1
Begone, unbelief,
My Savior is near,
And for my relief
Will surely appear;
By prayer let me wrestle,
And He will perform;
With Christ in the vessel,
I smile at the storm.
My Savior is near,
And for my relief
Will surely appear;
By prayer let me wrestle,
And He will perform;
With Christ in the vessel,
I smile at the storm.
2
Though dark be my way,
Since He is my Guide,
’Tis mine to obey,
’Tis His to provide;
Though cisterns be broken,
And creatures all fail,
The word He hath spoken
Shall surely prevail.
Since He is my Guide,
’Tis mine to obey,
’Tis His to provide;
Though cisterns be broken,
And creatures all fail,
The word He hath spoken
Shall surely prevail.
3
His love, in time past,
Forbids me to think
He’ll leave me at last
In trouble to sink:
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review
Confirms His good pleasure
To help me quite through.
Forbids me to think
He’ll leave me at last
In trouble to sink:
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review
Confirms His good pleasure
To help me quite through.
4
Why should I complain
Of want or distress,
Temptation or pain?
He told me no less;
The heirs of salvation,
I know from His Word,
Through much tribulation
Must follow their Lord.
Of want or distress,
Temptation or pain?
He told me no less;
The heirs of salvation,
I know from His Word,
Through much tribulation
Must follow their Lord.
5
How bitter that cup
No heart can conceive,
Which He drank quite up,
That sinners might live!
His way was much rougher
And darker than mine;
Did Christ, my Lord, suffer,
And shall I repine?
No heart can conceive,
Which He drank quite up,
That sinners might live!
His way was much rougher
And darker than mine;
Did Christ, my Lord, suffer,
And shall I repine?
6
Since all that I meet
Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,
The medicine, food;
Though painful at present,
’Twill cease before long,
And then, oh, how pleasant
The conqueror’s song!
Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,
The medicine, food;
Though painful at present,
’Twill cease before long,
And then, oh, how pleasant
The conqueror’s song!
Delete Comment
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
Storrs, Connecticut, United States
The Reverend John Newton, author of this hymn was born in London, July 24, 1725. The son of a sea-captain, he became a sailor, and for several years, led a reckless life. Once saved, he became a minister and settled as curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, and later Rector of St. Mary’s of Woolnoth London, where he died, December 21, 1807. It was while living at Olney that he and William Cowper wrote and published the Olney hymns. His defiance to doubt in these lines is the blunt utterance of a sailor rather than the song of a poet:
Begone, unbelief, my Saviour is near,
And for my relief will surely appear.
By prayer let me wrestle and He will perform;
With Christ in the vessel I smile at the storm.
(Brown and Butterworth)
Konongo, Asante Akyem, Ghana
Beautiful words, just reminding us of the faithfulness of God
Lagos, Nigeria
Each time we go through tough times, it’s always a test of our faith. I’m gonna through a hard time currently then I remember this hymn, I had to search for the whole lyrics and the first 3 verses of stanza 3 got to me
“His love in past times, forbids me to think he’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink”
Thank you Jesus for loving me
This tough time is just a distraction, you are near never ever far because you stay right here with me
Narayi Bayan Duste, Kaduna, Nigeria
I am going through a battle at this moment and there is this elements of unbelief in me but then the verses keep addressing me
Lagos, Nigeria
The devil is always testing the limits of our faith but when he makes doubt rears its ugly head, the ever comforting word of God sends it to hell. Thank you Jesus, unbelief will forever begone. Hallelujah.
Cape Coast, Central, Ghana
This hymn has been my sensational inspiration and motivation in my ministry. I sing it over and over, because I had suffered a lot of set backs and backbiting from people we trusted but Jesus healed me from all the snares of the enemies and kept us moving. Please trust in God and doubt your own doubt for what God cannot do doesn't exist among humanity. Shalom!!
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
I love the note of confidence and certainty running through this hymn, for example, ‘He will perform’, ‘the word He has spoken shall surely prevail’, ‘confirms His good pleasure to help me quite through’ etc.
Odessa, Texas, United States
I love this song
What a beautiful song!
Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria
I was in a mess on an office assignment and I lost my sleep & peace for like two weeks.
I was mandated to buy a Toyota Highlander Jeep for my MD from USA and handle the clearing. The Jeep got to Lagos but the Clearing Agent couldn't find it at Tincan to move out. At much efforts & Prayer, it seems I'm in the water in the office. We later found out the Jeep was transfered to a Bonded warehouse at a request by an unknown person.
By the Third week, I had a dream of seeing Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya (MFM - G. O) & he sang the song twice then I sang the third time till I opened my eyes in the mid night - Note, I don't know the wordens of the first stanza in real life but I woke up singing it perfectly. I continue singing it everywhere I moved that day
At exactly 1:00pm I received a call from the Agent that I should come & collect the Jeep.
I have make it my song any moment I remember now.
Praise God.