"Begone, Unbelief"

"Begone, Unbelief"
by John Newton (1725-1807)

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.

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 has 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.

4 Determined to save,
He watched o'er my path
When Satan's blind slave,
I sported with death;
And can he have taught me
To trust in his name,
And thus far have brought me
To put me to shame?

5 Why should I complain
Of want or distress
Temptation or pain?
He told me no less;
The heirs of salvation,
I knew from his word,
Through much tribulation,
Must follow their Lord.

6 How bitter the cup,
No heart can conceive,
Which he drunk quite up,
That sinners might live!
His way was much rougher,
And darker than mine;
Did Jesus thus suffer,
And shall I repine?

7 Since all that I meet
Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,
The medicine is food;
Though painful at present,
'Twill cease before long,
And then, oh how pleasant,
The conqueror's song!