Today’s hymn comes from Joseph Hart (1712-1768). His early life, according to his own words which he prefaced to his collection of published hymns, was a mixture of loose conduct, serious conviction of sin, and attempts to change his life. It was not until 1757 did he realise a permanent change, which was brought about mainly through his attending the Moravian Chapel, in Fetter Lane, London, and hearing a sermon on Revelations 3:10. During the next two years many of his most earnest and impassioned hymns were written¹. He also wrote the popular “Come ye sinners, poor and wretched [needy]”. Interestingly before his conversion, he wrote a tract denouncing Christianity called “The Unreasonableness of Religion, Being Remarks and Animadversions on the Rev. John Wesley’s Sermon on Romans 8:32“². Knowing that, this hymn seems even more precious; enjoy!

God’s mercy is for ever sure;
Eternal is his name;
As long as life and speech endure,
My tongue this truth proclaim.

I basely sinned against his love,
And yet my God was good;
His favour nothing could remove,
For I was bought with blood.

That precious blood atones all sin,
And fully clears from guilt;
It makes the foulest sinner clean,
For ’twas for sinners spilt.

He raised me from the lowest state,
When hell was my desert;
I broke his law, and, worse than that,
Alas! I broke his heart!

My soul, thou hast, let what will ail,
A never-changing Friend;
When brethren, friends, and helpers fail,
On him alone depend.

¹hymnary.org/person/Hart_Joseph
²wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hart

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