The Project Gutenberg EBook of Thoughts on the Religious Instruction of
the Negroes of this Country, by William Swan Plumer

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Title: Thoughts on the Religious Instruction of the Negroes of this Country

Author: William Swan Plumer

Release Date: June 5, 2010 [EBook #32698]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THOUGHTS

ON

THE RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION

OF

THE NEGROES OF THIS COUNTRY.

BY WM. S. PLUMER, D.D.

SAVANNAH:

EDWARD J. PURSE, PRINTER,

No. 102 Bryan-Street--Up Stairs.

1848.

Many centuries ago, a holy seer said, "Ethiopia shall soon stretch out
her hand unto God." In view of the fulfilment of this prophecy, the
royal bard called for a song of universal praise. The words next
succeeding this prediction are, "Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the
earth: O sing praises unto the Lord." The writings of Jeremiah inform us
who the Ethiopians were, when he speaks of them as contra-distinguished
from the rest of the race by their colour, as the leopard is from the
rest of the feline tribe by his spots.

The first step in the providence of God towards an amelioration of the
spiritual condition of the negro race was their dispersion among other
races of mankind. This work, both cruel and bloody, had not been
completed, when Christian philanthropy, ever vigilant, sought them out
in bondage, and bore to them the cup of divine consolation, which the
gospel offers to all, and especially to the sons of sorrow. As early as
the year 1732, the United Brethren commenced missions to the negroes in
the Danish West Indies, viz., St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. Jan. In
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