It’s a celebrated story, perhaps the most well-known account of how a Christian hymn came to life. It’s also the music chosen for use in more than one major motion picture in the 20th and 21st centuries (can you think of some?), 200-300 years after the composer wrote it. I wonder if he had any idea how often this tune would resonate with this planet’s inhabitants. John Newton was a sinner – he said it, not me. And, we all voice those convicting words -- not about Newton, but about ourselves -- when we sing “Amazing Grace”. I looked close to see if any part of Newton’s story was familiar for me…is it for you?
Newton was taught Christian principles by his mother, who died when he was about seven years old. At age 11, Newton’s father took him to sea, to make him a seaman like himself. In short, Newton’s immoral lifestyle for the next several years prepared him to write his composition with an authenticity we all embrace. But, it was a sea-storm in 1748, which upon reflection he thought was his Jonah-like punishment that was the spark that made Newton begin to draw back from that lifestyle. And the slave-trade. That part of his life gnawed at and taunted Newton, too. He finally gave it up in 1755, and by 1764 was preaching instead. But, the life he had lived he could never forget, and in 1773 he wrote the words for a New Year’s sermon (first published later in a hymnal in 1779) that probably most households, even those who neglect worship, know implicitly. Think about what the basic elements of Newton’s experience communicate, and see if “Amazing Grace” still resounds for you. His sermon on that New Year’s Day (according to two biographers [see information below]) was based on David’s prayer to God in 1 Chronicles 17, in which David asks ‘Who am I, Lord…’, a sentiment that must have deeply resonated in Newton’s own heart as he considered himself in the sight of God.
The basics of Newton’s experience are these: He had been taught the truth as a child. He still committed wrong, contravening what he knew was right. An immoral lifestyle, mistreatment of others in his path, ultimately brought him to a low point. He had a near-death experience. He found something (Thomas a Kempis’ book Imitation of Christ) that began to turn him in a different direction. He listened. He changed. The last 43 years of his life were pointed heavenward. Yet, his reflection at 82 years old, near the end of a life spent helping abolish slavery, writing hymns, and leading others to God was still ‘I’m a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior’. Newton never forgot how he had enslaved others, but he never hid this either.
What will my hymn sound like when I look back someday? I look at Newton’s verses and wonder if they’ll say what his say. Will mine reflect a hope that transforms regret and shame? There’s always a chance to turn it around if you’re headed the wrong way, Newton says. You know you need to make a choice, one that you know deep down will relieve your fears. Once he got started in the right direction, Newton says he felt protected, and he caught sight of his destination too. That’s kinda like getting a tailwind, and it ought to make me as content and able to anticipate the future as Newton’s latter verses show he did. But, part of Newton must have still been pondering how far he’d come. From a filthy slave ship to a dazzling, everlasting home. No wonder he calls it amazing. March 2017 update: Here’s a link to a performance and an amazing story (from 2012) about the song’s musical/tune origins by Wintley Phipps at a Bill and Gloria Gaither song event. Makes this song and our God all the more AMAZING! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNuQbJst4Lk
Newton’s tune in most modern hymnals has just four verses, but here’s a link to a version with up to seven verses. http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/m/a/amazing_grace.htm
Newton’s story can be found in many places. I used the publication Hymns of Faith, written and edited by Ken and Janice Tate, published by House of White Birches, 306 East Parr Road, Berne, Indiana 46711, Copyright 2000. See the hymn’s story also at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace
Two biographers also detail the scriptural reference from which Newton preached on the day that the hymn was first sung. See Amazing Grace: The Story of America’s Most Beloved Song, by Steve Turner, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2002 (pp. 79-89); and Amazing Grace: A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn, by James Walvin, University of California Press, Oakland, California, 2023 (p. 33).
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