I Chronicles 17:16-17
And David the king came and sat before the
LORD, and said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that
thou hast brought me hitherto? And yet this was a small thing in
thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house
for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the
estate of a man of high degree, O LORD God.
Psalms 66:16 Come
and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done
for my soul.
John 9:25 He answered and said,
Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that,
whereas I was blind, now I see.
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to
the riches of his grace;
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 hath 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.
Yea, when this flesh and heart
shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall
soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, Who called me here below,
Shall be forever mine.
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’d first begun.
lyrics by John Newton 1779
music - a traditional 19th
century American melody
This is one of the most famous hymns in the world. So here is
some interesting trivia. John Newton titled it "Faith's Review
and Expectation." He wrote it while studying 1 Chronicles
17:16-17. The sixth verse, in red above, was written by Newton, but
is not in the UMH. The seventh verse above was a later addition by
an unknown author and is in the UMH. This last stanza appeared as
early as 1829 in the Baptist Songster as the last
verse of "Jerusalem My Happy Home."
John Newton's mother was a devout Christian and taught him hymns
and Bible verses. She died when he was seven years old. At age 11,
John went to sea with his father. At one point he deserted the
British Navy but was caught and flogged. Another time he spent 15
months as a slave in Africa. For six years, while still in his
20's, he commanded a slave ship. At some point here, something
surely changed. He went to Liverpool and studied Greek and Hebrew.
He became an acquaintance of John Wesley and George Whitefield and
was ordained as a minister in the Church of England. He wrote his
own epitaph:
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,
restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach
the Gospel which he had long laboured to destroy.
He ministered,
Near sixteen years in Olney, in Bucks,
And twenty-eight years in this Church.
