463 Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound
John Newton, 1725-1807
The original has six stanzas and is entitled, “Faith’s Review and Expectation.”
The hymn reminds one of Newton’s words: “I can never forget two things: first, that I was a great sinner, and second, that Jesus is a great Saviour.” It is based on I Chron. 17:16, 17:
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.
For comments on John Newton, see Hymn 274.
MUSIC. MCINTOSH, also known as “Amazing Grace,” is believed to be an old Southern melody. It appeared in Southern Harmony, by William Walker, 1835, anonymously. Dr. Robert McCutchan thinks it may be a variant of an old tune called “Loving Lamb.”
For comments on Edwin O. Excell, 1851-1921, who arranged the tune, see Hymn 420.