1 When the poor leper's case I read,
My own described I feel;
Sin is a leprosy indeed,
Which none but Christ can heal.
2 What anguish did my soul endure,
Till hope and patience ceased?
The more I strove myself to cure,
The more the plague increased.
3 While thus I lay distressed, I saw
The Savior passing by;
To him, though filled with shame and awe,
I raised my mournful cry.
4 Lord, thou canst heal me if thou wilt,
Oh pity to me shew,
O cleanse my leprous soul from guilt;
My filthy heart renew.
5 He heard, and with a gracious look,
Pronounced the healing word;
"I will--be clean," and while he spoke,
I felt my health restored.
6 Come, sinners seize the present hour,
The Savior's grace to prove;
He can relieve, for he is power,
He will, for he is love.
The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the most approved authors, 1799
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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