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He who on earth as man was known The Refuge, River, and Rock of the Church
John Newton printed it in 1779 in Olney Hymns, Book I, no. 59, under Isaiah 32:2.
WRITTEN BY
John Newton 1725–1807
PRINTED
1779 Olney Hymns · no. 59
METRE
Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 7 stanzas
WRITTEN ON
Isaiah 32:2 the verse printed above it
The hymn, and the Scripture in it
All 7 stanzas as Newton printed them, with the verses their lines echo beside them. Point at a line to join it to its verse; click to read the passage.
SHARED WORDSthe verse shares the line's wording ECHOproposed by an AI model, confirmed by a separate check Not the author's own notes
AMONG THE SCRIPTURES
The stanzas at the centre; around them, every book its heading and its echoes come from, Old Testament on the left and New on the right. Choose a stanza or a book.
a line echoes this verse its heading or an echo comes from here
STANZA I
He who on earth as man was known
He who on earth as man was known,
And bore our sins and pains;
Now, seated on th’ eternal throne,
The God of glory reigns.
No line of this stanza quotes a verse closely; it is the hymn's own confession.
Where Newton found it
Newton printed the hymn under Isaiah 32:2. The line that comes closest to it is marked.
Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land. ISAIAH 32:2 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ ISAIAH 32
His righteousness, to faith revealed, Wrought out for guilty worms, Affords a hiding place and shield, From enemies and storms. STANZA IV
Its place in the book
Book I of Olney Hymns walks through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, one hymn per passage: 141 hymns. This is number 59. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.
NO. 59 · JOHN NEWTON · THIS HYMN He who on earth as man was known
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