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The Pool of Bethesda

Beside the gospel pool

Author: John Newton
Published in 154 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 Beside the gospel pool,
Appointed for the poor,
From time to time my helpless soul,
Has waited for a cure.

2 But whither can I go?
There is no other pool,
Where streams of sov’reign virtue flow,
To make a sinner whole.

Source: The Sacred Harp: the best collection of sacred songs, hymns, odes, and anthems ever offered the singing public for general use (1991 rev.) #34a

Author: John Newton

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 >

Text Information

First Line: Beside the gospel pool
Title: The Pool of Bethesda
Author: John Newton
Meter: 6.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #476
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 3 of 3)

Original Sacred Harp Denson Revision 1987 Standard Melodies #34a

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #476

Text

The Sacred Harp #34a

Include 151 pre-1979 instances
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