Approach, my soul, the mercy seat. J. Newton. [Lent.] First published in the Olney Hymns, 1779, Bk. iii., No. 12, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and again in all later editions of the same work. It came into early use in the hymnals and has attained to a foremost position as one of the most popular of Newton's productions. In the Olney Hymns it is the second of two hymns headed, "The Effort." The first hymn by Newton on this same subject begins:— "Cheer up, my soul, there is a mercy seat." No. 11, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines as above. Its similarity to "Approach, my soul," has led some to suppose it to have been re-written by an unknown compiler. In the American College Hymnal, N. Y. 1876, stanzas ii., iii. and iv. are given as No. 280, "Lord, I am come, Thy promise is my plea." The use of this hymn in any form is very limited.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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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