Hymn
The Converted Thief
As on the cross the Saviour hung,
And wept, and bled, and died,
He pour'd salvation on a wretch
That languish'd by his side.
His crimes, with inward grief and shame,
The penitent confessed;
Then turned his dying eyes to Christ,
And thus his prayer addressed:
"Jesus, thou Son and Heir of heaven,
Thou spotless Lamb of God,
I see thee bathed in sweat and tears,
And welt'ring in thy blood.
"Yet quickly from those scenes of woe,
In triumph thou shalt rise,
Burst through the gloomy shades of death,
And mount above the skies.
"Amid the glories of that world,
Dear Saviour, think on me:
And, in the vict'ries of thy death
May I a sharer be!"
His prayer the dying Jesus heard,
And instantly replied,
"To-day thy parting soul shall be
With me in Paradise."
The Converted Thief — Text from The Little Seraph, 1874. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/the-converted-thief
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Questions about this hymn
Who wrote The Converted Thief?
The words of The Converted Thief were written by Samuel Stennett; the version here was published in 1874. The library holds 11 more hymns by Samuel Stennett, including It Is Finished and Social Worship.
Is The Converted Thief public domain?
Yes. The words here are taken from The Little Seraph, published in 1874. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.
What is the metre of The Converted Thief?
The Converted Thief is in Common Metre (8.6.8.6). Hymns in the same metre can usually be sung to the same tunes — for example, Our Father, God, Who Art in Heaven, Thou art the Way, to Thee alone and Faith the Evidence of Things Unseen.