1 Afflictions though they seem severe,
In mercy oft are sent,
They stopp’d the prodigal’s career,
And caus’d him to repent.
Chorus:
I’ll die no more for bread, he cried,
Nor starve in foreign lands;
My father’s house has large supplies,
And bounteous are his hands.
2 What have I gained by sin, he said,
But hunger, shame and fear?
My father’s house abounds with bread,
While I am starving here. [Chorus]
3 I’ll go and tell him all I’ve done,
Fall down before his face,
Unworthy to be called his son,
I’ll seek a servant’s place. [Chorus]
4 His father saw him coming back,
He saw, and ran, and smiled,
And threw his arms around the neck
Of his rebellious child. [Chorus]
5 Father, I’ve sinned, but O forgive!
Enough! the father said;
Rejoice, my house, my son’s alive,
For whom I mourned as dead. [Chorus]
6 Now let the fatted calf be slain,
And spread the news around;
My son was dead, and lives again;
Was lost, but now is found. [Chorus]
7 ‘Tis thus the Lord His love reveals,
To call poor sinners home;
More than a father’s love He feels,
And welcomes all that come. [Chorus]
Source: Gospel Praise Book.: a collection of choice gems of sacred song suitable for church service, gospel praise meetings, and family devotions. (Complete ed.) #130
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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