Amazing Grace
John Newton's account of being found by God's grace, and a trust that grace will lead him home.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“Amazing Grace” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
The singer says that God's grace found him when he was lost and blind, carried him through danger, and will bring him home at the end.
Newton wrote it for a New Year's sermon on 1 Chronicles 17:16-17, where King David asks why God has shown him such kindness. Christians hear that kindness fully given in Jesus, who saves by grace and not by merit (Ephesians 2:8).
It is sung in any season. John Newton, a former slave-ship captain who became an Anglican priest, published it in Olney Hymns in 1779.
For musicians and planners
| Words | John Newton, 1779 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Tune | NEW BRITAIN · Anonymous American folk melody, 1829 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only). The words are not transcribed here yet.
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.