The Kalida venture. [volume] (Kalida, Ohio) 1841-1865, 1852-03-05

uifa man smite his servonf, or his maid
with a rod, and ho die under his hand he
shall be su,ely punished notwithstanding
II he coniinne a day or two he shall no,
be punished, for he is his money" Ex.
xxi 2l, %. Here beating a slave 10
death, provided be survive the beating q
day or Two, was rot punishable at all. 1t
will scarcely be pretended that such laws
would suit this age and people, or were
designed for theirguidancc.
The Mosaic creed commanded the
indiscriminaie massacre Of all .ages,sexes
and conditions. Deui. XIX. l6. II g. IS.
This same law declared that death
should be inflicted for the crime Of MUIR
der. But the inaiction Of death for this
offence was no, Within israelites as with
US, the act Of society, "in the admin
isiraiion Of passionless penal justice.
It was the act Of the next Of kin in
the licensed indulgence Of q barbarian
spirit ofrevenge." There was no king
in Israel, no government capable Of pre-
serving its authority; society was almost
in state Of nature, in which revenge las
always been esteemed virtue, because
Of its necessity, and It is certainly reason-
able 10 conclude that regulations pro.
mulgaied in The infancy Of our race, or
imposed upon people who required the
terror ofthe most awful judgments and
punishments 10 restrain them from the
vilest offences can scarcely.sby any con-
siderate and ihiukingi mind be insisted
onas binding upon mankind intheir pres
ent advanced condition of civiizationland
enlightenment. An able writer, (0'Sul-
wan, in his report % ihe New York Leg
islature on this subjecD says: j ,.f
SIN the New Testament,self, the evi-
deuce Of the total hbrogation Of tile
Mosaic code, in express terms, abounds
in almost every one Of It's books. Christ
himself, in dsputing with the Pharisees,
onthe subject of diyorce,in tho act Of
denying The authority Of The Mosaic Jaw
on one OF lis most important points, both
in social and religious aspect, answers
10 their quotation Of il: "For ,ihe hard
ness of yonr heat he wrote you this
precept."--Mark, x. 5. And again from
The same lips we read tho emphatic sub
slilu!ion Of the new and better for The
old and imperfect dispeusation: "rhe
law and The prophets were Until John:
since tba, time the kingdom Of God is
preached."-Luke. xvi. l6. Speaking Of
tho new priesthood of the Saviour, as
superseding the old one which was bu.i
its mystic types Soreshadowjog and pre-
paraiion, 81. Paul says: "For the priests
hood being changed, there is made Of
necessity change also Of the Jaw, -
Heb. vii. IL. And shortly afer: "For
there is verify disannulling ofihe conf,
mandment going before, forihe weakness,
and appropriateness tbereol"-Heb. vii.
Is. And in another Epislle: 'sIf right,
eousness come by the law,then Christ is
dead in yain.'+- Gal. ii 2l.--'If there,
had been a law given which could have
given life, verify righteousness should
have been byihe law.'--GaL iii. 2l.-
"Bnt before faith came, we were kept
under the law, shut up UNTO the faith,
which should afterward lbe revealed.
Wherefore the law was our schoo!mastsr
10 bring US UNTO Chrlsi,.~,;..+-But after
that faith is come, we are no longer
under a schoolmasler. .'--Gal.lv. 81, And
again, reproaching them for,heirdisposi.
ton 10 turn backto iheaold law; "But
now, aFier ye have known God, or rather
are known of God, how turn ye again
to The weak and tbeggarly elements,
whereunto ye desire again 10 be in bond
age? ?r--Gal. iy. 9. u s4,lsa t,
Indeed solar as / know those who
have investigated the Scriptures, on the
question Of the design Of the Divine Leg
islator TO give ihe Jewish laws for a rule
to mankind, at once admit that these
laws were not SO designed jand base their
support ofthe Divine appointment Of the
inAictiop Of death, by human laws and
agency, upon oibergfounds. withwbicb
in my next / propose TO deal. ii1itle't
In enquiring as 10 the probable purpo-
ses ofthe Divine mind. in the promulga-
ton Of these laws Dr.. Benjamin Rush in
his Essay on Capital Punishment makes
the following suggestions, which to- the
christian reader are worthy Of considera-
ton: c19Fa't5 l,a45gi VI h sis'a
Z "Every pavtof the Leviiical law, isfull
oftypes Of the Messiah. May not 1.-The
pnuishm ent Of death, inflicted byit, be
TO represent the demerit and
consequences Of sin,as ,helcities Of ref
uge were ahe offices ofthe Messiah -
And may not the enlargement ofamur-
defers who hada fed to- those cities OIL