# An Address to Miss Phillis Wheatly

Hammon addresses this poem to Phillis Wheatley, a contemporary African-American poet.
HARTFORD, August 4, 1778.
AN ADDRESS to Miſs Phillis Wheatly, Ethiopian Poeteſs, in Boſton, who came from Africa at eight years of age, and ſoon became acquainted with the goſpel of Jeſus Chriſt.
Miſs Wheatly; pray give me leave to expreſs as follows:
| 1. O Come you pious youth! adore The wiſdom of thy God, In bringing thee from diſtant ſhore, To learn his holy word. | Eccleſ. xii. 1. |
| 2. Thou mightſt been left behind, Amidſt a dark abode; God's tender mercy ſtill combin'd, Thou haſt the holy word. | Pſal. cxxxvi. 1, 2, 3. |
| 3. Fair wiſdom's ways are paths of peace; And they that walk therein, Shall reap the joys that never ceaſe, And Chriſt ſhall be their king. | Pſal. i. 1, 2, 3. Prov. iii. 7. |
| 4. God's tender mercy brought thee here; Toſt o'er the raging main; In Chriſtian faith thou haſt a ſhare, Worth all the gold of Spain. | Pſal. ciii. 1, 2, 3, 4. |
| 5. While thouſands toſſed by the ſea, And others ſettled down, God's tender mercy ſet thee free, From dangers ſtill unknown. | Death. |
| 6. That thou a pattern ſtill might be, To youth of Boſton town, The bleſſed Jeſus ſet thee free, From every ſinful wound. | 2 Cor. v. 10. |
| 7. The bleſſed Jeſus, who came down, Unvail'd his ſacred face, To cleanſe the ſoul of every wound, And give repenting grace. | Rom. v. 21. |
| 8. That we poor ſinners may obtain The pardon of our ſin; Dear bleſſed Jeſus now conſtrain, And bring us flocking in. | Pſal. xxxiv. 6, 7, 8. |
| 9. Come you, Phillis, now aſpire, And ſeek the living God, So ſtep by ſtep thou mayſt go higher, Till perfect in the word. | Matth. vii. 7, 8. |
| 10. While thouſands mov'd to diſtant ſhore; And others left behind, The bleſſed Jeſus ſtill adore, Implant this in thy mind. | Pſal. lxxxix. 1. |
| 11. Thou haſt left the heathen ſhore, Thro' mercy of the Lord; Among the heathen live no more, Come magnify thy God. | Pſal. xxxiv. 1, 2, 3. |
| 12. I pray the living God may be, The ſhepherd of thy ſoul; His tender mercies ſtill are free, His myſteries to unfold. | Pſal. lxxx. 1, 2, 3. |
| 13. Thou, Phillis, when thou hunger haſt, Or panteſt for thy God; Jeſus Chriſt is thy relief, Thou haſt the holy word. | Pſal. xlii. 1, 2, 3. |
| 14. The bounteous mercies of the Lord, Are hid beyond the ſky, And holy ſouls that love his word, Shall taſte them when they die. | Pſal. xvi. 10, 11. |
| 15. Theſe bounteous mercies are from God, The merits of his Son; The humble ſoul that loves his word, He chooſes for his own. | Pſal. xxxiv. 15. |
| 16. Come, dear Phillis, be advis'd, To drink Samaria's flood; There nothing is that ſhall ſuffice. But Chriſt's redeming blood. | John iv. 13, 14. |
| 17. While thouſands muſe with earthly toys; And range about the ſtreet, Dear Phillis, ſeek for heaven's joys, Where we do hope to meet. | Matth. vi. 33. |
| 18. When God ſhall ſend his ſummons down, And number ſaints together, Bleſt angels chant, (triumphant ſound) Come live with me for ever. | Pſal. cxvi. 15. |
| 19. The humble ſoul ſhall fly to God, And leave the things of time, Start forth as 'twere at the firſt word, To taſte things more divine. | Mat. v. 3, 8. |
| 20. Behold! the ſoul ſhall waft away, Whene'er we come to die, And leave its cottage made of clay, In twinkling of an eye. | Cor. iv. 51, 52, 53. |
| 21. Now glory be to the Moſt High, United praiſes given, By all on earth, inceſſantly, And all the hoſt of heav'n. | Pſal. cl. 6. |
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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