SERMONS - University of Tennessee, Knoxville

SoutHeRn MAnuScRipt SeRMonS BefoRe 1800
covenant of grace; grace; salvation; redemption; faith; obedience; temptation; flesh,
lusts of; humility; Godfathers; Godmothers; Devil, renouncing the; sin, renouncing;
catechism;
749. CLAY, CHARLES. (VA; Epis.; 1745-1820; lic. for VA June 7, 1769; ord.
London, 1769)
“[Rule of Divine Providence.]” [1776-1783] 40pp. [Acc. No. 4009] [Entry added
September 2009.]
Repository: Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA (Clay family papers, 1769-
1951. Mss1 C5795a, Sermons, folder 20-21)
Bib. Ref.: Psalm 22.28. For the Kingdom is the lords; & he is the Governor among
the Nations.
Commentary: This sermon is presently located in folder 20-21 and grouped
with accession number 4010. Their relationship is undetermined. Pages 5 and
6 constitute a one leaf insert into the sermon and present a call to “defend your
Country, & the Sacred Cause of Liberty” as well as a call to arms. That leaf
apparently is meant to be inserted on page 35. Here Clay places a caret, crosses out
“the” and changes “to the Case” to “to our own Case” as well as including inverson
marks [?] to indicate a division or perhaps a switching in the next few phrases. The
more aggressive tone of the insert (much of the rest of the text is more general and
typological and links communities/states to individual virtue) better matches the
latter part of the sermon also argues for the insert’s inclusion at this point, as does
the stub of the insert leaf which appears between pages 34 and 35. Whether the
insert was part of the initial sermon or not cannot be determined, but it very likely
dates from the time of the American Revolution. On page 39, Clay also affirms
this dating for the rest of the sermon when he speaks of the good example “of the
Military who are intrusted with your Countrys Course who go forth into the field
there to plead it before the Lord with your blood . . . .” The sermon also references
“Revolutionary societies” but does not state which specific societies. Page 38 uses
the term to “Nations of Colonies.” The term has been boxed in, and written above
the word “Nations” is the word “States.”
Keywords: government, divine; providence, role of; community service; liberty;
American Revolution; Revolution, American; empire; backsliding; nations,
wrongful actions of; prosperity; community, benefits of; society, benefits of; God,
ruler of all; God, vengeance of; God’s vengeance; tyrants, domestic; Assyrian
Empire, destruction of; Persian Empire, destruction of; Cyrus; Darius; Babylonian
captivity; chosen people; Jews, idolatry of; Jews, Babylonian captivity of; Jews,
Roman subjugation of; providence, divine; power of God; injustice;
750. CLAY, CHARLES. (VA; Epis.; 1745-1820; lic. for VA June 7, 1769; ord.
London, 1769)
“[On Self-examination.]” [1784;] 30 + 5 blank + 1 (with only a partial seal) pp.
[Acc. No. 4038] [Entry added January 2010.]
274