In this post you will learn about the story behind the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
John Newton is the writer of the Amazing Grace. He was born in the summer of 1725, in the city of London, England. His mother, a devout member of the Dissenters, taught the young John to pray and filled his mind with Scriptures.
But it was John’s father, who was a sea captain and an often-absent at home, who captured the boy’s imagination. John dreamed of sailing ships and the wide, wild seas, of adventures and mysterious destinations.
John’s mom became ill and died just before John’s 7th birthday. John was left as a virtual orphan and he was taken in by his distant relatives.
John was mocked by his relatives for his belief in God, discouraged from praying, and ridiculed for his childish faith.
John was unhappy and lonely. He turned again to his dreams of the sea. At the age of 11, he ran off to become an apprentice on his father’s ship. Like his foster family, his father also rejected him. He was sadly disappointed.
For years, John plied the Mediterranean on sailing ships, enjoying all the experiences and immoralities offered in each exotic port. He was frequently fired for insubordination, but just as frequently hired by another ship’s master, either for young seamen and not too particular about their character.
After a short stint in the British Navy, John deserted and ran away to Africa to seek his fortune and new adventures in the African slave trade.
Signing on with an unscrupulous slave dealer, he found his situation had declined dramatically.
In the slave trader’s absences, John was left in the “care” of the man’s vindictive wife, who imprisoned him in her quarters, beat him, and forced him to eat his food from the floor like a dog.
Believing death was preferable to this kind of treatment, John escaped from his prison into the West African forests and eventually made his way to the Atlantic Coast. After lighting signal fires, John was finally spotted by a passing ship’s captain, who sent a small boat to shore to pick him up.
The captain had hoped the lone man had gold or ivory to offer and was disappointed to receive, instead, a penniless runaway. Putting him to work as a mate, the captain learned later, was an unwise decision.
Becoming bored during a particularly long watch, John broke into the ship’s supply of rum and generously shared it with the crew. Again, demonstrating his lack of discipline, John downed a goodly amount of the liquor, became totally disoriented, and fell overboard.
One of the ship’s officers, either out of pity or spite, saved John from drowning by spearing him in the thigh with a harpoon and reeling him back aboard like a flailing fish.
Painfully wounded and severely disciplined, Newton was relegated below decks where it was thought he could be no more trouble.
It was a miserable journey from Africa to England in the stifling, stinking hold, and John had endless days and nights to ponder his empty life and unfulfilled dreams.
Somehow, a copy of Thomas a Kempis’ book Imitation of Christ fell into John’s hands. Reading the book awakened his conscience to the things of God, and he began to recall some of the early lessons learned at his mother’s knee.
As the slave ship neared Scotland, severe winds and rains battered the ship and began to take on water. Desperate measures were taken to keep the ship from sinking and for days every able-bodied man, slave or free, bailed water from the foundering ship.
John was exhausted, frightened, and facing certain death; he had a life-transforming experience with God. The assurance of God’s love flooded his soul. Later he would describe it as a miracle, an amazing manifestation of God’s grace.
Although that voyage was not his last, John Newton’s heart became drawn in other directions. Two years after his miraculous conversion, he married Mary Catlett, a devout Christian, and not long after that, John left the sea for good and became a minister.
While John loved to preach and tended his little flock of believers with zealous care, his great joy was writing hymns to be sung at his weekly prayer meetings. He composed over 280 hymns, but the one for he which he is most remembered came from his shipboard conversion and carries the message of his personal experience, “Amazing Grace.”
“Amazing Grace” Lyrics
Here’s the lyrics for “Amazing Grace” hymn by John Newton
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!The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures!
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.Though many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.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.We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
Kaleb Brasee’s Piano: Music Video
Watch the “Amazing Grace” music piano video below by Kaleb Brasee.
Hymns of Faith & Inspiration, pp. 80-81