John Newton

“ Indeed, when verse (not otherwise pretending to be poetical) is not much better than prose, by the charm of numbers alone it is much worse. Its artificial structure is then a decided disadvantage, and no reader can even if he would, (though many try to persuade themselves that they do,) like a sentence better for the clanking of a chain of syllables. "The day that makes a man a slave takes half his worth away," says the old poet; and language enslaved in metre loses half its power, unless the loss of natural freedom be abundantly compensated by the grace of accent, and the melody of rhythm. ”

“ On the other hand, it is a heart-withering reflection, that his mightier efforts of genius— the poems by which he commands universal admiration though they breathe the soul of purest, humblest, holiest piety, and might have been written amidst the clear shining of the Sun of Righteousness arisen on him with healing in his wings— were yet composed under darkness like that of the valley of the shadow of death. ”

“ An attempt to rise upon the ship’s company, brings on instantaneous and horrid war; for, when they are once in motion, they are desperate; and where they do not conquer, they are seldom quelled without much mischief and bloodshed, on both sides.
Sometimes, when the Slaves are ripe for an insurrection, one of them will impeach the affairs; and then necessity, and the state policy, of these small, but most absolute governments, enforce maxims directly contrary to the nature of things. The traitor to the cause of liberty is caressed, rewarded, and deemed an honest fellow. ”

“ The bread his mercy sends,
To have our houses fill d with gold
Would make but poor amends.
5 How tedious would the week appear,
How dull the Sabbath prove,
Could we no longer meet to hear
The precious truths we love !
6 How would believing parents bear
To leave their heedless youth
Exposed to every fatal snare,
Without the light of truth ?
7 The gospel, and a praying few,
Our bulwark long have proved ;
But Olney sure the day will rue
When these shall be removed. ”

“ Perhaps what I have said of myself may be applicable to the nation at large. The Slave Trade was always unjustifiable; but inattention and interest prevented, for a time, the evil from being perceived. It is otherwise at present; the mischiefs and evils, connected with it, have been, of late years, represented with such undeniable evidence, and are now, so generally known, that I suppose there is hardly an objection can be made, to the wish of thousands, perhaps of millions, for the suppression of this Trade, but upon the ground of political expedience. ”

“ Although he no relentings felt Till he had spent his store; His stubborn heart began to melt When famine pinched him sore. “What have I gained by sin, he said, But hunger, shame, and fear; My father’s house abounds with bread, While I am starving here. ”

“ Peter walking upon the water by John Newton
A Word from JESUS calms the sea, The stormy wind controls; And gives repose and liberty To tempest-tossed souls.
To Peter on the waves he came, And gave him instant peace; Thus he to me revealed his name, And bid my sorrows cease.
Then filled with wonder, joy and love, Peter's request was mine; LORD, call me down, I long to prove That I am wholly thine.
Unmoved at all I have to meet On life's tempestuous sea; Hard, shall be easy; bitter, sweet, So I may follow thee. ”

“ Our warm affections move ;
Did he but shine alike on all,
Then all alike would love.
5 Then love in every heart would reign,
And war would cease to roar ;
And cruel and blood-thirsty men
Would thirst for blood no more.
6 Such Jesus is, and such his grace,
Oh may it shine on you !
And tell him, when you see his face,
I long to see him too.
14.
Rest for weary Souls.
1 DOES the gospel-word proclaim
Rest for those who weary be ?
Then my soul put in thy claim,
Sure that promise speaks to thee :
Marks of grace I cannot show,
All polluted is my best ”

“ How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds In a believer’s ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, And drives away his fear.
It makes the wounded spirit whole, And calms the troubled breast; ’Tis manna to the hungry soul, And to the weary, rest. ”

“ I have already observed, that the Captain of an African ship, while upon the Coast, is absolute in his command; and if he be humane, vigilant, and determined, he has it in his power to protect the miserable; for scarcely any thing can be done, on board the ship, without his permission, or connivance. But this power is, too seldom, exerted in favour of the poor Women Slaves. ”

“ By tempests be tost
On perilous deeps,
But cannot be lost:
Though Satan enrages
The wind and the tide,
The promise engages
The Lord will provide.
4 His call we obey,
Like Abr'am of old,
Not knowing our way,
But faith makes us bold:
For though we are strangers,
We have a good guide,
And trust, in all dangers,
The Lord will provide.
5 When Satan appears,
To stop up our path
And fill us with fears,
We triumph by faith ”

“ I have often heard a Captain, who has been long since dead, boast of his conduct in a former voyage, when his Slaves attempted to rise upon him. After he had suppressed the insurrection, he sat in judgment upon the insurgents; and not only, in cold blood, adjudged several of them, I know not how many, to die, but studied, with no small attention, how to make death as excruciating to them as possible. ”

“ When, to save us, on the cross his blood he shed.
6 When a guilty sinner sees him,
While he looks his soul is heal'd ;
Soon this sight from anguish frees him,
And imparts a pardon seal'd:
May this Saviour be to all our hearts reveal'd ! ”

“ Every thing belonging to the Purrow is mysterious and severe, but, upon the whole, it has very good effects; and as any man, whether bond or free, who will submit to be initiated into their mysteries, may be admitted of the Order, it is a kind of Common-wealth. And, perhaps, few people enjoy more, simple, political freedom, than the inhabitants of Sherbro, belonging to the Purrow, (who are not slaves,) further than they are bound by their own institutions. Private property is tolerably well secured, and violence is much suppressed. ”

“ Surrenders all to thee ;
Against thy terrors long I strove,
- But who can stand against thy love ?
Love conquers even me.
2 AU that a wretch could do I tried,
Thy patience scorn d, thy power defied,
And trampled on thy laws :
Scarcely thy martyrs at the stake
Could stand more steadfast for thy sake
Than I in Satan s cause.
3 But since thou hast thy love reveal d,
And shown my soul a pardon seal d,
I can resist no more :
Couldst thou for such a sinner bleed ? ”

“ I have seen them sentenced to unmerciful whippings, continued till the poor creatures have not had power to groan under their misery, and hardly a sign of life has remained. I have seen them agonizing for hours, I believe, for days together, under the torture of the thumb-screws; a dreadful engine, which, if the screw be turned by an unrelenting hand, can give intolerable anguish. ”

“ And by a word his power reveal d.
2 Wonder and joy at once
Were painted in his face ;
" Does he my name pronounce,
And does he know my case ?
Will Jesus deign with me to dine ?
Lord, I, with all I have, are thine."
3 Thus, where the gospel s preach d,
And sinners come to hear,
The hearts of some are reach d
Before they are aware :
The word directly speaks to them,
And seems to point them out by name. ”

“ I have often slept in their towns, in a house filled with goods for trade, with no person in the house but myself, and with no other door than a mat; in that security, which no man in his senses would expect, in this civilized nation, especially in this metropolis, without the precaution of having strong doors, strongly locked and bolted. And with regard to the women, in Sherbro, where I was most acquainted, I have seen many instances of modesty, and even delicacy, which would not disgrace an English woman. ”

“ Fain would I hope that thou didst bleed
For such a wretch as I.
8 That blood which thou hast spilt,
That grace which is thine own,
Can cleanse the vilest sinner's guilt,
And soften hearts of stone. ”

“ With regard to the Natives, to steal a free man or woman, and to sell them on board a ship, would, I think, be a more difficult, and more dangerous attempt, in Sherbro, than in London. But I have no doubt, that the traders who come, from the interior parts of Africa, at a great distance, find opportunity, in the course of their journey, to pick up stragglers, whom they may meet in their way. ”

“ Saviour, who hast us bought,
Spirit, by whom we re bora again,
And sanctified and taught !
2 Thy glory, holy Three in One,
Thy people s song shall be,
Long as the wheels of time shall run,
And to eternity.
106.
1 GLORY to God the Father s name,
To Jesus, who for sinners died ;
The Holy Spirit claims the same,
By whom our souls are sanctified. ”

“ An old man usually presides in each town, whose authority depends more on his years, than on his possessions: and He, who is called the King, is not easily distinguished, either by state or wealth, from the rest. But the different districts, which seem to be, in many respects, independent of each other, are incorporated, and united, by means of an institution which pervades them all, and is called The Purrow. The persons of this order, who are very numerous, seem, very much, to resemble the Druids, who once presided in our island. ”

“ To these disappointments of laudable ambition, alone sufficient to drive a fevered brain to frenzy, or plunge a self-tormenting mind in melancholy, were added, about the same time, the bereavement, by death, of a friend whom he loved as his own soul; and the loss, by something worse than death, of another object yet more beloved. ”

“ Some people suppose, that the Ship Trade is rather the stealing, than the buying of Slaves. But there is enough to lay to the charge of the ships, without accusing them falsely. The slaves, in general, are bought, and paid for. Sometimes, when goods are lent, or trusted on shore, the trader voluntarily leaves a free person, perhaps his own son, as a hostage, or pawn, for the payment ”

“ But, in general, I know of no method of getting money, not even that of robbery, for it, upon the highway, which has a more direct tendency to efface the moral sense, to rob the heart of every gentle and humane disposition, and to harden it, like steel, against all impressions of sensibility. ”

“ Behold the man who shall be the father of a new generation of bards, worthy of their native language and their native land; —the man, who shall exhibit, in his uncompromising verse, a style so pure, so simple, and severe, that intellectual excellence alone shall compel admiration, even from those who hate the poet's themes because they hate the gospel. ”

“ The counsels of God, even in what does come to pass, are in many respects unsearchable. Known unto himself alone from the beginning are all his works; and to justify his ways— for, after all, they were God's ways, and not man's in the particular instance before us, it is sufficient to consider what was the positive result of the connection between these two remarkable men,— the one brought from a slave- ship, and the other from a lunatic asylum, to teach the world justice and mercy, and enlighten it with knowledge. ”

“ Human nature is much the same in every place, and few people will be willing to allow, that the Negroes in Africa are better than themselves. Supposing, therefore, they wish for European goods, may not they wish to purchase them from a ship just arrived? Of course, they must wish for Slaves to go to market with; and if they have not Slaves, and think themselves strong enough to invade their neighbours, they will probably wish for war. ”

“ Was comforted and glad.
In trouble what a resting-place
Have they who know the throne of grace I
3 Though men .and devils rage,
And threaten to devour,
The saints from age to age
Are safe from all their power ;
Fresh strength they gain to run their race
By waiting at the throne of grace. ”

“ I confine my remarks on the first head to the Windward Coast, and can speak most confidently of the trade in Sherbro, where I lived. I own, however, that I question, if any part of the Windward Coast is equal to Sherbro, in point of regularity and government. They have no men of great power or property among them; as I am told there are upon the Gold Coast, at Whidah and Benin. The Sherbro people live much in the patriarchal way. ”

“ The page which commemorates our Poet's deliverance from the fear that hath torment, into joy unspeakable and full of glory, is the fairest in the dark-and-bright volume of his book of life; and that page is written by his own hand, in the language of his heart, when he poured forth its fulness and sweetness, in those two hymns of the following Collection, which cannot be read and understood without experiencing, by sympathy, a measure of the bliss and tranquility which they breathe.— See Book iii, Hymns 44 and 45. "How blest thy creature is, O God!" ”

“ But the enormities frequently committed, in an African ship, though equally flagrant, are little known here, and are considered, there, only as matters of course. When the Women and Girls are taken on board a ship, naked, trembling, terrified, perhaps almost exhausted with cold, fatigue, and hunger, they are often exposed to the wanton rudeness of white Savages. The poor creatures cannot understand the language they hear, but the looks and manner of the speakers, are sufficiently intelligible. ”

“ It softens care and sweetens toil,
The sun shines forth with double light,
The whole creation wears a smile, .
3 Upon thine arm of love I rest,
Thy gracious voice forbids my fear ;
No storms disturb my peaceful breast,
No foes assault when thou art near.
4 But, ah ! since tliou hast been away,
Nothing but trouble have I known ;
And Satan marks me for his prey,
Because he sees me left alone.
5 My sun is hid, my comforts lost,
My graces droop, my sins revive ;
Distress d, dismay d, and tempest-toss d,
My soul is only just alive ! ”

“ Thus, in one place or another, trade is often suspended, all intercourse cut off, and things are in a state of war; till necessity, either on the ship’s part, or on theirs, produces overtures of peace, and dictates the price, which the offending party must pay for it. But it is a warlike peace. We trade under arms ”

“ Arms hanging idly down, hands clasp'd below,"
brooding over bosom-sorrows not to be told, refusing comfort or hope from every created source, and from religion itself deriving nothing but despair: had Dr. Johnson seen him thus; and had the good angel of the poor unknown spoken aloud in the critic's ear, and cried, "Behold the man whose mind, by its ascendance over the minds of contemporaries, shall purify the public taste, and restore British song from its half-century of captivity and degradation, in French fetters, to its inherited freedom. ”

“ Confidence.
1 YES! since God himself has said it,
On the promise I rely ;
His good word demands my credit,
What can unbelief reply ;
He is strong, and can fulfill ;
He is truth, and therefore will. ”

“ The patient was little advanced in manhood, but sorrow had done the work of years on his debilitated frame and faded cheek, while some thing more than sorrow had wrought a sadder ruin within, where no eye could search out the cause, unless it could see into the invisible world, and discern the spirit itself within the tabernacle of clay. ”

“ After acting such a part ?
"Thou hast greatly sinn d," he said,
"But I freely all forgive;
I myself thy debt have paid,
Now I bid thee rise and live."
4 Come, my fellow-sinners, try,
Jesus heart is full of love !
Oh that you, as well as I,
May his wondrous mercy prove!
He has sent me to declare,
All is ready, all is free :
Why should any soul despair,
When he saved a wretch like me ? ”

“ I saw the hills as distinct as if awake, and that they were all in flames. I perceived, too late, my folly ; and my tempter, with an air of insult, informed me, that all the mercy God had in reserve for me was comprised in that ring, which I had wilfully thrown away. ”

“ Newton's portion of the work is by far the largest, and it is no disparagement to his memory to say, that this might be considerably reduced with advantage to the remainder, though it would be a bold hand, and ought to be a delicate one, that should presume to attempt the desirable excision. Let the good man, however, speak for himself: "My part would have been much smaller than it is, and the book would have appeared in a very different form, if the wise though mysterious providence of God had not seen fit to cross my wishes. ”