"Amazing grace, how
sweet the sound..." So begins
one of the most beloved hymns of all
times, a staple in the hymnals of many
denominations, New Britain or
"45 on the top" in Sacred
Harp. The author of the words was John
Newton, the self-proclaimed wretch who
once was lost but then was found,
saved by amazing grace.Newton was
born in London July 24, 1725, the son
of a commander of a merchant ship
which sailed the Mediterranean. When
John was eleven, he went to sea with
his father and made six voyages with
him before the elder Newton retired.
In 1744 John was impressed into
service on a man-of-war, the H. M.
S. Harwich. Finding conditions on
board intolerable, he deserted but was
soon recaptured and publicly flogged
and demoted from midshipman to common
seaman.
Finally at his own request he was
exchanged into service on a slave
ship, which took him to the coast of
Sierra Leone. He then became the
servant of a slave trader and was
brutally abused. Early in 1748 he was
rescued by a sea captain who had known
John's father. John Newton ultimately
became captain of his own ship, one
which plied the slave trade.
Although he had had some early
religious instruction from his mother,
who had died when he was a child, he
had long since given up any religious
convictions. However, on a homeward
voyage, while he was attempting to
steer the ship through a violent
storm, he experienced what he was to
refer to later as his "great
deliverance." He recorded in his
journal that when all seemed lost and
the ship would surely sink, he
exclaimed, "Lord, have mercy upon
us." Later in his cabin he
reflected on what he had said and
began to believe that God had
addressed him through the storm and
that grace had begun to work for him.
For the rest of his life he
observed the anniversary of May 10,
1748 as the day of his conversion, a
day of humiliation in which he
subjected his will to a higher power. "Thro'
many dangers, toils and snares, I have
already come; 'tis grace has bro't me
safe thus far, and grace will lead me
home." He continued in the
slave trade for a time after his
conversion; however, he saw to it that
the slaves under his care were treated
humanely.
In 1750 he married Mary Catlett,
with whom he had been in love for many
years. By 1755, after a serious
illness, he had given up seafaring
forever. During his days as a sailor
he had begun to educate himself,
teaching himself Latin, among other
subjects. From 1755 to 1760 Newton was
surveyor of tides at Liverpool, where
he came to know George Whitefield,
deacon in the Church of England,
evangelistic preacher, and leader of
the Calvinistic Methodist Church.
Newton became Whitefield's
enthusiastic disciple. During this
period Newton also met and came to
admire John Wesley, founder of
Methodism. Newton's self-education
continued, and he learned Greek and
Hebrew.
He decided to become a minister and
applied to the Archbishop of York for
ordination. The Archbishop refused his
request, but Newton persisted in his
goal, and he was subsequently ordained
by the Bishop of Lincoln and accepted
the curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire.
Newton's church became so crowded
during services that it had to be
enlarged. He preached not only in
Olney but in other parts of the
country. In 1767 the poet William
Cowper settled at Olney, and he and
Newton became friends.
Cowper helped Newton with his
religious services and on his tours to
other places. They held not only a
regular weekly church service but also
began a series of weekly prayer
meetings, for which their goal was to
write a new hymn for each one. They
collaborated on several editions of Olney
Hymns, which achieved lasting
popularity. The first edition,
published in 1779, contained 68 pieces
by Cowper and 280 by Newton.
Among Newton's contributions which
are still loved and sung today are "How
Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds"
and "Glorious Things of Thee
Are Spoken," as well as "Amazing
Grace." Composed probably
between 1760 and 1770 in Olney, "Amazing
Grace" was possibly one of
the hymns written for a weekly
service. Through the years other
writers have composed additional
verses to the hymn which came to be
known as "Amazing Grace"
(it was not thus entitled in Olney
Hymns), and possibly verses from
other Newton hymns have been added.
However, these are the six stanzas
that appeared, with minor spelling
variations, in both the first edition
in 1779 and the 1808 edition, the one
nearest the date of Newton's death. It
appeared under the heading Faith's
Review and Expectation, along with
a reference to First Chronicles,
chapter 17, verses 16 and 17.
Amazing grace! (how sweet the
sound)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to
fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed!
Thro' many dangers, toils and
snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus
far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yes, when this flesh and heart
shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like
snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
The origin of the melody is
unknown. Most hymnals attribute it to
an early American folk melody. The
Bill Moyers special on "Amazing
Grace" speculated that it may
have originated as the tune of a song
the slaves sang.
Newton was not only a prolific hymn
writer but also kept extensive
journals and wrote many letters.
Historians accredit his journals and
letters for much of what is known
today about the eighteenth century
slave trade. In Cardiphonia, or the
Utterance of the Heart, a series
of devotional letters, he aligned
himself with the Evangelical revival,
reflecting the sentiments of his
friend John Wesley and Methodism.
In 1780 Newton left Olney to become
rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, St. Mary
Woolchurch, in London. There he drew
large congregations and influenced
many, among them William Wilberforce,
who would one day become a leader in
the campaign for the abolition of
slavery. Newton continued to preach
until the last year of life, although
he was blind by that time. He died in
London December 21, 1807. Infidel and
libertine turned minister in the
Church of England, he was secure in
his faith that amazing grace would
lead him home.
Author's Note
I was able to consult the 1779
edition of Olney Hymns in the
Harry Ransom Humanities Research
Center of the University of Texas at
Austin. Printed in London by W.
Oliver, it was in beautiful condition.
The paper was almost as white and
supple as it was when it came off the
printing press. Those were the days
before acid became a part of the
papermaking process. Acidic paper,
used in most books since sometime in
the nineteenth century, has a
relatively short life span, ultimately
becoming brittle and crumbling. The
1779 Olney Hymns, on the other
hand, will be in excellent condition
for many future generations of Newton
and Cowper scholars.
It was a thrill to handle the
edition of Olney Hymns in which
the hymn that came to be known as Amazing
Grace was first published. But it
was an even greater thrill when I
opened the front cover and saw the
inscription, "Rev. Wm. Smith, the
gift of the author." The
"Wm." is unclear, but
"Rev." and "Smith"
are very distinct. Of course, both
Newton and Cowper contributed to Olney
Hymns, but considering that
Newton's contributions were far
greater in number than Cowper's, it is
likely that Newton himself was the
author mentioned in the inscription.
I consulted other editions of Olney
Hymns in microprint in the
University General Libraries
Microforms Unit. Mircoforms are very
necessary adjuncts to scholarship,
since no library can possibly have all
the hundreds of thousands of rare and
not so rare books available in
microform, but those microprint
editions of Olney Hymns were
cold and sterile compared with the
1779 edition that I had held and that
John Newton had held over two hundred
years before me.
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