Years ago, a young man named Samuel Jones felt the overwhelming sense of being called to Christian ministry. He went to his pastor with this news. To his surprise, the pastor immediately set him up with a date to preach. It would be a Sunday evening service. Samuel threw himself into preparations for a sermon that he hoped would impress everyone. That Sunday evening, he stood in the pulpit and looked out at a full congregation, all there to hear and encourage him.
He began to preach his prepared sermon, full of big words and clever arguments. But soon he began to stumble. And he was lost. He could not remember anything he wanted to say. He was ashamed and stepped down from the pulpit feeling so much the failure.
But as he walked away, he felt God asking him a question: Samuel, have I really given you nothing? The answer to that question was, Lord, you have given me everything. Then he knew he had something to say. And he returned to the pulpit to speak – this time from his heart.
In looking back, he said that in the beginning he thought he was called to be God’s lawyer, to argue God’s case. But after that evening, he knew he was really called to be God’s witness. And that is what he did for the rest of his life.
There may be nothing more powerful than the true and heartfelt testimony of a witness. Just telling your own truth about how God has been working in your life is better than any amount of what we call Christian apologetics. Arguments have their usefulness, but experience is life.
We might wonder why John Newton’s hymn, Amazing Grace, has been so loved for so long. Surely, at least part of the answer is that Newton did not try to be God’s lawyer. He was only offering himself as God’s witness.
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.
Newton was a lost man if ever there was one. He was born in England in 1725. His mother died while he was still an infant. His father was a sailor and he brought John into that business at a young age. He eventually found his way into the slave trade. John sailed many times from England to West Africa, where men, women, and children were chained together and marched on board the ship. They would cram in as many bodies as possible to maximize their profits. Many of the captives died from disease and brutal treatment before reaching their destination. It was a most inhumane and morally repugnant kind of work. Even at a time when English and American society defended the practice of slavery, most people regarded people like Newton with contempt. He knew what he was. He was a wretch.
In 1748, he experienced an especially difficult trip, and on the return voyage he was caught in a violent storm. In despair, he turned to prayer. It was the beginning of a change.
He returned to England and began his journey toward ministry. It took a long time. The Church of England was not at all sure they wanted a man like John. But after about seven years he was accepted, and eventually appointed to serve a congregation.
He took up the practice of writing hymns and would introduce them to his congregation after his sermon. On January 1, 1773, he preached a sermon based on 1 Chronicles 17:16-17. And then he introduced this hymn.
The short passage is about King David. It was a time when he was secure in his power and well settled in his comfortable house, and he began thinking about God. What a shame, he thought, that God doesn’t have a nice house like this too. I should really do something about that. And so he made up his mind to build a lavish temple for God.
But later, that night, David’s advisor Nathan had a vision and a word from God for David: I don’t need you to build me a house. Don’t you know that I am able to do what I desire to do in this world without your house? Do you recall all that I have done for you, David? Without a house?
In fact, the Lord says, I will build you a house, meaning that God will give David a dynasty. God promised David descendants who would serve God forever. It was the making of a covenant, an everlasting covenant.
David was humbled by this, and he began to pray: Who am I, O Lord, that you have brought me thus far?
And John Newton wrote:
Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come;
This grace has brought me safe this far, and grace will lead me home.
A beautiful expression of King David’s response and of Newton’s reflection on his own life; and quite possibly, words that all of his congregation could identify with too.
Newton wrote the verses, but he didn’t write tunes, which was perfectly fine. It has always been the custom to use old tunes with new lyrics, we see that often in the hymns we sing.
We don’t know what tune Amazing Grace was originally sung to, perhaps there were many. We know that it works with many hymn tunes more or less familiar to us. Each one gives the hymn something unique, offering us a new experience when we sing it.
It is possible that over the years Amazing Grace has been sung with many of the hymn tunes we know and love. Azmon, St. Anne, and Land of Rest are a few. But in 1835 we know that it was paired with a tune called New Britain and, eventually, that’s the one that stuck.
The song made its way across the Atlantic and became a very popular hymn at revivals and camp meetings. Some verses have been added, while others have been forgotten. The hymn has been adapted by contemporary praise and worship bands and by African American gospel singers. It is a hymn that seems to reach out and speak on many levels, touching more lives than we could ever know.
All because John Newton awoke to the amazing power of God’s grace. And he stepped away from a life that, while utterly wretched, was familiar to him and we all know it is hard to let go of the familiar. He followed the call God gave him, persisting for seven years before he finally was given the chance to serve a church.
John Newton stepped out in faith and became God’s instrument for spiritual growth and societal change. It was instrumental in bringing about the abolition of the slave trade and eventually the practice of slavery in England and then the United States. When we hear the gentle call of God’s grace, we do not know where God will take us. But wherever that is, we know –
This grace has brought us safe this far, and grace will lead us home.
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Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
