Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare

Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare
by John Newton, 1780

Come, my soul, thy suit prepare:
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
he himself has bid thee pray,
therefore will not say thee nay.

Thou art coming to a King,
large petitions with thee bring;
for his grace and power are such,
none can ever ask too much.

With my burden I begin:
Lord, remove this load of sin;
let thy blood, for sinners spilt,
set my conscience free from guilt.

Lord, I come to thee for rest,
take possession of my breast;
there thy blood bought right maintain,
and without a rival reign.

Show me what I have to do,
every hour my strength renew:
let me live a life of faith,
let me die thy people's death.

While I am a pilgrim here,
let thy love my spirit cheer;
as my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
lead me to my journey's end.

2 comments:

prairierose said...

beautiful poetry

robert said...

Thanks for posting John Newton's great hymn on prayer. Minor point: The date you give is not quite right. The hymn was published in his new hymn book, Olney Hymns, in 1779, so it was written some time before that.

Today is the 202nd anniversary of John Newton's death. And if you enjoy learning about hymns and their authors, I invite you to check out my daily blog on the subject, Wordwise Hymns.