Amazing Grace
One of the 94 hymns we sing together at Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church on the Gold Coast. Browse the full hymnbook.
Lyrics
Verse 1
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.
Verse 2
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!
Verse 3
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come:
'tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.
Verse 4
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
the sun forbear to shine;
but God, who called me here below,
will be forever mine.
Behind the Hymn
"Amazing Grace" in its original form was written by John Newton in 1772 for a New Year's Day sermon at his parish church in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. Newton's journey from profane slave-ship captain to beloved Anglican priest is one of the most dramatic conversion stories in Christian history. As a young man, he was so wicked that even the hardened sailors on his ship were shocked by his blasphemy and behavior. After a violent storm nearly sank his vessel in 1748, Newton began a long process of conversion that eventually led him to leave the slave trade, study for the ministry, and become pastor of St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Olney. The hymn was written as part of the Olney Hymns collection that Newton compiled with his friend, the poet William Cowper. Unlike the version with Chris Tomlin's added chorus (Song 11 in this collection), this is the original, unaltered version that Newton's congregation first sang in that small English village church. The melody most commonly associated with the hymn, "New Britain," is an American folk tune that was not paired with Newton's words until 1835 in William Walker's "Southern Harmony." It is the most recorded and performed hymn in history.