The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-02-21


night than any the other hear the third
discourse of the Rev Dr. Cheever the inguy of the
slave trade and the whole system Of slavery ard tie sin
Of the continuance OF those evils among U.s.
The services OF the evening began with the usual for
muary OF singing and praying the reverend doctor
ing out his soul wi earnestness and power such
are seldom heard petitions to the Throne OF Grace.
The subject of the lecture last evening" in connection
with the general subject devoted 10 the consideration
of the charge Of savehodng preferred by some against the
patriarch Abraham, nd the defence Of that ancient and
highly honored OF God from such imputaton
The reverend gentleman selected his text from the 18th
chapter Of Genesis the 18th aud 10Th verses
Seeing that Abraham shall surely mighty
M sSd III the nations 9 the sh be in him
household him. they keep the way Lord
o & % s hss a se him d may bring upon
This he SAID the declaration Of Omnipotencc that
Abraham and his children and his household after him.
should keep the way Of the Lord do justice and udg
ment. These the attributes of God, nfable prn-
cple and in action. A God without niquity, just and
right Is he. Now whoever can imagine that God having
thus declared that Abraham should be bright and
shining Hgbt-a brilliant example Of justice and judgment,
and he thus should then have proceed
Cd to establish his domestic reignng institution the
climax Of injustice, must be so depraved in mind not
TO be capable of judging between evil and good-nor able
to comprehend the simplest proposition. Such
divdual who could believe would have bowed down
to Dpgon have helped to worship the Golden Calf the
Bzcbub by the hand and introduce him into the
friend o. God and Such defOrmity cannot
be forced into the Divine revelation When remember
that the Divine wrath in its most terrible form s de-
cared against this sin, when remember that every
page OF the holy law of God shines with His ncabe
glory and righteousness 1t would be impossible believe
that in the first constitution framed his aus
there should have sprung forth fountain of sin and
misery, the streams that have flowed from which have
made accursed every nation that has drank of them
There upwards Of twenty lines argument which
had marked and which could be brought TO bear on
rams nj truth.
but time would render impossible TO refer TO nvesti
gate all of them on such an occasion He would only
glance at four five First in the historic record of
cey appointed Of God and which continued for long
number years there s the slightest slavery
to be found And secondly we bave the distinct repro
baton OF God to his people such system
which meant TO be perpetual injunction against any
such bondage among any other races. How any
dare assert that God ever sanctioned slavery when there
evidence that he punished whole nation for W thou
sand years ser the formation Of the statute against
inquiy, God himself calls the people again court
declared and inflicted the sentence comparison of
the 34b chapter Of the Prophecies of jeremiah with the
22d chapter Of the Book of Ezekiel will prove this be-
yoDd even the possibility of contradiction The history
grows out Of the law and his commentary upon them
There instances of the sale of the traffic in
slaves in the history and no one can find any There
instances of servants running away hut of their
being returned to servitude. There is mention any
where made OF marhas 10 be set upon their track
OF boodhounds 10 scent them out Of as TO imprson
them yet Of arrangements for their sale pay the jail
fees There thorough and complete absence Of slavery
in the Old Testament dispensat0n In Judea there
such thing IN the social life Of the Hebrews. And this
clear proof that it did not exist If It had been
ordained Of God, and q recognized portion of the
poliy Of the times, the land would have been, for SO
many ages completely oyerrun by slavery. That would
have been the great article Of wealth and luxury and
even in the Temple at Jerusalem there would have been
those who would be found ready to traffic in profitable
trade But, on the contrary, il is there set forth as
deadly siD worthy OF the punishment Of death. If 1t
were not So must have been the most sacred Of proper
~. The New Testament dispensaton was as clearly
pict on the subject In the recital in St. Lukes Gospel
OF the householder who went forth 10 bring aborers Into
his house there s mention made Of slaves, but ii ia
plainly said that he went out and hired for fair wages
Thus Also in the parable of the Prodgal Son. when the
young repentant man comes to himself and finds out his
grevous position, be exclaims: 4" How many hired
wants of my father have bread enough 70 spare, and
perish with hunger! will arise and 60 to my father and
will say to him. Father have snned against heaven and
before thee and am no more worthy TO be called thy son.
make Of thy hired servants" There not
thought of slavery here but such thing in
istence, would not this poor broken hearted penent in
a hired servant, have BUNDLED himself to q slaves
There was not the slightest intimatlon Of any
told by our Saviour that no man can serve
two masters; either he must love the one and hate
the otho or he must hold to the one and despse the
other. But these conditions Of free, voluntary,
vice There s no chance for slave to be in any way
benefited by them for although he may hate bis master
ever much he cannot choose another These things
forbid the very possibility of slavery The law of love
promulgated by Christ offered rreogabe proof Of these
truths for you love not your neghbor whom you have
And this though we are commanded to love our neghbor
as ourself The Epistle of Paul to Timothy was
standing barrier TO the system of slavery and what was
the Epste to Philemon but the sentiments of the Apostle
on the subject Of slavery with the old fugitive slave law
Of the Hebrews lying right before him. for he had nothn
else to look tor He is first found giving shelter and pro
lection to Oneeimus, runaway slave, and instructor
and not tin then-sendng him back to Philemon with the
distinct avowal that he was no longer servant, but
brother beloved and to guard against the posi-
biiy Of his words being taken to mean merely
Christian broher-as some have supposed in these
times-it carefully added that he was not only
brother in the Lord, but in the flesh aso-no longer
servant in either way Masters also directed
Their place to give unto their servants that which is their
du that which is Just and equal injunction proving
that no such class OF servants as property was in exist
cnce or to be among Christians. None that were not
parties to compact were ever meant. The Scriptures
positively forbid an thing but paid servants. Then the
establishment of the church. without any regard to creed
color, class rendered the system OF slavery i'm
dong O 10 s laws 81 Goa tine
tuition Of Christianity Take the ordinance of marriage
instance, and the wondrous service written in
the Epste TO the Epbesians'Wives, submit yourselves
unto your own husbands unto the Lord" Apply
this to slavery and II must he that the miserable
creatures under the damnng system though the
law which made for all Chrst's people was never
made for them Consider of the most
sacred OF God las been botted out and the horrible
system Of concubnage for slave breeding permitted to
usurp the holy place Of marriage and of the divnest
chapters in the Word Of God becomes hideous and hor
nature Of American slavery.
The reverend gentleman, after theoretically and eo
queny going into the argumentatve details Of the above
aud other prominent points Of his DISCOURSE proceeded to
consider the constitution Of society the days of the pa
trarch Abraham who lived nearly contemporaneously
with Noah. But during all the patrarchs travels, from
the time that he set out from the plains of Teheran there
nothing to be discovered his but voluntary
service II was the most neoen pretension for the adyo
Gates Of modern American slavery to back to the days
Of Abraham for evidence in favor of their system be-
there nothing there to justify them, while there
was everything to condemn them He then proceeded
lyticaly to show that the words "bought with money"
and "born in the house" had no other Specification
than that which was plainly conveyed in the meaning Of
the words; that though some pretended by this that
slavery was recognized, and that these terms ap-
piled to persons who were slaves, there not the
slightest authority for the assumption, because He
brew could By any possibility be slave and yet there
numbers Of then. born in the house and bought
with money who were in the service of Abraham. The
word 'bought' simply mean. provided or obtained. In
Genesis, nth chapter. it is applied to free man.
No pretended that Ruth, the Moabitess, was
q slave and yet 1t IS said that she bought And
again, In Genesis, wher Cain into the world. his
mother said, 81 have bought from the Lord -
where Il could clearly nothing else than obtained.
Those who depend such evidence this support of