1 That man no guard or weapon needs,
Whose heart the blood of Jesus knows;
But safe may pass, if duty leads,
Through burning sands or mountain snows.
2 Released from guilt he feels no fear,
Redemption is his shield and tower;
He sees his Savior always near
To help in every trying hour.
3 Though I am weak, and Satan strong,
And often to assault me tries;
When Jesus is my shield and song,
Abashed the wolf before me flies.
4 His love possessing, I am blest,
Secure whatever change may come;
Whither I go to east or west,
With him I still shall be at home.
5 If placed beneath the northern pole,
Though winter reigns with vigor there;
His gracious beams would cheer my soul,
And make a spring throughout the year.
6 Or if the desert's sun-burnt soil,
My lonely dwelling e'er should prove,
His presence would support my toil,
Whose smile is life, whose voice is love.
The Christian's duty, exhibited in a series of hymns, 1791
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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