Amazing Grace by John Newton

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now I'm 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 that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. When we've been there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise then when we first begun,

Originally titled "Faith's Review and Expectation"is Newton's study of 1 Chronicles 17:16-17 "King David...said: "Who am I, O Lord? And what is my house, that you have bought me this far? And have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree..." Newton was pressed into the Royal Navy at a young age. He attempted to desert service but was captured and flogged and in his humiliation found himself stationed on a slave ship of the Royal Navy. He wrote obscene songs and poems about the captain and often fought with other crew members resulting in being starved, chained up with the slaves and finally enslaved on a plantation in Sierra Leon. He was found by a ship after several months and quickly gained a reputation amongst the crew as the most vile sailor aboard. One night a severe storm threatened the boat. Newton was almost swept overboard and the boat came close to capsizing. Newton cried out to the Lord to have mercy upon him and miraculously the boat landed two weeks later in Ireland. It was during this time he began to question his worthiness of God's mercy upon him, being a man who outright denied God and mocked men of faith. He believed that God had begun a work in him although his conversion was a slow process. He attempted to submit to authority in order to win over his love, Polly, but slipped back into sin now as a captain of a slave ship. Finally marrying Polly he found it difficult to leave her and settled as a customs agent in Liverpool. There the newlyweds immersed themselves in the church community and Newton began reading devotions. He wrote of his experiences aboard the slave ships and caught the attention of a british politician, The Earl of Dartmouth, who sponsored his ordination which lead to him being offered the position of Curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire. His preachings differed from the others and used his experiences to relate to the poor and uneducated parishioners with his mission being to "break a hard heart and to heal a broken heart". In the end he became one of the most powerful evangelical preachers in British history, a powerful foe of slavery and the author of hundreds of hymns. One verse nearly forgotten:
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine; But God, who called me here below, shall be forever mine.