Lyrics
Come, my soul, thy suit prepare,
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He Himself has bid thee pray,
Rise and ask without delay.
Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring,
For His grace and pow'r are such,
None can ever ask too much.
With my burden I begin,
Lord, remove this load of sin!
Let Thy blood, for sinners spilt,
Set my conscience free from guilt.
Lord, I come to Thee for rest,
Take possession of my breast;
There Thy blood-bought right maintain,
And without a rival reign.
While I am a pilgrim here,
Let Thy love my spirit cheer;
As my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
Lead me to my journey's end.
Show me what I have to do;
Every hour my strength renew;
Let me live a life of faith;
Let me die Thy people's death.
Public domain hymn text (1779), based on 2 Kings 3:5-9 and Matthew 7:7.
The Story Behind the Hymn
John Newton wrote "Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare" for the Olney Hymns, the collection he compiled with William Cowper and published in 1779. The original text ran to seven stanzas; the third and fifth are commonly dropped in modern hymnals, leaving the six presented here.
The hymn draws its central image from an unlikely biblical episode: 2 Kings 3, in which the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom, facing military disaster in the wilderness with no water for their armies, send for the prophet Elisha and receive from him not just practical counsel but an unexpected divine provision. Newton reads that story as a model for approaching God in prayer — coming as one approaching a king, and being told, in effect, not to hold back the size of the request. "None can ever ask too much" became the hymn's boldest line, an argument against timid praying.
A century after it was written, the hymn found a particular home in the ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the influential London Baptist preacher. Before times of prayer in the services of his Metropolitan Tabernacle, Spurgeon would have the congregation sing a stanza or two of the hymn softly, using it not as a stand-alone piece of worship but as a direct preparation for prayer itself — putting Newton's opening line, "come, my soul, thy suit prepare," into literal practice.
Newton, who had spent years as a slave ship captain before his conversion and eventual ordination, wrote hymns throughout his ministry that returned often to the theme of undeserved access to grace. This one applies that theme specifically to prayer: not a caution against asking, but an invitation to ask boldly, on the grounds of exactly whose court is being approached.
