While sinners utter boasting words

Representative Text

1 While sinners utter boasting words,
And glory in their shame;
The Lord, well pleased, an ear affords
To those who fear His name.

2 They often meet to seek His face,
And what they do or say,
Is noted in His book of grace,
Against another day.

3 For they, by faith, a day descry,
A joyfully expect,
When He, descending from the sky,
His jewels will collect.

4 Unnoticed now, because unknown,
A poor and suffering few;
He comes to claim them for His own,
And bring them forth to view.

5 With transport then, their Savior’s care
And favor they shall prove;
As tender parents guard and spare
The children of their love.

6 Assembled worlds will then discern
The saints alone are blest;
When wrath shall like an oven burn,
And vengeance strike the rest.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #8169

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 >

Text Information

First Line: While sinners utter boasting words
Author: John Newton
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

MAITLAND (Allen)

PRECIOUS LORD, the tune Thomas Dorsey used for his most beloved hymn, "Precious Lord, take my hand", is an adaptation of MAITLAND. Sometimes Dorsey is shown as the composer, sometimes as the arranger or adapter the tune. MAITLAND is often attributed to Allen, but the earliest known sources (H.W. Bee…

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The Cyber Hymnal #8169
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The Cyber Hymnal #8169

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