Word of God, unless he acquiefces without referve in every fcriptural Decifion, however incomprehenfible the reasons and motives of those Decifions may be to him.

VI.

THAT every perfon, who profeffes to acknowledge the Holy Scriptures to be the unerring Word of God, muft confequently affent to every Scriptural Decifion without referve, only because he believes them to be the declarations of God; who, being TRUTH itself, can neither err himself, nor lead any

one into error.

VII.

THAT if one or more Decifions of the Written Word of God give a pofitive fanction to the intrinfic licitnefs of any human purfuit (for inftance, the SLAVETRADE), whoever profeffes to believe the incontrovertible veracity of the Written Word of God, effentially incompatible with the leaft degree of injuftice, must consequently believe the pursuit itself to be intrinsically just and lawful in the ftricteft fenfe of the word.

VIII.

THAT no advantages whatever attending the profecution of an unlawful purfuit, nor any abuses whatever committed in the profecution of a lawful one, can fo far affect the purfuits themselves, as to render the latter intrinfically criminal, or the former effentially just.

IX.

THAT, as no private or national advantages whatever can alter the inherent turpitude of a purfuit effentially unlawful; fo no arguments whatever, built folely on the ftrength of thofe advantages, will ever justify the SLAVE TRADE, till the fame be proved effentially juft and lawful in its nature.

THAT,

X.

THAT, as no abuses or malepractices whatever, committed in the profecution of a lawful purfuit, can ever alter the intrinfic licitnefs of it; fo no arguments whatever, built folely on the strength of those abuses, will ever evince the intrinfic deformity of the SLAVETRADE, any more than that of any other lawful purfuit, where abuses are committed, unless the fame be proved effentially unjuft and illicit.

XI.

THAT, if abuses and malepractices, committed in the prosecution of a lawful purfuit, can be checked and prevented by Legal Authority, the private and national advantages arifing from that purfuit, and the inconveniencies attending the fuppreffion of it, joined to its intrinfic licitness, ought to have a very powerful influence towards not abolishing the profecution of that purfuit.

XII.

THAT, if abuses and malepractices, though evidently fubject to the control of the Legislature, are to be confidered as fufficient arguments to fupprefs the SLAVE-TRADE, without any regard to its intrinfic licitness, every other branch of Trade, in which abuses are committed, ought, on the fame account, to share the fame fate.

SECTION I.

Scriptural Refearches on the licitness of the Slate-Trade, fhewing its conformity with the principles of the Law of Nature delineated in the Sacred Writings.

1.TH

THAT period of years, which elapfed from the day on which God created Man in his own image (a), to the day, on which He gave his Laws to the Children of Ifrael on Mount Sinai (b), is generally called the period of the Law of Nature. The exact duration of this period is a matter of controverfy among the Learned. Archbishop Ufher, whofe chronological accuracy in the computation of fcriptural years is much admired, reckons 2513 years between the Creation of the World and the promulgation of the Mofaic Law. But be this as it may (for no difference in computation can affect the fubject of my prefent Researches), it is evident from the tenour of the Sacred Records, that, between the creation of Adam and the promulgation of the Mofaic Law, the Difpenfation of the Law of Nature, commonly called Natural Religion, or the Religion of Nature, was the only true Religion in the World.

II. SIMPLE as the principles of this Religion may appear, directed chiefly to worship One, Supreme, Eternal, Being, the Creator and Governor of all things, and to chufe and act in exact conformity to the inward dictates of found and unbiaffed reafon in every tranf action of life, where Right and Wrong were left to choice of Man; it would be exceedingly difficult, as well as perfectly extraneous to my present fubject, to digeft those principles into a regular Code of those particular

(a) Genefis, c. I. V. 27. (b) Exodus, c. 29, &c.

particular laws and duties, which conftituted the whole fyftem of that Religion.-I have not engaged to difplay the whole frame and structure of Natural Religion: I am to fhew no farther, than that the principles and laws of that Religion, as far as we find them delineated in the Sacred Writings, not only never forbade the SLAVE-TRADE, or hinted the most diftant oppofition to the profecution of it; but that, the fame being frequently exemplified in the conftant and uninterrupted practice of some of the most faithful obfervers of the laws and principles of that Religion, under the vifible protection of God, whofe favourites they were, the laws and principles themselves were in perfect harmony with the practice of the SLAVE-TRADE. Two very fingular inftances of this kind, verified in the conduct of two of the most diftinguished Characters within the above period of the Law of Nature, ABRAHAM and JOSEPH, will, I flatter myself, be sufficient, without mentioning others, to juftify my af fertion, and fet the prefent Controverfy in the cleareft light of Scriptural conviction.

ABRAHAM.

III. In every place of Scripture, where mention is made of this Venerable Patriarch, he is uniformly reprefented as a perfect pattern of every virtue. The ftrongest faith in God (c), the firmeft reliance on his promifes (d), and the readieft and most unreferved obedience to his commands (e); the most sympathizing humanity to every fellow-creature (f), the stricteft juftice and integrity in all his dealings with men (g), and the utmoft difinterestedness of heart (b); infine,

the

(c) Gen. 15. 6. Rom. 4. 3. Galat. 3. 6. James, 2. 23. (d) Ibid. (f) Gen. 18. 23, &c.

(e) Gen. 22. v. I—13, (8) Gen. 21, 22, &c, Gen, 23, 7, &c. - (b) Gen. 14. 22, 23.

the greatest love with every other

of peace and harmony (i), together religious, domeftic, and focial virtue (k), are the diftinguishing characteristics of his perfon.

IV. OWING, no doubt, to these exalted virtues, he is frequently reprefented in Scripture in familiar intercourfe with God (1); who, in innumerable places of Holy Writ, ftyles himself emphatically The God of Abraham, as the most acceptable perfon he had on earth: he calls him His Friend (m), and makes the most exalted panegyric of his virtues, when, appearing to his fon Ifaac after the death of his Father, he speaks to him in the following remarkable and comprehensive words: In thy feed shall all the nations of the earth be blefed, because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my ftatutes, and my laws (n).

V. Nor is his unimpeachable character, as a righteous man, lefs confpicuous in the Writings of the New Teftament; where, among many other teftimonies of his irreproachable life, the Son of God himself, who always fpeaks of him as one of the most faithful fervants of his Eternal Father, rebukes the Jews for having fo far departed from the rectitude of Abraham's conduct, as not to be entitled to the appellation of his Children; for, If ye were Abraham's children, fays he, ye would do the works of Abraham (0).

VI. Now, it is very remarkable, that among the works of Abraham, the very faithful, obedient, humane, juft, difinterested, righteous, and virtuous Abraham, who conftantly obeyed the voice of God, kept his charge, his commandments, his ftatutes, and his laws,