Cheer up my soul, there is a mercy seat

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Cheer up my soul, there is a mercy seat

Author: John Newton
Published in 17 hymnals

Representative Text

1 Cheer up, my soul, there is a mercy seat,
Sprinkled with blood, where Jesus answers prayer;
There humbly cast thyself beneath his feet,
For never needy sinner perished there.

2 Lord, I am come! thy promise is my plea,
Without thy word I durst not venture nigh;
But thou hast called the burdened soul to thee,
A weary burdened soul, O Lord, am I!

3 Bowed down beneath a heavy load of sin,
By Satan's fierce temptations sorely pressed,
Beset without, and full of fears within,
Trembling and faint I come to thee for rest.

4 Be thou my refuge, Lord, my hiding-place,
I know no force can tear me from thy side;
Unmoved I then may all accusers face,
And answer every charge, with "Jesus died."

5 Yes! thou didst weep, and bleed, and groan and die!
Well hast thou known what fierce temptation means,
Such was my love! and now enthroned on high,
The same compassion in thy bosom reigns.

6 Lord, give me faith--he hears! what grace is this!
Dry up thy tears, my soul, and cease to grieve;
He shows me what he did, and who he is,
I must, I will, I can, I do believe.

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

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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 >

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