Newton

Please withhold applause until intermission.

1. Overture

2. How Can God Save? (I)

CHORUS

How can God save the wicked man?How can God save the hopeless man?How can God save any man?Mercy, have mercy, O have mercy on us.

3. People of Olney

NEWTON

Sing to God above, people of Olney,People of Olney, sing, lift up your voice.Praise Him for His love, people of Olney,People of Olney, praise Him and rejoice.

If you have heard His call and have believed,Trusted the word of God we have received,Then be assured you’ll liveEver secured, ever forgiv’n, ever reprieved.

Leave behind your sin, people of Olney,People of Olney, turn back to the Lord.Let new life begin, people of Olney,People of Olney, Christ is your reward.

Jesus has burst your chains, setting you free;He has reversed your place and your degree;All that was cursed is blessed,All that was worst counted as best—yes, even me.

Only a sinner,Often astray,Just a beginnerAt foll’wing Your way;Once I was blinded,But now see Your face—For I’m only a sinner,Saved by amazing grace.

Only Your favorFound me alone;Only my SaviorHas brought me back home.Only in JesusHave I found my place—And it’s only Your favorShown through amazing grace.

CHORUS

Sing to God above, people of Olney,People of Olney, sing, lift up your voice.Praise Him for His love, people of Olney,People of Olney, praise Him and rejoice.

If you have heard His call and have believed,Trusted the word of God we have received,Then be assured you’ll liveEver secured, ever forgiv’n, ever reprieved.

Sing to God above, people of Olney,People of Olney, sing to the Lord.

4. A Pastor’s Work

NEWTON

So many of my people live in poverty and squalor;They need their pastor’s help to carry on.I try to grow their happiness and make their trials smaller;Does someone need a hand? Ask Pastor John.

If a child drops a shilling, I will gladly give him two.If your butter churn is spilling, I will set it right for you,And if anything, God willing, can be done, I’ll see it through—For a pastor’s work is always unsparing.

Beyond a person’s happiness, another point is scorable:Concerning not the body but the soul.For if a person’s happiness is Sodom and Gomorrable,They’re only half a person, not a whole.

When a congregant is sinning, I beseech him to repent;If his self-control is thinning, I implore him: “Be content!”Seems my work is just beginning, though my life will soon be spent—For a pastor’s work is always ongoing.

Every knock upon my door is just a message sent from God:It may be a lesson, or a summons, or a call abroad.But because it’s from the Lord, I know one thing: it may sound odd,But a pastor’s work is always interesting.

5. What a Fanatic!

SCOTT

Newton!—what a fanatic!What a silly, what a stuffy old schismatic!He’s a dear old bird, as friendly and as funny as a pigeon,But he doesn’t have a scholarly degree.If he had an education, he’d know science, not religion,Is the basis for today’s morality.

Newton!—what a believer!What a conduit of Calvinistic fever!He believes the many miracles in Scripture to be true.From the Red Sea to the water-into-wine.But of course we know today what all the laws of physics do,And that Jesus simply couldn’t be divine.

Newton!—what a disaster!What a quaint, what a quibbling old pastor!He accuses our Enlightenment of being highfalutin,And he still believes in man’s depravity.If it must be John, then give me Locke, and if it must be Newton,Give me the Newton who discovered gravity.

6. Pastor Newton

CHORUS

Pastor Newton, we need a very fast solution for a pressing problem.Pastor Newton, we think you missed an attribution in your sermon Sunday.Pastor Newton, should we support a revolution in America? AndPastor Newton, how can we merit absolution when we keep on sinning?Pastor Newton, can you have better elocution? Some of us are deaf, andPastor Newton, the donkey ate our contribution for the weekly off’ring.Pastor Newton, how can we stop the prostitution in our lovely town? AndPastor Newton, we will be at an execution so we’ll miss this Sunday.Pastor Newton, should we be making resolutions every January?Pastor Newton, should we increase the distribution to the local beggars?

Feed your sheep, Pastor Newton, as you lead your people en route to the kingdom;Feed your lambs, Pastor Newton, as you lead your family through tribulations.Lead us, Pastor Newton.Feed us, Pastor Newton.Plead for us to God in prayerAnd help us bear our burdens and our cares.

NEWTON

Only a pastor,Humble and old,Called by my MasterTo shepherd His fold;Only a guardianProtecting this place—For I’m only a pastor,Saved by amazing grace.

7. Oft Has Disappointment

COWPER

Oft has disappointment stung my spirit,Oft has terror turned my heart from hope in God.Oft has hopelessness enclosed me,And despair like talons clawed,Oft have bitter thorns opposed me,And o’ergrown the path I’ve trod.

Long I had no eyes to see His beauty,Had no ears to hear Him calling me by name,Had no will to seek His favor,Had no sorrow for my shame,Had no heart to love my Savior,Had no promises to claim.

8. When I Was Six Years Old (I)

When I was six years old, my mother died—May we meet someday in glory.And Father never loved me, never tried,And his scorn would shape my story.When I was eleven he had me read a treatise on self-murder.The author was in favor; I demurred.And, thinking of heaven, I argued back, with vigor and with fervor,But Father simply stared without a word.

And so he sent me off to boarding school,Turning deaf to nature’s tender plea,To a mob of savage boys, debased and cruel,Who assaulted and tormented me.

So year after year after year it went—my studies and my anguish;Apprenticed to the law—another clerk.But walking in darkness away from God, my soul began to languish;Dejection and despair disturbed my work.

In January seventeen-fifty-two,I was struck by such profound despair.None can understand unless they’ve felt it too—How my life became too much to bear.

I tried to recover with Nature’s light—her fauna and her flora;I spent the summer resting by the sea.And there unexpectedly fell in love—a girl named Theodora,Who somehow also fell in love with me.

9. Ever Shall Our Love Endure

COWPER

Blameless as the bluebell,Endless as the sea-swell,Boundless as the northern moor,Sleepless as the starlight,Timeless as the tide –Ever shall our love endure.

THEODORA

Music for thy spirit—William, can you hear it?Singing of thy health and cure.Ever shall I help thee,All I have is thine—Ever shall our love endure.

COWPER

Theodora, Theodora,Can you love a one so near undone in mind?

THEODORA

Dearest William, dearest William,I can love thee with good cheer, for the Scripture makes it clear:Love is patient, love is selfless, love is kind.

COWPER & THEODORA

Love beyond all measure,Love our richest treasure,Love above the starlight pure,Love beneath our footsteps,Love before our eyes—Ever shall our love endure.

THEODORA’S FATHER

No, no, no, put away that wedding band.I’m sorry, son—you’re not the one to take my daughter’s hand.You want to know my reasons? Well, I’ll give you half a dozen,The first of which is simply this: my daughter’s your first cousin.

Go, go, go, go and find another bride.There’s plenty here, you cavalier, in all the country wide.But not my daughter—it’s not right. For in the English highlandWe have our virtue and our pride. It’s Britain, not… Rhode Island!

COWPER

We broke off our engagement in the month of January.

CHORUS & COWPER

In January, in January,Every tribulation, every accusation—January comes, January chokes, January chills.

COWPER

Ever shall I languish,Pricked by pangs of anguish,Sick with love beyond a cure.Ever shall I keep theeClose within my heart—Ever shall our love endure.

10. Parliament

CHORUS

Parliament!The solemn charge to representThe people’s right to give consentTo their own form of government.

We make the laws. We make them nice and fair.We set the tax. We set it very low…Unless of course you live in Boston and you want to drink some tea;Being taxed is just the cost of living in a colony.Don’t you think of crossing us, for when we end diplomacy,We declare the wars. We declare them to be good!And on occasion,We behead the King. We beheaded Charles the First, who really was the worst.So come and stand before us,Impress us or implore us.We’re more than just the chorus:We are, in point of fact, Parliament.

11. Shall It Be with a Gulp of Poison? (I)

COWPER

The pressure was too much.My mind began to spin,A choking in my lungs—A freezing in my limbs.

I ran outside in panic.A coach was passing by.I climbed into the backAnd plotted how to die.

Shall it be with a gulp of poison?Shall it be with a sharpened knife?Shall it be in the churning riverThat at last I will take my life?

Shall it be with a loaded musket?Shall it be with a length of rope?Shall it be the supreme decisionOf a man who has lost all hope?

Driver! Take me to the river!To the bridge! To the bridge!

When we arrived at the bridgeA man was standing there.And I thought I’d rather notThrow myself over the bridgeIn front of him.After all, why drown in publicWhen you can hang at home?

Driver! Take me to the house!To the house! To the house!

When I arrived at home,I strung a length of rope,Stood on a chair,Then stepped away—

The rope broke. I awoke in bed.

12. St. Alban’s

They put me in St. Alban’s, an asylum for the insane.My nights were filled with terrors, and my days with wracking pain.Conviction overwhelmed me, self-contempt for all my sin,God’s righteous wrath around me, and my piercing guilt within.

I found a Bible left for me one night before the dawn.It lay already open to the gospel of St. JohnWhere Lazarus is buried, he whom death had newly claimed—But lives again when Christ comes in and calls him forth by name.

CHORUS

Lazarus, come forth!

COWPER

Such sympathy to wretched men, such mercy fair and free,And suddenly I realized that same mercy was for me.And turning to the book of Romans, I was moved to tearsTo find the hope I’d needed all those many mournful years:

Whom God hath set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood,To declare his righteousness for remission of sins.

At once by grace He gave to me the power to believe.At once the beams of righteousness shone fully down on me.His sacrifice sufficient, and my pardon standing sure,Five bleeding wounds efficient every wound of mine to cure.

CHORUS

William, come forth!

COWPER

And I could only look up to heaven in silent fear, overcome by love and wonder.

I left St. Alban’s a converted man,Came to Olney to begin again;And Pastor Newton, thanks to God’s good plan,Has become my brother and my friend.

13. Can It Be?

SCOTT

Cowper!—what a conversion!Far too serious for me to cast aspersion!Is it possible such saving faith is more than just a relic?Is it possible that true religion should be evangelic?Can it be?

NEWTON

You see, dear Thomas, our salvationIs so much more than education.For Jesus lifts the lowly headAnd brings to life what once was dead.

COWPER

And yet, at times my soulStill feels the weight of my sin,And darkness creeps in,Misgivings begin.How can it be?

14. When I Was Six Years Old (II)

NEWTON

When I was six years old, my mother died—May we meet someday in glory.And Father wisely kept me by his side,And his choice would shape my story.

When I was eleven I went with him aboard a navy frigate.Three years we spent together on the sea.He showed me the ropes and rhythms, how to raise the sail and rig it,And soon the ship was like a home to me.

Only a child,Simple and small,Easily beguiledAnd certain to fall;Only a noviceAt learning Your ways—For I’m only a childTaught by amazing grace.

But still my heart had not been born again;To the things of God my soul was numb.When the Navy pressed me into service thenI complied because I liked the rum.

15. Give Me a Ship

CHORUS

Give me a ship to sail afar;Give me a brightly shining star.Give me a southward blowing breeze;Give me the mystic Seven Seas.

From monuments old where Caliban rulesTo Africa’s gold and India’s jewels–

Raise up a mighty, towering mast,Rig up the ropes to hold her fast.Unfurl the sails to push her on,And wrap me in them when I’m gone.

16. Drink Up, Lad

CHORUS

Here’s to all our luck and to bitter brotherhoodAnd here’s to all our gold and our sorrow:'Cause we all are stuck on a sinking piece of wood,And we will all be old on the morrow.

So drink up, lad, swallow it all away:The rum goes bad when we see the light of day.So drink up, lad, follow it to the end,For another bottle is a sailor’s only friend.

From the sea we’re born, from a salty mother’s womb,And for the sea her children are crying.To the sea we’re sworn for a temple and a tomb,And to the sea we’ll go at our dying.

Well, we need no Bible to teach us how to sip,No, not a hymn or sermon or carol.And the only spirit we want aboard the shipIs the just kind that’s found in a barrel.

17. I Was Eighteen

NEWTON

I was insolent, impious, insubordinate, and reckless.I was obscene.I was profligate, unprincipled, presumptuous, and feckless.I was eighteen.

I was brash and I was brutal, breaking rules and bumming brandy–I drank plenty.And I made myself so horrid that the crew could hardly stand me.I was twenty.

I was mutinous, and finally the captain lost his patience.He said, “Son,We’re marooning you tomorrow on an island slave plantation.”I was twenty-one.

CHORUS

Mercy, have mercy, O my Lord.

NEWTON

So they put me off the ship southeast of Sierra Leone,On an island full of limes, for which it’s primarily known.And I sweated in the cell where I’d been summarily thrown,Pleading for mercy and all alone.

Only a rebel,Prodigal son,Owned by the devilAnd nearly undone;Only a captiveConfined and debased—For I’m only a rebel,Spared by amazing grace.

I was destitute, disconsolate, deserted, and despairing—Shamed thro’ and thro’.I was put in chains and gave my time to swatting flies and swearing.I was twenty-two.

Then one day a ship appeared whose captain knew my sorry story.He rescued me.I was put below the deck and soon we sailed for home— O glory!I was twenty-three.

Please withhold applause until final movement.

18. The Storm at Sea

I awoke to the sound of a storm,As the bow was destroyed by a wave.Water burst through jagged holes;Rigging snapped as billows rolled.

CHORUS

All men to the pumps,All corks to the holes,All hands to the cranks,All speed to your souls!Raise up a mighty, towering mast,Rig up the ropes to hold her fast.Unfurl the sails to push her on,And wrap me in them when I’m gone.

NEWTON & CHORUS

Mercy, have mercy, O have mercy on us.

NEWTON

A night and a dayWe limped through the storm.I started to pray;I cried to the Lord.Regret for my past,Remorse for my sin,Resolving at lastRedemption to win.

And—praise the Lord—He heard and He replied:Held back the stormy seas, tempered the tide,Brought us ashore secureand (what is more) rendered me sure He can provide.

God saved us from that tempest grim,And He began to save me too.But still I sought to merit HimBy all the works I set to do.

‘Twas many a yearOf foolishness doneBefore I drew nearAnd trusted His Son.

I rose in rank to Captain John—But that was in a time long gone.And late I saw the path appearTo come and be a pastor here.

19. Four Questions

COWPER

How many years were you captain on a ship?

NEWTON

Five years, till epilepsy set in and I was forced to stick to land.

COWPER

What were the names of the ships on which you sailed?

NEWTON

First The Duke of Argyle, then one called The African.

COWPER

How many times did your ship complete a voyage?

NEWTON

Three times, each down the African coast, then to America and back.

COWPER

What did you say was the cargo on your ships?

NEWTON

Oh, we carried ivory, and we carried sugarcane,And… my dear William—God forgive me—we also carried—

20. From One John to Another

WESLEY

Dearest Newton, what a joy to send you yet another letterAs we slowly get to know each other better—As friends in Christ, and brothers.I am writing to exhort you and to edify your spirit—If you have an opportunity to hear it—From one John to another.

Now I’ve gathered that you’re friendly with the poet William Cowper,And if that is true, I really think it’s super;He’s humble, skillful, kind.I hear also that he suffers from recurring bouts of madness,So to keep him from unnecessary sadness,I have a plan in mind.

Here’s the concept: you and Cowper write a set of hymns together,And the effort of this mutual endeavorWill help his lonely soul.It’s a twofer: you can be a blessing to your congregationWhile involving Cowper’s close cooperationTo keep his reason whole.

Which reminds me that my brother Charles gives a word of greetingFrom the other room where he has been completingHis newest Christmas thing:It’s a carol, and he thinks it might become a kind of landmark,With a name that comes across as rather grand: “Hark!The Herald Angels Sing.”

Well, with that, John,I will leave you to your books on Calvinism(Though I wish that they were books on Methodism).No matter, sir— God bless thee!I’ll be prayingThat the Lord would keep us both from every follyAnd would send the very best to you and Polly.Sincerely yours— John Wesley.

NEWTON

William, let us write a hymn on the glory of the kingdom of God.

21. Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken

CHORUS

Glorious things of thee are spoken,Zion, city of our God.He whose Word cannot be brokenFormed thee for His own abode.On the Rock of Ages founded,What can shake thy sure repose?With salvation’s walls surrounded,Thou may’st smile at all thy foes.

NEWTON

William, let us write a hymn on the glory of salvation.

22. O for Grace to Love Him More

CHORUS

Christ delivered us when bound,And, when wounded, healed our wound;Found us wandering, set us right,Turned our darkness into light.

This alone is our complaint:That our love is weak and faint.Yet we love Him and adore—O for grace to love Him more.

We shall see His glory soon,When the work of grace is done;Partners of His throne above:Such to us His wondrous love!

This alone is our complaint:That our love is weak and faint.Yet we love Him and adore—O for grace to love Him more.

NEWTON

William, let us write a hymn on the goodness of Jesus.

23. How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds

CHORUS

How sweet the name of Jesus soundsIn a believer’s ear!It soothes his sorrow, heals his wound,And drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit wholeAnd calms the troubled breast;‘Tis manna to the hungry soul,And to the weary, rest.

NEWTON

William, let us write a hymn on the presence of Jesus.

24. Jesus, Where’er Thy People Meet

CHORUS

Jesus, where’er Thy people meet,There they behold Thy mercy seat;Where’er they seek Thee, Thou art found,And every place is hallowed ground.

COWPER

Here may we prove the pow’r of prayer,Strengthen faith and sweeten care,To teach our faint desires to rise,And bring all heav’n before our eyes.

CHORUS

Lord, we are few, but Thou art near;Nor short Thine arm, nor deaf Thine ear;O rend the heavens, come quickly down,And take us as Thy shining crown.

NEWTON

William, let us write a hymn of invitation to the sinner.

25. There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood

CHORUS

There is a fountain filled with bloodDrawn from Immanuel’s veins,And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to seeThat fountain in his day;And there may I, tho’ vile as he,Wash all my sins away.

COWPER & CHORUS

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious bloodShall never lose its power,Till all the ransomed church of GodBe saved to sin no more.

When this poor, lisping, stamm’ring tongueLies silent in the grave,Then in a nobler, sweeter songI’ll sing Thy power to save.

26. Amazing Grace

CHORUS

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)That saved a wretch like me!I once was lost, but now am found,Was blind, but now I see.

Through many dangers, toils, and snaresI have already come.‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,And grace will lead me home.

27. Actum Est De Te

CHORUS

Actum est de te, periisti.William, thou art lost.William, thou wilt perish.

COWPER & CHORUS

Mercy, have mercy, O have mercy, O Lord.

CHORUS

In January, actum est de te.

COWPER

Where, O Lord, is now Thy tender mercy?Where Thy promise to preserve Thy precious child?Where is now Thy word of tamingTo the winds and waves so wild?Where Thy power of reclaimingFor the wand’ring one exiled?

Hear, O hear the terror of my crying,Hear the tears of one who once to Jesus fled.Righteous thunder now is drummingIn the clouds I so much dread;For the storm of wrath is coming,And will break upon my head.

28. Shall It Be with a Gulp of Poison? (II)

COWPER

Shall it be with a gulp of poison?Shall it be with a sharpened knife?Shall it be in the churning riverThat at last I will take my life?

Shall it be with a loaded musket?Shall it be with a length of rope?Shall it be the supreme decisionOf a man who has lost all hope?

Driver! Take me to the river!To the bridge! To the bridge!

NEWTON

William!Come back to the house.My friend, you need to rest.Lie down and close your eyes.

COWPER

Newton, I had a dream.I heard the voice of GodCondemning me forever.

NEWTON

How sweet the name of Jesus soundsIn a believer’s ear!It soothes his sorrow, heals his wound,And drives away his fear.

NEWTON

Only a pilgrimTrav’ling this road,Walking with WilliamAnd sharing his load.Only a guardianThrough nights and through days,As You guide us, Your children,Home by amazing grace.

29. All the Plea We Need

COWPER

Can His word demand my credit?Can I on His word rely?

NEWTON

Yes, since God Himself has said it.Naught can unbelief reply.He is strong and can fulfill.He is truth and therefore will.

COWPER

What of all the doubts and questionsWhich my spirit often grieves?

NEWTON

These are Satan’s sly suggestions,And you need no answer give.He would fain destroy thy hope,But the promise bears thee up.

COWPER

But I’m such a hopeless creature,And have doubted all His grace.

NEWTON

Lo! Forgiveness is His nature,Though He justly hides His face:Ere He called you, well He knewWhat a heart like yours would do.

NEWTON & CHORUS

In our Savior’s intercessionTherefore let us still confide;Lord, accept our free contrition.We have sinned, but Thou hast died.This is all we have to plead;This is all the plea we need.

30. Mercy, Have Mercy

COWPER

True, I grant the soundness of your answerWith regard to every time except for now.But a dire decree is looming,And the sky grows dark with clouds;Leave me to mine own entombing;Leave me in my funeral shroud.

How could God again design to save me?How again resolve to call me forth by name?How again to send the SaviorTo a man so sad and shamed?How to keep me in His favorAnd this hopeless sinner claim?

NEWTON

He can.William, here’s how I know.William, hearken to me.Even after the storm at sea,For years I lived in unbelief.I became a slaver,The captain of a slave ship.I was wicked.I was abusive.I practiced sorcery.I was a child of the devil,And he owned me.

CHORUS

Mercy, have mercy, O have mercy on us.

NEWTON

And in that forlorn condition,When Jesus came to set me free,I replied to my Physician,“What have I to do with Thee?”

CHORUS

“Come out. Be silent and come out.”

NEWTON

But He would not be prevented—Rescued me against my will;And if He had stayed till I’d consented,I would be a slaver still.So William, William—if God can save me, He can keep you.

31. I’ve Been Persuaded

SCOTT

Newton, I’ve been persuaded.Seems my faith has just arrived—if somewhat belated.I see now the gospel message isn’t social self-improvement,As if all we need is backbone and a guide.No, it’s how the Spirit draws us through His free and gracious movementTo receive the Savior and in Him abide.

Newton, I’ve been a doorknob.As a minister, thus far I’ve done such a poor job.I’ve been preaching the Enlightenment while stumbling in the gloom,Replacing Scripture with inept philosophy;But I see their Locke and see their Kant and see their David Hume—And raise them a Newton who was blind but now can see!

32. Always Burning, Never Consumed

33. Dear Pastor Newton

THEODORA

Dear Pastor Newton, now that William’s deadIt’s the time to tell my story:How I always loved him, tho’ we never wed—May we meet again in glory.

My father forbade our engagement, and since then I’ve never married.I’ve loved my William, grieved his troubled mind.For thirty-five years I’ve supported him, to ease the load he’s carried,With money sent in envelopes unsigned.

Love beyond all measure,Love our richest treasure,Love above the starlight pure,Love beneath our footsteps,Love before our eyes—Ever shall our love endure.

Dearest William, dearest William,I have loved you with good cheer, for the Scripture makes it clear:Love is patient, love is selfless, love is kind.

And so, dear Pastor, in my thanks to youI’m enclosing with this little noteSome lines to show us William’s faith anew:It’s the last hymn William ever wrote.

NEWTON

Let us sing a hymn, people of Olney—People of Olney—William’s last hymn.

34. God Moves in a Mysterious Way

CHORUS

God moves in a mysterious way,His wonders to perform.He plants His footsteps in the seaAnd rides upon the storm.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,But trust Him for His grace.Behind a frowning providence,He hides a smiling face.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,The clouds ye so much dreadAre filled with mercy, and shall breakWith joy upon your head.

35. The Time Is Now

WILBERFORCE

My dear Newton, I salute you as a brother and a friend.Many months have passed since last I saw your face.Now I write you seeking help to put the slave trade to an end,And to demonstrate the Lord’s amazing grace.

I know that in the past you’ve shied away from this debate;Perhaps because of shame for what you’ve done;But testifying now, before the chance has slipped away,Could show the world the Christian you’ve become.

The time is now. The time is now.Come to London. Put aside all your vanity and prideAnd together we can turn the tide for good.The time is now. The time is now.Come to Parliament this year, while the will to change is here—For in providence it’s clear: the time is now.

So in Westminster I hope to see you soon. And until then,All the best to you, and Polly too, of course.Just keep me in your prayers, as I keep you in mine, my friend.Truly yours, your brother—William Wilberforce.

36. Parliament (II)

CHORUS

Parliament!The solemn charge to representThe people’s right to give consentTo their own form of government.We lost the war.We lost it fair and square,But we don’t really care,Because there’s alwaysAnother war with France,And they don’t have a chance.So come and stand before us.Impress us or implore us.We’re more than just the chorus:We are, in point of fact, Parliament.

NEWTON

My lords, hearken! Hearken to me!You honorable and right honorable gentlemen,Hearken! Hearken!

37. Turn While You May

NEWTON

Hearken, all you statesmen,All you powers in Westminster towers of stone—Hearken, all you nobles,All you princes who trust your invincible throne—

Your halls will crumble, your towers tumble,So turn while you may, mercy is waiting for you.

NEWTON & CHORUS

Hearken, all you sinners,All you slavers who trade in the sale of your race—Hearken, all you guilty,Who like me tried to flee from the freedom of grace—

Your trespass wicked can be acquitted,So turn while you may, mercy is waiting for you.

CHORUS

Hearken, all you fearful,All you hopeless and hapless and helpless and sad—Hearken, all you desperate,All you stray and unstable, the manic and mad—

No mental blindness will dim God’s kindness,So turn while you may, mercy is waiting for you.

THEODORA, COWPER, NEWTON, SCOTT & CHORUS

Hearken, all you captives,All you carried like cattle, like chattel in chains—Hearken, all you victims,All you sickened by wickedness, troubled by pains—Hearken, all you feeble,All you crooked and coiled, you limbless and lame—Hearken, all you weary,All you burdened in body and fragile in frame—

No ailment binds you when Jesus finds you,So turn while you may, mercy is waiting for you.

38. Only a Sinner / Amazing Grace

NEWTON

Only a sinner,Prone, Lord, to stray;Just a beginnerAt foll’wing Your way.Sin had condemned me,But Christ took my place,And He ransomed this sinnerBy His amazing grace.

Through many dangers,Toils, and snares,You seek the strangersAnd answer their prayers.You find the missing,The lost and debased,And You make them Your children,All by amazing grace.

‘Twas grace that found me,Taught me to fear,‘Twas grace around meThat brought me safe here.And when, like William,I finish my race,I’ll be led, saints around me,Home by amazing grace.

CHORUS

Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)That saved a wretch like me!I once was lost, but now am found,Was blind, but now I see.

39. How Can God Save? (II)

How can God save the wicked man?How can God save the hopeless man?How can God save any man?Amazing grace!