Morning Devotions with John Newton

Has it REALLY been all summer since I've posted? Yikes! Well...it's the first day of Fall so here's another new start for me! :)

I pulled out my old Olney Hymnal this morning at the suggestion of a friend (Thanks, William G!) and read through some great words penned by John Newton. He was in the habit of writing a hymn to go with his sermons preached at the Olney Parish. He eventually, along with neighbor William Cowper, published this collection of hymns in the Olney Hymnal. This little book introduced the world to "Amazing Grace" (Newton) and "There is a Fountain Filled With Blood" (Cowper).

Original 1779 price? 2 shillings. I paid much more than that for my copy from the Cowper and Newton Museum in 2004. Imagine putting down your thoughts and having people still paying to own them 225 years later? That's durability.

The one I read this morning is Hymn 53: "One There Is, Above All Others." He wrote this one to go with a sermon on Proverbs 18:24 "There is a friend who sticketh closer than a brother."
Verses 5 and 6 really stood out to me:

Would we bear from one another,
What He daily bears from us?
Yet this glorious Friend and Brother,
Loves us tho' we treat Him thus:
Tho' for good we render ill,
He accounts us brethren still.

Oh! for grace our hearts to soften!
Teach us, Lord, at length to love;
We, alas, forget too often,
What a Friend we have above:
But when home our souls are brought,
We will love Thee as we ought.

"Lord, remind me today of the great love you have toward me. It is so true that I would not stand to be treated by someone else the way I so often treat You. I ignore You when you speak, I do not respond to Your messages, I blame You for things that You didn't do, I take advantage of Your kindness, and take from You so much more than I give. Grant me grace to return Your friendship today in the small and feeble way in which I am able....help me to be a faithful friend."