The words
Stanza 1. From Sheba a distant reportOf Solomon’s glory and fame,Invited the queen to his court,But all was outdone when she came;She cried, with a pleasing surprise,When first she before him appeared,“How much, what I see with my eyes,“Surpasses the rumor I heard!”
Stanza 2. When once to Jerusalem come,The treasure and train she had brought;The wealth she possessed at home,No longer had place in her thought:His house, his attendants, his throne,All struck her with wonder and awe;The glory of Solomon shone,In every object she saw.
Stanza 3. But Solomon most she admired,Whose spirit conducted the whole;His wisdom, which God had inspired,His bounty and greatness of soul;Of all the hard questions she put,A ready solution he showed;Exceeded her with and her suit,And more than she asked him bestowed.
Stanza 4. Thus I when the gospel proclaimedThe Savior’s great name in my ears,The wisdom for which he is famed,The love which to sinners he bears;I longed, and I was not denied,That I in his presence might bow;I saw, and transported I cried,“A greater than Solomon Thou!”
Stanza 5. My conscience no comfort could find,By doubt and hard questions opposed;But He restored peace to my mind,And answered each doubt I proposed:Beholding me poor and distressed,His bounty supplied all my wants;My prayer could have never expressedSo much as this Solomon grants.
Stanza 6. I heard, and was slow to believe,But now with my eyes I behold,Much more than my heart could conceive,Or language could ever have told:How happy thy servants must be,Who always before thee appear!Vouchsafe, LORD, this blessing to me,I find it is good to be here.
Olney Hymns (1779), Book 1, Hymn 34. John Newton. Public domain. CCEL transcription with modernized spelling. www.praylock.com/olney-hymns/1-34
