Let’s get back to some research and new posts. Earlier this week, I had an email from reader, Brian Crosby. Brian had been clearing out his wife’s late mother’s belongings and found some papers which had been passed down through the family from Normal Cree. Norman was the grandfather of Brian’s wife.
Amongst the items was a folder which contained a hand written letter by David Lvingstone from 1857 as well as a type-written letter from Ronald Keymer, a retired missionary who was living in St Andrews, addressed to Brian’s wife’s father, George Taylor, in which Keymer answers a question about the African language D.L. quotes and makes other interesting observations.
The Livingstone paper is interesting, and was the focus of my research to try to find out more. Focusing on the date, 7th September 1857, that was actually fairly important and remarkably we know what Livingstone was doing that day. On 7th September 1857, the Blantyre explorer Dr David Livingstone was in Manchester to deliver a major public lecture at the Manchester Free Trade Hall.
This event was part of his triumphant return tour to Britain after his first great African expedition, where he had famously crossed the African continent from west to east (Luanda to Quelimane) — a remarkable achievement that captured the public imagination. He would go on later that year to revisit Blantyre.
In his Manchester address that day, Livingstone spoke passionately about:
- His experiences travelling through southern and central Africa,
- The geography and peoples he encountered,
- His condemnation of the slave trade, and
- His call for commerce and Christianity as means to bring progress and end slavery in Africa.
The lecture was attended by a large and enthusiastic audience, marking Manchester as one of the key stops in his national speaking tour. It helped to cement his reputation as both a heroic explorer and a moral crusader.
So what about the phrase in both African and translated into English. ““Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out”
With Livingstone bring a missionary, I turned to reference the bible and lo and behold it is a phase from John 6:37. This particular phrase actually held a deep personal and symbolic meaning for David Livingstone, particularly during his appearance in Manchester on 7th September 1857.
🔹 Personal Significance:
That Bible verse was inscribed on a marble tablet in the porch of the Church in Blantyre, where Livingstone grew up and first found his Christian faith. It became a guiding spiritual motto for him throughout his life — a reminder of acceptance, faith, and perseverance, no matter the hardship.
🔹 In Manchester (1857):
When Livingstone visited Blantyre Mills as a boy, he worked long hours before attending evening school to learn Latin and theology. The same verse was displayed above the door of the schoolroom. So when he stood before Manchester’s large audience, speaking of Africa, Christianity, and moral purpose, that verse embodied his lifelong conviction — that no person or nation is beyond redemption or hope if they seek truth and goodness.
🔹 Symbolic Relevance:
In the Manchester lecture, Livingstone’s message was not only geographical but spiritual: he urged Britain to embrace Africa, not through conquest but through compassion — echoing that verse’s inclusivity. “Him that cometh unto me…” became, in essence, his moral call to welcome and uplift all humanity.
Here’s a relevant extract from David Livingstone’s Manchester address, delivered at the Free Trade Hall on 7th September 1857, which beautifully reflects the same spirit as the verse “Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.”
“I go back to Africa to make an open path for commerce and Christianity. Do not let it be supposed that I am going to act as a mere pioneer for others; I shall do my duty faithfully, and then I trust that men better qualified than I am will follow, to carry out the work which I have begun. I have opened the door; I leave it to you to see that no one closes it after me.”
This powerful statement captured his belief that all peoples should have access to faith, education, and freedom — no one should be “cast out” or left behind, mirroring the inclusiveness of Christ’s words.
What an incredible find!