AMAZING GRACE
John Newton - 1779

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.

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've first begun.

*The hymn's composer, John Newton, led
a successful life as a seafaring trader,
sailing from Liverpool to Africa and on to
Andgua. His cargo was a lucrative one, for he
traded in human beings. It was the height of
the slave trade, and he made his terrible
journey many times. But one night a storm raged.
His ship was almost lost. He prayed that if only
salvation would come to "a wretch like me",
he would leave the slave trade and work toward its abolition.

That night was a turning point in Newton's life.
He became an ardent abolitionist and a Methodist
minister. With the poet Cowper, he wrote most of
the hymns in the famous Olney Hymnal. But his
greatest legacy is "Amazing Grace". There is some
dispute about the source of the tune but there is
'no argument about the power of the majestic words
to heal and comfort people of every background.