Saul’s Armour

The name of the hymnwriter John Newton is well-known, but often many of his good hymns are not. In Olney Hymns, Newton’s hymn “Saul’s Armour” is No. XXVII (pp. 32-33), included in the hymns on the book of 1 Samuel. I am not aware of its presence in any common hymnals or hymn books. The meter is 7s.6s., Doubled. I looked at Sacred Harp tunes in this meter. Holy City (101b), Heavenly Armour (129), Hosanna (178), and World Above (551) seem to be good possibilities. I would be interested in folks trying those and letting me know what you think. Webb (“Stand up, stand up for Jesus”) is a more generally-known tune which also fits this meter.

XXVIII. SAUL’s armour. Chap. xvii. 38-40.

1. When first my soul enlisted,
My Saviour’s foes to fight;
Mistaken friends insisted,
I was not arm’d aright:
So Saul advisèd David
He certainly would fail;
Nor could his life be savèd,
Without a coat of mail.

2. But David, tho’ he yielded,
To put the armour on,
Soon found he could not wield it,
And ventur’d forth with none.
With only sling and pebble,
He fought the fight of faith:
The weapon seem’d but feeble,
Yet prov’d Goliath’s death.

3. Had I by him been guided,
And quickly thrown away
The armour men provided,
I might have gain’d the day,
But arm’d as they advis’d me,
My expectations fail’d;
The enemy surpriz’d me,
And had almost prevail’d.

4. Furnish’d with books and notions,
And arguments and pride;
And practis’d all my motions,
And Satan’s pow’r defy’d:
But soon perceiv’d with trouble,
That these would do no good,
Iron to him is stubble,[i]
And brass like rotten wood.[i]

5. I triumph’d at a distance,
While he was out of sight,
But faint was my resistance,
When forc’d to join in fight,
He broke my sword in shivers,
And pierc’d my boasted shield;
Laugh’d at my vain endeavors,
And drove me from the field.

6. Satan will not be bravèd
By such a worm as I:
Then let me learn with David,
To trust in the Most High;
To plead the name of Jesus,
And use the sling of pray’r;
Thus arm’d when Satan sees us,
He’ll tremble, and despair.

I really like this hymn, and think it would be good to find use in church music. It sends a message, from an historical Old Testament account of Saul and David, that the proper armour is essential. “Saul’s Armour on Christ’s Churches” is a theme that must be developed to address problems in our day. Rejecting old standards such as sola scriptura, the Bible as our sole rule of faith & practice, the Regulative Principle, and apostolic practice as normative, many of the Lord’s churches have become comfortable going forth in the wrong armour, the wrong tools for the job to which God has called us.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

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[i] For these two lines, Newton places a note referencing Job xli. 27.