1 Thy message, by the preacher, seal,
And let thy power be known;
That every sinner here may feel
The word is not his own.
2 Amongst the foremost of the throng
Who dared thee to thy face,
He in rebellion stood too long,
And fought against thy grace.
3 But grace prevailed, he mercy found,
And now by thee is sent,
To tell his fellow-rebels round,
And call them to repent.
4 In Jesus, God is reconciled,
The worst may be forgiven;
Come, and he'll own you as a child,
And make you heirs of heaven.
5 Oh may the word of gospel truth
Your chief desires engage;
And Jesus be your guide in youth,
Your joy in hoary age.
6 Perhaps the year that's now begun,
May prove to some their last;
The sands of life may soon be run,
The day of grace be past.
7 Think if you slight this embassy,
And will not warning take;
When Jesus in the clouds you see,
What answer will you make?
Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians, 1803
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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