John Newton
In his final years, when age had stolen most of his memory, John Newton could still remember two things with absolute clarity:
“I am a great sinner,” he said, “and Christ is a great Savior.”
This wasn’t false humility. Newton knew exactly what kind of man he had been. He had captained ships loaded with enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. He had grown wealthy from human suffering. He had been so profane that even hardened sailors were shocked by his language. By his own admission, he had invented new curse words because the existing ones weren’t vile enough.
Yet this same man wrote the most beloved hymn in the English-speaking world—a song of grace so profound that it has been sung at state funerals and civil rights marches, in cathedrals and prisons, by presidents and prisoners alike.
How does a slave trader become the voice of redemption?
The Making of a Wretch
John Newton was born in London on July 24, 1725, to a merchant ship captain and a devoutly Christian mother. His mother’s influence would prove crucial, though tragically brief—she died of tuberculosis when John was only six years old. Before her death, she taught him Bible verses and Isaac Watts’ hymns, planting seeds that would lie dormant for decades.
By age eleven, Newton was at sea with his father, learning the brutal realities of maritime life. The ocean was no place for a sensitive child. It was a world of violence, profanity, and cruelty, where boys became men by abandoning whatever softness they possessed.
After several years at sea, Newton fell desperately in love with fourteen-year-old Mary Catlett during a visit to Kent. So smitten was he that he overstayed his visit and missed the ship his father had arranged to take him to Jamaica for a lucrative plantation position. His father, furious at his son’s irresponsibility, had him pressed into naval service as punishment.
Newton’s time in the Royal Navy was disastrous. He was flogged for desertion when he tried to visit Mary again. His rebellious spirit made him despised by officers. Eventually, to be rid of him, the captain had him transferred to a slave ship bound for Africa.
The Descent
What happened next reads like a dark parable. The slave trader Newton worked for in Sierra Leone had an African wife, Princess Peye, who took particular delight in tormenting the young Englishman. Newton became, in his own words, “a servant of slaves in Africa”—chained, starved, forced to beg for food scraps, reduced to eating raw roots to survive.
The irony was savage: the man who would later transport hundreds of Africans into slavery was himself enslaved by Africans. Yet even this brutal experience didn’t open his eyes to the evil of the trade. When he was rescued in 1747 by a captain who knew his father, Newton quickly returned to the very system that had brutalized him.
The Storm
On March 9, 1748, Newton was aboard the Greyhound, returning to England, when he found a book lying about: Thomas à Kempis’s The Imitation of Christ. He began reading it with indifference, perhaps even mockery. Then a single thought struck him: “What if these things should be true?”
He went to bed unsettled. At 2:00 a.m. on March 10, a violent storm struck the ship with such force that it broke through the rotten timbers. Water poured into the cabin where Newton slept. One sailor was swept overboard immediately. As Newton and the crew worked desperately to keep the ship afloat, pumping water for hours, he began to pray—tentatively, uncertainly, but genuinely—for the first time in years.
Somehow, impossibly, what was left of the ship made it to Ireland. Newton walked to the nearest church and, as he later wrote, “engaged to be the Lord’s forever, and only His.”
For the rest of his life, he would observe March 10 as the anniversary of his conversion.
The Slow Transformation
Here’s where Newton’s story becomes uncomfortable for those who want neat redemption narratives. His conversion didn’t immediately change his behavior. He stopped swearing and started reading his Bible, but he continued working in the slave trade. In fact, he advanced in it—becoming first mate, then captain of his own slave ships.
Between 1750 and 1754, Newton captained three voyages transporting enslaved Africans to the West Indies and Americas. He was better than some captains—he tried to treat the enslaved people humanely, allowed them exercise, and reduced mortality rates. But “humane slavery” is a contradiction in terms. He was still ripping families apart, still profiting from buying and selling human beings.
Newton later admitted he struggled with his occupation and despised it, but he saw no conflict between his growing faith and his employment. This is perhaps the most disturbing element of his story: how easily we can compartmentalize evil, how we can claim to love God while participating in systems of oppression.
In 1754, a seizure ended his seafaring career. Only then did he leave the trade—not out of moral conviction, but medical necessity.
The Awakening
Newton took a position as a tide surveyor in Liverpool, a comfortable government job that gave him time to study. He taught himself Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He devoured theology books. He came under the influence of George Whitefield and John Wesley, leaders of the evangelical revival sweeping England.
His mind and heart were changing, but slowly. He began to see what he had been blind to—that his “decent treatment” of enslaved people had still been monstrous, that the entire system was an abomination against God and humanity.
In 1764, after multiple rejections due to his lack of formal education, Newton was finally ordained as an Anglican clergyman. He became curate of Olney, a poor market town of about 2,000 people, most of them illiterate lacemakers scraping by on meager wages.
Newton was unlike other clergymen. He didn’t preach from a distance or pretend to be above temptation. He shared his own story from the pulpit—his profanity, his slavery involvement, his gradual transformation. His mission, he said, was “to break a hard heart and to heal a broken heart.”
The Hymn is Born
In Olney, Newton formed a deep friendship with William Cowper, a brilliant but troubled poet who suffered from severe depression and had attempted suicide multiple times. Together, they began writing hymns for their weekly prayer meetings—simple songs that ordinary people could understand and sing.
In late 1772, as the year drew to a close, Newton reflected on how much he had changed in the seventeen years since leaving the sea. He had kept a diary of his spiritual progress, and the final entry of 1772 was a meditation on transformation—how far he had come, how much grace he had received.
For his New Year’s Day sermon on January 1, 1773, Newton chose a text from 1 Chronicles 17:16-17, where King David marvels at God’s undeserved favor:
“Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?”
To accompany the sermon, Newton wrote a poem titled “Faith’s Review and Expectation.” The first line read:
“Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound).”
The hymn wasn’t about his dramatic storm experience twenty-five years earlier. It was about the slow, steady work of grace in his life—how God had pursued him through his rebellion, his cruelty, his blindness. How grace had been patient when he was a slave trader. How grace had been present even when he couldn’t see it.
“I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”
In 1779, the poem was published as Hymn 41 in Olney Hymns, a collection of 348 hymns written by Newton and Cowper. Newton contributed 280 of them, writing in plain language for plain people. At the time, “Amazing Grace” wasn’t considered particularly special—just one hymn among hundreds.
Why He Wrote: The Reasons That Transform Us
Understanding why Newton wrote “Amazing Grace” reveals truths that speak directly to our modern struggles:
1. He Needed to Proclaim the Scandal of Grace
Grace, by definition, is unearned and undeserved. But Newton’s story takes this to an extreme that makes us uncomfortable. He didn’t deserve grace—not by any reasonable standard. He had been a blasphemer, a cruel master, a willing participant in one of history’s greatest atrocities.
Yet grace found him anyway. Not because he had finally gotten good enough, but while he was still a slave trader. This is the scandal of the gospel: that grace doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up.
This matters for you if: You believe you’ve gone too far, done too much, hurt too many people to ever be forgiven. Newton’s message is clear: there is no sin too great for grace to reach. If grace could save him, it can save anyone.
2. He Needed to Acknowledge Gradual Transformation
Newton’s conversion wasn’t a light switch—it was a slow dawn. The storm in 1748 began his journey, but he didn’t become an abolitionist until decades later. He had to unlearn prejudices, challenge his own economic interests, and admit he had been complicit in evil.
This is crucial because most of us experience spiritual growth the same way. We don’t change all at once. We have genuine encounters with God while still being blind to our own sin. We make progress while retaining blind spots.
This matters for you if: You’re frustrated with your own slow growth. Newton’s life says transformation is often a patient, decades-long process. Grace doesn’t give up when you can’t immediately see what you need to change.
3. He Needed to Face His Past Without Excuse
Notice what Newton didn’t do: he didn’t minimize his sin. He called himself a “wretch” and meant it. He never claimed ignorance as an excuse or said “everyone was doing it.” Late in life, he published Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade (1788), a devastating account of the horrors he had witnessed and perpetrated, calling it something at which his “heart now shudders.”
He could have stayed silent. He could have let people forget his past. Instead, he used his testimony to fight the very system that had enriched him.
This matters for you if: You carry shame about your past. Newton shows us that acknowledging our sin honestly—without excuse, but also without despair—is the path to freedom. Your testimony of transformation might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.
4. He Needed to Find Security in Grace, Not Performance
The most comforting verse of “Amazing Grace” is often overlooked:
“Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.”
Newton wasn’t saying he had finally achieved perfection. He was saying that the same grace that had brought him this far could be trusted for the journey ahead. His security wasn’t in his own goodness but in God’s faithfulness.
This matters for you if: You live with constant anxiety about being good enough. Newton discovered that grace isn’t just about forgiveness for the past—it’s about confidence for the future. You don’t have to earn God’s love because you already have it.
5. He Needed to Create Something Useful From His Pain
Newton could have hidden his slave-trading past. Instead, he became one of the most vocal abolitionists in England, advising William Wilberforce in his decades-long campaign to end the slave trade. He testified before Parliament. He wrote pamphlets exposing the brutality he had witnessed.
His pain, his shame, his sin—all of it became fuel for redemption. Not just his own redemption, but the freedom of thousands who would never know his name.
This matters for you if: You wonder if your past disqualifies you from usefulness. Newton proves that God specializes in using broken people. Your greatest regrets might become your most powerful testimony.
The Long Road to Abolition
It’s important to note that Newton’s transformation included restitution. He didn’t just write a beautiful hymn and call it good. In his final decades, he threw himself into the abolitionist cause with the fervor of a man trying to undo the evil he had done.
He mentored William Wilberforce, the young Member of Parliament who would become the face of abolition. When Wilberforce doubted whether he should stay in politics or enter ministry, Newton advised him: stay in Parliament—that’s where God can use you most.
In 1788, Newton published his anti-slavery pamphlet, describing in gruesome detail the conditions aboard slave ships. He called his involvement in the trade “a business at which my heart now shudders.” The testimony of a former slave trader carried enormous weight in the debate.
In 1807, just months before Newton died, Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act, banning the trade of enslaved people on British ships. Newton lived to see the beginning of the end of the system he had once served.
The Final Memory
John Newton lived to be 82. In his last years, he was nearly blind and his memory was failing. He had to stop preaching because he would repeat himself mid-sermon, having forgotten what he’d already said.
But two things remained crystal clear: “I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior.”
This wasn’t resignation or self-hatred. It was perspective. Newton had learned to measure his life not by his own goodness (which was mixed at best) but by the astonishing grace that had pursued him from a storm-tossed ship to a country parish to the halls of Parliament.
His gravestone, which he wrote himself, reads:
“John Newton, Clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long laboured to destroy.”
The Legacy That Sings
“Amazing Grace” has been recorded more than any other song in history. It has been sung in every conceivable style—by gospel choirs and punk bands, at royal weddings and civil rights marches, by children in Sunday school and presidents at funerals.
The hymn endures because it speaks to something universal: the hope that no one is beyond redemption. That grace really can reach “a wretch like me.” That transformation, however slow, is possible for anyone.
Newton’s life doesn’t give us easy answers. His long participation in slavery even after his conversion is troubling and should be. But his story also offers profound hope: if grace could transform John Newton, it can transform anyone. If his sins could be forgiven, no sin is unforgivable. If his life could be redeemed and made useful, no life is beyond redemption.
We are all, in some way, wretches saved by grace. We are all blind people learning to see. We are all former slaves to something—sin, addiction, prejudice, pride—who need grace to set us free.
Newton’s final gift to us isn’t just a beautiful hymn. It’s the living proof that amazing grace isn’t just a sweet-sounding phrase—it’s the most powerful force in the universe.
“Amazing Grace”
Written by John Newton, 1772 Published in Olney Hymns, 1779 Music: “New Britain” (composer unknown, early American melody)
Verse 1 Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That sav’d 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 reliev’d; How precious did that grace appear, The hour I first believ’d!
Verse 3 Thro’ 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 Lord has promis’d good to me, His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures.
Verse 5 Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease; I shall possess, within the veil, A life of joy and peace.
Verse 6 The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine; But God, who call’d me here below, Will be forever mine.
Note: The famous final verse “When we’ve been there ten thousand years” was added later by an unknown author and was not written by John Newton. This hymn is in the public domain.
Sources and Historical References
Primary Sources:
- Newton, John. An Authentic Narrative of Some Remarkable and Interesting Particulars in the Life of John Newton. London, 1764.
- Newton, John. Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade. London, 1788.
- Newton, John and William Cowper. Olney Hymns: In Three Books. London: W. Oliver, 1779. [Library of Congress, first edition]
- Newton, John. Sermon notebooks, Lambeth Palace Library.
- Newton, John. Journals as a slave trader, various collections.
Biographical and Historical Sources:
- Martin, Bernard. John Newton: A Biography. London: Heinemann, 1950.
- Aitken, Jonathan. John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace. Crossway, 2007.
- Phipps, William E. “Amazing Grace in John Newton.” Anglican Theological Review.
- Cowper & Newton Museum, Olney, Buckinghamshire (www.cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk)
- The John Newton Project (research and documentation)
Historical Context:
- Maritime records: SS Greyhound voyage, 1748
- Royal Navy records: HMS Harwich
- Slave trade documentation: Newton’s ship logs from Brownlow, Duke of Argyle, and African (1750-1754)
- Parliamentary records: Testimony to Privy Council on slave trade (1788)
- Slave Trade Act 1807, British Parliament
Hymn Research:
- “Amazing Grace” manuscript and first publication in Olney Hymns (1779), Book I, Hymn 41
- Original title: “Faith’s Review and Expectation” based on 1 Chronicles 17:16-17
- Tune research: “New Britain” melody (origin uncertain, possibly American folk tune)
- Hymnology Archive and Library of Congress Exhibition: “The Creation of Amazing Grace”
Additional Resources:
- The Spafford Children’s Center continues Newton’s humanitarian legacy in Jerusalem
- Museum displays: Cowper & Newton Museum, Olney, England
- Film: Amazing Grace (2006), depicting Newton (Albert Finney) and Wilberforce’s abolition campaign
What part of your past needs the healing power of amazing grace today?