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As parched in the barren sands Trust of the wicked, and the righteous compared
John Newton printed it in 1779 in Olney Hymns, Book I, no. 66, under Jeremiah 17:5–8.
WRITTEN BY
John Newton 1725–1807
PRINTED
1779 Olney Hymns · no. 66
METRE
Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 7 stanzas
WRITTEN ON
Jeremiah 17:5–8 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
As parched in the barren sands
Beneath a burning sky,
The worthless bramble with’ring stands,
And only grows to die.
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 Jeremiah 17:5–8. The line that comes closest to it is marked.
5This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. 6He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. 8He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit. JEREMIAH 17:5–8 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ JEREMIAH 17
As parched in the barren sands Beneath a burning sky, The worthless bramble with’ring stands, And only grows to die. STANZA I
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 66. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.
NO. 66 · JOHN NEWTON · THIS HYMN As parched in the barren sands
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