CHAPTER VIII.

THE DUTIES OF MASTERS.

"Ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening; knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him."-EPHES. vi. 9.

"Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal."

COL. iv. 1. “A party of friends, setting out together upon a journey, soon find it to be best for all sides, that, while they are upon the road, one of the company should wait upon the rest; another ride forward to seek out lodging and entertainment; a third carry the portmanteau; a fourth take charge of the horses; a fifth bear the purse, conduct and direct the route; not forgetting, however, that as they were equal and independent when they set out, so they are all to return to a level again at their journey's end. The same regard and respect; the same forbearance, lenity, and reserve, in using their service; the same mildness in defivering commands; the same study to make their journey comfortable and pleasant, which he, whose lot it was to direct the rest, would, in common decency, think himself bound to observe towards them, ought we to show towards those, who, in the casting of the parts of human society, happen to be placed within our power, or to depend upon us."-PALEY.

"There are duties which we owe to the lowest of those who serve us, that are not fulfilled by the most bountiful allotment of wages, and lodging, and sustenance. Of these duties, which are not duties of supererogation, but flow from the very nature of the bond which connects the master and the servant by reciprocal benefits, the surest rule is to be found in that brief direction which Seneca, in the spirit of the noble Christian precept of morals, has so happily given us in one of his epistles, in which he treats of the cruelty and contumely of Roman masters'So live with your inferior, as you would wish your superior to live with you.'"-DR. THOMAS BROWN.

"It has been justly remarked, that all authority over others is, in fact, a talent with which we are intrusted for their benefit, as well as our own; and so the discharge of our duty to them is only, in other words, securing our own interest as well as theirs. This, however, is especially manifest in the case of servants, dwelling under our roof, as members of the same family. Thereby how much our care over the souls of our servants contributes to their knowledge of God and themselves, so far have we secured their conscientious regard to our interests, and furnished them with principles, which will not only augment the stock of domestic happiness, but certainly contribute towards the divine favour resting on our dwelling, as well as on all we possess. Thus, then, is the fear of God, in master and servant, found to be at once the only foundation of relative duty, and the only effectual security for the discharge of it."-ANDERSON.

"The highest panegyric that private virtue can receive, is the praise of servants; for they see a manwithout any restraint or rule of conduct, but such as he voluntarily prescribes to himself. And however vanity or insolence may look down with contempt on the suffrage of men undignified by wealth, and unenlightened by education, it very seldom happens that they commend or blame without justice.

"The danger of betraying our weakness to our servants, and the impossibility of concealing it from them, may be justly considered as one

motive to a regular and irreproachable life. For no condition is more hurtful and despicable than his, who has put himself in the power of his servant; in the power of him, whom, perhaps, he has first corrupted, by making him subservient to his vices, and whose fidelity he therefore cannot enforce by any precepts of honesty or reason. From that fatal hour when he sacrificed his dignity to his passions, he is in perpetual dread of insolence or defamation; of a controller at home, or an accuser abroad."-JOHNSON.

Of all the domestic connexions, that between master and servant is, perhaps, least understood, or, at any rate, most neglected. In the two preceding cases, nature, imperfect and corrupt as she is, has come in with her aid: but this is a connexion affecting very extensively the vital interests of the family, but which is left by God to conscience and scripture alone. Should these two be neglected, what wonder if the duty on either side is not fulfilled. It is not a connexion founded on mutual love, like that of man and wife; nor in consanguinity, like that of parent and child, or brother and sister; but in mere convenience. It seems, at first sight, a destruction of the natural equality of the human race, and an invasion, by one party, of the rights of the other. It did not exist, originally, but soon grew out of the natural course of things, such as the varied degree of men's acquired property, the love of ease on the one hand, and the urgency of necessity on the other. It was wealth or power that made the first master, and want or weakness that made the first servant; and the very same circumstances which originated the relation preserves it. No one is a servant by choice, but of necessity, and becomes a master as soon as he can. All this shows that there is great propriety and importance in stating with clearness, and enjoining with frequency, the duties of this connexion; and that there needs great impartiality in adjusting the claims of both parties so as to prevent the master from becoming a tyrant, and the servant from becoming a rebel: in other words, to guard the master against the disobedience and dishonesty of the servant, and the servant against the oppression and cruelty of the master.

To the right performance of the Duties of Masters and Mistresses, the following qualifications are necessary.

1. A correct view of the nature and design of the family compact, as intended to train up all the members that compose it, to be good members of the civil community and of the church of Christ. They must keep in constant recollection, that the domestic constitution has a reference to religion, to heaven, and to eternity; and that they who are appointed to be the head of it, are accountable to God for the manner in which they give it this direction. Every household is intended to be a seminary for virtue and piety, of which the master and mistress are the teachers; the servants, as well as children, the pupils.

2. They should be partakers of true religion.

Hence, you see, they are directed to consider that they have a Master in heaven, and to perform their duties with a believing and constant reference to their accountability to Christ. Without personal religion, they cannot, of course, seek, on behalf of their servants, the highest end of the domestic constitution, i. e. their spiritual and eternal welfare. Nor can they, without religion, be so well prepared to discharge even the ordinary duties of their station. True religion will not fail, wherever it exists in full vigour and operation, to teach a man, in reference to every thing, the best rules, and ends, and measures of action; and especially will the grace of God, in this case, prevent that pride, passion, cruelty and unkindness, which make a man a bad master; and, at the same time, it will implant those virtues which are the germs of a master's greatest excellence. Religion is the strongest basis and the firmest support of authority; it not only renders all the commandments which are delivered, holy, and just, and good; not only infuses wisdom and equity into all the laws which are enjoined, but invests the lawgiver himself with the beauty of goodness, and the awful power of sanctity. A peculiar awe and dread seem to have been upon the inferior creatures for man in his innocence, as a kind of reverence for the divine image which he bore; and the more holiness there is in a man's character now, the more power is there in his authority, and the more nearly does he come back to his original dominion, at least over the rational creation. If we would govern well, and

easily, and pleasantly, we must inspire reverence rather than fear; and nothing does this like religion. "Them that honour me, saith God, I will honour:" this is never more remarkably exemplified than in the case of eminently holy masters and mistresses.

3. They should entertain correct notions of the nature and design of the relation they stand in to their servants, who are to be considered as their equals in nature, though their inferiors in rank; and not as beings of another and inferior race.

Servants are not mere speaking brutes, but rational men and women, who are bone of your bone, and flesh of your flesh, and who, on the ground of natural equality, covenant with you to deliver to you so much service for so much wages. They are your equals in the eye of the laws of the land, and are as much protected as you are; equal in the eye of God, who is no respecter of persons; equal in personal formation, having the same corporeal senses, members and beauty, and the same mental faculties; equal in the church of God, being redeemed by the same blood of atonement, regenerated by the same holy spirit, and entitled to the same heaven; and, on all these grounds, justly claiming the respect that is due to a man and a Christian; as such they are to be addressed and treated and not spoken to and oppressed like beasts.

I now lay down one or two preliminary remarks. 1. Professing Christians should be very careful in the selection of their servants.

It is desirable, where it can be done, to engage such servants as are truly and consistently pious. I know that this cannot always be accomplished in reference, even to the household, much less in the manufactory and the shop. In a business that depends upon the skill of the workmen, a master must have such as will suit his purpose, whether they possess moral qualifications or not. But when he cannot get good men, he should endeavour to reform, to the extent of his ability, such as are bad. It must be admitted that there are many, both men and women, who, as to their general qualifications, are most excellent servants, who yet do not possess true piety: they are industrious, good-tempered, honest and cleanly, and

contribute far more to the comfort of the families that employ them, than some conceited, cross, and indolent professors of religion. Notwithstanding this, it is every way desirable to obtain, if we can, those to serve us, who, we have every reason to believe, serve the Lord Christ.

Other things being equal, pious servants are much to be preferred to those who are without the fear of God. They may bring the blessing of God with them into your house. You have the benefit of their example and of their prayers: in the time of sickness, you have the consolations of their remarks as well as their sympathy; and hence they have been, in many cases, sources of inconceivable comfort to the household, in which they have been placed. If you have a family, how immensely important is this matter. Think of what incalculable mischief one unprincipled servant may be the author, in a circle of young children. On this account, if a person of decided piety cannot be found, at least determine that none but such as are strictly moral shall be inmates in your habitation. David determined that no liar should dwell in his family. The utmost caution should be exercised, to keep from the nursery all improper persons. Nor ought any mother to trust her children too much to any servants, however excellent; and, on admitting them, she should very minutely instruct them in all points of their conduct towards the minds of her children, as well as their bodies, both what they are to avoid, and what they are to observe. I would sooner take a toad into my bosom, said an old author, than a wicked servant into my family. Well might he say this, for the poor reptile is belied in being said to be armed with poison, but the wicked servant has poison for the mind both of her fellow servants and the children. Christian parents are not perhaps sufficiently cautious on this head. They are not sufficiently impressed with the importance of the subject, till they learn it by the various kinds of mischief that have been done. The present age has peculiar advantages for a good selection, inasmuch as, by the extension of education, many young women of considerable respectability are trained for the important situation of nursery governesses.

2. When you engage a servant, let there be a very