husband; the daughter driven to the market by the scourge of her own father;—­he saw the word of God sealed up from those who, of all men, were especially entitled to its enlightening, quickening influence;—­nay, he saw men beaten for kneeling before the throne of heavenly mercy;—­such things he saw without a word of admonition or reproof!  No sympathy with them who suffered wrong—­no indignation at them who inflicted wrong, moved his heart!

From the alledged silence of the Savior, when in contact with slavery among the Jews, our divines infer, that it is quite consistent with Christianity.  And they affirm, that he saw it in its worst forms; that is, he witnessed what Prof.  Stuart ventures to call “horrible cruelties.”  But what right have these interpreters of the sacred volume to regard any form of slavery which the Savior found, as “worst,” or even bad?  According to their inference—­which they would thrust gag-wise into the mouths of abolitionists—­his silence should seal up their lips.  They ought to hold their tongues.  They have no right to call any form of slavery bad—­an abuse; much less, horribly cruel!  Their inference is broad enough to protect the most brutal driver amidst his deadliest inflictions!

“THINK NOT THAT I AM COME TO DESTROY THE LAW OR THE PROPHETS; I AM NOT COME TO DESTROY, BUT TO FULFILL.”

And did the Head of the new dispensation, then, fall so far behind the prophets of the old in a hearty and effective regard for suffering humanity?  The forms of oppression which they witnessed, excited their compassion and aroused their indignation.  In terms the most pointed and powerful, they exposed, denounced, threatened.  They could not endure the creatures, who “used their neighbors’ service without wages, and gave him not for his work;"[A] who imposed “heavy burdens"[B] upon their fellows, and loaded them with “the bands of wickedness;” who, “hiding themselves from their own flesh,” disowned their own mothers’ children.  Professions of piety, joined with the oppression of the poor, they held up to universal scorn and execration, as the dregs of hypocrisy.  They warned the creature of such professions, that he could escape the wrath of Jehovah only by heartfelt repentance.  And yet, according to the ecclesiastics with whom we have to do, the Lord of these prophets passed by in silence just such enormities as he commanded them to expose and denounce!  Every where, he came in contact with slavery in its worst forms—­“horrible cruelties” forced themselves upon his notice; but not a word of rebuke or warning did he utter.  He saw “a boy given for a harlot, and a girl sold for wine, that they might drink,"[C] without the slightest feeling of displeasure, or any mark of disapprobation!  To such disgusting and horrible conclusions, do the arguings which, from the haunts of sacred literature, are inflictcd on our churches, lead us!  According to them, Jesus Christ, instead of shining as the light of the world, extinguished the torches which his own prophets had kindled, and plunged mankind into the palpable darkness of a starless midnight!  O Savior, in pity to thy suffering people, let thy temple be no longer used as a “den of thieves!”