1 Behold! long-wish'd-for spring is come,
How alter'd is the scene!
The trees and shrubs are dress'd in bloom,
The earth array'd in green.
2 Where'er we tread, the clustering flowers
Beauteous around us spring;
The birds, with joint harmonious powers,
Invite our hearts to sing.
3 But ah! in vain I strive to join
Oppress'd with sin and doubt;
I feel 'tis winter still within,
Though all is spring without.
4 O! would my Savior, from on high,
Break through these clouds and shine,
No creature then more blest than I,
No song more loud than mine.
5 Lord, let thy word my hopes revive,
And overcome my foes;
O make my languid graces thrive,
And blossom like the rose!
Source: A Collection of Hymns and Prayers, for Public and Private Worship #407
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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