"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."
Bet most of you know these words. Some of you may even know a bit about the story behind them. Penned by John Newton, an often rebellious sea captain of a slave ship who later became a clergyman, they serve as an autobiography of God's merciful intervention in his life; Amazing Grace does the same for many Christians. For me, the song goes one step further, for it is the story behind the story that makes me want to drop to my knees each time I hear this song. You see, John Newton penned the WORDS to the song, not the TUNE. Because the notes are strikingly similar to the spirituals slaves would sing and Newton penned the song while captaining a slave ship, many believe that it was these agonized lyrical notes- sung to lighten the burden of bondage and pain and death- that inspired Newton's words to Amazing Grace. Think about it- a spiritually ruined man calling out to God to save his life aboard the very ship he captains that has robbed hundreds of their lives. Not only does God hear Newton and save him physically, He molds him into a Christian and later, a preacher. Weaving the agonized words of a spiritually lost white man together with the agonized notes of physically lost black men, God takes the worst that life has to offer and crafts it into a beautiful and inspirational song that will impact millions for hundreds of years to come... A lesson to all of us that ANY life- given over to God- can become a thing of great beauty. Thank you, John Newton, for the inspiration. LOL...
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