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Amazing Grace
By peace | February 24, 2008
Amazing Grace - Judy Collins and the choir
Amazing Grace - Bagpipes
whitney amazing grace
“Amazing Grace” Song Lyrics
Music by William Walker
Words by John Newton
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.
T’was Grace that taught…
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear…
the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares…
we have already come.
T’was Grace that brought us safe thus far…
and Grace will lead us home.
The Lord has promised good to me…
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be…
as long as life endures.
When we’ve been here ten thousand years…
bright shining as the sun.
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise…
then when we’ve first begun.
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.
“Amazing Grace” is a well-known Christian hymn. The words were written late in 1772 by Englishman John Newton. They first appeared in print in Newton’s Olney Hymns (1779), which he worked on with William Cowper.
John Newton wrote this hymn some time after converting to Christianity in the village of Kineton, in Warwickshire, England. The lyrics are based on his reflections on an Old Testament text he was preparing to preach on, adding his perspective about his own conversion while on his slave ship, the Greyhound, in 1748.
Newton’s lyrics have become a favorite for Christians, largely because the hymn vividly and briefly sums up the doctrine of divine grace. The lyrics are based on I Chronicles 17:16-17, a prayer of King David in which he marvels at God’s choosing him and his house. Newton apparently wrote this for use in a sermon he preached on this passage on New Year’s Day 1773, and for which he left his sermon notes, which correspond to the flow of the lyrics. (He entitled the piece “Faith’s review and expectation.”)
The song has also become known as a favorite with supporters of freedom and human rights, both Christian and non-Christian, in part because many assume it to be his testimony about his slave trading past. The song has been sung by many notable musical performers, including iconic folk singer Judy Collins.
The hymn was quite popular on both sides in the American Civil War. While on the “trail of tears,” the Cherokee were not always able to give their dead a full burial. Instead, the singing of “Amazing Grace” had to suffice. Since then, “Amazing Grace” is often considered like a Cherokee National Anthem. For this reason, many contemporary Native American musicians have recorded the song.
In recent years, this song has also become popular in America with drug and alcohol recovery groups, particularly Christian ones, at celebrations of how they “once were lost, but now are found.” To read more (Wiki)
Topics: Song |
March 26th, 2008 at 9:54 am
[…] first song which I remember clearly, “Amazing Grace“, the sister wearing spectacle, really don’t know her name. She was very strict. But […]