John Newton

John Newton was born on July 24, 1725, in London, England. His father was a ship's captain in the Mediterranean trade, and his mother was a devout woman who taught him the Scriptures and hymns. She died of tuberculosis when he was nearly seven. After that, he had little schooling. At the age of eleven, he went to sea with his father. He lived a rough life, and he lost his religious beliefs. He was a rebellious and reckless young man, who was known for his profanity and his bad conduct. He was pressed into the Royal Navy and tried to desert. He was flogged publicly and demoted.

He transferred to a slave ship and went to West Africa. There, he fell into the hands of a slave trader, who treated him cruelly. For a time, he was a slave himself, living in squalor and starved. He was rescued in 1748 by a ship sent by his father, which carried him back to England. On the voyage home, the ship was caught in a violent storm, and it was nearly lost. On March 10, 1748, as the waves broke over the vessel, he cried out to God for mercy. He later regarded this as the date of his conversion, though he said that it took several years before he came to a true understanding of grace.

He went on to become a captain of slave ships himself. For several years, he took part in the slave trade, and he regarded it as a respectable business. He never mistreated the slaves as some did, but he took part in a trade that inflicted great suffering. He held services on board the ships, and he read the Bible. He was blind to the evil of the trade for a long time. In 1754, he suffered a stroke, and he gave up the sea. He became a customs officer in Liverpool and studied the Bible, Greek and Hebrew. He came under the influence of George Whitefield and John Wesley.

He felt called to the ministry and sought ordination in the Church of England. He was refused several times because of his Methodist ties. In 1764, he was ordained and was given the curacy of Olney, a small town in Buckinghamshire. He served there for sixteen years. He was a warm and practical pastor, who visited the poor and the sick. He wrote hymns for his congregation, and in 1779 he published, together with the poet William Cowper, a collection called the Olney Hymns. It included Amazing Grace, which he wrote around 1772, as well as other hymns such as Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken. He and Cowper became close friends. Cowper suffered from severe depression, and Newton cared for him.

In 1780, he became rector of St. Mary Woolnoth in London, a prominent church in the city. He served there for twenty-seven years. His church became a center of evangelical life, and he was a counselor to many younger men. Among those who sought his guidance was William Wilberforce, the young politician, who was struggling with his faith and his career. Newton advised him to remain in public life and to serve God there. He had a deep influence on the antislavery cause.

In 1788, he broke his silence about his past and published a pamphlet, Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade, in which he confessed his involvement in the trade and described its cruelty. He gave evidence before a committee of the House of Commons. He said that he had been a wretched blasphemer and that he was ashamed of what he had done. His confession did a great deal to help the cause of abolition. The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807, the year that he died.

He lost his sight in his old age. He died on December 21, 1807, at the age of eighty-two. It is said that when he was told that he should rest, he replied that he could not stop, since his memory was nearly gone but he remembered two things, that he was a great sinner and that Christ was a great Savior. His epitaph, which he wrote himself, describes him as an infidel and a libertine who was preserved and pardoned. His life shows the depth of grace and the way a man who has done evil may spend the rest of his life in repentance.