amongst those to whom they are directed. In the fourth, in which an observance of the Sabbath is enjoined, it is declared, "Six days shalt thou labor, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord," in it thou shalt not do any work, "thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates," &c. And in the tenth, it is said, "thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house-thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his." In both of these commandments the condition of slavery is evidently supposed to exist in the same way it did in the time of Abraham, and in all subsequent periods to the time the command was given, and they seem to look forward to the continuance of that condition for as long a time as the obligatory nature of the command shall endure. The head of the family is to enjoin the observance of the Sabbath upon his children and servants, and all are forbidden to covet t'e servants of others.

We find in the 25th chapter of the 1st verse of Samuel, that David, in a period of distress, sent a respectful request to Nabal for a supply of provisions; but Nabal very churlishly replied to the messengers, "who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master." The rude and contemptuous reply of Nabal, evidences, that the owning slaves at that period was not only common, but that disorderly ones were to be found amongst them, inasmuch as he was so indecorous as to charge David and his messengers with being runaway slaves.

We find there were servants engaged with the Jews in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, for Nehemiah says, in the 16th verse of the 4th chapter, that the half of his servants wrought in the work, and so earnestly did they work, that he says, in the 23d verse, that neither he nor his brethren or his servants put off their clothes, &c., and in the 22d verse of the same chapter, it is said of those from the adjacent villages, that "every one with his servant should lodge within Jerusa lem;" and in the 16th verse of the 5th chapter, Nehemiah says, that "all his servants were gathering thither to the work," even to the neglect probably of some of his private business.

The Book of Job is, in all probability, as old as any of the Books of Moses; and Job himself, was, it is likely, in his prosperity long before the children of Israel left Egypt-he was pronounced by the Almighty to be a perfect and an upright man, and there is conclusive evidence that he was the owner of a great number of slaves-some of them we find were destroyed by fire, and many of them were slain by the Sabeans and Chaldeans, in those various misfortunes with which Job was overwhelmed. In the course of his sufferings, Job speaks of the negligence of his servants towards him, though they had been accus

tomed to treat him with reverence and respect in the days of his pros. perity, and in a restless impatience under his sufferings, he wished that he had never been born, or that he might have been early consigned to the grave, where he says, "the prisoners rest together, and the servant is free from his master.” The expressions here convey the idea that the rest of the grave, was the only freedom from servitude, which many slaves could expect, or would ever experience, for they would be in bondage during their whole lives-a condition to which in the order of Providence they were subjected in the present state; but the condition they were placed in here was of but a temporary nature-they were hastening to the grave, where the rich and the poor, the small and the great, the master and the servant, would all be on a footing-all would then be free from temporal calamity, and if they had been faithful in the discharge of their respective duties, from the rest of the grave, they might hope to rise to everlasting joy.

We find, in the 24th chapter of Jeremiah, that king Zedekiah made a covenant with the people of Jerusalem, that every man should let "his man servant or maid servant, being a Hebrew or Hebrewess, go free, as they had served out the time for which the Jews could hold each other in bondage. And it appears that the princes and the people let the Hebrew servants go free; but after having done this, they again brought them into subjection, contrary to the law of God in re. gard to Hebrew servants, and for this conduct they were severely punished. The same authority which authorized the limited servitude of Hebrew slaves, authorized the perpetual servitude of others, and none but Jewish servants were embraced in the covenant of king Zedekiah, and that covenant was to carry into effect the known law of the Jewish nation.

David and Solomon both speak of slaves and slavery as a known and recognized condition in society: the king's favor, says Solomon, is towards a wise servant-and again he says, "a servant will not be corrected by words." And David says, as the eyes of servants look unto the hands of their master's, and the eyes of a maiden to her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, &c.

If we pass from the Old to the New Testament, we shall find a perfect co-incidence on this subject in the two dispensations. I am not aware of any expression in the New Testament, forbidding individuals to hold slaves, or requiring the owners of slaves to emancipate them. Many directions are given to masters as to their treatment of their slaves, and to slaves as to the fidelity with which their duties should be performed; but no intimation is given, that it is necessary the relationships between masters and servants should be dissolved, nor is any direction given by Christ himself, as far as I know, that such relationships should be termi

nated. In the Gospel, as under the Abrahamic covenant, servants are invited to become partakers of those spiritual privileges with which their everlasting interests are connected. But it is no where intimated, that these important interests will be advanced, by their neglect of the duties attached to their civil condition, or that those duties can be omitted or neglected, consistently with the requisitions of the Christian dispensation. Paul, who was a most faithful Apostle, gives directions to servants, who have believing masters, how to conduct towards them, and also how to behave towards those who were not believers; their civil duties were, in either case, to be duly performed, whatever might be the religious character of their owners. Had there been any thing immoral or improper in holding or owning slaves, is it to be supposed there would not have been found something in the Apostolic writings condemning it? I am aware of the arguments founded on the reciprocal duties which individuals owe to each other, and while allowing in their utmost latitude the divine injunctions on this subject, I still say, that there is nothing in them, in my view, which requires the owner of a slave to liberate him, or which forbids his being continued in bondage. If slavery is absolutely unlawful, there must be some express prohibition of it in scripture: if no such prohibition is to be found, it would seem that its unlawfulness could not be easily demonstrated. That it might be generous in the owner of a slave to liberate him, no one would question, even if the slave were not benefited thereby; but whether it is the duty of an individual to do this, is another matter. Acts of duty and acts of generosity may have their origin in very different principles. What the Gospel requires, it is our duty to do the authority of that is unquestionable.

In the time of Christ and his Apostles, the slavery existing then was similar to that found in our country at the present period, except that it was in many respects more severe; but there was then no crusade instituted against it. The Apostles did not go forth and organize Abolition Societies, or attempt to disturb the civil relations of men, under pretence that the order of things which under God had been established must be overturned. They preached the Gospel to masters and servants, and promised its rewards to all who would obey its precepts. They told masters to give unto their servants that which was just and equal-and told servants to be obedient to their masters, and thus they endeavored by prescribing the duty, to promote the comfort of both. "Servants," says the Apostle Peter, "be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thank-worthy if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if when ye are buffeted for your faults ye shall take it patiently? but if when ye do well and suffer for it ye take it patiently, this is acceptable to God." The Apos

tle well knew the nature of man, and he here supposes what might no doubt happen, that some persons in a state of slavery and belonging to the Church, might have passionate or inconsiderate masters, who might buffet or beat them when they did not deserve such treatment; but under these circumstances he recommends to them the exercise of such a meek and quiet spirit, even suffering wrongfully, as would do credit to their profession, and be acceptable to God: and as an encouragement to them to do so, he reminds them of their suffering Saviour, who had endured much more to save them from eternal suffering, than they would under any circumstances endure by any injustice to which they might be subjected. For even "hereunto were ye called," says he, "because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps.' But in the humble and submissive spirit they recommend, the Apostles neither intended to sanction or countenance any species of cruelty or injustice, but only to direct the course of conduct to be pursued when these should occur, as they might do in a world where so much latitude was given to the unruly passions of men. numerous instances directions are given to masters to be kind to their servants, and attentive to their comforts. "And ye masters," says Paul, in the 16th chapter of Ephesians, "do the same things to your servants forbearing threatening, knowing that your master also is in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with him." The solemn

In

truth, that all men had a master in heaven, who would hereafter deal with them according to their moral characters, without regard to the civil conditions they had sustained in life, was well calculated to impress upon all a due sense of the importance of a faithful discharge of duty in every situation of life. The reciprocal duties of masters and servants are enjoined by all the Apostles, and those relationships seem to be recognized throughout all the sacred writings.

In the early period of our Saviour's ministry upon earth, a Roman centurion applied to him to heal his servant who, he said, was sick of the palsy. The tender concern of the Roman soldier for his servant, and his faith in the power of the person he addressed, presents his character to us in a most favorable point of view. Our Lord received his application kindly, saying, "I will come and heal him." The centurion, probably surprised at the ready condescension of the Saviour, and full of confidence in his power, intimated that he was not worthy he should come under his roof, but that if he would barely "speak the word," the object he solicited would be obtained: "For I," said he, "am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to one go and he goeth, and to another come and he cometh, and to my servant do this and he doeth it." Thus intimating his conviction thats the Saviour had as absolute control over all diseases, as he had over his

own servants.

The Saviour commended his faith, and granted him the desired favor, but did not question his right to hold or own the servants of whom he spoke.

During the whole period of our Saviour's ministry upon earth, he was surrounded by those who were slave holders-in one of his discourses with his disciples, we find him discriminating between servants and those in different situations: "Henceforth," says he, "I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, but I have called you friends," &c. And we find that there were servants amongst the crowds who heard the messages of Christ, and servants met the nobleman whose son Jesus had miraculously cured, and told him "thy son liveth," and they, with the father and son, in this case became believers in him whose mercy they experienced. There were servants, and probably many of them in that crowd, who went with Judas to arrest the Saviour, for when one of the disciples drew a sword, and with it made a random blow, he "cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest;" and we afterwards find in the 26th verse of the 18th chapter of John, that another servant of the high priest, who was kinsman to the one that had been wounded, charged Peter with being one of the disciples of Jesus, just before that crowing of the cock whose sound pierced Peter to the heart; and there stood also at the same time other "servants with the officers warming themselves" at the fire of coals that had been made. Yet we do not find that at this interesting period, or at any time in the life of the Saviour, when he was surrounded by masters and servants, and when he well knew the condition of all about him, that he ever pronounced it improper to own servants, or required those who did own, to liberate and discharge them. And I trust it will not be deemed irreverent to remark, that in his discourses we may cor.fidently look for as correct opinions, and as pure morality, as we could rationally hope to find in any of the Abolition speeches or publications of the present day.

The Apostle Paul not only recognized as legal the relationship of master and servant, but took great pains to restore a runaway slave to his owner. The account of this transaction is to be found in Paul's Epistle to Philemon. It seems that Philemon, who had been converted under Paul's preaching, was the owner of a slave named Onesimus, over whom, as the law then stood, he had the power of life and death. In consequence of some misconduct for which he apprehended punishment, or from some other cause, this slave ranaway from his master, and fled to Rome, "a distance of several hundred miles," where he accidentally heard Paul preach, and was converted. Paul of course became interested in his welfare, and knowing from his own confession, or in some other way, the manner in which he had left his