1 Thou great Physician of the soul,
To thee I bring my case;
My raging malady control,
And heal me by thy grace.
2 Help me to state my whole complaint,
But where shall I begin?
Nor words, nor thoughts, can fully paint
That worst distemper, sin.
3 It lies not in a single part,
But through my frame is spread;
A burning fever in my heart,
A palsy in my head.
4 It makes me deaf, and dumb, and blind,
And impotent and lame;
It overclouds, and fills my mind,
With folly, fear, and shame.
5 A thousand evil thoughts intrude,
Tumultuous in my breast;
Which indispose me for my food,
And rob me of my rest.
6 Lord, I am sick, regard my cry,
And set my spirit free;
Say, canst thou let a sinner die,
Who longs to live to thee.
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 >
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