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FIRST CONGRESS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION - WASHINGTON INAUGURATED - CHRISTIAN SCENES ATTENDING HIS INAUGURATION - PRAYER -MEETING OF ALL DENOMINATIONS IN NEW YORK - WASHINGTON'S INAUGURAL - ITS CHRISTIAN SENTIMENTS - DAY OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND NEW GOVERNMENT - WASHINGTON'S PROCLAMATION - CHRISTIAN ORDINANCE OF 1787 - WASHINGTON'S LETTER TO LAFAYETTE - JUDGE NASH'S VIEW OF THE MORAL ENDS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT.

THE first session of Congress after the adoption of the Federal Constitution opened with distinct legislative recognitions of the Christian religion. Washington was inaugurated and took the oath of office on the 30th of April, 1789. Congress, the day before the inauguration, passed the following: -

Resolved, That, after the oath shall be administered to the President, the Vice-President, and members of the Senate, the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives, will accompany him to St. Paul's Chapel, to hear divine service performed by the chaplains.

Chancellor Livingston administered the oath of office, and Mr. Otis held up the Bible on its crimson cushion. The President, as he bowed to kiss its sacred page, at the same time laying his hand on the open Bible, said, audibly, "I swear," and added, with fervency, that his whole soul might be absorbed in the supplication, "So help me God." Then the Chancellor said, "It is done!" and, turning to the multitude, waved his hand, and, with a loud voice, exclaimed, "Long live George Washington!" This solemn scene concluded, he proceeded with the whole assembly, on foot, to St. Paul's Church, where prayers suited to the occasion were read by Dr. Provost, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in New York, who had been appointed one of the chaplains of Congress.

Previous to his inauguration, on the morning of the same day, a general prayer-meeting of the various denominations of Christians in New York was held for the special object of praying for God's blessing to rest on the President and the new Government. The notice of the prayer-meeting is among the old files of the "New York Daily Advertiser," dated Thursday, April 23, 1789, and is as follows: -

As we believe in an overruling Providence and feel our constant dependence upon God for every blessing, so it is undoubtedly our duty to acknowledge him in all our ways and commit our concerns to his protection and mercy. The ancient civilized heathen, from the mere dictates of reason, were uniformly excited to this; and we find from their writings that they engaged in no important business, especially what related to the welfare of a nation, without a solemn appeal to Heaven. How much more becoming and necessary is such a conduct in Christians, who believe not only in the light of nature, but are blessed with a divine revelation which has taught them more of God and of their obligations to worship him than by their reason they ever could have investigated!

It has been the wish of many pious persons in our land that at the framing of our new Constitution a solemn and particular appeal to Heaven had been made; and they have no doubt but Congress will soon call upon the whole nation to set apart a day for fasting and prayer for the express purpose of invoking the blessing of Heaven on our new Government. But this, in consequence of the distance of some of the States, cannot immediately take place: in the meanwhile, the inhabitants of this city are favored with the opportunity of being present on the very day on which the Constitution will be fully organized, and have it thus in their power to accommodate their devotions exactly to the important season.

In this view, it gave universal satisfaction to hear it announced last Sunday from the pulpits of our churches that, on the morning of the day on which our illustrious President will be invested with his office, the bells will ring at nine o'clock, when the people may go up and in a solemn manner commit the new Government, with its important train of consequences, to the holy protection and blessings of the Most High. An early hour is prudently fixed for this peculiar act of devotion, and it is designed wholly for prayer: it will not detain the citizens very long, or interfere with any of the other public business of the day.

It is supposed Congress will adopt religious solemnities by fervent prayer with their chaplains, in the Federal Hall, when the President takes his oath of office; but the people feel a common interest in this great transaction, and whether they approve of the Constitution as it now stands, or wish that alterations may be made, it is equally their concern and duty to leave the cause with God and refer the issue to his gracious providence. In doing this, the inauguration of our President and the commencement of our national character will be introduced with the auspices of religion, and our enlightened rulers and people will bear a consistent part in a business which involves the weal or woe of themselves and posterity.

I have heard that the notification respecting this hour of prayer was made in almost all the churches of the city, and that some of those who omitted the publication intend, notwithstanding, to join in that duty; and, indeed, considering the singular circumstances of the day, which in many respects exceed any thing recorded in ancient or modern history, it cannot be supposed that the serious and pious of any denomination will hesitate in going up to their respective churches and uniting at the throne of grace with proper prayers and supplications on this occasion. "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." (DAVID.)

The people came out from the churches where Mason, Livingston, Provost, Rodgers, and other clergymen had given passionately earnest and eloquent expression to that reverent and profound desire for God's blessing upon the President and Government which filled all hearts, so universal was a religious sense of the importance of the occasion.

"The scene," said one, "was solemn and awful beyond description. It would seem extraordinary that the administration of an oath - a ceremony so very common and familiar - should to so great a degree excite public curiosity; but the circumstances of the President's election, the importance of his past services, the concourse of the spectators, the devout fervency with which he repeated the oath, and the reverential manner in which he bowed down and kissed the sacred volume, - all these conspired to render it one of the most august and interesting spectacles ever exhibited. It seemed, from the number of witnesses, to be a solemn appeal to heaven and earth at once. In regard to this great and good man I may be an enthusiast, but I confess I was under an awful and religious persuasion that the gracious Ruler of the universe was looking down at that moment with peculiar complacency on an act which to a part of his creatures was so very important."

After divine service had been performed, Washington and the officers of the new Government and the members of Congress returned to the Federal Hall, where his inaugural was delivered. That address contains the following Christian sentiments: -

It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States A GOVERN- MENT instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses YOUR sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either.

No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. EVERY STEP by which they have been advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of his providential agency.

And in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which most governments have been established, without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seems to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis,have forced themselves on my mind too strongly to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influences of which the proceedings of a new and a free government can more auspiciously commence.

There is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity; since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment intrusted to the hands of the American people.

Having thus imparted to you my sentiments, as they have been awakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall take my present leave, but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the human race, in humble supplication, that since he has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity, on a form of government for the security of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so his divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which the success of this government must depend.

The first session of the first Congress was not suffered to pass without a solemn act of legislation recognizing the Christian religion. It was a national thanksgiving, proclaimed by the authority of Congress. The Journals of Congress present the following record.

Sept. 25, 1789.

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1) DAY OF THANKSGIVING.

Mr. Boudinot said he could not think of letting the session pass without offering an opportunity to all the citizens of the United States of joining with one voice in returning to Almighty God their sincere thanks for the many blessings he had poured down upon them. With this view he would move the following resolution: -

Resolved, That a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the President of the United States, to request that he recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a constitution of government for their safety and happiness.

Mr. Sherman justified the practice of thanksgiving on any signal event, not only as a laudable one in itself, but as warranted by precedents in Holy Writ: for instance, the solemn thanksgiving and rejoicing which took place in the time of Solomon after the building of the temple was a case in point. This example he thought worthy of imitation on the present occasion.

The resolution was unanimously adopted, and in pursuance thereof Washington issued the following -

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2) PROCLAMATION FOR A NATIONAL THANKSGIVING.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor; and whereas both Houses of Congress, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:" —

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the twenty-sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we then may all unite unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of his providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge, and, in general, for all the great and various favors which he has been pleased to confer upon us.

And, also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or in private stations, to perform our several relative duties properly and punctually; to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us) and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of TRUE RELIGION and virtue, and the increase of science, among them and us; and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

A memorable act of freedom and religion was passed by Congress, two years previous to the adoption of the national Constitution, which is here recorded as belonging to the Christian legislation of those earlier days of the republic. It was passed on the 13th day of July, 1787, and is as follows: - 

Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, that for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty which form the basis whereon these republics, their laws and constitutions, are erected, to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions, and governments which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territories, it is hereby ordained and declared, by the authority aforesaid, that -

Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged; and that "No person demeaning him- self in a peaceable and orderly manner shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments;" and "There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said Territory (the Northwest), otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall be duly convicted."

Writing to Lafayette, Washington alludes to this ordinance as follows: -

"I agree with you cordially in your views in regard to negro slavery. I have long considered it a most serious evil, both socially and politically, and I should rejoice in any feasible scheme to rid our States of such a burden. The Congress of 1787 adopted an ordinance prohibiting the existence of involuntary servitude in our Northwestern Territory forever. I consider it a wise measure. It met with the approval and assent of nearly every member of the States more immediately interested in slave labor. The prevailing opinion in Virginia is against the spread of slavery in the new Territory; and I trust we shall have a CONFEDERACY OF FREE STATES."

The Christian sentiments and acts in this chapter confirm the views of Judge Nash, of Ohio, who, in his work on the Morality of the State, says: -

"The mission of a civil state is no political expediency organized to create offices and furnish employments and salaries for the venal, and a field of action for the aspiring. The state is an institution of God, as much as the church and the family; and duties are laid upon it which it must fulfil. Its ends are man's mortal and immortal interests; it has to do with materials only so far as those subserve and advance the spiritual. The state is a part of God's machinery, of God's instrumentalities, which he has appointed for the education, instruction, moral culture, and perfection of the human soul. Man is enthralled to nature; God has organized this world with the view of emancipating him from nature, and restoring him to that spiritual freedom which he himself rejoices in, - the freedom of acting in conformity to the Divine law, which is the law of man's own being. Truth is the great agent of this emancipation: it is this, acting in his own spirit, that alone can make man free and elevate him to the dignity of a son of God. The state has an important part to act in this great work of human elevation and purification; its aim must ever be in this direction, its action should be guided and shaped so as to bear onward and co-operate in this holy work."

"And let us remember," says Webster, "that it is only religion, and morals, and knowledge, that can make men respectable and happy under any form of government. Let us hold fast the great truth that communities are responsible, as well as individuals, and that without unspotted purity of public faith, without sacred public principle, fidelity, and honor, no mere forms of government, no machinery of laws, can give dignity to political society. In our day and generation let us seek to raise and improve the moral sentiment, so that we may look, not for a degraded, but for an elevated and improved, future."