Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1861-02-12
M0RNlNGLEADER.
SERMON on SLAVERY,
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rYo hypsta ye can discern the face
OF the sky, and of the earth bat how B Il
that Yoe Do bet -dislern this tme I Yea,
and why even Of yourselves Judge " not
what i right r a-Lski ~ 1881, $50
Itmky seen tlmot. Toe lFts in The worlds
history % hegin 10 pTeyo that slavery Is 4
sin, and 4 sip of such magnltpde as no hon
ese man, much less christian, ought 70 be
guilty, 1t. Bat tho fact that ministers Of
hifh s,andiag IL different churches, and IN
bolG sections Of pHr country, are just nov
engaged ID proving that lt is no sin at all,
and thst large religious deuOminatons, occu-
Pying snhstansialiy 81 The same position, shows
thai ths work Of proving that slavery is q
sin, 4 even yet no Unnecessary task, With
lhe prophecies in their band, foretslling the
cominE ot Christ bis oWR character and that
ot the h nsrstion ID which he Wtonld appear,
Wemight have supposed that tho Jews, who,
IN common With Otheg meh, Vere pos 'essed
Of q principle Of natural and moral discern.
meat Woaid have known that the Savior
had indeed come Rutitsssms they did not;
lenca The severe fsproef Of cur text Ye
hypooritesi ye can discern the face Of the
sky and Of DE earth; but how ia It that you
do not discern this timer Yea and why
even Of yourselves Judge ye not what is
right7H And ought not the sane principle
in man, to which our Lorl appeals for the
recognition of his Messiahship, enlightened
by the same word Of truth, 10 be equally SUIT
6cieht il thal present Instance, q Ye can dis
cefh The fsee of the SKY ard Of the sarth I;
0at how Is Il that you Do not discern this
Jimef Yea and Why even Of yourselves
Judge y6 not Whist IS right p .tirj, te - s'-'
What We propose, then, IN strict accord
slee with the apirit Of the lext, Is 70 prove
The sipiulness, the exceeding sinfulness, il
y0u viii, Of slavery, By applying to it some
u those tests which God has given us, by
which to q certain fighG ana wrong on any
other subject atithe same time appealing 70
every mans eonsclenee, 10 the sight Of God,
Tor truth of what'Ws say. But here we are
net st the outset with the positive afhrrna-
tion thatit has the ezpEeit sanetiOh Of the
Bible lIf ibis be true, tits ah end to ali
argument TOR the Bible is, and ever must be,
ths supreme standard Of right and wrong.
IN proof that Il has the sanction Of the Bible,
nany passages are adduced, both from tht
Old and New Testsment Scriptures, to " hich
IF course, We cannot refer singly, as it would
occupy too much time. We win, therefore,
select bat one, and that The one which by
COMMON consent Will be recognized as the
most favorable to that side Of the question
81 any in either testament the famous one
in the tFenty-ffth of heviticus not accepted
Ana If we prove that slaytry finds no sane
ion hsrs, lof course ali logical minds will in
fer that It does not anywhere else. The pas
sage 70 which we refer is that contained in
{, Timothy VI, lst, Let IS many servants
As are pndsr The yoks count their own mas
ters worthy Of ali honor, that the name OF
od=and bis doctrine be not blasphemed.
And hey that have believing masters, lei
them not dsspisS them because they are
brethren, but rather do them service because
they are faithful and beloved partakers OF
the benefit To this passage you will find
all advocates Of Bible slavery fleeing as their
ast resort and to it they cling as Joab Of
old, "to the horns Of the altar" Here they
cast their Last anchor, well knowing that il
they do not hRd q resting place here, they
will not anywhere else in the pure volume o.
divine Inspiration; the clear swift blast of di
yius truth thstsprings up from every part off
will sweep them quite beyond its boundaries
On this text the Rev. Henry ]. Van Dyke, Of
Brooklyn, founded his late sermon in deteBee
Of slaveryia sermon containing sentiments 50
rsPulsiYe to the Northern mind that we may
well suppose be would not have given utter
aHee to them, without entrenching himself in
gvhat he at least considered its strongest
hold.
We ere told By inspiration that in the
writings Of the Apostle Ranl, 'are some
things hard to be understood, which they
that are unlearned and unstable wrest as they
DO the other scriptures to their destruction, +
and this is no doubt one Of those passages. We
doubt whether any of you have ever obiained
q clear and distinct idea from il, and particu-
lsrly from ths latter part OF il eAnd they
that have believing masters let them not des-
pise then, because they are brethren, but rather
DO them service, because they are faithful and
beloved pariakers of the beneht.h Who are
they that are faithful and beloved2 The mas
Ter or the sefFant2 Who are they that are
psrtakeFs Of the benefit the former, or the
latter What is the benefit temporal OF
spiritual onef From whom does it come Z
from God to man, or from man to man ? All
these are legitimate questions that may more
easily be asked than answered; and if we
lock int0 the original, the difficulty is rather
increased; i Is then pasSagei in some res
poets hard to be understood, and on this ac-
count just ouch one as we would expect
slavery 10 take refuge in, for it is solid facl
that when any giant wrong wishes to find a
resting place in the Bible, it never goes to
the general principles of Revelation, nor YET
10 particular passages that are easily under
stood, but you will always find it burrowed
away in some obscure passage or passages
where from the very difficulty Of explanation
it may hope to obtains temporary security
But how, il may Be asked, if this passage is
in some respects dificult Of interpretation,
how do we know that it Hley not be intended
70 sanction slaTsfy'2 we answer, We kuoW
i from the arguments against such an inter
pretation, which in numbsr and weight vast
y preponderate; and this is the only way in
which we eau know the meaning Of any pas
sage about which there is a diversity Of obin.
ion. In favor then, OF epro-slayery inter
ptetation Of fhis passage, We have terms
master and servant which, viewed in
the light Of our own day and country, are
supposed to signify STAKEHOLDER and the slave;
and the iact hat slavery existed among The
Greeks and Romans, TO whom most Of the
eplstles were addressed, is thought to place
this suppositiOh beyond doubt but observe
here on what the conclusion rests--it is moi
on the passage itself, bus on historical fact
70 which it IS made to apply. But ancient
history informs us that there we're other
kinds of ssrvitude among the Greeks and
Romans beside slavery. Why not with equa,
propriety aPP,y It 70 these2 Why shall this
passage Be allowed 70 point to no other fortn o.
ancient sevvitade than slavery But il may be
asked is nota ststemeut suoh hs that contained
in this passage sufficient Of Itself to teach
thisf We answer, no 6nhesimtingly, moi
II order 20 establish relation ss scriptural,
one Of two things is saty-Sither We
must find is elements in the general tenor Of
Revelation, or we must have one or more
passages describing It so explicitly as to in
terpret itself without the aid of history. The
fnudanbntal Hlsmgutiu slavery Is property