1 Joy is a fruit that will not grow
In nature's barren soil;
All we can boast, till Christ we know,
Is vanity and toil.
2 But where the Lord has planted grace,
And made His glories known,
There fruits of heavenly joy and peace
Are found– and there alone.
3 A bleeding Saviour, seen by faith,
A sense of pard'ning love,
A hope that triumphs over death–
Give joys like those above.
4 To take a glimpse within the veil,
To know that God is mine–
Are springs of joy that never fail,
Unspeakable, divine!
5 These are the joys that satisfy
And sanctify the mind;
Which make the spirit mount on high,
And leave the world behind.
AMEN.
Source: The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal: official hymnal of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church #441
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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