John Bradshaw - How John Newton Wrote Amazing Grace
He's one of the great figures of modern Christianity. John Newton, born in London, the son of a ship's captain, his mother died when he was young. He became an angry young man, a drunk, a blasphemer. He even got involved in witchcraft. It's said that Newton could use profanity for half an hour without ever repeating himself. He said himself that he would invent new curse words. Sent to work at the age of 10, at sea by 11, he was hated by those he worked under and worked with on the water. A vicious storm at sea jolted him out of his recklessness. How the ship he was on even made it back to land is hard to understand, except that his mother, who died when he was just 6 years old, was a woman of great faith, a woman of prayer, and she had dedicated her son to God and to ministry. Satan put up a serious fight for John Newton, but God wasn't going to let Newton go without a struggle.
Newton's life is often reduced to two events: one, he was a slave trader, and, two, he wrote "Amazing Grace". Today, we struggle to understand how anyone could purchase and resell human beings. But when John Newton was trafficking in humans, the trade offended essentially no one, except, of course, those being trafficked. It had been socially acceptable in countries around the world for hundreds of years, thousands, even. There are currently more enslaved people on earth now than at any other time in the history of the world: between 40 and 50 million. That's one in every 160 people or so enslaved. Seventy-one percent are women. One in four is a child. Around 13 million people were captured and sold as slaves globally between the 15th and 19th centuries, today, three times that many, at least. So, that's one thing he's known for: the slave trade. He worked on slave ships, and he captained a slave ship. He was an exceedingly vile person at that time, he says. "Amazing Grace" is the most popular hymn in the world. It's been recorded thousands of times. It was even sung at Live Aid and Woodstock. But Newton was even bigger than that. He was a pastor, an author. He was a mentor. He was a giant in Christianity.
Tom Jones: I mean, it's only one of 280-odd hymns that he wrote, for start with, so if you're only talking about his hymn-writing career you're reducing it to a, a lower level. And he, I, I don't think regarded the hymn as, as one of his better hymns. It was only in later years that it's been taken up by, um, but particularly by, you know, the gospel movement in the States and such like.
John Bradshaw: Through a remarkable series of providences, Newton became the pastor of this church here in Olney in Buckinghamshire, which is an hour or so by train from St. Pancras station in London. Olney is famous for its annual pancake race, which, according to tradition, was first run in the year 1445. Around 6,000 or 7,000 people now live in Olney, three times as many as lived here when John Newton came to be the pastor in 1764 when he was 39 years old.
Tom Jones: He expanded the, the role of the, the church; so no longer just a sermon on Sunday, um, he would have sermons during the week. He would have Bible studies in, in the Earl of Dartmouth's house, the, the great house here, which no longer exists, in, in Olney. Um, so he was very, very active. Um, he made a reputation for himself, so much so that they overfilled the, the church, and they, in 1765, they had to put a new gallery in the church just to fit everybody, everybody in. Uh, and he became something of a, a roving sensation as well. So he would walk across country into other parishes and give sermons wherever he went.
John Bradshaw: But one of his most creative innovations is that he began to compose hymns for his church members. He wanted to really teach his people the gospel. The Anglican Church's Book of Common Prayer was, in his opinion, too complicated for the people to whom he was ministering. He felt that if he wrote songs, the people could better learn his teachings if they learned the teachings in song. Now, before he entered the ministry, Newton had a proven track record as a composer. While he was working on ships he would write songs to ridicule the ship's captains and then teach the songs to the sailors, who all thought it was riotously funny. He made plenty of enemies writing bawdy, ribald songs. Now he could use his talent for the glory of God. It's also interesting that Newton was influenced as a child by Isaac Watts. He and his mother would listen to Watts preach in Wapping, where Newton was raised. Watts wrote hymns such as "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "Joy to the World," the tune of which was written by George Frideric Handel, who wrote the "Messiah". Watts wrote the verses to "Marching to Zion". He wrote "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" and "At the Cross". So, Newton's keen intellect, his creativity, his desire to reach simple people, and his pedigree, all came together to make him an effective hymn-writer. The museum here in Olney is the Cowper and Newton Museum, and, yes, that's "coo-per," not "cow-per". It's, it's an English thing. Cowper was a poet, in fact, an excellent poet, admired by both Coleridge and Wordsworth, with Samuel Coleridge calling him "the best modern poet". Cowper's poem "The Negro's Complaint" was often quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Newton and Cowper became very close friends. Cowper struggled with mental illness, and Newton spent countless hours with his friend, helping him, ministering to him, and, at times, literally saving his life.
Tom Jones: Newton supported Cowper when he had his melancholic episodes. Twice Cowper moved into the vicarage, and Newton and Polly looked after, after him when he was depressed. I always like, I, I like the relationship with Cowper, the, the odd couple, if you like. I think, what, what was it that attracted them to each other? Um, and they fed off of each other throughout the, the time here and continued to write to each other, um, thereafter. So, Cowper's, um, poems were published with a foreword by John Newton, who introduced him. So, so um, you know, they, they were both familiar names around the, around the town at the, at that time.
John Bradshaw: Cowper wrote hymns that are still sung today. "There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood" and "O for a Closer Walk [With God]". That old saying, "God moves in...mysterious [ways], His wonders to perform," Cowper wrote that. He was a big deal. Newton lived in the vicarage, while Cowper lived only 150 yards away. They spent a lot of time together, and together they wrote a lot of hymns. And it was in the vicarage, in what today we'd call the attic, that Newton wrote "Amazing Grace". So, how did this song come about? I'll tell you in just a moment.
John Bradshaw: As John Newton was preparing a New Year's Day sermon to be preached on January the 1st, 1772, he wanted to write a hymn that would speak to the heart and reinforce the text he would be using, 1 Chronicles 17:16 and 17. "Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: 'Who am I, O Lord God? 'And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O Lord God.'" The famous hymn "Amazing Grace" was the result of that burden. In many ways, it was an autobiographical work. By the time he wrote the famous hymn, his conscience burned, owing to his work on slave ships some years before. "I once was lost, but now I'm found" is a reference to the prodigal son, and Newton, whose Christian mother prayed much for him before she passed away when he was a child, was definitely a prodigal. "Was blind, but now I see" comes straight out of John 9 from the story of a man Newton could relate to, owing to the blindness of his former years. "Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come" was written by a man who himself had been a slave and who had survived shipwrecks, who'd been taken captive by the Royal Navy and forced to work at sea with little prospect of ever coming home. "Amazing Grace" came from his heart.
Tom Jones: It was one of the hymns that was being written by Cowper and Newton in collaboration. In particular it was started in 1772, December and it was written for the sermon that was, was given on the 1st of January 1773. So that was its first performance. We don't know the tune that it was sung to with, with any precision, only the words that, that he wrote. Um, but the tune was added in 1835 in the States, um, by a chap called William Walker. Uh, and again, we don't know for sure where that tune came from. Various suggestions, it came from Southern spirituals, Scottish folk songs, um, and it became bigger, more of a sensation in the States than it was in the U.K. Uh, and I think it was Mahalia Jackson, after the Second World War, who really brought it to the, to the fore. It was the first big popular delivery of, of that song to to folk in the States.
John Bradshaw: One thing you notice about "Amazing Grace" is that of its 146 words, 125 of them contain just one syllable. He kept it simple. Newton, who was 47 years old at the time he wrote the song, couldn't have realized how popular it was going to be.
Tom Jones: I think he would be extremely surprised. And I don't think he regarded it as his best hymn. Uh, and, and some purists still don't see it as his best hymn, but somehow it's, it's uh, attracted the popular imagination. It's to, to the point, it's very personal, um, and it does everything that people want from, really from any denomination, I think.
John Bradshaw: The song didn't catch on in England. Maybe that had something to do with its original title. Newton called it "Faith's Review and Expectation", not so catchy. But it caught on like wildfire in the United States, especially once the words were coupled with the tune we know now. Later, Mahalia Jackson would sing "Amazing Grace" at civil rights rallies. Singer Judy Collins' recording of the song went to number 15 on the pop charts, and another version charted in the U.K. There's no bigger Christian song today than "Amazing Grace," a song that speaks to every person of the amazing grace of a patient, loving God. Not all of John Newton's songs were masterpieces. Newton biographer Jonathan Aitken wrote in "John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace," "He was an unashamedly middlebrow lyricist writing for a lowbrow congregation". But between them, Newton and Cowper wrote hundreds and hundreds of songs. Three hundred and forty-eight of them were compiled in a book titled "Olney Hymns," and it sold like wildfire.
But it was as an author that Newton really distinguished himself in Britain. Although his book "An Authentic Narrative" was an autobiography published anonymously, people figured out before too long who the author actually was. The book was a sensation. Newton shared in vivid detail accounts of his life on the high seas, his entanglement with slave trading, his contradictory Christian experience, the struggles he had with sin and temptation. He shared the story of the love between he and his wife Mary, or Polly, Catlett. The book established Newton as an icon, according to biographer Jonathan Aitken. He was better known than the other Newton, Sir Isaac Newton, the man who discovered the laws of gravity, who died when Newton was an infant.
Tom Jones: He made his name, um, writing his autobiography within a series of letters. This was common in the Georgian period, so, um, even novels were what they would call epistolary novels based on, on letters. So, he wrote a series of letters to the Earl of Dartmouth. It was his, became his sponsor. The Earl of Dartmouth was so impressed by these, he must have been a good writer that this was later published as the "Authentic Narrative," and this is what made his name, and it was a bestseller.
John Bradshaw: After 16 years in Olney, Newton moved to London, where he pastored at St. Mary Woolnoth, a stone's throw from the Bank of England on Threadneedle Street and almost halfway between St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.
Tom Jones: Well, this was a church that was, controlled, the appointment was controlled by a chap called John Thornton, who had already maintained and, and supplemented his income here for him to distribute to the poor in, in Olney. Um, St. Mary Woolnoth, where he went, was the parish church of the lord mayor of London. So, this was seen as a, as a pulpit rather than a ministry, if you like. So he didn't have the poor to minister to; he was preaching to "the great and the good of the country" at the, the time. It certainly was a massive promotion.
John Bradshaw: Here he grew in stature and influence, even going so far as to be a key player in the abolition of slavery. By now, Newton was seen as an elder statesman among gospel ministers. While in London he received a surprise visit that ultimately would impact the world. Newton had known William Wilberforce when Wilberforce was a lad. His family even traveled from London to Olney to hear Newton preach. Now that Wilberforce was in his 20s and was a member of parliament, this visit had the potential to be significant. It was. Wilberforce was disillusioned with politics. He was certainly disillusioned with himself. By his own admission he had done nothing, achieved nothing as a politician. He was busy living it up, clubs and gambling and high society. But then Wilberforce was converted. He told Newton that he intended to give up politics.
Newton advised him strongly not to do so, suggesting the younger man serve God as a Christian politician. Taking Newton's advice changed the course of history. Without Wilberforce there would have been no abolition in Britain, but without Newton there would have been no William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was a close friend of William Pitt, who became prime minister of Great Britain at the age of just 24. By staying in politics, Wilberforce was able to have an enormous amount of influence. Newton didn't just give good advice to his younger friend. He wrote a pamphlet titled "Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade," which was a bestseller.
In it, he expressed his deep remorse for his role in the slave trade. He described the horror of the slave trade, the barbarism, sharing how it was usual for a third of the slaves on a ship to die during the journey, owing largely to overcrowding. He spoke about the cruelty of the slave trade, saying English slavers were the cruelest of all. He stated that 1,500 sailors died every year in the slave trade. One antislavery organization bought more than 3,5000 of the pamphlets to sell or give away and sent a copy to every member of parliament. The message got through. Newton even addressed the privy council, which advises the British monarch. His experience, his passion, and his integrity all spoke clearly to the elite of British politics. He saw a lot in his time, but perhaps nothing gave him more joy than what would happen shortly before his death. Back with more in just a moment.
John Bradshaw: During John Newton's lifetime, the American War of Independence was fought between the colonies and England. England went to war with France twice, and Newton very nearly found himself in the thick of one of those wars having been press-ganged into the Royal Navy just weeks before that war began. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in Britain, and the Battle of Trafalgar was fought, with the navies of Spain and France being defeated by Lord Nelson and the British. But the greatest piece of history occurred nine months before he died. Newton lived to witness the abolition of slavery in the British realm, which happened on March the 25th of 1807. Newton was dead nine months later at the age of 82, a good innings in an era when the average lifespan in Britain was under 40 years of age.
This was a young man who understood something about the power of a second chance. He came perilously close to death on numerous occasions as a young man. He considered murder and suicide. But there was something that restrained him, in part the love and prayers of his mother. Even though she died when he was very young, she poured herself into young John and clearly touched his young heart. There was love for the woman he married, Polly Catlett, that restrained him. But by his own admission, Newton was an evil young man. He described himself in "Amazing Grace" as "a wretch," remember. Later in life, he was a changed man.
According to biographer Jonathan Aitken, there were several things Newton devoted himself to when he committed his life to God. He devoted himself to prayer, reading, and meditation, to reverence in his demeanor, to moderation in all things, to eating less, to speaking with plain words. And the three ideals he clung to in life and ministry were Christ crucified, the doctrine of love, and the practice of holiness. So how is it with your heart? If you're in need of grace, and everybody is, then you can know that God extends grace to you.
As Paul wrote to the Romans, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound". John Newton understood that grace was not just pardon; it was also cleansing. He knew it wasn't just forgiveness; it was also power, the power of God at work in a person's life. Newton experienced that power and longed for others to do the same. Near the end of his life, Newton, the self-proclaimed wretch saved by God's amazing grace, is quoted as saying, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Saviour".
When John Newton died, he was buried in the crypt beneath St. Mary Woolnoth Church, about a mile from where he'd been born in London. But he was interrupted in death by London's need to enlarge its subway system. When they excavated to build a tube station near the Bank of England, it meant that John and Mary Newton's remains would need to be relocated. So, they were brought here to Olney; Newton and Mary were buried right behind the church that John Newton had pastored. If Newton was able to do so, he would tell you that God's grace is amazing.
Well, I guess, he did tell you, didn't he? He talked about how it saved a wretch like him, that Newton once lost was then found, once blind, he was enabled to see. And why? Because of grace. And God extends the same grace to you today. The Jesus who died on the cross for John Newton died on that same cross for you, to take away your sin, to remove your guilt and shame, to give you a new heart, to give you hope for a future. That's what the grace of God does. Jesus is coming back soon; He's coming back for you. Not because you deserve everlasting life, nobody does, but God gives it by grace. Would you respond to the grace of God today? Just say yes to Jesus, allow Him to live in your heart, and then you'll live for all eternity because of grace, which, as we now know, is amazing.
Our Father in heaven, we thank You today for grace and that You'd extend it to a wretch like me.
I wonder, friend, as we pray, if you would respond to God's grace and say yes to Jesus, yes to the cross where Jesus died for you, yes to everlasting life, yes to forgiveness. If you'd say yes right now, then you can say, with Newton, that grace is truly amazing. You have eternity to look forward to.
Our Father, we thank You that when we were undeserving, You extended grace to us anyway, so that now on this earth we can look forward to everlasting life with hope and confidence. For that we thank You, and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.