Book II · Hymn 25 · We Were Pharaoh's Bondmen

John Newton

Beneath the tyrant Satan's yoke
Our souls were long oppressed;
Till grace our galling fetters broke,
And gave the weary rest.
Jesus, in that important hour,
His mighty arm made known;
He ransomed us by price, and pow'r,
And claimed us for his own.
Now, freed from bondage, sin, and death,
We walk in Wisdom's ways;
And wish to spend our every breath,
In wonder, love, and praise.
Ere long, we hope with him to dwell
In yonder world above;
And now, we only live to tell
The riches of his love.
O might we, ere we hence remove,
Prevail upon our youth
To seek, that they may likewise prove,
His mercy and his truth,

Like Simeon, we shall gladly go,
Lk 2:29

When JESUS calls us home;
If they are left a seed below,
To serve him in our room.
Lord hear our prayer, indulge our hope,
On these thy Spirit pour;
That they may take our story up,

When we can speak no more.