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THE SPIRITUAL PROSPECTS OF AFRICA.

REV. W. KNIBB*.

EAGLE STREET CHAPEL, RED LION SQUARE, AUGUST 17, 1834.

46 Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God."-PSALM, lxix. 31.

Ir is, my Christian friends, ten years ago since I had the privilege of sitting down with this Church at the Lord's table, just before my first departure from my beloved country, to proclaim to the Negro salvation through the blood of the Lamb and in the wise arrangements of a kind and benignant Providence, I find myself again associated with you, not only in person but in spirit, just before I again quit it for the same beloved employment. As I was then followed by your prayers, I have no doubt that I shall still be followed by your earnest supplications; and though one who then commended me to the care of Him who hath watched over and protected me from that time until now, is this evening celebrating the high praises of his God in the upper and better world, watching, I have no doubt, with intense interest, the result of that measure which was dear to him as life itself-it is pleasurable for us to know, that the same kind sympathy is exercised by our friends who still remain, and that the same affectionate wishes will follow those who, separated from their brethren, will soon be exposed in the high places of iniquity.

There is, fellow Christians, at least in my estimation, a peculiar solemnity attending this meeting; though doubtless I shall feel it with greater intensity and interest than any of you. It is the last Sabbath I shall spend, in all probability, in the land I love; and I stand, in all probability, in this pulpit, occupying it for a short season, in my last public engagement. And I do feel thankful to my Heavenly Father for this opportunity; and I trust it will be esteemed a token of respect to one who ever was dear to me, whose memory I cherish with the fondest affection, and whom I trust I shall be enabled to follow, at a great distance I am well aware, as he followed Christ. I am confident, that as you have breathed his spirit, that as you have frequently been animated by his holy example, that as you have frequently rejoiced in those energetic and giant-like efforts which he made in the destruction of tyranny, I am confident your feelings will be in unison with mine when I direct your attention to the future prospects of the people in whose welfare he felt an undying interest, and over whose interests, I have no doubt, he still watches with most intense delight.

It is, fellow Christians, a pleasing employ to trace the history, and the steady * Farewell Sermon previous to returning as Missionary to the Island of Jamaica,

Rev. J. Ivimey.

progress of the Church of the Redeemer: and the nearer any Church approaches to the primitive Church, either in the purity of its doctrines, the means employed to extend its operations, the train of persecutions through which it is called to pass, or the success graciously vouchsafed, by a God of infinite mercy, on the means employed by his servants for the extension of the trophies of his power, the more is the mind of the humble Christian excited, while his gratitude is called forth unto Him who has declared that his Church shall survive every adverse shock, that the influences of his Holy Spirit shall ever attend the administration of his word, and that his fatherly care shall ever be exerted over the people of his love, until the last redeemed son and daughter of Adam are received home by him into glory.

Among those benevolent institutions that are the glory of our age, and among the strenuous efforts that have been made in different parts of the world, there has been a section of the Missionary field that has recently claimed, and recently received, largely of the sympathies of the Christian Church. My hearers will at once perceive I refer to our Western Missionary establishment, among a people robbed, and peeled, and destroyed. When the pity of the philanthropist looks at Africa, and contemplates the wrongs the Negroes have sustained, the accumulated woes that have been heaped upon them for centuries, when we remember they have been the prey of every marauder who has had the power and the will to oppress, we are ready at times to shrink back upon the confines of Atheism itself, and to say, "Can there be a God who governs the earth? Can there be a Moral Governor of the Universe, distinguished for his benevolence, ever ready to aid the oppressed, to succour the destitute, and to cherish the weary? Is there a Being who puts the tears of the oppressed into his bottle; who is ever ready to arise for the purpose of rescuing them from the grasp of those who tyrannize over them?" But let us wait for a time; faith comes in where reason is totally unavailing; we believe and we adore; and sometimes we can realize the belief, relying on the faithfulness of Him to whom secret things belong, and rejoice that things as they reveal themselves belong to us and to our children.

Whatever may have been the designs of man, whatever he may have contemplated in enslaving Africa, we know the Moral Governor of the Universe had other designs, superior to them all; and these designs now appear to develope themselves, for the purpose of cheering the heart of the believer in Christ, and engaging the attention and energies of the whole Christian church. For while the mere philanthropist, or the mere politician, still looks at passing events as conducive or non-conducive to the temporal happiness of man, it becomes us as Christians, as believers in the ultimate success and final triumphs of the Gospel, to look at these things in a higher point of view, and distinctly to mark them as the footsteps of Him whose right it is to reign, and unto whom all nations shall eventually be given. And there has been enough my Christian brethren, during the last two years of our existence, not only to call forth the thanksgivings of the people of God, but also to animate their hopes, and to lead them forth to every strenuous effort that they can make, for the purpose of fulfilling those designs of Providence, which appear opening in all their beauty, and in all their loveliness, with respect to this ill-fated, but interesting section of the world.

It will be our endeavour this evening, in taking a farewell of you, to direct you to some of those results which we firmly believe will be brought about in connexion with that Emancipation Act that has lately stamped glory on our land, and happiness on the sons and daughters of Ethiopia. The volume of inspiration contains a direct prophecy with respect to this people; it assures us, that they "shall stretch out their hands unto God;" that however low they may be, however degraded may be their condition, however apparently inaccessible they may be in their mountains or in their caves, that a time shall come, that Providence will so arrange the means that shall be employed, that they shall lift up their dusky hands unto Him who died alike to save both bond and free.

In endeavouring to direct your attention to this all-engrossing, this deeply interesting subject, I shall remark, in the first place, THAT AMONG THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF ETHIOPIA, THERE DOES AT THE PRESENT TIME EXIST A MOST INTENSE DESIRE TO RECEIVE RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION, AND THAT THEY POSSESS A CAPACITY FOR ITS ATTAINMENT.

Those who have merely looked at the Christian Church, and confined their attention to the idea that they occupy but a small portion of the human family; those who have looked at the Western Archipelago, and have weighed the importance of our missions there in connexion with the small space of land they occupy in comparison with the whole globe, have formed but a very inadequate idea of the importance of those missions connected with the future destinies of Africa. True, they appear insignificant, and almost trifling when the eye rests on them, and then on the whole globe; it seems indeed but a small speck: but when we bring to our recollection the fact, that there are in this land people from almost every country in Africa; when we remember that there are congregated, the Eboes, the Mandingoes, the Congoes and other nations, who are all standing "clothed and in their right mind," who have drank into the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and have learned of him-who possessing an earnest desire to receive instruction, are determined to obtain it; then we shall see, looking forward to their future condition, the mighty working of Him who is wise in counsel and knowledge. Frequently has the aspersion been advanced by the stoic philosopher, that the Negro was never intended to rise to that scale in society which the other portions of God's family enjoy: spending his time in measuring the Negro's skull, he has endeavoured to deprive him of all the sensibilities of human nature, and rob him of that existence that God intended him to enjoy in eternity-while the humble Missionary has been energetically engaged in instructing his mind: at the time he has been endeavouring to settle the question whether he belongs to the family of man, the Missionary has been transforming him through the influence of the Holy Spirit, and fitting him to belong to the family that resides in heaven: while the one has been busy in endeavouring to undervalue him in the scale of society-through the agency which you, and other sections of the Christian church have employed, the other has been fitting him under the blessings of God to inherit a kingdom that is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. The humble and glorious effort has been attempted; the influences of the Holy Spirit have descended in a copious shower; the trial has been made, and the result is evident; it has succeeded beyond our largest expectations; incense and a pure offering have ascended from Negro lips and

hearts; and whether instruction has been conveyed to the young or to the old, it has testified, to the delight of the believer, that, however the man may differ in the complexion of the skin, or the formation of the skull, he possesses those sensibilities, and is enabled to make those acquirements, which prove that God has made of one blood all the nations of the earth.

No one who has not had the honour of engaging in missionary employ, with respect to the people to whom I now allude, can have any idea of that intense desire they at present manifest for religious instruction: and the prospect of their emancipation has not in the least lessened this desire. Letters received the week before last from Jamaica confirm every previous statement. A reference to one fact will elucidate what I mean. A few Negroes, the other day, walked twenty-five miles, for the purpose of inviting one of the returned missionaries to preach to them; and in their own energetic way they assured him-" Minister, we have old people on the estate that cannot walk so many miles, or they would gladly come: they are dying every day. Minister, come and tell them of Christ and his salvation." Now, fellow Christians, we know that such a desire to receive religious instruction has been imparted from heaven; that it is not a natural graft of the human mind; that the human mind, unaided by the Spirit of God, is repulsive to all the doctrines of grace: but here we behold persons sunk to the level of the brute, and degraded year after year, oppressed every moment of their existence, except when their eyes are closed in sleep, desiring religious instruction, panting after Christ and him crucified and ought we not to attribute this to Him who alone can save, to Him who alone can direct, to Him who alone can bless, and who in the Volume of Inspiration has assured us, that however man may degrade Africa, she shall one day lift her dusky hands unto him.

I notice, in the second place, SOME OF THE MEANS THAT HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED FOR THE PURPOSE OF AFFORDING THIS INSTRUCTION. Here it is necessary to carry you back through a lengthened period. The origin of the Missions of the West India Islands is very imperfectly known; but its cause marks so distinctly the hand and finger of Providence, that it is atheism not to perceive it. Though we had the dishonour of first enslaving Africa, we had not the honour of first teaching Africans the way to heaven. About sixty years ago a man was stolen from the land of his forefathers, and immured in one of those watery dungeons called a slave-ship; he was sent to the Coast of America, where he continued a hopeless slave. From the descendants of some who fled from your country, because they could not obtain religious liberty here, he first heard of Christ and him crucified: the news affected his heart, and governed his life. Being impelled by the influence of the Holy Ghost with a restless desire to do good, and not being permitted to do that in America on account of the colour of his skin, he worked, and by some means obtained his freedom. Amidst trials that will not be revealed till Jamaica gives up her dead, and the appalling spectacle shall be presented, of slave, and slave owner, standing before the tribunal of a justly offended God-amidst trials unequalled, he proclaimed salvation by a crucified Redeemer. It is in some respects pleasing, and in other respects painful, to reflect, that the first chapel that was erected was built on different Lord's days. At the time I speak of, the slaves

had no time to call their own, except the day devoted by the Christian Church to rest. As they laboured they sung the praises of God; while they worked he preached: and thus the first Baptist Chapel was erected in which God was worshipped in that Island. It was my happiness to know that distinguished individual, who will be esteemed in future generations, the Apostle from Africa to Africa. He died in a good old age, triumphing in redeeming love. Amidst the tears and sobs of numbers of his fellow countrymen, I committed his remains to the tomb.

And here let us pause, and admire the Providence which presided in this arrangement. Who would have thought it, what tongue could have spoken the mighty truth, what heart could have conceived the heart-cheering intelligence? Had you beheld that slave, the prey of a fellow man, crossing the deep, bound, and manacled, and fettered-had you seen him toiling under the burning sun at the beck of his task-master, could you have supposed that he was the distinguished individual who was to carry the Gospel to his fellow countrymen, and that that Gospel was to smite off every fetter, and bid the oppressed go free? Though he has died, the Gospel he preached has not died; others have been found who have taught the Negroes the way of God more perfectly, who have led them into the truth as it is in Jesus, who have carried forward the work he so nobly begun. The light of divine truth penetrated the dark recesses of slavery; and slavery not being able to bear the light came forward with all its instruments of cruelty, and with its instruments of torture and persecution : meek, dignified Christianity gazed upon the hideous spectre, and it fled to rise no more. And thus shall every future opposition vanish: however high may be the mountain, however exalted may be the difficulty, which sets itself against the cross of Jesus Christ, it shall either be brought to kiss the Son, or vanish from his sight, when he appears to bring home the nations to himself.

While Christianity has been achieving this victory for the enslaved sons of Africa, it has, at the same time, been raising up a set of men eminently qualified to fulfil the predictions revealed in the Word of God. And here my Christian brethren, I invite your most serious attention, that, in the secret retirement of the closet, when we are far away from you, when we are remembered by you, in those holy moments when you are pleading with your heavenly Father, pray that that result to which I have now alluded, may be brought about by Him who is excellent in counsel and mighty in working. Those who may be acquainted with Africa, know well that European labourers cannot live there; that however untiring be our personal labours, that however energetic our enterprise, that there we cannot live; that such is the pestilential influence of the climate, that the European goes there only to wither and to die. But here you behold a race of Christians rising up in the house of bondage, trained by God in the school of affliction, and on whom the sword of persecution has rested: they bear on their backs the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ, and thousands of them will bear those marks to the grave, and probably wear them in heaven. These being trained in the school of adversity, know well the consolations flowing from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ: that Christianity which found them in sorrow, has now lifted them in the scale of society; possessing an untiring zeal in the service of their Master, they will soon, we trust, be fitted to return to their native country, and there preach salvation through the blood of the Son

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