The World Has Lost Its Charms

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Let worldly minds the world pursue

Author: John Newton
Published in 225 hymnals

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Representative Text

1 Let worldly minds the world pursue,
It has no charms for me;
Once I admired its trifles too,
But grace has set me free.
As by the light of opening day,
The stars are all concealed;
So earthly pleasures fade away,
When Jesus is revealed.

2 Creatures no more divide my choice,
I bid them all depart;
His name, and love, and gracious voice.
Have fixed my roving heart.
But may I hope that thou wilt own
A worthless worm like me?
Now, Lord! I would be thine alone,
And wholly live to thee.

Source: Laudes Domini: a selection of spiritual songs ancient & modern (Abr. ed.) #199

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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:	Let worldly minds the world pursue
Title:	The World Has Lost Its Charms
Author:	John Newton
Meter:	8.6.8.6
Language:	English
Publication Date:	1774
Copyright:	Public Domain