Sunday, November 25, 2007

Newton: "What think you of Christ? is the test"

Phil put up part of a Spurgeon sermon today, in which CHS quotes a hymn from John Newton. Having never seen that hymn, I searched for and found it here:

John Newton, 1779, from Olney Hymns, vol. 1, hymn 89

1. What think you of Christ? is the test
To try both your state and your scheme;
You cannot be right in the rest,
Unless you think rightly of him.
As Jesus appears in your view,
As he is beloved or not;
So God is disposed to you,
And mercy or wrath are your lot.


2. Some take him a creature to be,
A man, or an angel at most;
Sure these have not feelings like me,
Nor know themselves wretched and lost:
So guilty, so helpless, am I,
I durst not confide in his blood,
Nor on his protection rely,
Unless I were sure he is God.

3. Some call him a Saviour, in word,
But mix their own works with his plan;
And hope he his help will afford,
When they have done all that they can:
If doings prove rather too light
(A little, they own, they may fail)
They purpose to make up full weight,
By casting his name in the scale.


4. Some style him the pearl of great price,
And say he's the fountain of joys;
Yet feed upon folly and vice,
And cleave to the world and its toys:
Like Judas, the Saviour they kiss,
And, while they salute him, betray;
Ah! what will profession like this
Avail in his terrible day?

5. If asked what of Jesus I think?
Though still my best thoughts are but poor;
I say, he's my meat and my drink,
My life, and my strength, and my store,
My Shepherd, my Husband, my Friend,
My Saviour from sin and from thrall;
My hope from beginning to end,
My Portion, my Lord, and my All.

5 comments:

Tom Chantry said...

It's in Gadsby's Selections, an ungainly hymnal (well over 1000 hymns, but no tunes included!) but a wealth of good old hymn lyrics. This one's one of my favorites from there. When I was responsible for some extended quotes for the back of a church bulletin, I used to refer to Gadsby frequetly.

Daniel said...

an awesome hymn, though a little clunky in the syncopation.

dani said...

beautiful...clunky maybe but a poem of sizeable explainations...Christianity is not a religion it is a relationship and this is the words that explain it just as that...it could use a touch of modernization but still a banquet of powerful idiom

Kay said...

That final verse is tombstone material. Absolutely marvellous.

Aaron said...

Hi Dan -
Are you aware of this album recently done by our worship pastor, Todd Murray? You can download the mp3 of these great lyrics (and other Newton hymns) set to Todd's music.