Prayer

This sacred right none are denied,
Which makes the soul to Christ allied;
Man bends the heart and bows the knee,
And knows in prayer that he is free.

Yes, free to ask of Him, whate’er
The fainting heart alone can cheer;
To worship at that holy shrine,
Where beams thy Spirit, Lord, divine.

And Afric’s children they are free,
To breathe their vows, their prayers to Thee;
With thought of future joy and gain,
The slave forgets his grief and pain;

Forgets awhile his slavish fear;
Forgets⁠—that fetters bind him here;
And in that sweet communion rest
His hopes, his fears⁠—for he is blest.