In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object met my sight,
And stopp’d my wild career.

Chorus:
Oh, the Lamb, the bleeding Lamb,
The Lamb on Calvary,
The Lamb that was slain and liveth again
To intercede for me.

I saw One hanging on a tree
In agonies and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near the cross I stood. [Chorus]

Sure never till my latest breath
Can I forget that look,
It seem’d to charge me with His death,
Tho’ not a word He spoke. [Chorus]

My conscience felt and owned my guilt,
And plung’d me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there. [Chorus]

A second look He gave, which said,
“I freely all forgive,
This blood is for thy ransom paid,
I die, that thou may’st live.” [Chorus]

Thus, while His death my sins displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too. [Chorus]

John Newton, 1779