A City Upon a Hill

In his 1630 sermon, A Model of Christian Charity, delivered aboard the ship Arbella en route to the New World, Puritan leader John Winthrop urged his fellow colonists, bound for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, to establish a society that would stand as a moral example to the world.

He declared: “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.”

Winthrop outlined a vision for a new society based on Christian love, justice, and community. He explained that in God’s providence, there is a natural hierarchy in society, with some people destined to be rich and others poor, some holding power, and others in humble roles. He explained that this diversity is intended to glorify God, showcasing the variety of His creation and encouraging dependence among people, fostering unity and mutual support.

Three reasons are provided for these societal differences: (1) to reflect the diversity of God’s works, (2) to give people opportunities to practice Christian virtues like mercy and patience, and (3) to create a community where each person depends on others. He stressed that wealth and power should be used for the common good, not personal gain, and that generosity, especially in times of crisis, is a moral obligation. He advocates for a spirit of selflessness and sacrifice, where Christians must be willing to support their community even at personal cost.

The concept of love as a “bond of perfection” is central to Winthrop’s vision. Like the Apostle Paul, he compares the Christian community to a body, with love as the force that unites its members. He argued that the settlers must embrace this love to form a cohesive society. Winthrop also warned that the success of their mission depends on their faithfulness to God’s covenant; if they fail, they risk becoming a cautionary tale of disobedience.

Winthrop famously called upon the settlers to uphold justice, mercy, and humility, envisioning their new society as a “city upon a hill”—an example to the world of a godly community.

Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck, and to provide for our posterity, is to follow the counsel of Micah: to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God.

For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man. We must entertain each other in brotherly affection….

We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality.

We must delight in each other; make others’ conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, as members of the same body.

So shall we keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us, as His own people, and will command a blessing upon us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His wisdom, power, goodness and truth, than formerly we have been acquainted with.

We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies; when he shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, “may the Lord make it like that of New England.”

For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world….

John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity

May God truly make America Great Again.