1 Anxious, I strove to find the way
Which to salvation led;
I listened long, I tried to pray,
And heard what many said.
2 When some of joys and comforts told,
I feared that I was wrong;
For I was stupid, dead, and cold,
Had neither joys nor song.
3 The Lord my laboring heart relieved,
And made my burden light;
Then for a moment I believed,
And thought that all was right.
4 Of fierce temptations others talked,
Of anguish and dismay;
Through what distresses they had walked,
Before they found the way.
5 Ah! then I thought my hopes were vain,
For I had lived at ease;
I wished for all my fears again,
To make me more like these.
6 I had my wish, the Lord disclosed
The evils of my heart;
And left my naked soul exposed
To Satan's fiery dart.
7 Alas! I cried in deep despair,
Borne down with fearful pain!
How can I these fierce terrors bear,
And who will now sustain!
8 Again my Savior brought me aid,
And when he set me free,
"Trust simply on my word," he said,
"And leave the rest to me."
The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the most approved authors, 1799
John Newton (b. London, England, 1725; d. London, 1807) was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumultuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide… Go to person page >
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files