1 Ten thousand talents once I owed,
And nothing had to pay;
But Jesus freed me from the load,
And washed my debt away.
2 Yet since the Lord forgave my sin,
And blotted out my score;
Much more indebted I have been
Than ere I was before.
3 My guilt is canceled quite I know,
And satisfaction made;
But the vast debt of love I owe,
Can never be repaid.
4 The love I owe for sin forgiven,
For power to believe,
For present peace, and promised heaven,
No angel can conceive.
5 That love of thine! thou sinner's Friend
Witness thy bleeding heart!
My little all can ne'er extend
To pay a thousandth part.
6 Nay more, the poor returns I make
I first from thee obtain;
And 'tis of grace, that thou wilt take
Such poor returns again.
7 'Tis well--it shall my glory be
(Let who will boast their store)
In time, and to eternity,
To owe thee more and more.
Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians, 1803
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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