“People who are in danger of perishing for lack of knowledge, still are very numerous. The much which has been done, is little compared with what the Society [for Promoting Religious Knowledge among the Poor] might yet do, were the resources equal to the wishes. I trust my request, that you will strengthen their hands at this time, will not be in vain; and that the brief account I have given you of their design and progress, will render further solicitation needless.”
John Newton (1725-1807), author of Amazing Grace, said these words in his sermon preached in the Parish Church of St. Mary Woolnoth on Wednesday, November 21, 1787, on the day of the annual meeting of the Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge among the Poor. Taken from The Works of Rev. John Newton (London: Nelson and Paternoster, 1853) 849.