A Prayer for Youth, by John Newton

A Prayer for Youth
John Newton

Bestow, dear Lord, upon our youth,
The gift of saving grace;
And let the seed of sacred truth
Fall in a fruitful place.

Grace is a plant, where’er it grows,
Of pure and heavenly root;
But fairest in the youngest shows,
And yields the sweetest fruit.

Ye careless ones, oh hear betimes
The voice of sovereign love;
Your youth is stained with many crimes,
But mercy reigns above.

True, you are the young, but there’s a stone
Within the youngest breast,
Or half the crimes which you have done,
Would rob you of your rest.

For you the public prayer is made,
Oh, join the public prayer!;
For you the sacred tear is shed,
Oh, shed yourselves a tear!

We pray that you may early prove
The Spirit’s power to teach;
You cannot be too young to love
That Jesus whom we preach.


Newton, John. The Works of the Rev. John Newton. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson, 1841, pp. 574-575.

Quoted in Worthy is the Lamb, Puritan Poetry in Honor of the Savior
Maureen Bradley; Edited by Don Kistler and Joel Rishel (page 309)