How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds

HOW sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear !
It soothes his sorrows,
heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

2 It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
'Tis Manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary Rest

3 Dear Name ! the Rock on which I build,
My Shield and Hiding-place,
My never-failing Treasury,
filled With boundless stores of grace;

4 By Thee my prayers acceptance gain,
Although with sin defiled ;
Satan accuses me in vain,
And I am owned a child.

5 Jesus, my Shepherd, Brother, Friend,
My Prophet, Priest, and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
Accept the praise I bring.

6 Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I'll praise Thee as I ought.

7 Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With every fleeting breath ;
And may the music of Thy Name
Refresh my soul in death.

It is touching to think that this hymn (by the Rev. John Newton), so filled with love and tender reverence, was written by one whose earlier life was wild and profligate, who was a deserter from the English navy, and then engaged in the slave-trade. During a terrible storm at sea he turned his back upon that old life, and gave his heart to Christ. Returning to England he was ordained to the ministry in 1764 at the age of thirty-nine, and became curate of the village of Olney. There he became intimate with the poet Cowper, and they both wrote hymns to be sung at weekly prayer meetings which Newton held in an empty house. In 1779, 348 of these hymns were published in a book called " Olney Hymns." 280 of them, including this one, were by Newton, and 68 were by Cowper. Newton lived to be eighty-two years old. [NOTE.—Verse 5, line 1. Brother. Newton wrote It," Husband."]