1 When any turn from Zion's way,
(As numbers often do,)
Methinks I hear my Saviour say,
"Wilt thou forsake me too?"
2 Ah, Lord! with such a heart as mine,
Unless thou hold me fast,
My faith will fail, I shall decline,
And prove like them at last.
3 'Tis thou alone hast power and grace,
To save a wretch like me;
To whom then shall I turn my face,
If I depart from thee.
4 Beyond a doubt I rest assur'd
Thou art the CHRIST of GOD;
Who hast eternal life secur'd,
By promise and by blood.
5 The help of men and angels join'd,
Could never reach my case!
Nor can I hope relief to find,
But in thy boundless grace.
6 No voice but thine can give me rest,
And bid my fears depart;
No love but thine can make me blest,
And satisfy my heart.
Source: Hymns, Selected and Original: for public and private worship (1st ed.) #405
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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