1 At length the wished for spring is come;
How altered is the scene!
The trees and shrubs are dressed in bloom,
The earth arrayed in green.
2 I see my Savior from on high,
Break through the clouds and shine!
No creature now more blest than I,
No song more loud than mine.
3 Thy word does all my hope revive,
It overcomes my foes;
It makes my languid graces thrive,
And blossom like a rose.
4 Dear Lord, a monument I stand,
Of what thy grace can do,
Uphold me by thy gracious hand,
Each changing season through.
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