The gospel of slavery : a primer of freedom . I Stands for Infidel, Many contemnWh^t yon and I hold, as a riddle to them;And sceptics are made (it is mournfully true)By priests in the pulpit and saints in the pew,Who torture the Gospel to get at the proofThat one man is made for anothers behoof!The Bible comes not with its quickening conscience and reason interpret aright,And, vainly you moan oer the infidel fruitWhile nourishing faith in the Slavery-root. The creed should be better than the man ; but what if theman be better than the creed ? Business relations with theSouth, or fri
The gospel of slavery : a primer of freedom . I Stands for Infidel, Many contemnWh^t yon and I hold, as a riddle to them;And sceptics are made (it is mournfully true)By priests in the pulpit and saints in the pew,Who torture the Gospel to get at the proofThat one man is made for anothers behoof!The Bible comes not with its quickening conscience and reason interpret aright,And, vainly you moan oer the infidel fruitWhile nourishing faith in the Slavery-root. The creed should be better than the man ; but what if theman be better than the creed ? Business relations with theSouth, or friends residing there, or poHtical clanship, may soblind men to the hideous conjunction of the Gospel and South-em Slavery, that they may profess to beheve in both ; but reli-gionists grieve the Holy Spirit and chiefly make Infidels, byfastening any inhuman institution or abominable theory on theWord of Ji^ands for tTustice* Whoeer a man is,PiToelaim and defend what is rightfully yanrself not with his lawful demands,ISTor harden the links of his slavery-bands;For all institutions are born of the dustWhich conscience declares to be wrong and unjust.—Will God in his majesty look to the hueIn making award of the recompense due ?Or will he in judgment be heedless or slack,For justice withheld from the ignorant black? Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Behold, the hire of the laborers who liave reaped down youjT fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and tliecries of them wliieh have reaped, are entered into the ears ofthe Lerd of Sabaoth. Ye liave lived in pleasure on the earth,and been wanton : je have nourished your hearts as in a day ofslaughter.*^—James v. 1—3.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectslavery, bookyear1864
