Unplugging “Amazing Grace”

John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” captures so well the gift of grace that I’ve explained throughout this chapter. Check out Newton’s original lyrics: 


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.

 
‘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!

 
Thro’ 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 promis’d good to me,

His word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be,

As long as life endures.

 
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,

And mortal life shall cease;

I shall possess, with the veil,

A life of joy and peace.

 
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,

The sun forbear to shine;

But God, who call’d me here below,

Will be forever mine.

 
In this song, Newton shows how grace saved and transformed his wretched life. A stark contrast – “I was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see” – is made between his dead-end life of sin and his new one found with Jesus Christ. The song also perfectly depicts the protagonists in the three stories told in the section, “Defining Grace.” Valjean was a thief ready for permanent imprisonment, but he received a new life, paid for by the bishop’s candlesticks. The prodigal son prepared for a life of payback, but his father wiped the slate clean. The people of Norre Vosburg were wasting away until Babette’s feast filled them with peace, joy, and a newfound freedom.