish and honor your memory. We will remember your virtues and services as long as gratitude has a place in our hearts and this land remains the home of free people who understand the value of liberty purchased and sealed with blood.

Over your grave we promise, relying on the aid of him who alone can give strength, never to abandon the principles for which you fought and which inspired you to your last hour. As we keep watch with a child’s affection around your sleeping dust, we will guard with ever-growing zeal that beautiful political inheritance which was your glory and your joy.

5. Remember the End of Earthly Greatness

Finally, my brothers and sisters, this subject and the solemn act of Providence we have been considering teach us the end of all earthly greatness.

As Gray writes:

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

The admired hero and the beloved sage, despite all their greatness, must at last lie down in the dust. There, by heaven’s supreme decree, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, honored and despised must all alike become food for decay and worms.

You who are destined for immortality! “So number your days, that you may apply your hearts unto wisdom” (Ps 90:12). What will it profit you to receive the applause of man, “whose breath is in his nostrils” (Isa 2:22), and to be laden with honors that soon fade away, if you have secured no inheritance beyond this brief span of existence?

There is a kingdom “not of this world” (John 18:36), offered and secured to all faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. A glorious exaltation is offered to them “without money, and without price” (Isa 55:1). Compared with that exaltation, the objects of earthly ambition are insignificant trifles.

Let each of us aspire, then, to this happiness and glory. Let us seek reconciliation with God through the atonement of his dear Son, and likeness to his image through the Holy Spirit’s power. Let our highest ambition be to be found by him at last in peace, without spot, and blameless, so that when he who is our life appears, we also may appear, and live and reign with him in glory forever and ever (2 Pet 3:14; Col 3:4). Amen!