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Getty Family

Hymn of the month

A Monthly Hymn for Your Family to Sing and Grow in the Lord Together!

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April - “Amazing Grace”

Lyrics

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.

'Twas 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

I have already come:

'tis grace has brought me safe thus far,

and grace will lead me 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 there ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we've first begun


(John Newton, 1779)

 
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March Bible Memory Verses

Acts 15:11

"We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

Ephesians 1:7

"He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”

Hymn Story

As a little boy, John Newton’s mother would sing hymns, teach Scripture verses and tell Bible stories to him. But she died when he was little and as he grew up he walked away from the Lord Jesus. When he was only eleven he joined his sailor father on a ship to learn how to be a sailor too. This was a few hundred years ago and to sail the seas in those days was often very dangerous work. He shared many stories of dangers at sea. One, in particular, happened in March 1748 that marked the beginning of his learning how to follow the Lord.

John Newton wrote about his struggles with many sins. His language was often rude, he mistreated others, he let people down. He was for many years a slave trader, sinning against the Lord by buying and selling people to make money. He later wrote in a famous pamphlet that when he thinks about what he did his “heart now shudders.” He asked the Lord for forgiveness and the Lord forgave him. He said, ‘Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.’ The Lord saved Him from sin but He also saved Him TO wonderful things in His kingdom - great work as a pastor and a hymn writer and an important voice in the fight against slavery.

He wrote this hymn to help explain a sermon he was giving on New Years Day in 1773. The melody we most often sing with it is called ‘New Britain’ and was written in 1835 by William Walker. He did not write the last verse here but it was written in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’. It is one of the most famous hymns ever written. Some have said it is sung over 10 million times around the world every year.

 
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Something to Think About

Not far from our home on the North Antrim coast there is a little town called Buncrana on Lough Swilly (Lough is the Irish way of saying bay!) Nearly 300 years ago it was there that a boat called the ‘Greyhound’ was safely anchored after many weeks battered at sea in a terrible storm. John Newton was a sailor on that ship. He writes that they did not think they would survive. As the gushing water of the storm grabbed his attention, it also grabbed his heart to think seriously about the Lord. From that day he was different.

Very often it takes a big event or big problem to remind us of the big questions we must ask. I’m sure you have asked these! Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? And even more than these ‘Who is Jesus Christ? What did He say?

When we look at John Newton’s hymn Amazing Grace we can see the story of Christ’s grace to him woven like a bright thread through the lines. Or perhaps like a rope on a rescue ring thrown into the water to help save someone. We can imagine the blasting ocean storms in the lyric ‘dangers, toils and snares.’ We can imagine his tears over his sin in ‘saved a wretch like me.’ We can imagine the hope beyond all his fears in ‘the Lord has promised good to me.’

This song is sung and remembered in many different ways. But the message of the words is the same no matter who we are or where we are from or what we do. We all need the grace of God and this comes through the gift of the wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus.

John Newton once said his mission was to "break a hard heart and to heal a broken heart". A powerful hymn like this one helps do both!

Prayer

Father in heaven,

Thank You for Your amazing grace! Thank You that while we were still far away, You came near to us, sending the Lord Jesus our Savior. Thank You for Your love which has always loved us, before we loved You. We ask that you would forgive our sins and make us clean inside. May we treasure your grace as we follow you each day,

In Jesus name,

Amen

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