The more I heard or read, the more I" saw that I "was condemned as a
sinner before God; till at length I was brought to perceive that my life
hung by a slender thread, and if it was the will of God to cut me off at
that time, I was sure I should be found in hell, as sure as God was in
Heaven. I saw my condemnation in my own heart, and I found no way
wherein I could escape the damnation of hell, only through the merits of
my dying Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; which caused me to make
intercession with Christ, for the salvation of my poor immortal soul;
and I full well recollect, I requested of my Lord and Master to give me
a work, I did not care how mean it was, only to try and see how good I
would do it." When he became acquainted with the method of salvation by
our Lord Jesus Christ, he soon found relief, particularly at a time when
he was earnestly engaged in prayer; yea, he says, "I felt such love and
joy as my tongue was not able to express. After this I declared before
the congregation of believers the work which God had done for my soul,
and the same minister, the Rev. Matthew Moore, baptized me, and I
continued in this church about four years, till the vacuation" of
Savannah by the British. When Mr. Liele was called by grace himself, he
was desirous of promoting the felicity of others. One who was an
eyewitness of it, says, _That he began to discover his love to other
negroes, on the same plantation with himself, by reading hymns among
them, encouraging them to sing, and sometimes by explaining the most
striking parts of them_. His own account is this, "Desiring to prove the
sense I had of my obligations to God, I endeavoured to instruct" the
people of "my own color in the word of God: the white brethren seeing
my endeavours, and that the word of the Lord seemed to be blessed, gave
me a call at a quarterly meeting to preach before the congregation."
Afterwards Mr. Moore took the sense of the church concerning brother
Liele's abilities, when it appeared to be their unanimous opinion, "that
he was possessed of ministerial gifts," and according to the custom