1 Uncertain how the way to find
Which to salvation led,
I list'ned long, with anxious mind,
To hear what others said.
2 When some of joys and comforts told,
I fear'd that I was wrong;
For I was stupid, dead, and cold--
Had neither joy nor song.
3 Of fierce temptations others talk'd,
Of anguish and dismay;
Thro' what distresses they had walk'd,
Before they found the way.
4 Ah! then I thought my hopes were vain
For I had lived at ease;
I wish'd for all my fears again,
To make me more like these.
5 I had my wish--the Lord disclos'd
The evils of my heart;
And left my naked soul expos'd
To satan's fi'ry dart.
6 Alas! "I now must give it up,"
I cry'd in deep despair;
How could I dream of drawing hope
From what I cannot bear!
7 Again my Saviour brought me aid,
And when he set me free,
"Trust simply on my word," he said,
"And leave the rest to me."
Source: Hymns, Selected and Original: for public and private worship (1st ed.) #400
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 >
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files