1 Beneath the tyrant Satan’s yoke
Our souls were long oppressed;
Till grace our galling fetters broke,
And gave the weary rest.
2 Jesus, in that important hour,
His mighty arm made known;
He ransomed us by price, and power,
And claimed us for His own.
3 Now, freed from bondage, sin, and death,
We walk in wisdom’s ways;
And wish to spend our every breath,
In wonder, love, and praise.
4 Ere long, we hope with Him to dwell
In yonder world above;
And now, we only live to tell
The riches of His love.
5 O might we, ere we hence remove,
Prevail upon our youth
To seek, that they may likewise prove,
His mercy and His truth.
6 Like Simeon, we shall gladly go,
When Jesus calls us home
If they are left a seed below,
To serve Him in our room.
7 Lord hear our prayer, indulge our hope,
On these Thy Spirit pour;
That they may take our story up,
When we can speak no more.
Source: The Cyber Hymnal #16513
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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