1 Sinner, hear the Saviour's call,
He now is passing by;
He has seen thy grievous thrall,
And heard thy mournful cry;
He has pardons to impart,
Grace to save thee from thy fears,
See the love that fills his heart,
And wipes away thy tears.
2 Why art thou afraid to come
And tell him all thy case?
He will not pronounce thy doom,
Nor frown thee from his face:
Wilt thou fear Emmanuel?
Wilt thou dread the Lamb of God,
Who, to save thy soul from from hell,
Has shed his precious blood?
3 Think, how on the cross he hung
Pierced with a thousand wounds,
hark, from each as with a tongue,
The voice of pardon sounds!
See from all his bursting veins,
Blood of wond'rous virtue flow?
Shed to wash away the stains,
And ransom thee from woe.
4 Though his majesty be great
His mercy is no less;
Though he thy transgressions hate,
He feels for thy distress;
By himself the Lord has sworn,
He delights not in thy death,
But invites thee to return,
That thou mayest live by faith.
5 Raise thy downcast eyes and see
What throngs his throne surround!
These, tho' sinners once like thee,
Have full salvation found;
Yield not then to unbelief!
While he says, "There yet is room;"
Tho' of sinners thou art chief,
Since Jesus calls thee, come.
Source: Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians #84
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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