1. As once for Jonah, so for me,
To soothe and cheer my mournful hours,
Prepared for me a leafy tree;
Cool was its shade, and sweet its flow'rs.
2. To prize his gift was surely right,
But through the folly of my heart,
It hid the Giver from my sight,
And soon my joy was changed to smart.
3. While I admired its beauteous form,
Its pleasant shade, and grateful fruit,
The Lord, displeased, sent forth a worm,
Unseen, to prey upon the root.
4. Though trembling when I saw it fade,
Restrained my tongue from bursting free;
My folly I confessed, and prayed,
Forgive my sin and spare my tree.
5. His wondrous love can ne’er be told;
He heard me and relieved my pain,
Yet no more did those leaves unfold,
Nor did the tree revive again.
6. Now, Lord, the tree is mine no more,
’Tis thine, who only could it raise;
The idol of my heart no more,
Henceforth shall give way to thy praise.
Source: Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship #296
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 >
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