with money of any stranger which is not of thy seedverse 13. He that is born in the house or he that is bought with thy money must needs be circumcised, and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant."

Secondly. Circumcision entitled every subject of that ordinance to eat the passover, which supposes his initiation into the Jewish church and nation to be indisputable-Exodus, xii. 23. "And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, this is the ordinance of the passover; there shall no stranger eat thereof, but every man servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof; a foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof."

Thirdly. No Hebrew could be in servitude longer than six years, Exodus, xxi. 2," If thou buy an Hebrew ser vant six years shall he serve, and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing." Compared with Deut. xv, 12. If then circumcision made every servant bought with money a Jew, and no Jew would be retained in servitude more than six years, the unavoidable consequence must be, that there could be no perpetual involuntary servants among the Jews. The whole argument runs thus: All Jews were bound to circumcise all born in their houses, or bought with money; circumcision made every one who was a subject of circumcision a Jew. No Jew could be a servant longer than six years, except he was so of choice. Therefore there could be no perpetual servants under the Jewish dispensation.

The expression, "ye shall take them for an inheritance for your children after you," means that the same persons thus purchased of the heathen around them were not to be made free at the death of the purchaser, but were bound to serve their children. The last words, they shall be your bondmen forever, can only mean until the year of jubilee, which may be evinced from two reasons, al though the phrase forever, and the word ever (in scripture) most certainly signifies an endless duration; yet it is sometimes used in a limited sense, as to the time of the Old Testament. Leviticus xviii. 15. To the year of jubi lee, Deut. xv. 17, to man's life time, 1st Samuel i. 22.

It signifies a long indefinite time, Joshua ii. 7. The sense of the word ever, or forever, may be known by the particular duration of that thing to which the expression is applied. Thus it signifies an endless duration, when it is used to express the duration of the saint's happiness in heaven, because the saints will eternally exist, and to express the duration of hell's torments, because the wicked will eternally exist. When it means only a temporary duration, it has a relation to some period which will necessarily have an end, and signifies that entire period. Thus it is sometimes used to express the duration of some blessing or privilege, properly restricted to the old testament dispensation, when it signifies the whole time of that dispensation, so a man's state of servitude was said to be forever, when it meant that it should continue until the year of jubilee, though it must of necessity have terminated with the period, in which case the temporary duration of that period determines the sense of the expression forever, shews it to be temporary and not eternal.

That the expression (bond servant forever) means only a temporary duration will further appear from God's aim in appointing the ordinance of jubilee, which was to give lib. erty to all that were in bondage. Lev. xxv. 10. "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof, it shall be a jubilee unto you, and ye shall return every man unto his own family." Josephus, who had a better right to know the latitude to which the jubilee extended than any other ancient writer of which we have any knowledge, expressly says that it extended to slaves.— (See his Antiquities, page 73, quarto.)

Secondly. That the expression forever, was limited by the jubilee, is evident from the application of the phrase in other places. Lev. xxv.39-40. "And if thy broth. er that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve thee as a bond servant, but as an hired servant, as a sojourner; he shall be with thee and serve thee until the year of jubilee.' But the person that is here said to serve until the year of jubilee is called a servant forever. Exodus XXI. 2. 7-Deut. xv. 12, 17. Objection. If no servant

could be compelled to serve more than six years after being circumcised, what classes of servants were bound to serve until the year of jubilee? Ans. Such Jewish servants as refused freedom at the expiration of six years' service, and such of the heathen as refused to be received into the Jewish church by circumcision, and such as were convicted of crimes, which last is attested by Josephus.

THE GOLDEN RULE.

Among the Jews, agreeable to the nature and circumstances of servitude, as it has now been defined, the golden rule laid down by Jesus Christ, might have been applied in its fullest latitude by both masters and servants. "In all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." This will appear from the peculiar circumstances of their condition. 1st. Servants bought of the heathen were most apt to be captives taken in war, or persons convicted of crimes; but none were kidnapped, because the man-thief and the receiver were both condemned to suffer death by the law of Moses. 2d. The heathen nations around the Jews were all civilized, and existed under organized governments, and could have no temptations to kidnap and sell their own people, except such as were legally convicted of crimes, or captives taken in war. 3d. Though servants from among the heathen were liable to be some captives, some convicts, others debtors, their condition was made better by becoming servants to the Jews, because they were ad< mitted to all the privileges of the Jewish church as soon as they were prepared for it. 4th. If they did not comply with the rite of circumcision, yet their children were made free by circumcision, while they, viz. their parents, were to be made free at the jubilee. But that which rendered their servitude quite tolerable, was the law of God which regulated the government of servants. Ex. xxi. 26. "If a man smite the eye of his servant or the eye of his maid, that it perish, he shall let him go for his eye's sake. And if he smite out his man servant's tooth or his maid servant's tooth he shall let him go for his tooth's sake." The rule which obliged a master to liberate his servant for sake of an eye or a tooth, would do

equally the same in any case of maiming or dismembering of the body, verse 20. "And if a man smite his servant or his maid with a rod, and he die under his hand he shall surely be punished." That this punishment was death is manifest from Lev. v. 22. "Notwithstanding if he continue a day or two he shall not be punished, for he is his money." Wilful murder was only punishable by death according to the divine law. Therefore if the servant corrected with the rod was to continue a day or two, it would shew that his master in correcting him had no design to kill him, more especially as the servant was his money, he could have no motive to take his life.

2dly. To prevent severe treatment, and secure a comfortable living to bond servants, the law of God absolutely prohibited all persons from taking up a servant merely for running away from his master. Deut. xxiii. 15. "Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant who is escaped from his master unto thee; he shall dwell with thee, even among you in that place which he shall choose -in one of thy gates where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him."

3dly. All bond servants, hirelings and sojourners amongst the Jews, had all the profits arising from their lands every seventh year which would be very considerable, Lev. xxv. 1, 7, which taken in connection with all other circumstances of alleviation prevented their servi tude from meriting the name of slavery.

From the view now taken of servitude amongst the Jews, it is evident that although they had bondmen and bond maids, there were no slaves allowed among them. And it may be added that the small degree of bondage which was authorized, was in virtue of a positive revelation of God's will, and was peculiar to the Jewish econo. my, and not morally binding on all nations; should any inquire why it was suited to the Old Testament, and not to the New, it may be answered there were necessary duties, to be performed by the members of that church, which could not be done without subjecting them to ceremonial uncleanness, and many laborious exercises about the altar and the temple services, which would have occupied too much of the time and attention of the true worshipers

of Jehovah, without marring and interrupting their worship, which rendered servants from among the heathen necessary.

THE GIBEONITES.

This was completely exemplified in the case of the Gibeonites, who on account of the oath which the princes of the congregation had made to them, to preserve their lives, were spared, but on account of their gross deception and falsehood to obtain that oath, were condemned to a state of servitude-Joshua ix. 22. And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them saying, wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying we are very far from you, when you dwelt among us. Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God, verse 27. "And Joshua made them that day hew. ers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day in the place which the Lord should choose."

The Gibeonites were condemned to be hewers of wood and drawers of water to the congregation and to the altar of the Lord; that is to the nation in their public assemblies; and to serve at the altar and the temple in preparing wood and water, and in such services as were subservi ent to the public ordinances of the Lord, about which his people were to be engaged; all which supposed them to be the public property of the nation, but not the private property of any individuals, and were only liable to be called out to the service of public assemblies, and to the service of the sanctuary when their service was required, which must have been done by levying a tribute of as many persons as might be useful at such times. The same persons might be allowed to retire to their own homes, and others called forth to succeed them in their turn, while we have a good reason to believe they were allowed a due compensation for their labors.

That the Gibeonites were public servants to the nation, and not private slaves to individuals, is evident from the form of expression used by Joshua in passing the sentence upon them, and also from their actual condition in