The Poetry Corner

The Prodigal Son -John Newton 

Afflictions though they seem severe, In mercy oft are sent, 

They stopp’d the prodigal’s career, And caus’d him to repent. 

Chorus: I’ll die no more for bread, he cried, Nor starve in foreign lands; My father’s house has large supplies, And bounteous are his hands. 

What have I gained by sin, he said, But hunger, shame and fear? My father’s house abounds with bread, While I am starving here. [Chorus] 

I’ll go and tell him all I’ve done, Fall down before his face, Unworthy to be called his son, I’ll seek a servant’s place. [Chorus] 

His father saw him coming back, He saw, and ran, and smiled, And threw his arms around the neck Of his rebellious child. [Chorus] 

Father, I’ve sinned, but O forgive! Enough! the father said; Rejoice, my house, my son’s alive, For whom I mourned as dead. [Chorus] 

Now let the fatted calf be slain, And spread the news around; My son was dead, and lives again; Was lost, but now is found. [Chorus] 

‘Tis thus the Lord His love reveals, To call poor sinners home; More than a father’s love He feels, And welcomes all that come. [Chorus]