1. Jesus, who bought us with His blood,
And makes our souls His care;
Was known of old as Israel’s God,
And answered Jabez’ prayer.
2. Jabez! a child of grief! the name
Befits poor sinners well;
For Jesus bore the cross and shame,
To save our souls from hell.
3. Teach us, O Lord, like him, to plead
For mercies from above;
O come, and bless our souls indeed,
With light, and joy, and love.
4. The Gospel’s promised land is wide,
We fain would enter in;
But we are pressed, on every side,
With unbelief and sin.
5. Arise; O Lord, enlarge our coast,
Let us possess the whole;
That Satan may no longer boast
He can Thy work control.
6. Oh, may Thine hand be with us still,
Our Guide and Guardian be;
To keep us safe from every ill,
Till death shall set us free.
7. Help us on Thee to cast our care,
And on Thy Word to rest;
That Israel’s God, who heareth prayer,
Will grant us our request.
Source: The Cyber Hymnal #3494
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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