Again our earthly cares we leave. [Divine Worship.] Appeared in Cotterill’s Selection 1810, No. 98, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "For the blessing of God on Public Worship." It is based on J. Newton's "O Lord, our languid souls inspire," st. ii. being specially from Newton. The cento was most probably arranged and rewritten by Cotterill. Its use in Great Britain is somewhat limited, but in America it is extensive, and is given in the collections of various denominations.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
John Newton (b. London, England, 1725; d. London, 1807) was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumultuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide… Go to person page >
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