DIRECT RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF SLAVES.
"Hath _He_ not brought you out of a land of darkness and ignorance,
where your forefathers knew nothing of him, to a country where you
may come to the knowledge of the only true God, and learn a sure way
to heaven?"--_Right Rev. Bishop Meade's Instruction to Slaves._
"The religious instruction of your people will promote your own
_interests_ for time and eternity."--_Rev. C. C. Jones's Teaching to
Slaveholders_ ("_Rel. Inst._" p. 275).
We might safely presume, that religions owners would instruct their
slaves in such doctrines as they deemed essential to the salvation of
their own souls, and that such instruction would not materially vary
from that given elsewhere on the same points. But abundant proof exists.
The Right Rev. Levi S. Ives has published "A Catechism to be taught
orally to those who cannot read;" New York, 1848. In the preface, he
says it was the result of a winter's visit to a large Southern
plantation, and was adapted by him, "in a course of actual experiment,
to the capacity of _colored_ children, from four to twelve years of
age." There are twenty lessons in this little book. He teaches, among
other things, about the fall, original sin, the atonement, the trinity,
and the sacraments. Elsewhere ("Spirit of Missions," Nov. 1842) he has
expressed the conviction, that, if the planters of North Carolina would
adopt it, and see to its faithful inculcation, the next generation of
blacks in that State, "at a very small expense, would sufficiently
understand the truth as it is in Jesus, without knowing a letter of the
alphabet."
Dr. Jones's Catechism is really, what it professes to be, a "Catechism
of Scripture doctrine, as well as practice," and contains a very much
more elaborate exposition than Bishop Ives's book. Altogether, it must
be a much more serviceable book to "owners and ministers."
We shall therefore chiefly content ourselves with showing what the
slaves are taught it is their duty to do, and to refrain from doing, and
what motives to duty are urged upon them.
"As ministers or missionaries to the negroes," says Mr. Jones ("Rel.
Inst." p. 270), "in the discharge of our official duty, and in our
intercourse with the negroes, we should have nothing to do with their
civil condition. We are appointed of God to preach 'the unsearchable
riches of Christ' to our perishing fellow-men. We are to meditate upon
the duties and responsibilities of our office, and to give ourselves
_wholly to it_." Ib. pp. 193, 194: "We _separate entirely_ their
_religious_ and their _civil_ condition, and contend that the one may be
attended to without interfering with the other. Our principle is that
laid down by the holy and just one, 'Render unto Caesar the things which
are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.' And Christ and his
apostles are our example. Did they deem it proper and consistent with
the good order of society to preach the gospel to servants? They did. In
discharge of this duty, did they interfere with their civil condition?
They did not. They expressed no opinion whatever on the subject, if we
except that which appears in one of the Epistles to the Corinthian
Church (1st Epist. chap. vii. ver. 19-23). There the Apostle Paul
considers a state of freedom preferable to one of servitude, and advises
slaves, if they can lawfully obtain their freedom, to do it; but not
otherwise. He does not treat the question as one of very great moment,
in comparison to the benefits of the gospel. 'Art thou called being a
servant, care not for it; but if thou mayest be made free, use it
rather; for he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the
Lord's freeman,' &c. May we not follow in the footsteps of our Saviour
and his apostles, and that with perfect safety too? Yea, and without
proceeding as far as did the Apostle Paul?(!) We maintain that in
judicious religious instruction there will be no necessary interference
with their civil condition. The religious teacher must step out of his
way for the purpose." The Presbytery of Georgia declares in its
memorial, that, if the church will undertake the religious instruction
of the slaves,--
"The minds of ministers and members will be drawn off from abstract
questions of a civil and a political nature, with which, as
Christians engaged in evangelizing the world, we have little to do;
and they will be presented with a way whereby they may practically
gratify all their benevolent sympathies for the negroes, in the best
manner possible. Our attention, as a church, will be turned to the
great question before us, and indeed before all other denominations,
_and which should take precedence of all other questions touching
the negroes_, _Shall this people be saved or lost?_"
"The New Testament," says the Rev. Theodore Clapp (Sermon, pp. 25, 26,
and these are his present sentiments), "decides in the plainest terms
that Christians are bound to acquiesce in and support those laws and
regulations concerning slavery which are enacted by the respective civil
governments under which they live. The legislature must determine who
shall be kept in bondage, and what shall be their condition and
privileges. The pulpit must not interfere in this important and delicate
matter.... Let him (the clergyman) at all times preach unconditional
submission to civil laws and institutions."
At the outset, therefore, the religious teachers of the slaves disclaim
all desire or intention to interfere with the condition of servitude.
Their appropriate and only work, they say, is the saving of souls![F]
That their brother's soul is brutalized and deadened, in consequence of
slavery, is to them no reason why they should interfere with slavery;
for slavery is a _civil_ condition, which God, in his mysterious
providence, has allowed to exist! But, though it is thus improper to
"interfere" with the civil condition of the slaves, that religious
teacher (as we shall shortly see) does _not_ "step out of his way," but
merely does his duty, who preaches to them that submission to their
civil condition, and faithful service for their masters, is demanded of
them by God! They cannot interfere to _injure_ the institution of
slavery; but _very materially to strengthen_ it falls within their
legitimate province! To condemn slavery would be to condemn the
providence of God; but in strengthening slavery, they are preaching "the
unsearchable riches of Christ" to their perishing fellow-men!
The Right Rev. William Meade, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church
for the diocese of Virginia, who has also devoted a great deal of
attention to the religious instruction of slaves, a few years since
collected and published a volume of sermons and tracts, designed to aid
the almoners of Divine Mercy in their work of salvation. The grand
motive to duty is thus presented to the slaves, pp. 94, 95 ("Slavery and
the Slaveholder's Religion as opposed to Christianity, by Samuel
Brooke," p. 29, &c.):--
"Besides, when people die, we know but of two places they have to go
to, and that is heaven or hell; so that whoever misses the one must
go to the other. Now, heaven is a place of great happiness, which
God hath prepared for all that are good; where they shall enjoy rest
from their labors, and a blessedness which shall never have an end.
And hell is a place of great torment and misery, where all wicked
people will be shut up with the devil and other evil spirits, and be
punished for ever because they will not serve God. If, therefore, we
would have our souls saved by Christ; if we would escape hell and
obtain heaven, we must set about doing what he requires of us, that
is, to serve God. Your own poor circumstances in this life ought to
put you particularly upon this, and taking care of your souls; for
you cannot have the pleasures and enjoyments of this life like rich
free people, who have estates and money to lay out as they think
fit. If others will run the hazard of their souls, they have a
chance of getting wealth and power, of heaping up riches, and
enjoying all the ease, luxury, and pleasure their hearts should long
after. But you can have none of these things; so that, if you sell
your souls for the sake of what poor matters you can get in this
world, you have made a very foolish bargain indeed. Almighty God
hath been pleased to make you slaves here, and to give you nothing
but labor and poverty in this world, which you are obliged to submit
to, as it is his will that it should be so. And think within
yourselves what a terrible thing it would be, after all your labors
and sufferings in this life, to be turned into hell in the next
life; and, after wearing out your bodies in service here, to go into
a far worse slavery when this is over, and your poor souls be
delivered over into the possession of the devil, to become his
slaves for ever in hell, without any hope of ever getting free from
it. If, therefore, you would be God's freemen in heaven, you must
strive to be good and serve him here on earth. Your bodies, you
know, are not your own: they are at the disposal of those you belong
to; but your precious souls are still your own, which nothing can
take from you, if it be not your own fault. Consider well, then,
that, if you lose your souls by leading idle, wicked lives here, you
have got nothing by it in this world, and you have lost your all in
the next. For your idleness and wickedness is generally found it,
and your bodies suffer for it here; and, what is far worse, if you
do not repent and amend, your unhappy souls will suffer for it
hereafter."
The Rev. Alexander Glennie, Rector of All-Saints Parish, Waccamaw, S.C.
has for several years been in the habit of preaching expressly for
slaves. In 1844, he published in Charleston a selection of these
sermons, under the title of "Sermons preached on Plantations to
Congregations of Negroes." This book[G] contains twenty-six sermons; and
in twenty-two of them there is either a more or less extended account or
a reference to eternal misery in hell as a motive to duty. He thus
describes the day of judgment (Serm. 15, Matt. xxv. 31, p. 90):--
"When all people shall be gathered before him, 'he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats
on the left.' That, my brethren, will be an awful time, when this
separation shall be going on; when the holy angels, at the command
of the great Judge, shall be gathering together all the obedient
followers of Christ, and be setting them on the right hand side of
the judgment-seat, and shall place all the remainder on the left.
Remember that each of you must be present; remember that the great
Judge can make no mistake; and that you shall be placed on one side
or on the other, according as in this world you have believed in and
obeyed him or not. How full of joy and thanksgiving will you be, if
you shall find yourselves placed on the right hand! but how full of
misery and despair, if the left shall be appointed as your
portion!"...
"But what shall he say to the wicked on the left hand? To them he
shall say, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels.' He will tell them to depart:
they did not while here seek him by repentance and faith; they did
not obey him; and he will drive them from him. He will call them
cursed."
Page 42 (Sermon 7, Rom. vi. 28): "The death, which is the wages of
sin, is this everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels. It is a fire which shall last for ever; and the devil and
his angels, and all people who will not love and serve God, shall
there be punished for ever. The Bible says, 'The smoke of their
torment ascendeth up for ever and ever:' the fire is not quenched;
it never goes out: 'their worm dieth not:' their punishment is
spoken of as a worm, always feeding upon them, but never consuming
them: it never can stop."
Mr. Jones orally catechizes[H] the slaves in the same manner:--
Page 83: "Q. Are there two places only spoken of in the Bible to
which the souls of men go after death?--A. Only two.
Q. Which are they?--A. Heaven and hell.
Pp. 91, 92: Q. After the Judgment is over, into what place do the
righteous go?--A. Into heaven.
Q. What kind of a place is heaven?--A. A most glorious and happy
place.
* * * * *
Q. Shall the righteous in heaven have any more hunger or thirst, or
nakedness or heat or cold? Shall they any more have sin or sorrow,
or crying or pain or death?--A. No.
Q. Repeat, 'And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.'--A.
'And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall
be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying; neither shall there be
any more pain; for the former things are passed away.'
Q. Will heaven be their everlasting home?--A. Yes.
Q. And shall the righteous grow in knowledge and holiness and
happiness for ever and ever?--A. Yes.
Q. To what place should we wish and strive to go, more than to all
other places?--A. Heaven.
Pp. 93, 94: Q. Into what place are the wicked to be cast?--A. Into
hell.
Q. Repeat, 'The wicked shall be turned.'--A. 'The wicked shall be
turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.'
Q. What kind of a place is hell?--A. A place of dreadful torments.
Q. What does it burn with?--A. Everlasting fire.
Q. Who are cast into hell besides wicked men?--A. The devil and his
angels.
Q. What will the torments of hell make the wicked do?--A. Weep and
wail, and gnash their teeth.
Q. What did the rich man beg for when he was tormented in the
flame?--A. A drop of water to cool his tongue.
Q. Will the wicked have any good thing in hell? the least comfort?
the least relief from torment?--A. No.
Q. Will they ever come out of hell?--A. No: never.
Q. Can any go from heaven to hell, or from hell to heaven?--A. No.
Q. What is fixed between heaven and hell?--A. A great gulf.
Q. What is the punishment of the wicked in hell called?--A.
Everlasting punishment.
Q. Will this punishment make them better?--A. No.
Q. Repeat, 'It is a fearful thing.'--A. 'It is a fearful thing to
fall into the hands of the living God.'
Q. What is God said to be to the wicked?--A. A consuming fire.
Q. What place should we strive to escape from above all others?--A.
Hell."
The slaves are taught that they must do what God requires of them, if
they would escape never-ending torments in hell. How strict an account
of their stewardship does God require at their hands! He, they are
taught, has made them slaves, and has given them nothing but labor and
poverty for their lot in this life. Will he require much, where he has
given little? Bishop Meade continues (Brooke's "Slavery," pp. 30, 31,
32):--
"Having thus shown you the chief duties you owe to your great Master
in heaven, I now come to lay before you the duties you owe to your
masters and mistresses here upon earth; and for this you have one
general rule that you ought always to carry in your minds, and that
is, to do all service for them as if you did it for God himself.
Poor creatures! you little consider, when you are idle and
neglectful of your masters' business, when you steal and waste and
hurt any of their substance, when you are saucy and impudent, when
you are telling them lies and deceiving them; or when you prove
stubborn and sullen, and will not do the work you are set about
without stripes and vexation; you do not consider, I say, that _what
faults you are guilty of towards your masters and mistresses are
faults done against God himself_, who hath set your masters and
mistresses over you in his own stead, and expects that you will do
for them just as you would do for him. And, pray, do not think that
I want to deceive you, when I tell you that _your masters and
mistresses are God's overseers_; and that, if you are faulty towards
them, God himself will punish you severely for it in the next world,
unless you repent of it, and strive to make amends by your
faithfulness and diligence for the time to come; for God himself
hath declared the same.
"Now, from this general rule,--namely, that you are to do all
service for your masters and mistresses as if you did it for God
himself,--there arise several other rules of duty towards your
masters and mistresses, which I shall endeavor to lay out in order
before you.
"And, in the first place, you are to be obedient and subject to your
masters in all things.... And Christian ministers are commanded to
'exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to
please them well in all things, not answering them again, or
gain-saying.' You see how strictly God requires this of you, that
whatever your masters and mistresses order you to do, you must set
about it immediately, and faithfully perform it, without any
disputing or grumbling, and take care to please them well in all
things. And for your encouragement he tells you, that he will reward
you for it in heaven; because, while you are honestly and faithfully
doing your master's business here, you are serving your Lord and
Master in heaven. You see also that you are not to take any
exceptions to the behavior of your masters and mistresses, and that
you are to be subject and obedient, not only to such as are good and
gentle and mild towards you, but also to such as may be froward,
peevish, and hard. For you are not at liberty to choose your own
masters; but into whatever hands God hath been pleased to put you,
you must do your duty, and God will reward you for it.
"2. You are not to be eye-servants. Now, eye-servants are such as
will work hard, and seem mighty diligent, while they think anybody
is taking notice of them; but, when their masters' and mistresses'
backs are turned, they are idle, and neglect their business. I am
afraid there are a great many such eye-servants among you, and that
you do not consider how great a sin it is to be so, and how severely
God will punish you for it. You may easily deceive your owners, and
make them have an opinion of you that you do not deserve, and get
the praise of men by it; but remember that you cannot deceive
Almighty God, who sees your wickedness and deceit, and will punish
you accordingly. For the rule is, that you must obey your masters in
all things, and do the work they set you about with fear and
trembling, in singleness of heart, as unto Christ; not with
eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing
the will of God from the heart; with good-will doing service as to
the Lord, and not as to men. If, then, you would but say within
yourselves, 'My master hath set me about this work, and his back is
turned, so that I may loiter and idle if I please, for he does not
see me; but _there is my great Master in heaven, whose overseer my
other master is_,[I] and his eyes are always upon me and taking
notice of me, and I cannot get anywhere out of his sight, nor be
idle without his knowing it; and what will become of me, if I lose
his good-will and make him angry with me?'--if, I say, you would
once get the way of thinking and saying thus upon all occasions, you
then would do what God commands you, and serve your masters with
singleness of heart, that is, with honesty and sincerity, and do the
work you are set about with fear and trembling, not for fear of your
masters and mistresses upon earth, for you may easily cheat them,
and make them believe you are doing their business when you do not,
but with fear and trembling, lest God your heavenly Master, whom you
cannot deceive, should call you to account, and punish you in the
next world for your deceitfulness and eye-service in this.
"3. _You are to be faithful and honest to your masters and
mistresses, not purloining or wasting their goods or substance, but
showing all good fidelity in all things...._ Do not your masters,
under God, provide for you? And how shall they be able to do this,
to feed and to clothe you, unless you take honest care of every
thing that belongs to them? _Remember that God requires this of you;
and, if you are not afraid of suffering for it here, you cannot
escape the vengeance of Almighty God, who will judge between you and
your masters, and make you pay severely in the next world for all
the injustice you do them here._ And though you could manage so
cunningly as to escape the eyes and hands of man, yet think what a
dreadful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God, who
is able to cast both soul and body into hell!
"4. _You are to serve your masters with cheerfulness, reverence, and
humility. You are to do your masters' service with good-will, doing
it as the will of God from the heart, without any sauciness or
answering again._ How many of you do things quite otherwise, and,
instead of going about your work with a good will and a good heart,
dispute and grumble, give saucy answers, and behave in a surly
manner! There is something so becoming and engaging in a modest,
cheerful, good-natured behavior, that a little work done in that
manner seems better done and gives far more satisfaction than a
great deal more that must be done with fretting, vexation, and the
lash always held over you. It also gains the good-will and love of
those you belong to, and makes your own life pass with more ease and
pleasure. Besides, you are to consider that this grumbling and
ill-will does not affect your masters and mistresses only. They have
ways and means in their hands of forcing you to do your work,
whether you are willing or not. _But your murmuring and grumbling is
against God, who hath placed you in that service, who will punish
you severely in the next world for despising his commands._"
If the slave who wastes his master's goods and substance will not be
able to escape the vengeance of Almighty God, what will become of the
master who impoverishes and darkens the mind of his brother-man? Who
commits the greater injustice,--the man who robs another of his mind, or
the man who robs another of his money?
Mr. Glennie is equally explicit in his teaching. His fourth Sermon is on
the text, Eph. vi. 7, "With good-will doing service, as to the Lord, and
not to men," pp. 21, 22:--
"In this part of the word of God, servants are taught with what mind
they ought to do their service. They are told to do what is required
of them 'with good-will;' and to do it, 'as to the Lord, and not to
men.'
"What a blessed book the Bible is, my brethren! It speaks comfort to
all people in every station of life; it shows how every one must
live here so as to please our heavenly Father. He, the Father of
mercies and the God of all comfort, has in his word forgotten none
of the children of men. All may learn from that holy book how their
souls may be saved through the merits of the death of Christ. And,
in addition to this, every one, in whatever condition he may be,
will find in that holy book what his peculiar duties are. Thus,
ministers are taught in the Bible how they ought to preach the
gospel, and how they ought to live, so as to glorify their Saviour
Jesus Christ. The rich are taught in the Bible how they must do good
with their riches; and the poor, how they must be contented with the
portion that God has given them; and both rich and poor are taught
how to lay up treasure in heaven. Parents are told in the Bible how
they must bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord; and children, how they must obey their parents. Masters
are taught in the Bible how they must rule their servants, and
servants how they must obey their masters. Truly, this holy word of
God is a blessed gift indeed; and how greatly blessed shall we all
be, if we diligently seek the help of the Holy Spirit, that we may
be 'doers of the word, and not hearers only'! I will now read to you
the whole of this passage out of God's holy word, which is written
especially for your instruction:--'Servants, be obedient to them
that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and
trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with
eye-service as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing
the will of God from the heart: with good-will doing service, as to
the Lord, and not to men; knowing that whatsoever good thing any man
doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or
free.' This passage from the Bible shows to you what God requires
from you as servants; and there are many other passages which teach
the same things. You should try and remember these parts of the
Bible, that you may be able 'to do your duty in that state of life
unto which it has pleased God to call you.' For, although a bad
servant may not wish to know what God requires of him, yet a
Christian servant will desire to know this, and to do his will in
every thing."
How easy it must be for those who cannot read to learn from the holy
book what God requires of them! Mr. Glennie assures his hearers, that
not one of them will be able to say, in the day of judgment, "I had no
way of hearing and learning about my God and Saviour"! (p. 137). May
they not all listen to such words of comfort as fall from his lips? And
how full of comfort to their souls must that book be which tells them
that God intended to make them slaves, and that they must be faithful
and obedient to their oppressors, if they wish to avoid endless
punishment in hell!
Pp. 22, 23: "Our heavenly Father commands that you, who are
servants, should 'be obedient to your masters according to the
flesh;' that is, to your earthly master, the master that you serve
here while in the body. Here is a very plain command: 'Servants, be
obedient;' be obedient to your masters. A bad servant will not try
and obey this command. A worldly-minded servant, who is not living
in the fear of God, will neglect this command. But you, who call
yourselves children of God, will do his will, and be obedient to
your earthly master. You can every day give proof that you wish to
serve God, by your ready, your cheerful obedience.
"You are here directed to be obedient to your master 'with fear and
trembling;' that is, you ought to feel as anxious to discharge your
duty faithfully as to feel afraid of giving offence by any conduct
that looks like disobedience; for, by disobedience, you not only
offend your earthly master, but you sin against God; and of this
every Christian servant will be afraid. A bad servant will be afraid
only of the punishment which he will receive, if his disobedience
should be found out. But a Christian servant must look up always to
his heavenly Master. Therefore, if you love God, whose children you
were made at your baptism, you will do every day all that you have
to do, with fear and trembling; that is, in the fear of God; knowing
that he would be angry with you, if you neglected your duty. If you
love the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed his blood for you, you will do
your daily work with fear and trembling, lest, by any act of
disobedience, you bring reproach on him whose name you bear. If you
desire that the Holy Spirit should abide in your hearts, you will
not willingly be disobedient, being afraid that this Comforter and
Sanctifier would forsake you, if you paid so little attention to the
plain word of God."
How full of comfort must the Bible be to the slaveholder! How gratifying
to him the reconciliation between God and mammon! How interesting to a
reverend father must be the reflection, that, just in the proportion as
he serves his God, by imparting to his hearers gospel truth, he is
serving mammon, and putting money in the purses of his employers, by
making his hearers more valuable as slaves!
Page 23: "You are here commanded to be obedient, 'in singleness of
your heart, as unto Christ:' that is, do not be double-minded,
professing to be one thing, but really being another; but, in your
duty to your master, have a single heart; an honest, upright, and
true heart, as unto Christ; knowing that he sees your heart, and
will not be pleased with double-dealing."
Page 24: "This part of the Bible goes on speaking of the same matter
in different words; it gives 'line upon line and precept upon
precept;' because it is what all of us ought to keep in mind, that
we must engage in our several duties with a desire to please God,
and with a fear of sinning against him. It says, 'not with
eye-service as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing
the will of God from the heart.' Do not attend to your work, only
when your earthly master's eye is upon you; but remember that the
eye of your heavenly Master is always upon you. Do your work as
serving Christ, _look upon your daily tasks as the will of God_, and
do them from the heart, with a hearty desire to please God. A bad
servant is an eye-servant, doing the work required of him so long as
his master's eye is upon him: he has no regard to Christ our
Saviour; and, instead of the will of God, he thinks only of his own
will, and the desires of his own evil heart. But you, who profess to
be the servants of Jesus Christ, will, if you are indeed his, do all
your duty faithfully, whether the eye of man is upon you or not; you
will feel that such is the will of God; and you will daily watch and
pray, that, by the help of the Holy Spirit, you may 'do the will of
God from the heart.'
"The word of God goes on teaching you the same thing. It says, 'with
good-will doing service as to the Lord, and not to men.' A bad
servant will very often do his service with a very bad will; he will
try many ways to deceive his master, and will do as little for him
as he can. You, however, who call yourselves the servants of Christ,
will, if you indeed belong to him, aim at doing your service 'with
good-will;' you will pray that your will may be subject to the will
of God, so that you may 'do service' cheerfully, 'as to the Lord,
and not to men.'"
We candidly confess, that we have not sufficient faith to believe that
the Rev. Rector of All-Saints Parish would, if he were a slave, be a
good servant, and do service as unto the Lord. We do verily believe,
that both he and Bishop Meade would follow the desires of man's
unregenerate and evil heart, and do their utmost to escape from this
unwelcome service of Christ. But what a curious subject for reflection,
that the saving of negro souls and of negro overseers in All-Saints
Parish must keep pace one with another!
The Rector concludes his Sermon with these important suggestions:--
Page 25: "This passage of Scripture ends by telling you to remember
that the day of judgment is coming, when every one, in every
condition of life, shall receive according to what he has done in
the body. It says, 'Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man
doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or
free.' We are here told, that in the day of judgment, the inquiry
will be, What have we done in this world? how did we live in this
world? It matters not, we see, in what condition we have been here;
it matters not whether we be bond-servants or freemen; it matters
not whether we be among the high and the rich, or among the low and
the poor, we shall in that day receive according as we now live. If
we now live as obedient followers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, we shall, through him who loved us, inherit everlasting
life. But if we are not true believers in him, if we are disobedient
to his word, we can inherit only everlasting misery. With regard to
you, the disobedient servants amongst you, the unfaithful, the
deceitful, the ungodly servants, unless they repent and turn from
the service of the devil to the service of God, shall surely 'be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
and from the glory of his power.' Whilst the obedient servants
amongst you, the faithful, the true, the godly servants, who are
living 'as the servants of Christ,' 'doing service as to the Lord,
and not to men,' shall, if they continue steadfast unto the end, be
blessed for ever."
We read in the Bible, that "God is no respecter of persons;" that "he
hath made of one blood all the nations of men;" "Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself;" and that "all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them." Would not the slaves be led to
neglect of duty and insubordination by hearing such sentences? This
effect, says Mr. Jones (speaking in reference to these sentences, "Rel.
Inst." p. 197), "might result from _imperfect_ and _injudicious_
religious instruction.... But who will say that neglect of duty and
insubordination are the _legitimate_ effects of the gospel, purely and
sincerely imparted to servants?" How judicious is the instruction given
by Bishop Hedding! How purely and sincerely does Bishop Meade thus
continue imparting the gospel! p. 116 (Brooke's "Slavery," &c. pp. 32,
33):--
"'All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye
even so unto them;' that is, do by all mankind just as you would
desire they should do by you, if you were in their place and they in
yours.
"Now, to suit this rule to your particular circumstances, suppose
you were masters and mistresses, and had servants under you, would
you not desire that your servants should do their business
faithfully and honestly, as well when your back was turned as while
you were looking over them? Would you not expect, that they should
take notice of what you said to them? that they should behave
themselves with respect towards you and yours, and be as careful of
every thing belonging to you as you would be yourselves? You are
servants: do, therefore, as you would wish to be done by, and you
will be both good servants to your masters and good servants to God,
who requires this of you, and will reward you well for it, if you do
it for the sake of conscience, in obedience to his commands."
From the same command of Christ, Mr. Jones instructs the slaves that
they must not steal any of their own earnings, and must inform their
masters when any of their fellow-slaves intend to steal! ("Catechism,"
pp. 114-116.) He never for an instant imagines (to use the words of the
Rev. Dr. Jonathan Edwards in 1791), that "_to hold any man in slavery is
to be every day guilty of robbing him of his liberty, or of
man-stealing_" ("The Church as it is," p. 8). How solemnly would Bishop
Freeman declare to the slaves, that thieves can never enter the kingdom
of God, without thinking of the law of North Carolina, which provides
that no slave shall be "permitted, on any pretence whatever, to raise
any horses, cattle, hogs, or sheep" ("Rev. Stat." chap. 111, Sec. 25),
without the same being liable to be seized and sold, and the proceeds
distributed, one half towards the support of the poor of the county, and
the other half to the informer! (Ib. chap. 89, Sec. 24.)
A friend once said that she was always grieved at receiving any
expression of gratitude. She was grieved to think that the mere
performance of duty was so uncommon as to call forth gratitude. In a
somewhat similar manner, we feel more distinctly than ever how great is
the degradation of the slaves, when such arguments as these can be
addressed to them by intelligent men, with the expectation of producing
conviction! How degraded must that slave be who does not feel or who
cannot expose these wicked perversions of a beautiful command, and who
cannot ask, in indignant tones, of these truly reverend fathers in God,
"If _you_ were the slave, would you consider yourself bound to work for
your master faithfully?" Verily, "We owners and ministers" _are_ "the
almoners of _Divine_ mercy" to the suffering slave!
Mr. Glennie declares, that God requires them patiently to submit to all
the wrongs of slavery, as being afflictions sent by him for the good of
their souls!--
Page 145: "Is it strange that any person who is loved by our Lord
should endure sickness or pain or sorrow of any kind? No: this is
what the whole Bible teaches. We read in one place, 'Whom the Lord
loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.'
And in another place, 'As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.' The
Bible also tells us the reason of this, which is, that the children
of God may be taught to repent more of their sins, and to be more
submissive and obedient to God; ... that they may think less about
this world, and may be more diligent in getting ready for heaven.
For these good reasons, God chastises his people; and whenever you
become sick, or are visited with sorrows, you should try and look up
to God as chastising you for your sins, and should pray much to him
for his Spirit, that you may be patient like our Saviour, when he
suffered for our sins, that you may improve by his chastening, and
grow more like him in holiness."--Pp. 128, 129: "Whenever,
therefore, the sorrows of this life are pressing you sore, think of
this saying of our Saviour, 'Every branch which beareth fruit, he
purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.' If you are indeed
followers of Jesus, it will at such times comfort you to think that
a Father's hand is upon you, chastising you,--in love chastising you
to make you partakers of his holiness."
Mr. Glennie also frequently represents Christ as having appeared on
earth as a servant, in order still more to reconcile his hearers to
their lot (pp. 2, 3, 89). Nay, so anxious does he seem to be to induce
his hearers to believe that Christ really endured the wrongs of a slave,
that he sometimes goes beyond the Bible record. Thus, in describing
Christ's sufferings before Pilate, he says (p. 9), "They spit in his
face, and beat him with their hands; they scourged him, _making long
furrows in his back with the whip_.... How grievous were the sufferings
of our dear Lord!"
But he is not content with telling them they must patiently endure their
wrongs: he also declares to them, that, unless they _love_ those who
wrong them, they are "going along the broad road that leads to hell"! He
says (pp. 115, 116):--
"That we may all understand how the case stands with us, whether we
are in the broad road leading to destruction, or in the narrow road
leading to heaven, let us see what our Lord says about his sheep,
and the mark by which they are known."--Page 117: "Our Lord says,
'By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love one to another.' Do ye hear his voice in this? Are you trying
to love your neighbor as yourselves? Are you trying to do to others
as you would have them do to you? Do you, for Jesus Christ's sake,
love your enemies? Do you bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and
persecute you? In this way, again, you may try yourselves, and see
whether you are the sheep of Jesus Christ."--Page 93: "If, in the
great day, you would be placed on the right hand, you must, from
love to Jesus, be kind to one another, and be ready to help any one
as much as you can.... In your daily work, you should try and keep
the Lord before you, and do it as to him, and not to man.... When
any one offends you, you should, from love to Jesus, forgive him and
pray for him."
Bishop Meade is equally explicit, pp. 131, 132 (Brooke's "Slavery," &c.
pp. 33, 34). Senator Dickinson regrets that he was not born in a Slave
State, so congenial is slavery to his soul! But the bishop, if he
believes in his own argument, must be sorrowful that he is not himself a
slave, so easy does he say is the slave's road to heaven!--
"_Take care that you do not fret or murmur, grumble or repine at
your condition; for this will not only make your life uneasy, but
will greatly offend Almighty God._ Consider that it is not
yourselves, it is not the people that you belong to, it is not the
men that have brought you to it, but _it is the will of God, who
hath, by his providence made you servants, because, no doubt, he
knew that condition would be best for you in this world, and help
you the better towards heaven, if you would but do your duty in
it_. So that any discontent at your not being free or rich or
great, as you see some others, is quarrelling with your heavenly
Master, and finding fault with God himself, who hath made you what
you are, and hath promised you as large a share in the kingdom of
heaven as the greatest man alive, if you will but behave yourself
aright, and do the business he hath set you about in this world
honestly and cheerfully. Riches and power have proved the ruin of
many an unhappy soul, by drawing away the heart and affections from
God, and fixing them on mean and sinful enjoyments; so that, when
God, who knows our hearts better than we know them ourselves, sees
that they would be hurtful to us, and therefore keeps them from us,
it is the greatest mercy and kindness he could show us.
"You may perhaps fancy, that, if you had riches and freedom, you
could do your duty to God and man with greater pleasure than you can
now. But, pray, consider that, if you can but save your souls
through the mercy of God, you will have spent your time to the best
of purposes in this world; and he that at last can get to heaven has
performed a noble journey, let the road be ever so rugged and
difficult. Besides, you really have a great advantage over most
white people, who have not only the care of their daily labor upon
their hands, but the care of looking forward and providing
necessaries for to-morrow and next day, and of clothing and bringing
up their children, and of getting food and raiment for as many of
you as belong to their families, which often puts them to great
difficulties, and distracts their minds so as to break their rest,
and take off their thoughts from the affairs of another world.
Whereas you are quite eased from all these cares, and have nothing
but your daily labor to look after, and, when that is done, take
your needful rest. Neither is it necessary for you to think of
laying up any thing against old age, as white people are obliged to
do; for the laws of the country have provided, that you shall not be
turned off when you are past labor, but shall be maintained, while
you live, by those you belong to, whether you are able to work or
not.[J] _And these are great and real advantages, for which, if you
consider things rightly, you cannot but thank Almighty God, who hath
so wisely provided for your well-being here and your eternal
happiness hereafter._"
God has made some men slaves, in order the better to help them towards
heaven! How admirably has the plan of the All-wise succeeded! The slaves
are a nation of _heathen_ in our very midst, daily and hourly (if we may
believe their religious teachers) descending to everlasting perdition.
From our very souls we are sick of the expression, "the providence of
God," as thus cantingly used! Wherever a great wrong is committed by
_man_, there the wrong is made part of God's mysterious providence! Are
the poor oppressed,--it is a part of God's providence! Are bloody wars
carried on for man's selfish ends,--they are part of God's providence!
Nothing is too wicked, nothing too infamously mean, for that Being to do
whose essence is love, whose law is just. We denounce the African
slave-trader as a fiend, and, with appropriate religious ceremonies,
hang him by the neck until he is dead, so deep is our detestation of a
pirate; and yet, at the same time, we thank God, that, in his infinite
wisdom, he has devised and executed the plan of negro-slavery, as the
true way of Christianizing and elevating Africa! The slave-owner is said
to have it in his power to shut up the kingdom of heaven against his
slaves, and the power is said to have been exercised; and Mr. Jones
seems to think that the race, taken as a whole, are thus shut out. And
yet the slaves are called upon by right reverend bishops to fall on
their knees, and devoutly thank God that he has made them slaves, in
order the better to help them towards heaven! Truly wonderful is it,
that ("Rel. Inst." p. 153) "they are living in manifold and gross sins;
their iniquities are aggravated and great before the Lord, and _not the
least of them is their neglect and contempt of the spiritual mercies and
privileges within their reach_"!
We conclude our extracts from Bishop Meade's book with the following
(Brooke's "Slavery," pp. 34, 35):--
"There is only one circumstance which may appear grievous, that I
shall now take notice of, and that is correction.
"Now, when correction is given you, you either deserve it, or you do
not deserve it. But whether you really deserve it or not, it is your
duty, and Almighty God requires that you bear it patiently. You may
perhaps think that this is hard doctrine; but, if you consider it
right, you must needs think otherwise of it. Suppose, then, that you
deserve correction, you cannot but say that it is just and right you
should meet with it. Suppose you do not, or at least you do not
deserve so much, or so severe a correction, for the fault you have
committed, you perhaps have escaped a great many more, and are at
last paid for all. Or suppose you are quite innocent of what is laid
to your charge, and suffer wrongfully in that particular thing, is
it not possible you may have done some other bad thing which was
never discovered, and that Almighty God who saw you doing it would
not let you escape without punishment one time or another? And ought
you not, in such a case, to give glory to him, and be thankful that
he would rather punish you in this life for your wickedness than
destroy your souls for it in the next life? But, suppose even this
was not the case (a case hardly to be imagined), and that you have
by no means, known or unknown, deserved the correction you suffered,
there is this great comfort in it, that, if you bear it patiently,
and leave your cause in the hands of God, he will reward you for it
in heaven, and the punishment you suffer unjustly here shall turn to
your exceeding great glory hereafter."
Douglass's aunt Hester disobeyed _God's_ commands, when she paid no heed
to the orders of Capt. Anthony,--God's overseer. Accordingly, says
Douglass ("Narrative," p. 7), who was an eye-witness of the transaction,
the latter "took her into the kitchen, and stripped her from neck to
waist, leaving her neck, shoulders, and back entirely naked. After
crossing her hands, he tied them with a strong rope, and led her to a
stool under a large hook in the joist, put in for the purpose. He made
her get upon the stool, and tied her hands to the hook. She now stood
fair for his infernal purpose. Her arms were stretched up at their full
length, so that she stood upon the ends of her toes. He then said to
her,--'Now, you d----d b----h! I'll learn you how to disobey my orders!'
And, after rolling up his sleeves, he commenced to lay on the heavy
cowskin; and soon the warm, red blood (amid heart-ending shrieks from
her, and horrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor."[K] Poor,
ignorant, degraded aunt Hester! She little thought that _God_ had
ordered her not to visit her companion; and that, instead of shrieking,
she ought rather to be giving glory to Him who was punishing her in this
world, in order to save her soul in the next!
Bishop Ives thus instructs the slave-children under his charge[L]
("Catechism"):--
Page 27: "Q. You said that at your baptism you were made inheritors
of the kingdom of heaven; but will you get eternal life in heaven,
if you do not strive to go there?--A. No; but I shall be sent down
to hell.
Q. How are you to strive or try to go to heaven?--A. I must have
nothing to do with the devil and his works; which I gave up at my
baptism.
Q. In what way are you to shun the devil and his works?--A. By
keeping within me no bad thoughts; by speaking no bad words; and by
doing no bad things.
Q. What do you mean by keeping within you no bad thoughts?--A. I
mean that I must not hate anybody, nor wish to hurt anybody, nor
wish to do any wrong.
Page 30: Q. What do you mean by doing no bad things, such things as
the devil tempts you to do?--A. I mean that I must not hurt anybody;
must not disobey my parents, nor disobey my master, nor disobey God.
Q. But can you not disobey your parents and your master without
their knowing it?--A. Yes; but God knows it; for God always sees me.
Q. What else must you do to get to heaven?--A. I must believe all
that God has told me about the way to get there.
Pp. 35, 36: Q. How are you to show that you love your neighbor as
yourself?--A. I am to show it by always doing my duty to my
neighbor, as God has commanded me.
Q. Who is your neighbor?--A. Everybody who lives with me and around
me, and has the control over me.
Q. Can you name some persons?--A. My playfellows, my master and
mistress, and my parents....
Q. How are you to show your love to your master and mistress and
your parents?--A. I am never to lie to them, to steal from them, nor
speak bad words about them, but always to do as they bid me.
Page 47: Q. How do others sin against you?--A. By cursing me,
telling lies about me, or striking me.
Q. What must you do to those who thus sin against you?--A. I must
forgive them.
Q. What if you do not forgive them?--A. Then God will not forgive
me.
Q. Why?--A. Because I pray to him to forgive me, just as I forgive
others.
Page 48: Q. How are you to forgive others, when they trespass
against you?--A. I am not to hurt them, because they hurt me; but I
must pray for them, and try to do them good.
Q. What if you do to them just as they do to you?--A. Then God will
not forgive my sins, but will punish me.
Page 43: Q. What do you pray for, when you say in the Lord's prayer,
'Thy will be done'?--A. I pray that my will and everybody's will may
submit to God's will.
Q. Where does God make his will known to us?--A. In his word and in
his acts.
Page 44: Q. What are God's acts by which he makes his will known to
us?--A. Every thing that happens to us is God's act.
Q. How are you to submit to God's will as made known in his
acts?--A. When God sends trouble or sickness or death, I am to feel
that God does right."
Mr. Jones thus catechizes the slaves ("Catechism," pp. 129-131):--
"Q. What command has God given to servants concerning obedience to
their masters?--A. 'Servants, obey in all things your masters
according to the flesh, not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but in
singleness of heart, fearing God.'
Q. What does God mean by masters according to the flesh?--A. Masters
in this world.
Q. What are servants to count their masters worthy of?--A. 'All
honor.'
Q. How are they to do the service of their masters?--A. '_With good
will_, doing service as unto the Lord, and not unto men.'
Q. How are they to try to please their masters?--A. 'Please them
well in all things, not answering again.'
Q. Is a servant who is an eye-servant to his earthly master an
eye-servant to his heavenly Master?--A. Yes.
Q. Is it right in a servant, when commanded to do any thing, to be
sullen and slow, and answer his master again?--A. No.
Q. If the servant professes to be a Christian, ought he not to be
_as a Christian servant_, an example to all other servants of love
and obedience to his master?--A. Yes.
Q. And, should his master be a Christian also, ought he not on that
account specially to love and obey him?--A. Yes.
Q. But suppose the master is hard to please, and threatens and
punishes more than he ought, what is the servant to do?--A. Do his
best to please him.
Q. When the servant suffers _wrongfully_ at the hands of his master,
and, to please God, takes it patiently, will God reward him for
it?--A. Yes.
Q. Is it right for the servant to _run away_, or is it right to
_harbor_ a runaway?--A. No.
Q. What did the Apostle Paul to Onesimus, who was a runaway? Did he
harbor him, or send him back to his master?--A. He sent him back to
his master with a letter.
Q. Is it any praise to a servant to be punished for his faults, or
ought he to think hard of it?--A. No.
Q. Are servants at liberty to tell lies, and deceive their
masters?--A. No.
Q. Are they at liberty to steal from their masters?--A. No.
Q. What ought they to show in their whole character and conduct?--A.
'_All good fidelity_, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our
Saviour in all things.'
Q. If servants will faithfully do their duty and serve God in their
stations as servants, will they be respected of men, and blessed and
honored of God as well as others?--A. Yes.
Q. Will servants have to account to God for the manner in which they
serve their masters on earth?--A. Yes."
Mr. Jones thus expounds the tenth commandment ("Catechism," pp.
118-120):--
"Q. How does God require me to love my neighbor?--A. As myself.
Q. Ought I not therefore to be glad when I see him have and enjoy
every good thing?--A. Yes.
Q. But suppose I am _not glad_, and desire the very things he has,
and begrudge his having them, what do I?--A. I covet.
Q. Is it not my duty to be contented with such things as I have,
without coveting what my neighbor has?--A. Yes.
Q. What did the Apostle Paul say he had learned?--A. 'I have
learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.'
Q. Repeat, 'Godliness with contentment.'--A. 'Godliness with
contentment is great gain; for we brought nothing into this world,
and it is certain we can carry nothing out; and, having food and
raiment, let us be therewith content.'
Q. From whom cometh down every good gift and every perfect gift?--A.
From God.
Q. Who is exalted as head above all, and giveth riches and honor and
greatness and strength, and also casteth down and maketh poor whom
he pleaseth?--A. God.
Q. If I work and am industrious, and walk uprightly with God, will
he suffer me to want any good thing?--A. No.
* * * * *
Q. Does this commandment forbid _the very thought itself_ of evil
against our neighbor?--A. Yes.
* * * * *
We are to be contented with our own condition and circumstances, as
appointed unto us by our infinitely wise and gracious Father in
heaven."
Thus discourseth that eminent son of Massachusetts, the Rev. Theodore
Clapp, after seventeen years' experience of the blessedness of slavery
(Sermon, p. 66):--
"Let all Christian teachers show our servants the importance of
being submissive, obedient, industrious, honest, and faithful to the
interests of their masters. Let their minds be filled with sweet
anticipations of rest eternal beyond the grave. Let them be trained
to direct their views to that fascinating and glorious futurity,
where the sins, sorrows, and troubles of earth will be contemplated
under the aspect of means indispensable to our everlasting progress
in knowledge, virtue, and happiness. I would say to every slave in
the United States, You should realize that a wise, kind, and
merciful Providence has appointed for you your condition in life;
and, all things considered, you could not be more eligibly situated.
The burden of your care, toils, and responsibilities is much lighter
than that which God has imposed on your master. The most enlightened
philanthropists, with unlimited resources, could not place you in a
situation more favorable to your present and everlasting welfare
than that which you now occupy. You have your troubles. So have all.
Remember how evanescent are the pleasures and joys of human life."
_Judicious_ religious instruction, therefore, makes the slaves faithful,
diligent, and honest, and very materially promotes discipline; and it
produces these results much more perfectly than any other motive which
can be used. The cowskin and the paddle are doubtless serviceable; but
that South Carolina planter told the truth who said to Dr. Brisbane
(Brooke's "Slavery," p. 35), that religion was worth more to him with
his slaves than four wagon-loads of cowskins! A judiciously awakened
conscience, an earnest wish on the part of the slave to do what he
believes to be the will of God, in order to escape never-ending torments
in hell, constitute a much more forcible and constant incitement and
restraint than that of fear. When we reflect that "ignorance and
superstition render them easy dupes to their teachers," and that the
more ignorant and superstitious they are, the more easily they may be
duped, it is evident that this religious restraint is easily created,
and daily increases in strength. How infinitely more powerful, then, is
such a motive than the fear of bodily suffering! It is equally easy and
vastly more efficacious to ply judicious religious instruction than to
ply the cowskin or the paddle!
It is evident also, that the religious instruction of slaves increases
their market-value, and greatly promotes the safety of the community.
"Experience teaches us," says the Right Rev. Dr. Gibson, "the great
value of those servants who are truly religious, compared with those who
have no sense of religion" ("Rel. Inst." p. 22). No persons feel this
more sensibly than the slaveholders. "Even _men of the world_," says the
Presbytery of Georgia, "throw wide the door of access to their negroes."
The fourth of a series of resolutions reported to the Synod of South
Carolina and Georgia in 1833 reads, "We deem religious instruction to
master and servant every way conducive to _our interests for this world_
and for that which is to come" (ib. p. 74). With the proceedings of a
convention held in Charleston, S.C. in 1845, to consider the subject of
the religious instruction of slaves, were published letters from several
persons, describing the effect actually produced by such instruction.
One person writes, "The deeper the piety of the slave, the more valuable
is he in every sense of the word." Another says, "A regard to
self-interest should lead every planter to give his people religious
instruction." "On such large plantations," says Mr. Jones ("Rel.
Inst." p. 239), "_as a mere matter of gain_, a religious instructor
should be employed." _By religious instruction_ (ib. p. 208), "_the
pecuniary interests of masters will be advanced as a necessary
consequence._"--Page 204: "Is it not conceded, that a truly pious
servant gives less trouble, and is more profitable, than one who is not?
Is there one master in a thousand who does not desire such servants? Is
it not true, that the most pious servants exert the happiest influence
in promoting honesty and good order on plantations and in
communities?"--Page 210: "_The religious instruction of the slaves will
contribute to safety._ 'The thing that hath been, it is that which may
be;' and although, as a slaveholding country, we are so situated that,
so far as man can see, the hope of success on the part of our laboring
class, in any attempt at revolution, is forlorn; yet no enemy (if there
be an enemy) should be despised, however weak, and no danger unprovided
for, however apparently remote.... It is, then, but a prudent foresight,
a dictate of benevolence and of wisdom, to originate, and set in
operation, means that may act as _a check upon, if not a perfect
preventive, of evil_. I am a firm believer in the efficacy of _sound
religious instruction_ as a means to the end desired."
Ib. p. 212: "Besides the general and special influences of the gospel
now adverted to, safety will be connected with _the very dispensation of
it_.... The presence of white instructors, settled ministers, or
missionaries, in their private as well as public religious assemblies,
and free intercourse with the people and with their influential men and
leaders, exert a restraining influence upon any spirit of
insubordination that may exist, and at the same time give opportunities
for its detection. The negroes are as capable of strong personal
attachments to their religious instructors as are any other people, _and
of their own will are inclined to make confidential communications_"!
Such is the quality of the religious instruction imparted to slaves;
such is the way in which their famishing souls are led away to the water
of life! To escape everlasting torments in hell, a slave must submit to
remain in slavery! He must neither murmur nor repine at his lot, but
rather give thanks to God for his loving-kindness and tender mercy in
removing from his path so many temptations to sin! He must obey his
master in all things, and do the work assigned to him faithfully and
diligently, "in singleness of heart, as unto Christ"! He must act
honestly, and never waste any of "the comforts and conveniences of life"
which he procures for his master. No accumulation of injuries or
deprivations can excuse him for running away; but he is bound to endure
all his wrongs with cheerfulness and patience, and, leaving his cause in
the hands of God, look to Heaven alone for his reward! Who is there that
does not feel irresistibly impelled, with Bishop Ives, to cease "wailing
over the _imaginary_ suffering" of the slaves, and to unite with him in
"the heart-felt exclamation, 'How happy are the people that are in such
a case! yea, blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God'"?
(Bishop Ives's "Address to the Convention in his Diocese;" Jay's
"Letter," p. 3). Who cannot say to the slaves, with Mr. Glennie (p. 58),
"Your advantages are indeed great: ... oh! make full use of your
privileges, and show that you thank God by serving him"?
To teach untruths is a greater wrong to a man's soul than merely to keep
him in ignorance. How much more pitifully wicked is it, then, to teach
such untruths only or mainly as must advance the pecuniary interest of
the oppressor!