homeward was tedious, and from very weariness he read Stanhope's Thoinas a Kriiiph, and tlie thoiigVit flashed through his mind, " What if these things should be true?" That very night a terrible storm fell on them; death raged around the sinking ship, and then it was, as he says, " I began to pray. I could not utter the prayer of faith ; I could not draw near to a recon- ciled God, and call him Father. My prayer was like the cry of the ravens, which y&i the Lord does not disdain to hear." They escaped the storm, but only to face the danger, by the failure of their provisions, of a more ter- rible death by starvation. The New Testament now became his constant studj' ; he was especially struck by the parable of the prodigal son, and did not fail to see its similarity to his own case. " I continued," he says, "much in prayer; I saw that the Lord had interfered so far to save me, and I hoped he would do more. ... I saw by the waj' pointed out in the Gospel that God might declare not his mercy only, but his justice also, in the pardon of sin on account of the obedience and suiferings of Jesus Christ. . . . Thus, to all appearance, I was a new man." He reached home in safety, and the change in his life proved real and permanent. For four years longer he engaged in the slave-trade, which he did not then regard as an unlawful occupation ; but his eyes being after\vards opened, he did all that he could to ex- pose its cruelties. For eight years he was tide-survey- or at Liverpool. In 1758 he began to attempt to preach, but his efforts were so little successful that he confined himself to a meeting on Sundays with his friends in his own house. He gave himself to careful study, and in 17G4, when he was in his thirty-ninth year, he enter- ed upon a regular ministry. He obtained the curacy of Olney, where he remained nearly sixteen years. Here he came into most intimate association with the suffering poet Cowper, and together they produced the Oliiey Hymns. They were written for the use of his congregation, the greater number by himself. In 1779 Newton became rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, London ; there he became generally known, and his Christian usefulness was very great. He died Dec. 21, 1807. His power was not merely in the pulpit, but in conver- sation and in his correspondence. Several of his works consist of letters; they are rich in Christian experience, and admirable for their clearness and simplicity. His principal works, besides the Olney Hymns, were a vol- ume of Sermons (1760), before he took orders: — his Narrative (published in 17G4) : — a volume of Sermons (1767) : — Omicron's Letters (1774) : — Review of Ecclesi- astical History (1769): — Cai'diphonia, or Utterances of the Heart (1781) : — The Christian Character Exem- plified (1791) :— and Letters to a Wife (1793). In 1786 he published Messiah, being fifty discourses on the Scripture passages in the oratorio of that name. His Inters to Rev. William Bull were published in 1847. While the story of Newton's life will always be prized by the Church as affording a marked instance of the power of the grace of God, and will never fail to encour- age hope for the most abandoned; and while others of his works are of interest and value, for John Newton was a man of real originality, and his liabits of observa- tion were eminently philosophical, yet it is principally in his hymns that he will continue to live in the mem- ory and aifection of Christians. On the score of useful- ness in this department, judged by the numbers that are found in our best collections, he stands among the first half-dozen hymn-writers of our language. On the score of excellence so high a place could not bo given him, although some of our best hymns are from his heart and pen. Among them is that beautiful hymn of experience, '• Sweet was the time when first I felt ;" and this one, "I asked the Lord that I might grow." This hymn of love to the Saviour, •' How sweet the name of Jesus sounds," is his; and this one of worship, "Come, my soul, thy suit prepare." The author of these and of others as good will always hold a high place among the poets of the sanctuary and the closet.
In the preface to the Olney Hymns, which were publish- ed in 1779, lie disclaims all pretensions to being a poet, and only claims the " mediocrity of talent which might qualify him for usefidness to the weak and poor of his flock." He further states that his hymns are the " fruit and expression of his own experience." It is this that gives a personal interest and an evident reality to his hymns quite peculiar to them, and is an important ele- ment in their value. "We trace in them the indica- tions of his former wayward and miserable course, and at the same time we find in them the expression of the mind and heart of the matured Christian, and of the Christian minister in the midst of his activity, anxiety, and success." He himself has stated his own views of what hymns should be that are designed for use in public worship, in which the poor and unlearned join as well as the rich and cultivated. " Perspicuity, sim- plicity, and ease should be chiefly attended to, and the imagery and coloring of poetry, if admitted at all, should be indidged very sparingly, and with great judgment." His own hj'mns are fit illustrations of these views. He wrote not so much as the poet as the Christian, who must give expression to his own fresh, rich, and abundant ex- periences, and his hymns will doubtless be used while similar experiences in others demand similar expres- sion. See Worls of John Neivton, with Memoirs of his Life, by Richard Cecil (I'hila. 1831 ; 2d ed. N. Y. 1874, 2 vols. 8vo) ; A utohioyraphy and Narrative of John Neivton (Lond. 18G9) ; Edinb. Rev. Ixiii, 1857 ; Ixvii, 278 ; Meth. Quar. Rev. Jan. 1874, p. 162; Lond. Qnar. Rev. xxxi, 26 sq. ; Bickersteth, Christian Student, p. 321, 444 ; Darling, Cyclop. Bibliog. ii, 2185; Christophers, Itymn- writers and their Hymns ; IMiller's Singers and Songs of the Church. (S. S.)