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+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #69453 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69453)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Welcome to the ransomed, or, Duties of
-the colored inhabitants of the District of Columbia, by Daniel Alexander
-Payne
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: Welcome to the ransomed, or, Duties of the colored inhabitants of
-       the District of Columbia
-
-Author: Daniel Alexander Payne
-
-Release Date: November 30, 2022 [eBook #69453]
-
-Language: English
-
-Produced by: hekula03, Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed
-             Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-             produced from images generously made available by the
-             Library of Congress)
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WELCOME TO THE RANSOMED, OR,
-DUTIES OF THE COLORED INHABITANTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ***
-
-
-
-
-
-                                WELCOME
-                                  TO
-                             THE RANSOMED;
-                                  OR,
-                                DUTIES
-                                OF THE
-                          COLORED INHABITANTS
-                                OF THE
-                         DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
-
-
-                              BALTIMORE:
-               PRINTED BY BULL & TUTTLE, CLIPPER OFFICE.
-
-                                 1862.
-
-
-
-
-                                  GEORGETOWN, D. C., April 14, 1862.
-
-REVEREND BISHOP PAYNE,
-
-_Dear Sir_――We, the undersigned, having listened carefully to your
-Sermon, preached at the A. M. E. Ebenezer Church, on Sabbath last,
-April 13th, a day set apart by the Colored Churches in Georgetown and
-Washington as a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, in view of Emancipation
-in the District, and being deeply impressed by its appropriateness, its
-wisdom, and valuable practical advice; and believing that such a sermon
-should be within the reach of all the colored people of this District
-and the United States; we therefore solicit you to allow us to print
-the same in pamphlet form.
-
-                              JAMES LYNCH, _Preacher in Charge_.
-                              PLATO LEE,
-                              JOHN F. LEE,
-                              H. BATSON,
-                              CLEMENT BECKETT,
-                              WILSON HAWKINS.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-                                  WASHINGTON, D. C., April 18, 1862.
-
-DEAR BRETHREN:
-
-Yours of the 14th instant has been received. In compliance with the
-request which it contains, I send you herewith a copy of the discourse
-preached last Sunday in the Ebenezer Chapel, Georgetown, D. C. It is
-identically the same in all its parts. I have amplified some of its
-thoughts, and added three or four notes, which I think valuable and
-useful.
-
-That its teachings may be productive of good to those for whom it was
-prepared, and bring glory to Him, who is High over all and blessed for
-ever, is the fervent prayer of
-
-                         Your humble servant,
-                                                    DANIEL A. PAYNE.
-
-_To_ REV. JAMES LYNCH _and others_.
-
-
-
-
-                       WELCOME TO THE RANSOMED,
-                                ――OR,――
-    Duties of the Colored Inhabitants of the District of Columbia.
-
-                            I. TIM. 2, 1–4.
-
-                            [Illustration]
-
-
-St. Paul addressed the Epistles to Timothy, the young Bishop of
-Ephesus, for the purpose of giving him instructions touching the false
-doctrines inculcated by certain false teachers, as well as instructions
-respecting the qualifications of the Christian ministry, their duties
-to themselves, to God, and the flock committed by the Holy Spirit to
-their special guidance.
-
-But foremost of all the duties which he enjoined upon the Ephesian
-ministry and laity were those of making “Supplications, prayers,
-intercessions, and giving of thanks for all men.” For men in general,
-embracing the whole family of Adam, in all their _varieties_ as
-nations, tribes, communities, peoples.
-
-This is God-like, because the Eternal loves all, and manifests the
-infinity of his nature, by his universal care for all mankind. In this,
-He also demonstrates His universal Fatherhood, and thereby establishes
-the brotherhood of man.
-
-But guided by the benevolence of unerring wisdom, the Apostle
-descends from a general to a particular statement of the case, and
-_commands_ us to single out from among the nations of the earth their
-chieftains――_Kings_ and _authorities_――for whom we are to make special
-“Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks.”
-
-To the cheerful and fervent performance of this gracious work, he
-presses several motives upon us――“that we may live a quiet and
-peaceable life in all godliness and honesty”――because “it is good and
-acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour”――because God “will have all
-men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Let us
-briefly trace out this line of thought.
-
-To supplicate, is to _implore_ God _submissively_. To pray to God, is
-to adore Him for His glorious perfection, to confess our sins to Him,
-and to beseech Him for mercy and pardon. To intercede with God is to
-entreat Him by the fervent, effectual prayer of faith, to be reconciled
-to offending man. This we may do as well for our enemies as for our
-friends.
-
-We are gathered to celebrate the emancipation, yea, rather, the
-_Redemption_ of the enslaved people of the District of Columbia, the
-exact number of whom we have no means of ascertaining, because, since
-the benevolent intention of Congress became manifest, many have been
-removed by their owners beyond the reach of this beneficent act.
-
-Our pleasing task then, is to welcome to the Churches, the homesteads,
-and circles of free colored Americans, those who remain to enjoy _the
-boon of holy Freedom_.
-
-Brethren, sisters, friends, we say welcome to our Churches, welcome to
-our homesteads, welcome to our social circles.
-
-Enter the great family of Holy Freedom; not to _lounge in sinful
-indolence_, not to _degrade yourselves by vice_, nor to _corrupt
-society by licentiousness_, neither to _offend the laws by crime_,
-but to the _enjoyment of a well regulated liberty_, the offspring of
-generous laws; of law as just as generous, as righteous as just――a
-liberty to be _perpetuated_ by equitable law, and sanctioned by
-the divine; for law is never equitable, righteous, just, until it
-harmonizes with the will of Him, who is “_King_ of kings, and _Lord_
-of lords,” and who commanded Israel to _have but one law for the
-home-born_ and the _stranger_.
-
-We repeat ourselves, welcome then _ye ransomed ones_; welcome _not_ to
-indolence, to vice, licentiousness, and crime, but to a well-regulated
-liberty, sanctioned by the Divine, maintained by the Human law.
-
-Welcome to habits of industry and thrift――to duties of religion and
-piety――to obligations of law, order, government――of government divine,
-of government human: these two, though not one, are inseparable. The
-man who refuses to obey divine law, will never obey human laws. _The
-divine first_, the _human next_. The latter is the consequence of the
-former, and follows it as light does the rising sun.
-
-We invite you to our Churches, because we desire you to be religious;
-to be more than religious; we urge you _to be godly_. We entreat you to
-never be content until you are emancipated from sin, from sin without,
-and from sin within you. But this kind of freedom is attained only
-through the faith of Jesus, love for Jesus, obedience to Jesus. As
-certain as the American Congress has _ransomed_ you, so certain, yea,
-more certainly has Jesus redeemed you from the guilt and power of sin
-by his own precious blood.
-
-As you are now free in body, so now seek to be free in soul and spirit,
-from sin and Satan. The _noblest freeman is he whom Christ makes free_.
-
-We invite you to our homesteads, in order that we may aid you as well
-by the power of good examples as by the beauty of holy precept, in
-raising up intelligent, virtuous, pious, happy families. We invite
-you to our social circles, in order that you may have none of those
-inducements which grow out of a mere love of society, to frequent the
-_gambling hells_, and groggeries, which gradually lead their votaries
-to infamy and the pit that is bottomless.
-
-Permit us, also, to advise you to seek every opportunity for the
-cultivation of your minds. To the adults we say, enter the Sunday
-Schools and the Night Schools, so opportunely opened by Dr. Pierson, in
-behalf of the American Tract Society. In these latter you can very soon
-learn to read the precious word of God, even before you shall have a
-familiar knowledge of the letters which constitute the alphabet.
-
-_Rest not till you have learned to read the Bible._ ’Tis the greatest,
-the best of books. In it is contained the Divine law. O! meditate
-therein by day and by night, for “the law of the Lord is perfect,
-converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise
-the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
-the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;――more to
-be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also
-than honey and the honeycomb.” “_In keeping of them there is great
-reward._” Yield uniform, implicit obedience to their teachings. They
-will purify your hearts and make them the abodes of the Ever-Blessed
-Trinity.
-
-When you shall have reached this point, you will be morally prepared
-to recognize and respond to all the relations of civilized and
-christianized life.
-
-But of the children take _special care_. Heaven has entrusted them to
-you for a _special purpose_. What is that purpose? Not merely to eat
-and to drink, still less to _gormandize_. Not merely to dress finely
-in broadcloths, silks, satins, jewelry, nor to dance to the sound of
-the tambourine and fiddle; but _to learn them how to live and how to
-die――to train them for great usefulness on earth――to prepare them for
-greater glory in heaven_.
-
-Keep your children in the schools, even if you have to eat less, drink
-less and wear coarser raiments; though you eat but two meals a day,
-purchase but one change of garment during the year, and relinquish all
-the luxuries of which we are so fond, but which are as injurious to
-health and long life as they are pleasing to the taste.
-
-Let the education of your children penetrate the heart.――That education
-which forgets, or purposely omits, the culture of the heart, _is better
-adapted to devilism than manhood_. But the education which reaches the
-heart, moulds it, humbles it before the Cross, is rather the work of
-the homestead than the common school or the college. It is given by the
-_parents_ rather than the schoolmaster――by the _mother_ rather than the
-father.
-
-How important, then, that the mothers be _right-minded_; that our
-young women, of whom our mothers come, be brought up with a high
-sense of personal character――be taught to prefer virtue to gold, and
-death itself rather than a violated chastity. The women make the men;
-therefore the women should be greater than the men, in order that they
-be the mothers of great men. I mean good men, _for none are great who
-are not good_.
-
-But this requires the transforming grace of God; requires that our
-mothers be women of strong faith and fervent daily prayers; requires
-that they live beneath the wings of the Cherubim――at the foot of
-the Cross――loving the God-man “whose favor is life, and whose loving
-kindness is better than life.”
-
-Such mothers will care for the heart education of their children,
-and will consequently lay continuous siege to the Throne of God in
-behalf of their sons and daughters, even as the Syrophœnician mother
-importuned the compassionate Jesus in behalf of her afflicted daughter,
-or as Queen Esther did Ahasuerus in behalf of her menaced kinsmen.
-
-Such mothers will carefully train their children, as Moses was trained
-by his mother, preserving him pure from _the vices of a Court_ and the
-baneful examples of lordly superiors: or, like Susanna Wesley, will
-educate their sons, as she did John and Charles, in the atmosphere of
-such spiritual excellence, and with such a moral power, as will make
-them ministering angels of good to man and glory to God Most High.
-
-Lastly――Let us advise you respecting money. Some people value it too
-much, others too little. Of these extremes take the medium; for money
-has its proper value. That value _lies in its adaptedness to promote
-the ends of Christian enlightenment_; to purchase the best medical
-aid and other comforts in the days of affliction; to administer to the
-wants of old age, and to enable us to assist in making mankind wiser
-and better.
-
-But how are we to get money? Get it by diligent labor. Work, work,
-work! Shun no work that will bring you an honest penny. ’Tis honorable
-to labor with our own hands. God works, and shall man be greater than
-God? Fools only think labor dishonorable. Wise men feel themselves
-honored in following the example of God, whose works adorn and bless
-both heaven and earth.
-
-But when you get the pennies save them. Then you will soon have
-dollars. The dollars will enable you to buy comfortable homes for
-yourselves and your children.
-
-You can save your pennies――yea, dollars――if you will _run away_ from
-whiskey, rum and tobacco. A few years ago an intelligent minister said
-that the colored people of the District of Columbia spent ten thousand
-dollars a year for tobacco.――What a sum for poison! Better take that
-money to build churches and school houses; better take it to obtain
-and pay thoroughly educated teachers for your pulpits and your school
-houses――_the schoolmasters_ as well as the preachers.
-
-Work for money; work every day, work diligently, and _save your money
-when you get it_.
-
-Be _obliging_ and _faithful_ to your employers, and you will be sure to
-keep your places. Never be above your business.――Many a man has ruined
-himself and his family by this foolish pride.
-
-Ever since the first stone in the foundations of the Universe was laid
-by God’s own hand till now, he has been working, and will continue
-working through endless ages. Follow his glorious example. Work, work,
-work, for an honest penny; but when you get it, pause and think three
-times before you spend it; but when you spend it, be sure it will yield
-a permanent benefit.
-
-That the hearty welcome which we have given you, our _ransomed_
-kinsmen, may be rendered a blessing, and that the advices which we have
-tendered may be as good seed sown in good ground, we shall continue to
-make supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings to Him
-whose care reaches all, because His love embraces all.
-
-To Him we commend you, O ye who are now as sheep without a shepherd――as
-_exiles in the land of your nativity_.
-
-May He who led Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as they wandered over Canaan
-and Egypt, guide, protect and bless you; raise up kind, influential
-friends to do you good; and when the purposes of his grace shall have
-been accomplished in you, may you be able, like Jacob, to say: “With my
-staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands.”
-
-Now, if we ask, who has sent us this great deliverance? The answer
-shall be, the Lord; the Lord God Almighty, the God of Abraham and Isaac
-and Jacob.
-
-But as He blessed the chosen seed, by the ministry of men and angels,
-so in our case, the angels of mercy, justice and liberty, hovering over
-the towering Capitol, inspired the heads and hearts of the noble men
-who have plead the cause of the poor, the needy and enslaved, in the
-Senate and House of Representatives.
-
-For the oppressed and enslaved of all peoples, God has raised up, and
-will continue to raise up, his Moses and Aaron. Sometimes the hand
-of the Lord is so signally displayed that Moses and Aaron are not
-recognized. Seldom do they recognize themselves.
-
-There was neither bow, spear, nor shield, in the hand of Israel, when
-the Lord led him forth from Egypt, so also, there was no weapon of
-offence nor defence in your hands when this _ransom_ was brought you.
-
-“Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true
-are thy ways, thou King of Saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and
-glorify thy name? We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we
-glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory. O Lord God,
-Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.”
-
-Thou, O Lord, and thou alone couldst have moved the heart of this
-Nation to have done so great a deed for this weak, despised and needy
-people!
-
-We will, therefore, make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
-thanksgivings, for “All that are in authority.”
-
-The duty of supplications in behalf of the Government is rendered more
-binding upon us, when we consider the circumstances under which it was
-written. St. Paul lived under the reign of Nero, the bloody emperor,
-who having set Rome on fire, amused himself with drinking and music
-while the city was in flames; and afterwards, accused the Christians of
-the crime which he himself had committed, thereby causing many of them
-to be put to death in the most cruel manner.
-
-Now, if it was the duty of the ancient Christians to pray for such
-monsters of wickedness, by how much more is it our duty to pray for a
-Christian Government.
-
-Congress need our supplications, they shall have them. The President
-and his Cabinet need our prayers, they shall possess them. The Supreme
-Court, that awful emblem of impartial justice, need our intercessions,
-it shall not be forgotten.
-
-Upon all these departments of law, authority and power, we shall
-beseech the God of Nations to send the spirit of wisdom, justice,
-liberty――of wisdom seeing the end from the beginning――of justice
-incorruptible――of liberty governed by righteous law.
-
-To make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for
-these authorities, is the peculiar privilege of the Colored People in
-the United States.
-
-They are not permitted, as in the days of the Revolution and the war of
-1812, to take up arms in defence of the Government. Some, both among
-Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Africans, complain of this prohibition. For my
-part, I am glad of it, because I think I see the hand of God in it.
-
-The present war is a kind of family quarrel. Therefore, let a stranger
-take heed how he meddles, lest both parties unite to drive him out of
-the house. “Why shouldst thou meddle to thy hurt?”
-
-But we can wield a power in behalf of the Government which neither
-rifled cannon, nor mortar, nor rocket-battery can assail, nor
-bomb-proof walls resist.
-
-_That power_ is the right arm of God――of God, who lifts up and casts
-down nations according as they obey, or disregard the principles of
-truth, justice, liberty.
-
-The service of prayer which is required from us, contemplates the most
-difficult as well as the noblest objects. It contemplates the end of
-the war. It contemplates legislation before and after the end.
-
-Now, to manage this war, so as to bring permanent good to all
-concerned, requires more than human wisdom――more than human power.
-To legislate so as to make the masses see and feel that the laws are
-just, wise, beneficial, demand more than human learning or skill in
-government. To determine the sense and just application of these laws
-as Judges――to execute them faithfully and impartially as a Chief
-Magistrate, O how much of the spirit of God is needful! How much in the
-President! how much in his Cabinet!
-
-Then there is the army. Let us not forget the brave men who constitute
-it――who have left their comfortable homes, beloved families, fond
-parents, affectionate sisters and brothers, for the hardships, dangers
-and painful deaths of the battle field.
-
-Let us pray that, as _some of them are_, so _all may become_, soldiers
-of the Cross; so that such as are doomed to fall in the fight, may rise
-from their gory beds to obtain a crown of life; and those who may
-return to the peaceful pursuits of civil life, may be wiser and better
-men.
-
-Now, then, although weak, few, despised and persecuted, we can aid all
-these departments of government by our daily supplications, prayers and
-intercessions.
-
-In doing this service, we can accomplish what we could not if we were
-leading the van of battle; for conquering armies are preceded and
-succeeded by anguish, misery and death, but our service brings down
-nothing but blessings upon all.
-
-They are also weapons, “not carnal, but mighty through God, to the
-pulling down of strongholds;” even the casting down of principalities
-and powers――the moving of heaven and earth.
-
-Take two examples: When Israel fought against the five kings of the
-Amorites, Joshua prayed and the sun stood still upon Gibeon, while the
-moon hung over the valley of Ajalon, till Israel had conquered.
-
-“John Knox was a man famous for his power in prayer, so that Queen Mary
-used to say she feared his prayers more than all the armies of Europe.
-And events showed she had reason to do it. He used to be in such an
-agony for the deliverance of his country that he could not sleep. He
-had a place in his garden, where he used to go to pray. One night he
-and several friends were praying together, and as they prayed Knox
-spoke and said that deliverance had come. He could not tell what had
-happened, but he felt that something had taken place, for God had heard
-their prayers. What was it? Why the next news they heard was: ‘Queen
-Mary is dead!’”
-
-But the motives for all this work of mercy, faith, and love as
-furnished by the text are as weighty as they are numerous.
-
-1st. “That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.” Peace and quietude
-are some of the conditions of happiness. Dr. Adam Bluche says: “If
-the State be not in safety, the individual cannot be secure; self
-preservation, therefore, should lead men to pray for the government
-under which they live. Rebellions and insurrections seldom terminate
-even in political good――and even where the government is radically
-bad, revolutions are most precarious and hazardous. They who wish
-such commotions would not be quiet under the most mild and benevolent
-government.” This is true of communities and nations, as well as of
-individuals. We all desire it, and therefore it is our duty to labor
-for it by every instrument which Infinite wisdom has ordained and
-man can employ. And lo! how excellent the instruments! _Prayers_,
-_supplications_, _intercessions_――thanksgiving. As Aaron approached
-the Mercy Seat, with the smoking censor, and was accepted, so do we
-approach the throne of the Eternal with the burning incense of heaven’s
-own making, and will be accepted. O, let us supplicate God for the
-peace and quietude of the whole nation!
-
-2d. The other motive which Inspiration presents is, that we may
-live “_in all godliness_ and _honesty_.” Godliness first, honesty
-afterwards. The latter is the fruit of the former. The godly man, is he
-who fears God and keeps his commandments. Such a man will be honest in
-words as well as in deeds; in matters of truth as well as in matters
-of property. _Honesty is the only policy of godliness._ Colored men,
-write this sentiment upon your hearts, engrave it in your memory. Let
-all your thoughts, words, actions, be controlled by this principle, _it
-is always safe to be honest, as it is always safe to be godly_. One has
-said, that “An honest man is the noblest work of God.” But whence comes
-the honest man? Does he not spring out of the godly? Most assuredly.
-For no man is truly honest, uniformly honest, and universally honest,
-but he who is godly. Therefore be godly, and you will be honest in all
-things, at all times, in all places.
-
-3d. The third motive for this heavenly duty, this intercession in
-behalf of the Government is, that “It is good and acceptable in the
-sight of God our Saviour.” Whatever God accepts and pronounces good,
-_must be good_: good in itself; good in its effects, always good; good
-for man, because ordained of God.
-
-4th. The last motive we present for this godlike work is, that God
-“_Will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
-truth._”
-
-Hence, we must pray for these Authorities not as public men only, but
-as private individuals also,――not as Chieftains of the Nation only, but
-as heads of families also,――as husbands, fathers, Christians. So that,
-while they think, write, speak, act for the public weal, their own
-souls may be brought under the saving power of the Gospel, and with all
-the members of their respective families be made the heirs of the grace
-of life.
-
-O, that God may bring them all to the knowledge of the truth as
-it is in Christ Jesus! O, that every one of these Authorities may
-become a holy, wise, and just man! Then will the laws be enacted in
-righteousness and executed in the fear of the Lord.
-
-These motives are enforced upon our considerations by the glorious
-example of the Lord Jesus Christ,[A] who is the Mediator between God
-and Man, who ever liveth to make intercession for his foes as well as
-his friends, and with whom there is no respect of persons. Black men,
-red men, white men, are all alike before Him, and rise or fall, live or
-die as they please or offend Him.
-
-[A] When St. Cyprian defended himself before the Roman Pro-Consul, he
-said, “We pray to God not only for ourselves but for all mankind, and
-particularly for the Emperors.”
-
-Tertullian in his Apology is more particular: “We pray for all the
-Emperors, that God may grant them long life, a secure government, a
-prosperous family, vigorous troops, a faithful senate, an obedient
-people; that the whole world may be in peace; and that God may grant
-both to Cæsar; and to every man, the accomplishment of their just
-desires.”
-
-So Origen: “We pray for kings and rulers, that with their royal
-authority they may be found possessing a wise and prudent mind.”
-
-                                    _See Dr. A. Clarke on the text._
-
-
-To make prayers, intercessions, supplications, thanksgivings for
-national authorities you now clearly see _is a command from heaven_.
-Obey it, and you shall be blessed――always do it, and you shall be made
-a blessing to others. Whom God has blessed no man can curse. If God has
-blessed this nation, neither internal foes, nor foreign enemies can
-crush it.
-
-But God will bless it if it will do right, administering justice
-to each and to all, protecting the weak as well as the strong, and
-throwing the broad wings of its power equally over men of every color.
-This is God-like, and God will bless his own image, be it in a nation
-or in a man. Then, O my country, “shall thy light break forth as the
-morning――thy health shall spring forth speedily――thy righteousness
-shall go before thee,” and “the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.”
-
-Then shall justice be engraven on our arms, and righteousness on our
-star-spangled banners; our armies shall then be led to battle by the
-Lord, and victory secured by the right arm of our God.
-
-
-                   *       *       *       *       *
-
-
- Transcriber’s Notes:
-
- ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
-
- ――Punctuation, spelling, and printer's errors were silently corrected.
-
- ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.
-
- ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
-
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WELCOME TO THE RANSOMED, OR,
-DUTIES OF THE COLORED INHABITANTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ***
-
-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
-be renamed.
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-<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Welcome to the ransomed, or, Duties of the colored inhabitants of the District of Columbia, by Daniel Alexander Payne</p>
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
-at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
-are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
-country where you are located before using this eBook.
-</div>
-
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Welcome to the ransomed, or, Duties of the colored inhabitants of the District of Columbia</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Daniel Alexander Payne</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: November 30, 2022 [eBook #69453]</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
-  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: hekula03, Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Library of Congress)</p>
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WELCOME TO THE RANSOMED, OR, DUTIES OF THE COLORED INHABITANTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ***</div>
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-<h1 class="nobreak"><span class="smfont">WELCOME</span><br>
-<span class="tinyfont">TO</span><br>
-THE RANSOMED;</h1>
-
-<p class="noi works">OR,</p>
-
-<p class="noi author">DUTIES</p>
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-<p class="noi works">OF THE</p>
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-<p class="noi subtitle">COLORED INHABITANTS</p>
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-<p class="noi works">OF THE</p>
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-<p class="noic">BALTIMORE:</p>
-
-<p class="noic">PRINTED BY BULL &amp; TUTTLE, CLIPPER OFFICE.</p>
-
-<p class="noic">1862.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p class="right">GEORGETOWN, D. C., April 14, 1862.</p>
-
-<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Reverend Bishop Payne</span>,</p>
-
-<p><i>Dear Sir</i>—We, the undersigned, having listened carefully
-to your Sermon, preached at the A. M. E. Ebenezer Church,
-on Sabbath last, April 13th, a day set apart by the Colored
-Churches in Georgetown and Washington as a day of Thanksgiving
-and Prayer, in view of Emancipation in the District,
-and being deeply impressed by its appropriateness, its wisdom,
-and valuable practical advice; and believing that such a sermon
-should be within the reach of all the colored people of this District
-and the United States; we therefore solicit you to allow
-us to print the same in pamphlet form.</p>
-
-<p class="noi padl40">JAMES LYNCH, <i>Preacher in Charge</i>.<br>
-PLATO LEE,<br>
-JOHN F. LEE,<br>
-H. BATSON,<br>
-CLEMENT BECKETT,<br>
-WILSON HAWKINS.</p>
-
-<div class="pad2">
-<div class="figcenter" id="deco_sep2">
-  <img class="illowe12" src="images/deco_sep.jpg"
-       alt="separator decoration" title="separator decoration">
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class="right">WASHINGTON, D. C., April 18, 1862.</p>
-
-<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Dear Brethren</span>:</p>
-
-<p>Yours of the 14th instant has been received. In compliance
-with the request which it contains, I send you herewith
-a copy of the discourse preached last Sunday in the Ebenezer
-Chapel, Georgetown, D. C. It is identically the same in all
-its parts. I have amplified some of its thoughts, and added
-three or four notes, which I think valuable and useful.</p>
-
-<p>That its teachings may be productive of good to those for
-whom it was prepared, and bring glory to Him, who is High
-over all and blessed for ever, is the fervent prayer of</p>
-
-<p class="noic">Your humble servant,</p>
-
-<p class="right">DANIEL A. PAYNE.</p>
-
-<p><i>To</i> <span class="smcap">Rev. James Lynch</span> <i>and others</i>.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span></p>
-
-<p class="noi title">WELCOME TO THE RANSOMED,</p>
-
-<p class="noic">—OR,—</p>
-
-<p class="noi subtitle">Duties of the Colored Inhabitants of the District of Columbia.</p>
-
-<p class="noic">I. <span class="smcap">Tim.</span> 2, 1–4.</p>
-
-<div class="pad2">
-<div class="figcenter" id="deco_sep3">
-  <img class="illowe12" src="images/deco_sep.jpg"
-       alt="separator decoration" title="separator decoration">
-</div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>St. Paul addressed the Epistles to Timothy, the young Bishop
-of Ephesus, for the purpose of giving him instructions touching
-the false doctrines inculcated by certain false teachers, as well
-as instructions respecting the qualifications of the Christian
-ministry, their duties to themselves, to God, and the flock committed
-by the Holy Spirit to their special guidance.</p>
-
-<p>But foremost of all the duties which he enjoined upon the
-Ephesian ministry and laity were those of making “Supplications,
-prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all men.”
-For men in general, embracing the whole family of Adam, in
-all their <em>varieties</em> as nations, tribes, communities, peoples.</p>
-
-<p>This is God-like, because the Eternal loves all, and manifests
-the infinity of his nature, by his universal care for all mankind.
-In this, He also demonstrates His universal Fatherhood, and
-thereby establishes the brotherhood of man.</p>
-
-<p>But guided by the benevolence of unerring wisdom, the
-Apostle descends from a general to a particular statement of
-the case, and <em>commands</em> us to single out from among the nations
-of the earth their chieftains—<em>Kings</em> and <em>authorities</em>—for whom
-we are to make special “Supplications, prayers, intercessions,
-and giving of thanks.”</p>
-
-<p>To the cheerful and fervent performance of this gracious
-work, he presses several motives upon us—“that we may live<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span>
-a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty”—because
-“it is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
-Saviour”—because God “will have all men to be saved and to
-come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Let us briefly trace
-out this line of thought.</p>
-
-<p>To supplicate, is to <em>implore</em> God <em>submissively</em>. To pray to
-God, is to adore Him for His glorious perfection, to confess our
-sins to Him, and to beseech Him for mercy and pardon. To
-intercede with God is to entreat Him by the fervent, effectual
-prayer of faith, to be reconciled to offending man. This we
-may do as well for our enemies as for our friends.</p>
-
-<p>We are gathered to celebrate the emancipation, yea, rather,
-the <em>Redemption</em> of the enslaved people of the District of Columbia,
-the exact number of whom we have no means of ascertaining,
-because, since the benevolent intention of Congress
-became manifest, many have been removed by their owners
-beyond the reach of this beneficent act.</p>
-
-<p>Our pleasing task then, is to welcome to the Churches, the
-homesteads, and circles of free colored Americans, those who
-remain to enjoy <em>the boon of holy Freedom</em>.</p>
-
-<p>Brethren, sisters, friends, we say welcome to our Churches,
-welcome to our homesteads, welcome to our social circles.</p>
-
-<p>Enter the great family of Holy Freedom; not to <em>lounge in
-sinful indolence</em>, not to <em>degrade yourselves by vice</em>, nor to <em>corrupt
-society by licentiousness</em>, neither to <em>offend the laws by crime</em>, but
-to the <em>enjoyment of a well regulated liberty</em>, the offspring of
-generous laws; of law as just as generous, as righteous as just—a
-liberty to be <em>perpetuated</em> by equitable law, and sanctioned by
-the divine; for law is never equitable, righteous, just, until it
-harmonizes with the will of Him, who is “<em>King</em> of kings, and
-<em>Lord</em> of lords,” and who commanded Israel to <em>have but one law
-for the home-born</em> and the <em>stranger</em>.</p>
-
-<p>We repeat ourselves, welcome then <em>ye ransomed ones</em>; welcome
-<em>not</em> to indolence, to vice, licentiousness, and crime, but to
-a well-regulated liberty, sanctioned by the Divine, maintained
-by the Human law.</p>
-
-<p>Welcome to habits of industry and thrift—to duties of religion
-and piety—to obligations of law, order, government—of
-government divine, of government human: these two, though<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span>
-not one, are inseparable. The man who refuses to obey divine
-law, will never obey human laws. <em>The divine first</em>, the <em>human
-next</em>. The latter is the consequence of the former, and follows
-it as light does the rising sun.</p>
-
-<p>We invite you to our Churches, because we desire you to be
-religious; to be more than religious; we urge you <em>to be godly</em>.
-We entreat you to never be content until you are emancipated
-from sin, from sin without, and from sin within you. But this
-kind of freedom is attained only through the faith of Jesus,
-love for Jesus, obedience to Jesus. As certain as the American
-Congress has <em>ransomed</em> you, so certain, yea, more certainly has
-Jesus redeemed you from the guilt and power of sin by his own
-precious blood.</p>
-
-<p>As you are now free in body, so now seek to be free in soul
-and spirit, from sin and Satan. The <em>noblest freeman is he whom
-Christ makes free</em>.</p>
-
-<p>We invite you to our homesteads, in order that we may aid
-you as well by the power of good examples as by the beauty of
-holy precept, in raising up intelligent, virtuous, pious, happy
-families. We invite you to our social circles, in order that you
-may have none of those inducements which grow out of a mere
-love of society, to frequent the <em>gambling hells</em>, and groggeries,
-which gradually lead their votaries to infamy and the pit that
-is bottomless.</p>
-
-<p>Permit us, also, to advise you to seek every opportunity for
-the cultivation of your minds. To the adults we say, enter
-the Sunday Schools and the Night Schools, so opportunely
-opened by Dr. Pierson, in behalf of the American Tract Society.
-In these latter you can very soon learn to read the precious
-word of God, even before you shall have a familiar knowledge
-of the letters which constitute the alphabet.</p>
-
-<p><em>Rest not till you have learned to read the Bible.</em> ’Tis the
-greatest, the best of books. In it is contained the Divine law.
-O! meditate therein by day and by night, for “the law of the
-Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord
-is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are
-right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is
-pure, enlightening the eyes;—more to be desired are they than
-gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span>
-the honeycomb.” “<em>In keeping of them there is great reward.</em>”
-Yield uniform, implicit obedience to their teachings. They
-will purify your hearts and make them the abodes of the Ever-Blessed
-Trinity.</p>
-
-<p>When you shall have reached this point, you will be morally
-prepared to recognize and respond to all the relations of civilized
-and christianized life.</p>
-
-<p>But of the children take <em>special care</em>. Heaven has entrusted
-them to you for a <em>special purpose</em>. What is that purpose? Not
-merely to eat and to drink, still less to <em>gormandize</em>. Not
-merely to dress finely in broadcloths, silks, satins, jewelry, nor
-to dance to the sound of the tambourine and fiddle; but <em>to learn
-them how to live and how to die—to train them for great usefulness
-on earth—to prepare them for greater glory in heaven</em>.</p>
-
-<p>Keep your children in the schools, even if you have to eat
-less, drink less and wear coarser raiments; though you eat but
-two meals a day, purchase but one change of garment during
-the year, and relinquish all the luxuries of which we are so
-fond, but which are as injurious to health and long life as they
-are pleasing to the taste.</p>
-
-<p>Let the education of your children penetrate the heart.—That
-education which forgets, or purposely omits, the culture
-of the heart, <em>is better adapted to devilism than manhood</em>. But
-the education which reaches the heart, moulds it, humbles it
-before the Cross, is rather the work of the homestead than the
-common school or the college. It is given by the <em>parents</em>
-rather than the schoolmaster—by the <em>mother</em> rather than the
-father.</p>
-
-<p>How important, then, that the mothers be <em>right-minded</em>; that
-our young women, of whom our mothers come, be brought up
-with a high sense of personal character—be taught to prefer
-virtue to gold, and death itself rather than a violated chastity.
-The women make the men; therefore the women should be
-greater than the men, in order that they be the mothers of
-great men. I mean good men, <em>for none are great who are not
-good</em>.</p>
-
-<p>But this requires the transforming grace of God; requires
-that our mothers be women of strong faith and fervent daily
-prayers; requires that they live beneath the wings of the Cherubim—at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span>
-the foot of the Cross—loving the God-man “whose
-favor is life, and whose loving kindness is better than life.”</p>
-
-<p>Such mothers will care for the heart education of their children,
-and will consequently lay continuous siege to the Throne
-of God in behalf of their sons and daughters, even as the Syrophœnician
-mother importuned the compassionate Jesus in
-behalf of her afflicted daughter, or as Queen Esther did Ahasuerus
-in behalf of her menaced kinsmen.</p>
-
-<p>Such mothers will carefully train their children, as Moses
-was trained by his mother, preserving him pure from <em>the vices
-of a Court</em> and the baneful examples of lordly superiors: or,
-like Susanna Wesley, will educate their sons, as she did John
-and Charles, in the atmosphere of such spiritual excellence,
-and with such a moral power, as will make them ministering
-angels of good to man and glory to God Most High.</p>
-
-<p>Lastly—Let us advise you respecting money. Some people
-value it too much, others too little. Of these extremes take
-the medium; for money has its proper value. That value <em>lies
-in its adaptedness to promote the ends of Christian enlightenment</em>;
-to purchase the best medical aid and other comforts in the days
-of affliction; to administer to the wants of old age, and to enable
-us to assist in making mankind wiser and better.</p>
-
-<p>But how are we to get money? Get it by diligent labor.
-Work, work, work! Shun no work that will bring you an
-honest penny. ’Tis honorable to labor with our own hands.
-God works, and shall man be greater than God? Fools only
-think labor dishonorable. Wise men feel themselves honored
-in following the example of God, whose works adorn and bless
-both heaven and earth.</p>
-
-<p>But when you get the pennies save them. Then you will
-soon have dollars. The dollars will enable you to buy comfortable
-homes for yourselves and your children.</p>
-
-<p>You can save your pennies—yea, dollars—if you will <em>run
-away</em> from whiskey, rum and tobacco. A few years ago an
-intelligent minister said that the colored people of the District
-of Columbia spent ten thousand dollars a year for tobacco.—What
-a sum for poison! Better take that money to build
-churches and school houses; better take it to obtain and pay<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span>
-thoroughly educated teachers for your pulpits and your school
-houses—<em>the schoolmasters</em> as well as the preachers.</p>
-
-<p>Work for money; work every day, work diligently, and <em>save
-your money when you get it</em>.</p>
-
-<p>Be <em>obliging</em> and <em>faithful</em> to your employers, and you will be
-sure to keep your places. Never be above your business.—Many
-a man has ruined himself and his family by this foolish
-pride.</p>
-
-<p>Ever since the first stone in the foundations of the Universe
-was laid by God’s own hand till now, he has been working,
-and will continue working through endless ages. Follow his
-glorious example. Work, work, work, for an honest penny;
-but when you get it, pause and think three times before you
-spend it; but when you spend it, be sure it will yield a permanent
-benefit.</p>
-
-<p>That the hearty welcome which we have given you, our <em>ransomed</em>
-kinsmen, may be rendered a blessing, and that the
-advices which we have tendered may be as good seed sown in
-good ground, we shall continue to make supplications, prayers,
-intercessions and thanksgivings to Him whose care reaches all,
-because His love embraces all.</p>
-
-<p>To Him we commend you, O ye who are now as sheep without
-a shepherd—as <em>exiles in the land of your nativity</em>.</p>
-
-<p>May He who led Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as they wandered
-over Canaan and Egypt, guide, protect and bless you;
-raise up kind, influential friends to do you good; and when the
-purposes of his grace shall have been accomplished in you, may
-you be able, like Jacob, to say: “With my staff I passed over
-this Jordan, and now I am become two bands.”</p>
-
-<p>Now, if we ask, who has sent us this great deliverance? The
-answer shall be, the Lord; the Lord God Almighty, the God
-of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.</p>
-
-<p>But as He blessed the chosen seed, by the ministry of men
-and angels, so in our case, the angels of mercy, justice and
-liberty, hovering over the towering Capitol, inspired the heads
-and hearts of the noble men who have plead the cause of the
-poor, the needy and enslaved, in the Senate and House of
-Representatives.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span></p>
-
-<p>For the oppressed and enslaved of all peoples, God has raised
-up, and will continue to raise up, his Moses and Aaron. Sometimes
-the hand of the Lord is so signally displayed that Moses
-and Aaron are not recognized. Seldom do they recognize
-themselves.</p>
-
-<p>There was neither bow, spear, nor shield, in the hand of
-Israel, when the Lord led him forth from Egypt, so also, there
-was no weapon of offence nor defence in your hands when this
-<em>ransom</em> was brought you.</p>
-
-<p>“Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty,
-just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints. Who shall
-not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? We praise thee,
-we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks
-to thee for thy great glory. O Lord God, Heavenly King,
-God the Father Almighty.”</p>
-
-<p>Thou, O Lord, and thou alone couldst have moved the heart
-of this Nation to have done so great a deed for this weak, despised
-and needy people!</p>
-
-<p>We will, therefore, make supplications, prayers, intercessions,
-and thanksgivings, for “All that are in authority.”</p>
-
-<p>The duty of supplications in behalf of the Government is
-rendered more binding upon us, when we consider the circumstances
-under which it was written. St. Paul lived under the
-reign of Nero, the bloody emperor, who having set Rome on
-fire, amused himself with drinking and music while the city
-was in flames; and afterwards, accused the Christians of the
-crime which he himself had committed, thereby causing many
-of them to be put to death in the most cruel manner.</p>
-
-<p>Now, if it was the duty of the ancient Christians to pray for
-such monsters of wickedness, by how much more is it our duty
-to pray for a Christian Government.</p>
-
-<p>Congress need our supplications, they shall have them. The
-President and his Cabinet need our prayers, they shall possess
-them. The Supreme Court, that awful emblem of impartial
-justice, need our intercessions, it shall not be forgotten.</p>
-
-<p>Upon all these departments of law, authority and power, we
-shall beseech the God of Nations to send the spirit of wisdom,
-justice, liberty—of wisdom seeing the end from the beginning—of
-justice incorruptible—of liberty governed by righteous law.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span></p>
-
-<p>To make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving
-for these authorities, is the peculiar privilege of the
-Colored People in the United States.</p>
-
-<p>They are not permitted, as in the days of the Revolution and
-the war of 1812, to take up arms in defence of the Government.
-Some, both among Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Africans, complain
-of this prohibition. For my part, I am glad of it, because
-I think I see the hand of God in it.</p>
-
-<p>The present war is a kind of family quarrel. Therefore, let
-a stranger take heed how he meddles, lest both parties unite to
-drive him out of the house. “Why shouldst thou meddle to
-thy hurt?”</p>
-
-<p>But we can wield a power in behalf of the Government
-which neither rifled cannon, nor mortar, nor rocket-battery can
-assail, nor bomb-proof walls resist.</p>
-
-<p><em>That power</em> is the right arm of God—of God, who lifts up
-and casts down nations according as they obey, or disregard
-the principles of truth, justice, liberty.</p>
-
-<p>The service of prayer which is required from us, contemplates
-the most difficult as well as the noblest objects. It contemplates
-the end of the war. It contemplates legislation before
-and after the end.</p>
-
-<p>Now, to manage this war, so as to bring permanent good to
-all concerned, requires more than human wisdom—more than
-human power. To legislate so as to make the masses see and
-feel that the laws are just, wise, beneficial, demand more than
-human learning or skill in government. To determine the
-sense and just application of these laws as Judges—to execute
-them faithfully and impartially as a Chief Magistrate, O how
-much of the spirit of God is needful! How much in the President!
-how much in his Cabinet!</p>
-
-<p>Then there is the army. Let us not forget the brave men
-who constitute it—who have left their comfortable homes,
-beloved families, fond parents, affectionate sisters and brothers,
-for the hardships, dangers and painful deaths of the battle
-field.</p>
-
-<p>Let us pray that, as <em>some of them are</em>, so <em>all may become</em>, soldiers
-of the Cross; so that such as are doomed to fall in the
-fight, may rise from their gory beds to obtain a crown of life;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>
-and those who may return to the peaceful pursuits of civil life,
-may be wiser and better men.</p>
-
-<p>Now, then, although weak, few, despised and persecuted, we
-can aid all these departments of government by our daily supplications,
-prayers and intercessions.</p>
-
-<p>In doing this service, we can accomplish what we could not
-if we were leading the van of battle; for conquering armies are
-preceded and succeeded by anguish, misery and death, but our
-service brings down nothing but blessings upon all.</p>
-
-<p>They are also weapons, “not carnal, but mighty through
-God, to the pulling down of strongholds;” even the casting
-down of principalities and powers—the moving of heaven and
-earth.</p>
-
-<p>Take two examples: When Israel fought against the five
-kings of the Amorites, Joshua prayed and the sun stood still
-upon Gibeon, while the moon hung over the valley of Ajalon,
-till Israel had conquered.</p>
-
-<p>“John Knox was a man famous for his power in prayer, so
-that Queen Mary used to say she feared his prayers more than
-all the armies of Europe. And events showed she had reason
-to do it. He used to be in such an agony for the deliverance
-of his country that he could not sleep. He had a place in his
-garden, where he used to go to pray. One night he and
-several friends were praying together, and as they prayed
-Knox spoke and said that deliverance had come. He could
-not tell what had happened, but he felt that something had
-taken place, for God had heard their prayers. What was it?
-Why the next news they heard was: ‘Queen Mary is dead!’”</p>
-
-<p>But the motives for all this work of mercy, faith, and love
-as furnished by the text are as weighty as they are numerous.</p>
-
-<p>1st. “That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.” Peace
-and quietude are some of the conditions of happiness. Dr.
-Adam Bluche says: “If the State be not in safety, the individual
-cannot be secure; self preservation, therefore, should lead
-men to pray for the government under which they live. Rebellions
-and insurrections seldom terminate even in political
-good—and even where the government is radically bad, revolutions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span>
-are most precarious and hazardous. They who wish
-such commotions would not be quiet under the most mild and
-benevolent government.” This is true of communities and
-nations, as well as of individuals. We all desire it, and therefore
-it is our duty to labor for it by every instrument which
-Infinite wisdom has ordained and man can employ. And lo!
-how excellent the instruments! <em>Prayers</em>, <em>supplications</em>, <em>intercessions</em>—thanksgiving.
-As Aaron approached the Mercy Seat,
-with the smoking censor, and was accepted, so do we approach
-the throne of the Eternal with the burning incense of heaven’s
-own making, and will be accepted. O, let us supplicate God
-for the peace and quietude of the whole nation!</p>
-
-<p>2d. The other motive which Inspiration presents is, that we
-may live “<em>in all godliness</em> and <em>honesty</em>.” Godliness first,
-honesty afterwards. The latter is the fruit of the former. The
-godly man, is he who fears God and keeps his commandments.
-Such a man will be honest in words as well as in deeds; in
-matters of truth as well as in matters of property. <em>Honesty is
-the only policy of godliness.</em> Colored men, write this sentiment
-upon your hearts, engrave it in your memory. Let all your
-thoughts, words, actions, be controlled by this principle, <em>it is
-always safe to be honest, as it is always safe to be godly</em>. One
-has said, that “An honest man is the noblest work of God.”
-But whence comes the honest man? Does he not spring out of
-the godly? Most assuredly. For no man is truly honest, uniformly
-honest, and universally honest, but he who is godly.
-Therefore be godly, and you will be honest in all things, at all
-times, in all places.</p>
-
-<p>3d. The third motive for this heavenly duty, this intercession
-in behalf of the Government is, that “It is good and
-acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.” Whatever God
-accepts and pronounces good, <em>must be good</em>: good in itself; good
-in its effects, always good; good for man, because ordained
-of God.</p>
-
-<p>4th. The last motive we present for this godlike work is,
-that God “<em>Will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
-knowledge of the truth.</em>”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span></p>
-
-<p>Hence, we must pray for these Authorities not as public men
-only, but as private individuals also,—not as Chieftains of the
-Nation only, but as heads of families also,—as husbands,
-fathers, Christians. So that, while they think, write, speak,
-act for the public weal, their own souls may be brought under
-the saving power of the Gospel, and with all the members of
-their respective families be made the heirs of the grace of life.</p>
-
-<p>O, that God may bring them all to the knowledge of the
-truth as it is in Christ Jesus! O, that every one of these Authorities
-may become a holy, wise, and just man! Then will
-the laws be enacted in righteousness and executed in the fear
-of the Lord.</p>
-
-<p>These motives are enforced upon our considerations by the
-glorious example of the Lord Jesus Christ,<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> who is the Mediator
-between God and Man, who ever liveth to make intercession
-for his foes as well as his friends, and with whom there is no
-respect of persons. Black men, red men, white men, are all
-alike before Him, and rise or fall, live or die as they please or
-offend Him.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[A]</a> When St. Cyprian defended himself before the Roman Pro-Consul, he said, “We
-pray to God not only for ourselves but for all mankind, and particularly for the
-Emperors.”</p>
-
-<p>Tertullian in his Apology is more particular: “We pray for all the Emperors,
-that God may grant them long life, a secure government, a prosperous family,
-vigorous troops, a faithful senate, an obedient people; that the whole world may be
-in peace; and that God may grant both to Cæsar; and to every man, the accomplishment
-of their just desires.”</p>
-
-<p>So Origen: “We pray for kings and rulers, that with their royal authority they
-may be found possessing a wise and prudent mind.”</p>
-
-<p class="right"><i>See Dr. A. Clarke on the text.</i></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>To make prayers, intercessions, supplications, thanksgivings
-for national authorities you now clearly see <em>is a command from
-heaven</em>. Obey it, and you shall be blessed—always do it, and
-you shall be made a blessing to others. Whom God has blessed
-no man can curse. If God has blessed this nation, neither
-internal foes, nor foreign enemies can crush it.</p>
-
-<p>But God will bless it if it will do right, administering justice
-to each and to all, protecting the weak as well as the
-strong, and throwing the broad wings of its power equally
-over men of every color. This is God-like, and God will bless<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>
-his own image, be it in a nation or in a man. Then, O my
-country, “shall thy light break forth as the morning—thy
-health shall spring forth speedily—thy righteousness shall go
-before thee,” and “the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.”</p>
-
-<p>Then shall justice be engraven on our arms, and righteousness
-on our star-spangled banners; our armies shall then be
-led to battle by the Lord, and victory secured by the right arm
-of our God.</p>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap">
-<div class="tnote">
-<p class="noi tntitle">Transcriber’s Notes:</p>
-
-<p class="smfont">Punctuation, spelling, and printer's errors were silently corrected.</p>
-
-<p class="smfont">Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.</p>
-
-<p class="smfont">Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.</p>
-</div>
-
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