When Joshua, By God's Command

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When Joshua, by God’s command

Author: John Newton
Tune: LOB SEI DEM ALLMÄCHTIGEN GOTT (Crüger)
Published in 1 hymnal

Printable scores: PDF, Noteworthy Composer
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 When Joshua, by God’s command,
Invaded Canaan’s guilty land;
Gibeon, unlike the nations round,
Submission made and mercy found.

2 Their stubborn neighbors who, enraged,
United war against them waged,
By Joshua soon were overthrown,
For Gibeon’s cause was now his own.

3 He, from whose arm they ruin feared,
Their leader and ally appeared;
An emblem of the Savior’s grace,
To those who humbly seek His face.

4 The men of Gibeon wore disguise,
And gained their peace by framing lies;
For Joshua had no power to spare,
If he had known from whence they were.

5 But Jesus invitations sends,
Treating with rebels as His friends;
And holds the promise forth in view,
To all who for His mercy sue.

6 Too long His goodness I disdained,
Yet went at last and peace obtained;
But soon the noise of war I heard,
And former friends in arms appeared.

7 Weak in myself for help I cried,
"Lord, I am pressed on every side;
The cause is Thine: They fight with me,
But every blow is aimed at Thee."

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #12173

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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 >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	When Joshua, by God’s command
Title:	When Joshua, By God's Command
Author:	John Newton
Meter:	8.8.8.8
Source:	Olney Hymns (London, W. Oliver, 1779), Book 1
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain