The story behind the hymn
John Newton wrote “Amazing Grace” for the people of his parish at Olney and first published it in 1779 in Olney Hymns. Newton had once been captain of a slave ship, and he never forgot it. The hymn is his testimony that grace reached someone who had no claim on it.
The tune we know today, NEW BRITAIN, was a separate American melody, first printed in Virginia Harmony in 1831. The two were joined later, and the pairing has lasted. The closing stanza in many hymnals came from another source: it appeared in a Baptist songbook in 1829, attached to a different song.
Few hymns have travelled as far. It is sung in countless languages, and it remains one of the most widely loved hymns in English.
The Scripture behind it
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:8 (World English Bible)
See also 1 Timothy 1:15, where Paul calls himself the foremost of sinners, a line Newton would have understood.
A short reflection
Newton did not hide his past to make the hymn more comfortable. He placed it at the centre: grace is amazing precisely because it is undeserved. If you have been carrying something you think disqualifies you, this hymn answers it.
Lord, thank you that your grace is bigger than my past. Help me receive it, and extend it to others. Amen.
The full words
Read the full words of this hymn, with tunes and scores, on Hymnary.org.
Read the full hymn text →Source for author, dates and public-domain status: Hymnary.org. Scripture quoted from the World English Bible (public domain).