Amazing Grace

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Amazing Grace

" is a well-known Christian hymn. The words were written late in 1772 byEnglishman John Newton. They first appeared in print in Newton's Olney Hymns (1779), which heworked on with William Cowper.

History

John Newton wrote this hymn some time after converting to Christianity in the village of Kineton, in Warwickshire, England. The lyrics are based on hisreflections on an Old Testament text he was preparing to preach on, adding his perspective about his own conversion while on his slave ship, the

Greyhound

,in 1748.Newton's lyrics have become a favorite for Christians, largely because the hymn vividly and briefly sums upthe doctrine of divine grace. The lyrics are based on 1 Chronicles 17:16-17(http://php.ug.cs.usyd.edu.au/~jnot4610/bibref.php?book=1%20Chronicles&verse=17:16-17&src=NRSV),a prayer of King David in which he marvels at God's choosing him and his house. Newton apparently wrotethis for use in a sermon he preached on this passage on New Year's Day 1773, and for which he left hissermon notes, which correspond to the flow of the lyrics

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. (He entitled the piece "Faith's review andexpectation.")The song has also become known as a favorite with supporters of freedom and human rights, both Christianand non-Christian, in part because many assume it to be his testimony about his slave trading past.

"Amazing Grace"Music by William WalkerWords by John NewtonLanguage

Irish melody, English words

Contents

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1 History

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1.1 Extra verses

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1.2 Cherokee lyrics

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2 Music

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2.1 Bagpipes

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3 Performances and recordings

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4 Awards

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5 References

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6 See also

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7 External links

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8 Audio samples"

Amazing Grace

"Amazing grace, how sweet the soundThat 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,Page 1 of 14Amazing Grace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia3/6/2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace