It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
– 1 Timothy 1.15
The musical source material is treated with greater freedom in Restoration than in any other movement of the piece. The lush and often pan-diatonic harmonies are centered on A-flat/f-minor, making this the most Romantic of the set. The bass and piano dialogue with each other, finally coming together for a soulful climax, almost as a longing cry of desperation, before trailing away. The focus here is on the healing power of the Son of David, the Christ Who came into the world so that the world might have life. The hymn-tune is most frequently associated with the hymn I Will Arise and Go to Jesus, although in William Walker's The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion, a different text is set:
Mercy, O thou Son of David!
Thus blind Bartiaeus prayed;
Others by thy word are saved,
Now to me afford thine aid:
Many for his crying chid him,
But he called the louder still;
Till the gracious Saviour bid him
Come, and ask me what you will.Money was not what he wanted,
Though by begging used to live;
But he asked, and Jesus granted
Alms, which none but he could give:
Lord remove this grievous blindness,
Let my eyes behold the day;
Strait he saw, and won by kindness,
Followed Jesus in the way.O! methinks I hear him praising,
Publishing to all around;
Friends, is not my case amazing?
What a Saviour I have found:
O! that all the blind but knew him,
And would be advised by me!
Surely, would they hasten to him,
He would cause them all to see.
The alternate, and perhaps more familiar, text is another hymn with a similar message:
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.Refrain
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.Refrain
Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you're better,
You will never come at all.Refrain
View Him prostrate in the garden;
On the ground your Maker lies.
On the bloody tree behold Him;
Sinner, will this not suffice?Refrain
Lo! th'incarnate God ascended,
Pleads the merit of His blood:
Venture on Him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude.Refrain
Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.Refrain