"Afflicted soul, to Jesus dear" is an eighteenth-century hymn offering spiritual support in times of affliction, composed by the Baptist minister and theologian John Fawcett.
The hymn was first published in Fawcett's Hymns adapted to the Circumstances of Public and Private Devotion (1782, No. 13) in seven four-line stanzas. In its original textual form, the hymn is rarely encountered in common hymnal use. Its entry into widespread congregational adoption came through revised and abbreviated adaptations:
-
Rippon's Selection: John Rippon introduced an altered six-stanza version beginning "Afflicted Saint, to Christ draw near" in his Selection of Hymns (1787). This version was retained across subsequent editions of Rippon's collection.
-
Cotterill's Selection: Thomas Cotterill included a further abridged five-stanza version in his Selection of Psalms and Hymns (1810, No. 50; 8th ed., 1819, No. 165). Cotterill's text selected stanzas I, III, V, VI, and VII of Fawcett's original text.
Cotterill's five-stanza arrangement became the standard version adopted in common congregational use across Great Britain and America, sometimes appearing under the modified opening line "Afflicted Saint, to God draw near."
The original seven-stanza text was reprinted in Charles Rogers's Lyra Britannica (1867, p. 225).
Related Hymn Sheets
3 shown at a time — use the arrows to browse all 5 sheets.
Related Authors
Writers connected to this dictionary topic.
Keywords
Related terms for this dictionary entry.
Recent Dictionary Entries
Newly added terms from the Dictionary of Hymnology.
If you notice any mistake or have suggestions, please contact us on our contact page.