The Sermon On Obedience Is Highly Ordered And Interconnected.

The society which the Sermon on Obedience supports is highly ordered and interconnected. Every function of the society is appointed by God and is part of a very delicate system in which everyone is defined by their relationship with others. In this society, the authorities, having been appointed by God, are unquestionable. Thus, the Sermon describes a society in which all people are appointed to their roles by God, and in which all people, having been assigned to fit a very specific role in the world, are discouraged from seeking to alter or discard any aspect of their lives. This includes every component of the people’s existence, such as their positions in life and the authorities who govern them, so as not to upset the delicate balance
The Sermon on Obedience proposes this interconnectedness with the use of examples in discussing the vocations, callings, and offices when it identifies “…masters and servants, fathers and children, husbands and wives…” (Lines 17-18) and by going on to suggest that each of these positions, as well as others mentioned, needs the other in order to function. The Sermon also proposes that since every all position in society is important to others, they are all therefore to be praised as part of the “goodly order of God.” (Lines
One of these is by efforts to make people feel content with their current role in society and life. The idea that everyone is individually appointed to their position by God might serve to make each person, even those in the lowest positions in society, feel that God’s personal interest in them makes them important to God and therefore an important part of society. Additionally, they would logically feel that if God chose to take a personal interest in them, then they should be careful to carry out their role in society without question, in order to fulfill God’s will. This effort to appease the people also introduces the idea that all people are dependent on one another, which potentially produces the feeling that all people are important and needed by the authorities, as well as the idea that they have some control over even the people at the highest levels of society. If, as stated in the Sermon on Obedience, “everyone hath need of other,” (Lines 18-19) these people could easily be led to believe that even the authorities are unable to function without