Slavery and the ConstitutionBowditch, William I. (William Ingersoll)
Religion
Slavery and the Constitution
Bowditch, William I. (William Ingersoll)
Enslaved persons -- United States -- Social conditions; Slavery -- United States
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:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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