Break thro' the clouds, dear Lord, and shine

Top Text Author Text Info Timeline Page Scans Instances

Break thro' the clouds, dear Lord, and shine

Author: John Newton
Published in 13 hymnals

Representative Text

1 Break through the clouds, dear Lord, and shine,
Let us perceive thee nigh!
And to each mourning child of thine,
These gracious words apply.

2 "Let not my children slight the stroke,
I for chastisement send;
Nor faint beneath my kind rebuke,
For I am still their friend.

3 "The wicked I perhaps may leave
Awhile and not reprove;
But all the children I receive,
I scourge because I love.

4 "I see your hearts at present filled
With grief and deep distress;
But soon these bitter seeds shall yield
The fruits of righteousness."

The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the most approved authors, 1799

All representative texts • Compare texts ^ top

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 >

^ top