Save a wretch condemned to die

HYMN CXXV. L. M.

What shall I do to be saved?

1. With melting heart and weeping eyes,

My guilty soul for mercy cries;

What shall I do, or whither flee,

T’escape the vengeance due to me?

2. Till now, I saw no danger nigh;

I liv’d at ease, nor fear’d to die;

Wrapt up in self-deceit, and pride,

“I shall have peace at last,” I cry’d.

3. But when, great God, thy light divine

Had shone on this dark soul of mine,

Then I beheld, with trembling awe,

The terrors of thy holy law.

4. How dreadful now my guilt appears,

In childhood, youth, and growing years!

Before thy pure discerning eye,

Lord, what a filthy wretch am I!

5. Should vengeance still my soul pursue,

Death, and destruction are my due;

Yet mercy can my guilt forgive,

And bid a dying sinner live.

6. Does not thy sacred word proclaim

Salvation free in Jesus name?

To him I look, and humbly cry,

“O save a wretch condemn’d to die!” 

The above hymn was written by John Fawcett. I originally found it as hymn #238 in William Gadsby’s hymn book (called “Repentance”). However, it first appeared in Fawcett’s Hymns: Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion, published in Leeds in 1782. It is hymn # 125 on pages 219-220 – with a title whose theme relates to Acts 9:6 and Acts 16:30. Fawcett seemed to enjoy the image of the heart melting. The words “melting heart” or “melting hearts” appear in at least seven of the hymns found in Hymns: Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion.

John Fawcett was an English Baptist theologian, author, pastor, and hymn writer. He was born January 6, 1740 (or 1739) in West Yorkshire, England. He became an orphan at age 12, and was apprenticed to a tailor. His conversion came under the preaching of George Whitefield when he was 16 years old. Shortly thereafter Fawcett began to preach. He initially united with the Methodists, but – as with many other of Whitefield’s converts – this “Methodist chicken became a Baptist duck.” In 1765 He was called to the Baptist chapel at Wainsgate in Yorkshire, and ordained as a Baptist minister. Though offered other positions, Fawcett served in Wainsgate and Hebden Bridge (where a new chapel was built in 1777) for the duration of his ministry. He also taught school from his residence. In addition to writing poetry, he wrote on religious subjects as well.

John Fawcett died July 25, 1817 and is buried at the Wainsgate Baptist Church Graveyard at Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, England. His wife Susannah Skirrow Fawcett preceded him in death and is buried there as well.

This hymn is not so well-known as others by Fawcett, such as “Religion is the chief concern,” “How precious is the Book divine,” and “Blest be the tie that binds.” “With melting heart and weeping eyes,” sometimes titled “The Christian Awakened,” appears with the tune Social Band (aka Clamanda) in Durand and Lester’s Hymn and Tune Book for Use in Old School or Primitive Baptist Churches. I believe this is a good fit of text and tune. The words extol free salvation for the awakened sinner, who cries out to God for mercy. There is no hope apart from Jesus Christ.