Story of the Hymn Amazing Grace

The Story of the Hymn Amazing Grace is a beloved, Christian hymn and one of the most famous songs of all time.
Written in 1772 in Olney England, as a Christian hymnal and published in 1779 by the English poet and evangelical Anglican cleric, John Newton (4 August 24 July 1725 – 21 December 1807) who wrote the words from personal experience.
The Story of the Hymn Amazing Grace is about John Newton, a slavery abolitionist who had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade who apologised for his misdeeds "a confession, which ... comes too late ... It will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me, that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders."

Early life

Story of the Hymn Amazing Grace
John Newton was born in Wapping, London, in 1725, the son of John Newton the Elder, a shipmaster in the Mediterranean service, and Elizabeth (née Scatliff) the only daughter of Simon Scatliff, an instrument maker from London.
Elizabeth was brought up as a Nonconformist (a person who does not conform to prevailing ideas or practices).
She died of tuberculosis in July 1732, two weeks before her son's seventh birthday.
Newton spent two years at a boarding school then, went to live with his father's new wife at Aveley in Essex.

Slave Trade

Story of the Hymn Amazing Grace
John Newton first went to sea in 1736 at age eleven with his father and by 1742 had sailed six voyages.
In 1743, while going to visit friends, he was pressed (forced conscription) into the Royal Navy and became a midshipman aboard HMS Harwich.
Newton tried to desert and was punished in front of the crew by being stripped to the waist and flogged then reduced to the rank of a common seaman.
He initially contemplated murdering the captain and committing suicide by throwing himself overboard but chose to not do it.
In 1745 Harwich was en-route to India and Newton was transferred to the Pegasus, a slave ship bound for West Africa carrying goods to be traded for slaves in the colonies of the Caribbean and North America.
Newton did not get along with the captain and crew of the Pegasus because of his bad behavior.
They decided to leave him in West Africa with Amos Clowe, a slave dealer who then gave him to his wife, Princess Peye of the Sherbro people in what is now Sierra Leone.
She abused and mistreated him just as much as she did her other slaves.
Newton later recounted this experience as "once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in West Africa."

Christian Conversion

Story of the Hymn Amazing Grace
In 1748, he was rescued by a sea captain who had been asked by Newton's father to search for him.
He returned to England on the merchant ship Greyhound when they were caught in a violent storm off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland and about to sink.
Newton began praying for God's Mercy, after which the storm began to subside.
After four weeks at sea, the Greyhound made it to port in Lough Swilly (Ireland).
This experience marked the beginning of his conversion to Christianity.
John Newton marked 21 March 1748 as the anniversary of his conversion for the rest of his life.
From that point on, he avoided profanity, gambling and drinking.
He began to read the Bible and accepted the doctrines of Christianity.
He also studied Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac in preparation for serious religious study.
After returning to England in 1750, he made three more voyages as captain of the slave ships Duke of Argyle (1750) and African (1752–53 and 1753–54).
After retiring, he renounced the slave trade and became a prominent supporter of abolitionism.
John Newton was ordained a priest in the Church of England on June 17, 1764.
He served as parish priest at Olney, Buckinghamshire, for two decades and wrote hymns and he soon found himself gaining in popularity amongst the growing evangelical party.
Newton lived to see the British Empire's abolition of the African slave trade just months before he died on 21 December, 1807.

Story of the Hymn Amazing Grace

Message of Amazing Grace
The Story of the Hymn Amazing Grace is based on John Newton's experience of receiving God's Grace and Mercy, despite the terrible things he had done.
It also reflects on his own conversion to Christianity.
This beautiful hymn proclaims the infinite goodness of a Loving God Who forgives regardless of sins through His Grace and Mercy - the free gift of Divine Favour in the salvation of a sinner that comes from the Cross of Christ, the Savior.
Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
A truly repentant person who has sincere regret or remorse for their sins needs God to sanctify their heart for forgiveness and salvation - a change of heart and mind brings us closer to God.
Repentance and God's Compassion has connected people throughout the ages and will continue to impact generations to come.
Amazing Grace is all about a life that reflects our relationship with God and Jesus Christ.
John Newton penned the words of “Amazing Grace” to accompany his sermon at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. on New Year's Day, 1773 based on 1 Chronicles 17, especially verses 16 and 17.
Those words are reflections of John Newton, a slave trader who nearly died in a shipwreck, and who eventually became a Christian Cleric.
Through his hymn, Amazing Grace, John Newton gives the message that repentance and forgiveness are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from sin through the Mercy of God.
“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.”

Amazing Grace

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.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath 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.
Yea, 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.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
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