Come, ye sinners, poor and needy - William Walker (1809-1875)

William Walker (1809-1875)

Musically gift­ed, by age 18 Walker was lead­ing con­gre­ga­tion­al sing­ing at the First Bap­tist Church in Spar­tan­burg. He col­lect­ed and ar­ranged folk tunes, and with his brother-in-law, Ben­jamin Frank­lin White, par­ti­ci­pated in sing­ing schools and com­pil­ing mel­o­dies from south­ern Ap­pa­la­chia and camp meet­ings. Af­ter mov­ing to Hart­ford, Con­nec­ti­cut, Walk­er pub­lished The South­ern Har­mo­ny and Mu­sic­al Com­pan­ion in 1835, but gave no credit to White, who pub­lished The Sac­red Harp, a com­pet­ing vol­ume, in 1844. Both used the shaped note music nota­tion system.

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,

Weak and wounded, sick and sore;

Jesus ready stands to save you,

Full of pity, love and power.

I will arise and go to Jesus,

He will embrace me in His arms;

In the arms of my dear Savior,

O there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,

God’s free bounty glorify;

True belief and true repentance,

Every grace that brings you nigh.

Come, ye weary, heavy laden,

Lost and ruined by the fall;

If you tarry till you’re better,

You will never come at all.

View Him prostrate in the garden;

On the ground your Maker lies.

On the bloody tree behold Him;

Sinner, will this not suffice?

Lo! th’incarnate God ascended,

Pleads the merit of His blood:

Venture on Him, venture wholly,

Let no other trust intrude.

Let not conscience make you linger,

Not of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness He requireth

Is to feel your need of Him.