AMAZING GRACE
Resource:
- 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.
History:
This hymn was written by John Newton (1725-1807) in the 1770's. Born in London to a Christian mother who died when he was 7 years old and a navy captain father, his childhood was far from average. He went on his first sea voyage at age 11 with his father and spent his teen years at sea. He was recruited by the Royal Navy but was later kicked out for rebelling against discipline and deserting. He continued to live a life of "moral abandon" and worked as a sailor. He began working for a slave trader named Clow who treated him poorly. (This is not surprising when you think about the disregard to human life that he displayed to the African people he bought and sold). Newton left Clow and began to work on his own ship in the slave trade. On a voyage in 1747, the ship was taken over by a huge storm and it was during that terrifying time that he converted to Christianity. After leaving the slave trade, he was eventually ordained as an Anglican minister and understood more of the horrors of the slave trade and his role in it. He began to work against the African slave trade and became known as an abolitionist in this movement. Newton contributed to William Wilberforce's work against the British slave trade. Using part of a hymn by friend William Cowper, Newton wrote several hymns, including Amazing Grace, which was published in 1779. This hymn is autobiographical regarding Newton's life as it depicts the boundless forgiveness that the Lord freely gives us, no matter what our sins. Knowing Newton's story of redemption gives me new understanding of the words of this hymn, and makes it even more powerful!
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
Romans 5:15
24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24
Take a listen!
This is acappella version is beautiful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPjsyyO_XqM
Application Ideas for the Week:
-Do a word study on "grace." Use a concordance and look up verses about God's grace.
-Write the lyrics in your journal and consider the ways that the Lord has shown amazing grace in your life.
-Work to commit all 7 verses to memory, listening to the hymn several times a day.
-If this applies to you, sing the song to your kids before bed each night!
-Share the story behind this song with a friend and send them the YouTube link to enjoy.
Thanks for joining me in this little hymn series, friends! I definitely learned something new each week and hope you did too! May God's Word become ever more real and powerful to us through song!
Much love!!
Annie
Annie
Resource:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/pastorsandpreachers/john-newton.html