1 By various maxims, forms, and rules,
That pass for wisdom in the schools,
I strove my passion to refrain;
But all my efforts proved in vain.
2 But since the Savior I have known,
My rules are all reduced to one;
I keep my Lord by faith in view,
Which strength supplies and motives too.
3 I see him lead a suffering life,
Patient amidst reproach and strife;
And from this pattern courage take
To bear and suffer for his sake.
4 Upon the cross I see him bleed,
And by the fight from guilt am freed;
This fight destroys the life of sin,
And quickens heavenly life within.
5 To look to Jesus as he rose,
Confirms my faith, disarms my foes;
Satan I shame and overcome,
By pointing to my Savior's tomb.
6 Exalted on his glorious throne,
I see him make my cause his own;
Then all my anxious cares subside,
For Jesus lives, and will provide.
The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the most approved authors, 1799
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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