Page:A Chapter on Slavery.djvu/40

 slavery or any other evil institution or outward condition of things. But, after all, that would be merely to sweep away the stream, not to purify the fountain: as soon as the storm had passed over, the fountain would begin to pour forth its black waters again. God’s wise purpose is not merely to remove the effect, but to change the cause. His great end, it must be remembered, is to regenerate man’s heart, not merely to remove temporary suffering. He ever keeps eternity in view — the one end of existence, salvation, heaven. He loves every man, the master as well as the slave, and desires to save all who are willing to be saved. To take away suddenly and violently, therefore, any object of cherished love, even though it be an improper and evil one, would, in many cases, have the effect not of changing the heart or evil desire, but only of maddening it and confirming it more strongly in its evil purpose; the effect of which would be to destroy the soul. Consequently, in His Divine Wisdom, He acts gently, gradually; here a little and there a little, presenting inducements to good on the one hand, gently checking excesses of evil on the other, — introducing higher views, presenting to the mind nobler considerations, — thus gradually working on the spirit, till, at length, the man begins to be ashamed of his own evil course, to repent of it, and voluntarily to give it up and turn to better things. Then has the Divine Wisdom achieved a great triumph. He has not forced the man’s will, which would be fruitless or impossible, but He has quietly induced the man to change his own will — voluntarily to turn to the right path: and He has thereby saved a soul.