all the money; and when money failed, the
Egyptians came and said, "Give us bread;" and Joseph said, "Give your
cattle, and I will give for your cattle, if money fail." When that year
was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said, "There is not
aught left in sight of my Lord, but our bodies and our lands. Buy us and
our lands for bread." And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for
Pharoah.

So the land became Pharoah's, and as for the people, he removed them to
cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end
thereof. Then Joseph said unto the people, "Behold! I have bought you
this day, and your land for Pharoah; and they said, "we will be
Pharoah's servants."--See Gen. xlvii: 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25. Having
thus changed the fundamental law, and created a state of entire
_dependence_ and _hereditary bondage_, he enacted in his sovereign
pleasure, that they should give Pharoah one part, and take the other
four parts of the productions of the earth to themselves. How far the
hand of God was in this overthrow of liberty, I will not decide; but
from the fact that he has singled out the greatest slaveholders of that
age, as the objects of his special favor, it would seem that the
institution was one furnishing great opportunities to exercise grace and
glorify God, as it still does, where its duties are faithfully
discharged.

I have been tedious on this first proposition, but I hope the importance
of the subject to Christians as well as to statesmen will be my apology.
I have written it, not for victory over an adversary, or to support
error or falsehood, but to gather up God's will in reference to holding
men and women in _bondage, in the patriarchal age_. And it is clear, in
the first place, that God decreed this state before it existed. Second.
It is clear that the highest manifestations of good-will which he ever
gave to mortal man, was given to Abraham, in that covenant in which he
required him to circumcise all his _male servants, which he had bought
with his money_, and that were _born of them_ in his house. Third. It is
certain that he gave _these servants_ as _property_ to Isaac. Fourth. It
is certain that, as the owner of _these slaves_, Isaac received similar
tokens of God's favor. Fifth. It is certain that Jacob, who inherited
from Isaac his father, received like tokens of divine favor. Sixth. It
is certain, from a fair construction of language, that Job, who is held
up by God