Title: Welcome to the ransomed, or, Duties of the colored inhabitants of the District of Columbia
Author: Payne, Daniel Alexander
Language: English
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DUTIES OF THE COLORED INHABITANTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ***



                                WELCOME
                                  TO
                             THE RANSOMED;
                                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.




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