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 >
Translator: ناصيف اليازجي
Nasif al-Yaziji (March 25, 1800 – February 8, 1871) was a Lebanese author at the times of the Ottoman Empire and father of Ibrahim al-Yaziji. He was one of the leading figures in the Nahda movement. We was a poet, wrote and translated many hymns, and helped in translating the complete Bible into Arabic.
ناصيف بن عبد الله بن جنبلاط بن سعد اليازجي (25 مارس 1800 - 8 فبراير 1871)، أديب وشاعر لبناني ولد في قرية كفر شيما، من قرى الساحل اللبناني في 25 آذار سنة 1800 م في أسرة اليازجي التي نبغ كثير من أفرادها في الفكر والأدب، وأصله من حمص.
لعب دورا كبيرا في إعاد… Go to person page >
The authorship of this tune is not clear, with different editors attributing the tune to different composers (or not naming one at all). See the instances list above for the different attributions.
From William J. Reynolds, Companion to Baptist Hymnal (1976):
"Nettleton first appeared as a two-part…