God Never Made a Slave

God Never Made a Slave

Ah! dark skinned tribes, though black we be,
God, our creator, made us free;
To all He life and being gave,
But never, never made a slave.

His works, all wondrous to behold,
Proclaim to us a power untold;
He made the sea and formed the wave,
But never, never made a slave.

He made yon sun with splendor bright,
The moon to brighten earth's dark night;
He made in power this vast concave,
But never, never made a slave.

He made all colors and all climes,
Of living things made every kind;
For all he made the common grave,
But never, never made a slave.

Though Adam's sin brought pain and death,
Yet life came with Christ's dying breath;
From henceforth heaven and hell may rave,
His blood speaks freedom to the slave.

For all He sent His Son to be
The Great High Priest of Liberty;
From sin's strong chains our souls to save,
And break the fetters of the slave.

All men are equal in His sight,
The bond, the free, the black, the white;
He made them all—all freedom gave—
God made the man, man made the slave.

But glorious tidings of great joy!
Yon kingdom beams without alloy;
And while we view that "crystal sea,"
We'll shout, praise God, we're free! we're free!

Theodore Doughty Miller

1:17, p. 4

11.12.1859