Grace. The author of the words is John Newton whose story was told in a great movie several years ago. The tune name is Amazing Grace and is from the Virginia Harmony hymnbook of 1831.
In a small cemetery of a small churchyard in Olney England, there is a tombstone with this inscription, "John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and Libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy." This testimonial was written by John Newton, himself during what has been described as an unusual and colorful life.
John Newton's mother, a godly woman, died when John was just seven years old. he related that she taught hi Bible passages and hymns despite her frail health. When John's father remarried, he was sent away to boarding school. At the age of 11, he left school and began his life as a seaman. His early years were described as a round of rebellion and debauchery. He eventually became the captain of own ship that captured, transported and sold slaves to the plantations of the West Indies and America. It was a difficult, often cruel lifestyle.
On the night of March 9, 1748 when Newton was 23, the ship encountered a particularly brutal storm that arose too quickly to prepare adequately for. The next day he cried out to the Lord for deliverance. He later wrote, "That tenth of Match is a day much remembered by me; I have never suffered it to pass unnoticed since the year 1748--the Lord came from on high and delivered me out of deep waters."
The next several years saw slow halting spiritual growth but he ended his career as one of the most powerful evangelical preachers in British history. He was eventually ordained in the Anglican church, and despite the fact it wasn't done in the Anglican communion, he often held services in the surrounding area. During these sessions, he told the story of his conversion experience and early life. In the end, he became one of fhe most powerful preachers in British history, a powerful foe of slavery and the author of hundreds of hymns. It is also interesting to note that his life after his conversion had been an opponent and in the year he died, 1807, the British Parliament finally abolished slavery.
Originally the hymn was entitled "Faith's Review and Expectation." There were 6 verses and the text was based on 1Chronicle 17:16-17
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