1. When first my soul enlisted,
My Savior's foes to fight,
Mistaken friends insisted,
I was not armed aright:
So Saul advised young David
He certainly would fail,
Nor could his life be saved,
Without a coat of mail.
2. But David, though he yielded
To put the armor on,
Soon found he could not wield it
And ventured forth with none.
With only sling and pebble,
He fought the fight of faith;
The weapon seemed but feeble,
Yet proved Goliah's death.
3. Had I by him been guided,
And quickly thrown away
The armor friends provided,
I might have gain'd the day;
But armed as they advised me,
My expectations failed;
The enemy surprised me
And had almost prevailed.
4. Satan will not be shaken
By such a worm as I;
Then let me learn with David
To trust in the Most High;
To plead the name of Jesus,
And use the sling of prayer;
Thus armed, when Satan sees us,
He'll tremble and despair.
Source: Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship #205
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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