Fierce passions discompose the mind

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Fierce passions discompose the mind

Author: John Newton
Published in 23 hymnals

Representative Text

1 Fierce passions discompose the mind,
As tempest vex the sea;
But calm content and peace we find,
When, Lord, we turn to thee.

2 In vain by reason and by rule,
We try to bend the will;
For none but in the Savior's school
Can learn the heavenly skill.

3 Since at his feet my soul has sat,
His gracious words to hear,
contented with my present state,
I cast on him my care.

4 'Tis he appoints my daily lot,
And will do all things well;
Soon shall I leave this wretched spot,
And rise with him to dwell.

5 In life his grace shall strength supply,
Proportioned to my day;
In death I still shall find him nigh,
To bear my soul away.

6 Thus I, who once my wretched days
In vain repinings spent;
Taught in my Savior's school of grace,
Have learned to be content.

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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First Line:	Fierce passions discompose the mind
Author:	John Newton
Meter:	8.6.8.6
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

Philippians 4:11
(hymns)

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Notes

Fierce passions discompose the mind. J. Newton. [Contentment.] Published in the Olney Hymns, 1779, Book i., No. 131, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, and based upon Philippians iv. 11. It is given in a limited number of collections, including Lord Selborne's Book of Praise, 1862-7, where it is attributed to "W. Cowper" in error. It does not bear Cowper's signature, "C." in the Olney Hymns.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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