The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1839-06-01

ing the prerogatives of God. TO be convinced of
this, need only compare the requisition which
God makes upon his creatures with the assump-
tions of slavery. The divine requisition is sum-
med up in the first and great commandment in
these words Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy SOUL and with
all thy mind, and with all thy might Now,
nothing can be palmer than that slavery usurps
what God has here reserved to himself when it
says: slave is one who is in the power of a
master, TO whom he belongs. The master may
his labor: he can do nothing, possess nothing, nor
acquire any thing but what must belong to his
master. "-Louisiana Grill Code art. 35. Here
it is seen that slavery sets up claim to man which
conravenes the claim of God it sezes upon the
subjects of Gods moral government, and wrests
them from his administration, and subjects them
to the will OF despot, who is not satisfied with
trampling upon the rights Of man, but who arro-
gantly attempts to wrest the rens of government
from him whose throne is in the heavens The
claim of slavery equals the claim of God, it claims
the whole man, and asserts its absolute right to
the whole soul and body, mind and muscle, all
that the man is all that he can d. all he can pos
sess, and all that he can acquire and what more
than this can God claim! Have these human
chattels souls that must be forever saved or lost
and can they do nothing in the work of saving or
damning their souls, but what must belong to their
masters Suppose they obey God, so far as cir
cumslances will permit and through Jesus Christ
acquire eternal life will that belong to the master
and will he appear att the judgmentseat and claim
the crown by virtue of his title to the slave, who
can do nothing possess nothing nor acquire any
thing but what must belong to his master 2 Or
suppose the slave to be wicked as his master,
IL, al IL 8 Al IL
heir of hell, will the master appear and take the
wages of sin as his own? 1t may be said that
nothing is meant more than that slaves can do,
possess and acquire nothing of temporal nature
but what must belong to their masters. know
this is what is meant but know with equal GER
taintv, that mans future destiny depends upon
what he does and possesses in this life. Christ
represents himself as saying at the last day, Come
We blessed of my Father, inheri the kingdom pre-
pared for you from the foundation of the world,
for was an hungered and We gave me meat, ma
ked and we clothed me, sick and We visited me- in
prison and We came unto me.-lnasmuch as We
have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren We have done it unto me- And again
he says, Depart we cursed into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels for | was an
hungered and we gave me no meat, was thirsty,
and We gave me no drink, | was stranger and
We took me not in, naked and We clothed me not
sick and in prison and We visited me not-Verily
| say unto you, inasmuch as we did it not TO one
of The least of these, we did it not to me-"
Now, ask, can those who can do nothing but
what must belong to another, visit the sick and
those in prison? Can those who can possess moth
ing and acquire nothing but what must belong to
another, feed the hungry and clothe the naked 81
Y on all know they cannot, and hence you see that
slavery Gisquali6es men for subjects of Gods
moral governmental denies them the means of
with the first precepts of the gospel
it therefore contravenes the claims of God, and
sets at nought the great law of our being which
holds all intelligent creatures in allegiance to the
throne of the Creator. If this is not high trea-
son against the government of God, treason is a
If it is not trespasS upon the prerog-
atives of God, it can never be proved that the dew
il has committed trespass in the case of all the
souls he has seduced from their allegiance to the
divine throne for he never claimed more of man
than slavery claims, and never received more from
the most accomplished and Jealous 6end that ever
served his cause, disembodied or incarnate; no,
not on the black throne of hell, welding scep-
tire ofunminged despotism--over unblessed ghosts
whose ruined immortality exerts its perverted en-
erges under cover of that dark night of despair
that nantes the damned. How great sin is
ly of crime! For worm of EARTH man, to at
tempt to throw off his own allegiance to his Ma
ker is an awful thought but awful as it is, it is
as much below the crime of slavery, as he who
would simply expatriate himself from his govern
ment, is less chargeabe with treason, than he,
who instead of expatrating himself, should at
tempt to expel his sovereign for the purpose of
Selling the throne himself. The common sin of
refusing to obey is outdone and lost in the blacker
shades of the Shareholders guilt, who not only re-
fuses to obey himself but refuses to let others
obey Selling upon the subjects of Gods moral
government and, usurper.like, attempts to reign
in the place of the Almighty. 1t must be seen
from this, that slavery usurps the prerogatves of
God, and that far as slavery prevails the gov
eminent of God is blotted from the world.
II. Slavery is charged in the resolution with
a tendency to blot the divine image from the soul
of man.
So far as the image of God, in which man was
created consisted in the rectitude of his character
as moral being, shall not now discuss the sub
ect, for so far the divine image must be lost be
fore slavery could exist for none but fallen and
depraveG beings would ever be found in the rela-
ton of master and slave To know what const-
tinted the imnpe of God in which man was made