Prayer of the Colored Mother, etc.
While he regards the rich and fair,
The noble and the brave,
He listens to the beggar's prayer
And the poor negro slave.
He knows the worthy and the vile,
And sends his mercy down;
None are too mean to share his smile,
Too high to feel his frown.
Great God, and since thy piercing eye
My inmost heart can see,
Teach me from every sin to fly,
And turn that heart to thee !
Prayer of the Colored Mother of New England.
GREAT Father! who created all,
The colored and the fair:
Oh! listen to a mother's call,
Hear Thou, the negro's prayer.
Prayer of the Colored Mother, etc.
Yet once again, thy people teach
With lessons from above,
That they may practice what they preach,
And all their neighbors love.
The Colored Mother of New England to her Enfant.
Thy sparkling eye is full of light,
Thy heart beats high with joy,
And wo or care, from morn till night,
Disturbs not thee, my boy.
Smile now-for, o'er thy coming years,
A cloud of misery bends;
Disgrace and shame, regret and tears,
Till earthly being ends.
Yes, yes-my child-that soul of thine,
Pure from its Maker's hand,
Destined, they tell us, yet to shine
In heaven, its native land;
That soul, by God's all-wise decree,
Is shrined within a form
Of human shape and symmetry,
With life-blood red and warm!
Whose skin reflects a darker hue,
Than that the white man wears,
And for this cause thy early dew
Of joy must change for tears!
For thee from childhood's gleesome hour,
Through all thy onward track,
Are hard and bitter things in store,
Because thy skin is black!
Prayer of the Colored Mother, etc.
Again, the gospel precepts give,
Teach them this rule to know,
Such treatment as ye would receive,
Be willing to bestow.
Oh! I have borne this shame about,
In bitterness and grief,
And till sweet peace a Saviqur brought,
I never found relief.
A little girl, to school I went,
With heart as light as air,
And as my steps I thither bent,
I breathed my morning prayer.
Into a corner, all alone,
My place was there assigned,
My lessons, books, were all my own,
A mate I could not find.
At play, upon my lonely state,
No ray of kindness came;
They spurned me as a thing to hate,
And Negro was my name.
At night, I reached my mother's cot,
With heart oppressed with wo,
And from my mother's lips I sought
The cause of all to know.
She said 't was cruel prejudice!
That dwelt their breasts within,
Which caused the treatment such as this,
Of those of colored skin.
Prayer of a Colored Mother, etc.
That this, my child, my only one
May never feel the smart Of this unjust and cruel scorn, That withers all the heart.
Great Father! who created all,
The colored and the fair:
Oh! listen to a mother's call,
Hear Thou, the negro's prayer.
My hopes were crushed, my heart appalled,
With this most foul disgrace;
And then my teacher stupid called
All creatures of my race!
Whene'er upon the Sabbath morn,
I've sought the house of prayer,
My soul has sunk beneath the scorn
The white man carries there.
Must thou, my child-my only one-
Must thou, too, feel the smart
Of this unjust and cruel scorn,
That withers all the heart?
For cause beyond thy weak control,
Has God for the desingned
This degredation of the soul,
This slavery of the mind?
No: scriptures say, that of one blood,
Has God created all
The nations he has spread abroad,
Upon this earthly ball.
Hymn for the Monthly Concert.
HOLY Father, God of love,
Send thy spirit from above;
Help us thy great name to sing,
God of mercy, heavenly King.
For the burdened slave would we
Ask the gift of liberty;
For the weary souls oppressed,
We would ask thy peace and rest.
In thy gracious love arise,
See his burden,-hear his cries,—
Rend his fetters,-set him free
From oppression's tyranny.
Then his thankful voice shall raise
Songs to thee of grateful praise:
Thy great love shall be his theme,
He shall own thee, Lord, supreme.
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