Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship ‎#350

350. Approach, My Soul, the Mercy Seat

1. Approach, my soul, the mercy seat
Where Jesus answers pray'r;
There humbly fall before his feet,
For none can perish there.

2. My only plea, your promise true;
With this I venture nigh;
You beckon burdened souls to you,
And such, O Lord, am I.

3. Bowed down beneath a load of sin,
By Satan sorely pressed;
By war without and fears within,
I come to you for rest.

4. Thus be my shield and hiding place!
That sheltered near your side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And say the Lamb has died.

5. Oh, wondrous love! To bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I,
Might plead your gracious name.

6. “Poor tempest-ravaged soul, be still,
My promised grace receive,”
’Tis Jesus speaks—I must, I will,
I can, I do believe.

Text Information

• First Line: Approach, my soul, the mercy seat
• Title: Approach, My Soul, the Mercy Seat
• Author: John Newton (1779)
• Meter: 8.6.8.6
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 2024
• Scripture:
  Hebrews 9:24-28
• Topic: Ordinary Time: Week 27
• Notes: Text by John Newton, Anglican curate of Olney, from Olney Hymns (1779), alt.

Tune Information

• Name: WILTSHIRE
• Composer: George Thomas Smart (ca. 1795)
• Meter: 8.6.8.6
• Incipit: 53511 71432 23
• Key: A♭ Major
• Notes: Tune WILTSHIRE by George Thomas Smart, organist of St. James’s Chapel, from his Divine Amusement (ca. 1795), arr. as in Hymns Ancient & Modern (1875).