(Facts compiled from “52 Hymn Stories Dramatized,” and “Living Stories of Famous Hymns,” as well as extensive internet search. It is presented with two people interacting back and forth. The video used for this sermon can be purchased at bluefishtv.)
John 9:18-25
18 The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?" 20 "We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." 24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner." 25 He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
“Amazing Grace”
We are finishing up our February sermon series called “Hymnology 101.” We have spent this entire month looking at some of the most famous hymns that we so often take for granted. Every song in our hymnal has a history, every song has a profound story behind it, and every song is rich with God’s love and inspiration. As we learn the history behind these songs, it is our hope… that we look to every song we sing… with more dedication, more understanding, and more focus on worshiping our God.
Pastor: Most Christians who sing “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me,” don’t really feel like wretches. But the author of the hymn, John Newton, did. And if ever there was a wretch who was marvelously saved by the grace of God, it was the man who penned these autobiographical lines.
J.D.: London-born John Newton, only child of a respectable sea-captain father, was early dedicated to the Christian ministry by his devout mother. His religious training began almost at once, and, by the time he was four, he could recite passages from the Westminster Catechism and the children’s hymns of Isaac Watts.
Pastor: Newton’s mother died when he was just seven years of age, and this would drastically change the course of young Newton’s life. He spent several unhappy years of formal schooling at a boarding school before leaving school early to join his father’s ship at the age of eleven.
J.D.: His early years were one continuous round of rebellion and debauchery. He bounced from ship to ship, living a life that even sailors said was “out of control.” When things seemed like they couldn’t get much worse for John Newton… they did.
Pastor: At the age of seventeen he became a deserter. In very short time he was caught and brought back like a common felon. So severe was his punishment that he plotted suicide. After his imprisonment, he embarked on a career of such wickedness that his friends worried about his sanity.
J.D.: Living for a time among the cruel slavers of Sierra Leone, his heart was hardened even more by the mistreatment by his Portuguese master’s black wife. He later wrote about these days saying, “Had you seen me sneak away in the dead of night to wash my one shirt upon the rocks and afterward to put it on wet that it might dry on my back while I slept; had you seen me so poor a figure than when a ship’s boat came to the island, shame often constrained me to hide myself in the woods from the sight of strangers; had you known that my conduct, principles and heart were still darker than my outward condition – how little would you have imagined that such a one was reserved to be so peculiar an instance of the providential care and exuberant goodness of God.”
Pastor: Escape finally came for Newton in the form of a ship that took him away from Sierra Leone, and this opportunity opened yet another dark chapter in the life of Newton. After serving on several ships, Newton eventually became the captain of his own slave ship. Needless to say, the buying and selling and transporting of black slaves was a cruel and vicious way of life.
J.D.: In 1748, while Newton was returning to England from Africa during a particularly stormy voyage that lasted nearly a month, it often appeared that all would be lost. Fearfully Newton began reading a book by Thomas a’ Kempis titled The Imitation of Christ. Thomas was a Dutch monk who lived during the fifteenth century and belonged to a religious order called “The Brethren of the Common Life.” This book and the Scriptures were used by the Holy Spirit to sow the seeds of John’s conversion during the frightening experience at sea.
Pastor: It was a life changing moment for Newton. The fear that crippled him that voyage… coupled with the assurance and grace that came upon his moment of conversion, paved the way to him writing “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.” This moment was the one that would make him abandon his life as a slave trader, and take up the calling his mother once had for him… the calling of a clergyman.
J.D.: At the age of 39, John Newton was ordained by the state church of England and began his first pastorate at the parish church in Olney, a small community of poor farmers and lacemakers. Especially effective during this Olney ministry was the often related story of his early life and conversion experience. In addition to preaching for the stated services in his own church, Newton would hold meetings in any large building that could be secured in the surrounding area. This was an unheard-of practice for an Anglican clergyman of that day. But wherever he preached, large crowds gathered to hear the “old converted trade and sea captain.”
Pastor: Another of Newton’s unusual practices at the Olney Church was the singing of hymns that expressed the simple, heartfelt truths of his preaching rather than using only the stately psalms from the Psalter.
J.D.: When Newton couldn’t find enough appropriate hymns for his purpose he began to write his own. He also enlisted the help of his friend and neighbor, William Cowper, a well-known author of classic literature. In 1779 their combined efforts produced the Olney Hymns Hymnal, one of the important contributions made to evangelical hymnody. “Amazing Grace” was one of the nearly 300 hymns written by John Newton for that collection.
Pastor: The tune for this text is an early American folk melody – a plantation song title “Loving Lambs.” It was first published with John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” text in 1831, nearly 25 years after his death. During the remainder of the nineteenth century there was scarcely a hymnal published throughout our country that did not include this hymn.
J.D.: And still today, “Amazing Grace,” with its simply stated text and singable folk melody, is one of the favorite hymns of God’s people everywhere. We as believers should never lose the appreciation of God’s gift of grace – providing our eternal salvation, meeting our daily needs, and guiding us to our heavenly home.
Pastor: Until the time of his death at the age of 82, John Newton never ceased to marvel at the grace of God that had so dramatically transformed his sinful life. This was always the dominant theme of his preaching and writing.
J.D.: Shortly before Newton’s death in 1807, a spokesman for the church suggested that the old pastor consider retirement because of his failing health, eyesight, and memory. Newton responded -
Pastor: “What, shall the old African blaphemer stop while he can still speak?”
J.D.: On another occasion, just before his death, he is quoted as proclaiming from his pulpit with a loud voice -
Pastor: “My memory may be failing, but I will always remember two things: That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior!”
J.D.: During these later years it was necessary for an assistant to stand in the pulpit to help Newton deliver his sermons. One Sunday he had repeated the words, “Jesus Christ is precious.” “You have already said that twice,” whispered his helper; “go on.”
Pastor: “I said that twice, and I am going to say it AGAIN!”
J.D.: Then the rafters rang as the old preacher shouted anew - “Jesus Christ is Precious!”
Pastor: He labored faithfully in the church until his death, December 21, 1807 at the age of eighty-two. His epitaph, which he wrote himself, reads as follows:
J.D.: “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.”
Pastor: Let us reflect on the life and lesson of John Newton as we hear the words of this hymn.
[VIDEO] (J.D. and Pastor sit down)
Finish up with a short section of “So What?” that personalizes this sermon to your own context and your own setting.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
