| OCR Text |
Show 21 () George B. Cheever. put to d ~ath those that ri ~e np against it, 1her cometh out of tb ' whidwind and fire of' Divin' r evelation infolding it~cl f, the YOi('e of the Almighty, " E . ·e ·utc judgm 'lit in the morninn ·, antl d •liver him that is spoiled out of tl1 hand ol' Lite oppr , sor, le t my fury go forth like fire, aud bum that none can quench it, b cau e of the evil of' your doings. Execute ye jmlgment and rjghtcousn css, and de li vcr 1 he Rpoil ·d out of' the hand of the opprcs or, and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fath erle. s, nor the widow, n ith ' r shed innoceut blood in this pln.ce. But il ye will not hear the. e wonls, I swear by my ell, saith the Lord, that thiR hou ·e .. hall b •come a desolation." "\Vill the country h ar th Re word ' ? 'Vill the p eople lay them to h eart, ami shall judgment r eturn tmto rightcousucss, that the Lord's vcng 'ancc mny be mer •if'ul1y averted? "'\V c must look this great ev nt in the f'acc, and bring the d ·cds and character of the man, as against the governm •nt, und •r . olcmn examination, utH.1 r th burning gla~s of God's 1Von1, that we may sec which party God condemn~, and whose .. entence Go(l will ex cut . A s for me, God forbid that I, amid:t the storm of r eproaches and of Innde1·, should shrink back from 1-:;uch an xamination ; and 10d forbid that we, a8 a cltUrch and l)ropl , hav ing been brought of God uncon umed through so many fires, hould now perish in the smoke, bccau. e we arc afraid of' the continuance of the ele:w fire, notwithstanding that we have t.he Son of God walking with u in the mid.;;t of it. Let us look fir~t a.t the . tate of the ca8e, in the complication, accumulation, and climax of iniquity, again t which A MAN, one of the noblest of hi~ race, ha. made hi protest, and for putting that prote, t into a ·t ion, ha been hang ·d as a murder ,,._ It i ~ a m o~t intense and awf'ul contrast. God ~ny. · , "The man that commits this inictuity of Slavery ~ hall snn•Iy be put to (h•ath." The Stnte in tlti :-; tltin g, nt ktt•!·rlt in ·tautly and openly setting it.-clf again.'l God, ~: t y:.:, '· l'lte • George B. Cheever. 217 man that opposes thi iniquity shall surely be put to death." The State not only toleral •s the iniquity, but enthrones it as r igllteou ·nesfl, establi ·hcs it with the ~m t cti on of' law, and co n(lemns the violation of the law san ctioning tlte iniquity to the same p enalty that God Almighty ltas et again t the iniquit. y itsc·lf: God <kclares th:1t "lie that stealeth a man an<l sclleth him, or iC he be found in his han<ls, lte sba1l surely be put to death." The State declares tltat l1e tltat stcalcth and selleth, or if he be 1ound jn his hands, shall be honored and applauded as a righteous man, and that his act and practice shall be carri d into perpetual c. tabli. hment as a RY tern, . o thnt not only the . to len bcinrr . . hall be con idcr cd a his lawful and S:l.(.'r d property, but th •ir children and their children':i children shaH be , tol ' n ancl branded forever n.s property from the birth. God s ay~, '"Thou shalt not make mcrchnndise of thy Lroth •r man." The S tate s:tyf-1, " TJ10u shalt make merchandise of thy brother," and such merchandi ·c is the mo ·t sacred of all property, and especially il' thy brother be guilty of a skin not colored like tl1ine own he has no rights that whit men arc bound to re~ pect ; he cannot and shall not be like thy ·elf, n citizen, ne ither shall he be under any protection, {or his rights as a man, ol the Jn.w · that prot ct thee. Cod says, " Thou shalt not deliver unto hi~ master the . ' 1'vant that ltas escaped from his rna~ t e r unto thee. lie shall dwe ll with thee, even arnong you in that place which he shall choose, in one or thy gates wh re it liketh him b est; thou sh:1,lt not oppres l1im." The S tate says, " Thou shalt oppt ·es~ him; thou slmlt cleliv r him np ; thou shalt r efuse him aid and shclt0r; thou shalt not permit ltim to dwell among yon; if' thou do not aetivcr him thou shalt s ufT'cr the penalty, an<l il thou nit! the fu g itive or interfere to protect him tltou art a criminal, and jf thou entice him to his freedom thou shalt be hanged fot· treason." The iniquity i:-> ten thousand times worse thus concentr:lte(l, commanded, and p erpetuated in law, than it wa~, or <.:Yl/1' l9 |
