AMAZING GRACE AND INISHOWEN

AMAZING GRACE AND INISHOWEN

‘Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me;
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.’

An Amazing Man:

John Newton, the man who wrote the Hymn entitled, ‘Amazing Grace’, was very glad to set foot upon the Inishowen Peninsula after his badly-damaged ship anchored in Lough Swilly in the aftermath of a fierce storm.
He was a remarkable man. Before he reached the age of thirty he had escaped death on a number of occasions. He had been an apprentice to a slave-trader, spent some time as a slave himself, and had been captain of a slave-trading vessel.
This amazing man was born on July 24th 1725.
His mother died just before his seventh birthday.
His father was the captain of a merchant ship sailing the Mediterranean.
John left school when he was ten years old. At the age of eleven he went to sea with his father and accompanied him on several voyages.
Before the age of twelve he fell from a horse and landed very close to a spiked branch. He would have been killed if he had landed on it.
He and some of his friends got permission to board a Navy ship. But he arrived late so his friends left without him. The little boat they were using to ferry them out to the ship capsized and they were drowned.
John was press-ganged into the Navy, where he served as a midshipman. He later deserted, but was apprehended, publicly flogged and then demoted from his position.
On one of the voyages his master, before leaving the boat, would have him locked up on deck, where he was often left for up to forty hours at a time. The exposure to gale-force winds and lashing rain he endured on that voyage broke his constitution and his spirits.
During a hunting trip in Ireland John’s shotgun accidentally went off so close to his face that it burned part of his hat.
On a number of occasions he found himself in life-threatening situations. These included several bouts of serious illness.
Before he reached the age of twenty he became an apprentice to a slave-trader and was based on some Islands near Sierra Leone, West Africa. At one stage he was no more than a slave himself. During this time he was mistreated and became seriously ill. His bed was a board and his pillow a wooden log. He lived on scraps of food and was so ill he was expected to die. Miraculously, he recovered and was later rescued by the captain of a ship.
They set sail for England in January of 1748. Their ship was badly in need of repair and was in no condition to withstand any great storms they might encounter during their seven thousand miles journey.

An Amazing Storm:

One night John was roused from sleep by a violent storm that engulfed the ship. In a matter of minutes the entire ship was almost wrecked. The crew manned the pumps against the incoming sea, but the ship was full and ready to go down. They used their bedding and even their own clothes to repair the leaks, and nailed old boards over them. The ship had a gaping hole in its side and would have gone down but for the fact that the cargo of beeswax and wood was light. Most of their provisions, livestock and water were lost, so for the rest of the voyage they survived on scanty rations. Gale-force winds drove them out of the shipping lanes, so there was little possibility of them being rescued by another vessel.
Just when all hope of rescue was lost the wind came round to their advantage. It brought them within sight of Tory Island. The following day (April 8th) they anchored in Lough Swilly. It was four weeks from the day of the great storm. Shortly after dropping anchor the wind became so violent that John was convinced they would have been shipwrecked and lost if they had been caught in it.

An Amazing Encounter:

Many years later, as John reflected on his experience during the great storm at sea, he was reminded of the fact that while the fierce storm had been raging outside, another was raging inside his heart. Whilst attempting to repair the gaping holes in the ship, John remarked, ‘If this will not do, the Lord have mercy on us’. But he wondered, ‘What mercy can there be for me?’ He considered some portions of the Scriptures, including the following, where the Lord says, ‘Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh: When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices’ (Proverbs Ch.1 vs 24 –31).
John had, in the past, professed Piety, but later returned to a life of unrestrained blasphemy, debauchery and godlessness. Now he wondered if there was still mercy to be found. As he meditated upon the death of Jesus he felt there might be some hope of forgiveness. He read in Luke Ch.15 the account of the Prodigal Son. He was struck by the fact that the father lovingly ran to meet his wayward son. He understood this to be an illustration of the Lord's mercy to repentant, returning sinners. John began to pray. In the midst of the great storm he cried out to the Lord, believing that He alone could deliver him.
He saw the battered ship as an example of his own life. It was wrecked and hopelessly lost, with no hope of being rescued by human effort. In the midst of the howling gale he came to understand the truth of the Gospel. For the first time in his life he realised that God could not pardon a vile sinner on the grounds of his own efforts or merits. He could pardon him only because of the fact that Jesus Christ, by dying as his substitute, had paid in full the penalty for his sins. As this light began to dawn in John’s heart the inner storm subsided and a peaceful calm set in.
While the ship was refitting at Lough Swilly he had a further encounter with the Lord during which he surrendered his life to Him.

Amazing Grace:

Some years later John became a preacher of the Gospel. He also wrote a number of Hymns, including the one entitled ‘Amazing Grace.’ This Hymn was, in fact, his own testimony to the amazing Grace of God in rescuing a vile sinner such as he.
In verse one he wrote, ‘I once was lost, but now am found’.
When he wrote the words, ‘I once was lost,’ he was referring to his Past condition. This is summed up in the Scriptures as follows: ‘You WERE dead in trespasses and sins…You WERE by nature children of wrath…You WERE dead in sins…You WERE without Christ, having no hope, and without God…Ye WERE far off (far away from God)’ (Ephesians Ch.2). (All in the Past Tense)
He then changes the emphasis from his Past Condition to his Present Standing with God: ‘I once WAS lost, BUT NOW am found’. The Word of God shows us how a vile sinner like John Newton could be forgiven, cleansed and transformed through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘And such WERE some of you: (Past Tense) But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God…BUT NOW (present tense) in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes WERE far off (past tense) are made nigh by the blood of Christ…For ye WERE (Past Tense) sometimes darkness, BUT NOW (Present Tense) are ye light in the Lord…In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace’ (1Corinthians Ch.6 vs 11 ; Ephesians Ch.2 v 13; Ch.5 v 8 ; Ch.1 v 7).

Amazing Salvation:

John Newton wrote of the Amazing Grace of God (His unmerited favour to the sinner). Salvation is something the sinner could never earn or merit, for it is ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost’ (Titus Ch.3 v 5). The Grace of God was demonstrated when He sent His only begotten Son to the cross as a substitute for sinners –‘He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all’ (Romans Ch.8 v 32). He freely bestows the gift of Salvation on all who repent of their sins and put their faith in Christ, ‘For by Grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God…For the Grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men’ (Ephesians Ch.2 v 8 ; Titus Ch.2 v 11).
John put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and found peace with God – ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. Ch.5 v 1).
He now knew he was saved, and could write of the assurance of salvation – ‘Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that SAVED a wretch like me’. He knew he had been saved, not just from a watery grave, but from a far worse fate – eternity in hell. He knew that not only had God’s Grace saved him, but that it would keep him, day by day, and then finally take him home to Heaven. He expressed this assurance in the following words, ‘Tis Grace hath brought me safe thus far, and Grace will lead me home’.

Amazing Invitation:

And what about you, dear Friend? Perhaps you have often heard, or even sung the Hymn, ‘Amazing Grace?’ But have you ever seriously considered the words of the Hymn?
John Newton recognised his lost condition. Have you?
He knew he could never be saved as a result of his own efforts. Do you?
He knew his only hope of salvation lay in Christ’s substitutionary death on his behalf. Do you?
He repented of his sins. Have you?
He put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you?
He had the assurance of Salvation. Do you?
He knew he would go to Heaven one day. Do you?
Why not do like John and call upon the Lord, asking Him to save you? ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans Ch.10 v 10).
Why not call upon Him right NOW? ‘Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation’ (2Corinthians Ch.6 v 2).
Why not invite Him in to your heart today? Jesus said, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me’ (Revelation Ch.3 v 20).
Jesus’ Amazing invitation reads as follows, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew Ch.11 v 28).