Amazing Grace

Most of us know the story of John Newton and the words he authored for the beloved hymn, “Amazing Grace,” but there are a few elements of the story that you may not have known.

John Newton had been pressed into service by the British Royal Navy. Having learned that his ship was assigned an extended voyage, he attempted to desert. As punishment and as an example to the rest of the crew, he was flogged on his bare back with 97 lashes. Later, at his own request, he was transferred to a merchant vessel, but was set off at Sierra Leone because of his bad behavior towards the rest of the crew. There he became a servant and was abused by his master.

Newton was rescued in 1748, when he was about 22 years old, by a friend of his father, who returned him to England on his merchant ship. On that journey home, their ship, the Greyhound, encountered a violent storm which threatened to sink them. Newton had been reading the Bible and The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis. It was that day, May 10, 1748, that John Newton celebrated as his conversion to Christ: In fear for his life and in full awareness of his wretched sins, he cried out to God.

Newton continued to grow in his faith and in repentance, but he also continued to work in the slave trade, serving as first officer and as captain on several more ventures. He only gave up the sea after suffering a stroke in 1754.

He became an Anglican priest in 1764 and wrote his famous words around Christmas, 1772. They were framed around a sermon he had written based on 1 Chronicles 17:16-17 and their reflection on his own life. The phrase, “the hour I first believed,” refers to a time when, in an intense storm, he had just gone below deck after his shift, when the man who relieved him was swept overboard. Shaken, he realized that only the grace of God had saved him.

Newton’s story strikes a familiar chord with so many people who, reflecting over their own sins and slow growth, realize how patiently God has endured with us all. “From the fullness of his grace we have all received on blessing after another” 1 John 1:16.

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Incuded below are John Newton's lyrics for "Amazing Grace" which do not include the familiar stanza, "When we've been there ten thousand years..." which was added later. The additional verse was first published in Harriet Beecher Stowe's, Uncle Tom's Cabin and became included in hymnals after that. However, the style and the message do not match the other verses written by Newton.

Amazing Grace
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.

T'was 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 that 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.

David, Grace, and Self-Control

It is not difficult to imagine some of the emotions of the deposed king as he furtively escaped the city for safety. His own son had usurped the throne, having spent four years planning and worming his way into the hearts of his father’s subjects by inferring promises he knew were baseless. Evidently, King David had chosen to look the other way while his son, Absalom, built his influence.

At this low point in his life, while fleeing for his life from his own son, David is confronted by Shimei – a man with a grudge. Shimei was related to the previous king, Saul and had quietly born his anger for years, since God had taken the kingdom from Saul and given it to David. Now he interpreted David’s misfortune as his just rewards and poured out his repressed anger on David and his companions. He threw rocks and vitriol as he cursed David, calling him a murderer.

Abishai went to David and offered to kill Shimei, but David’s response is meekly restrained, “If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him? ...My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” (2 Samuel 16:10-12 NLT)

The rebellion is short-lived and David returns to the palace. But there is no rejoicing in David – he loved his rebellious son and now he is dead. The tangle of emotions must have left him raw. There was the betrayal of his son, some of his trusted officials, his own citizens whom he had served. There must have been questions about God’s design for all that had happened. There is painful victory mixed with humiliating defeat.

In the mixture of all the emotions Shimei has come to greet David on his way: “Please forgive me…forget the terrible thing your servant did when you left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. I know how much I have sinned.” (19:19, 20)

Here was David’s opportunity to unleash all the swirling emotions; to let go of his grief and anger on such a deserving recipient. David could surely be expected to deliver harsh justice to this one who represents the betrayal of an entire kingdom. David makes no such show. He controls his emotions and any vengeful desires; he looks at Shimei and makes a simple vow, “Your life will be spared.”

Grace is possible because of self-control.