Let us love and sing and wonder

This time the variety lies in the verbs; John Newton has crafted his stzs on the programme announced in the opening two lines. So, stz 2, love; 3, sing; 4, wonder; 5, praise. The text, first published in 1774 in Twenty-six Letters on Religious Subjects and in the Gospel Magazine, was one of the Olney Hymns of 1779, Bk III, where it is headed ‘Praise for redeeming love’ and the key verbs are italicised. It has been widely felt, however, that Newton’s 4th stz did not reach the level of the rest—with the result that many books omit it altogether, thereby breaking the pattern of the hymn. (PHRW omits the ‘sing’ stz instead, with the same effect.) It could not be easily revised; so while Christopher Idle was working with the groups preparing Sing Glory (1999) and Praise! respectively, he drafted an alternative version which was accepted for both books. This of course has not yet been tested by time, and the story would not be complete without admitting that a 6th and final stz has rarely been included; this had ‘Wash our souls and songs with blood’ as well as ‘Lord, we blush …’ This raises the more insistent question about ‘washed us with his blood’, a concept found in older hymns (and some newer songs, and 795) and repeated here in every 5th line. The metaphor of ransom or liberation by the blood of Christ (that is, his atoning death) is firmly rooted in Scripture, 1 Peter 1:18–19 being a clear example. But ‘washed’ depends on a suspect reading of Revelation 1:5 (Gk ‘lousanti’) reflected in AV, where virtually all subsequent versions except NKJV have ‘loosed’ or ‘freed’ (‘lusanti’). The washing of robes in blood (Revelation 7:14) is a different matter. So another editorial decision has adopted the stronger, more accurate, language in these lines; 2.2 and 2.4 are also revised, but it remains essentially Newton’s hymn, written out of his experience as well as his Bible. It is found only in evangelical hymnals, and not all of these.

ALL SAINTS is the ideal tune, though an alternative GOUNOD (326) is suggested and others have been used. Its name arises from A&M’s use of it with Who are these like stars appearing (another text based on Revelation) in 1861, but the tune is printed anonymously in the Darmstadt Geistreiches Gesangbuch of 1698, set to Zeuch mich, zeuch mich, mit den Armen.

b Bromley, Kent 1938. Eltham Coll, St Peter’s Coll Oxford (BA, English), Clifton Theol Coll Bristol; ordained in 1965 to a Barrow-in-Furness curacy. He spent 30 years in CofE parish ministry, some in rural Suffolk, mainly in inner London (Peckham, Poplar and Limehouse). Author of over 300 hymn texts, mainly Scripture based, collected in Light upon the River (1998) and Walking by the River (2008), Trees along the River (2018), and now appearing in some 300 books and other publications; see also the dedication of EP1 (p3) to his late wife Marjorie. He served on 5 editorial groups from Psalm Praise (1973) to Praise!; his writing includes ‘Grove’ booklets Hymns in Today’s Language (1982) and Real Hymns, Real Hymn Books (2000), and The Word we preach, the words we sing (Reform, 1998). He edited the quarterly News of Hymnody for 10 years, and briefly the Bulletin of the Hymn Society, on whose committee he served at various times between 1984 and 2006; and addressed British and American Hymn Socs. Until 1996 he often exchanged draft texts with Michael Perry (qv) for mutual criticism and encouragement. From 1995 he was engaged in educational work and writing from home in Peckham, SE London, until retirement in 2003; following his return to Bromley after a gap of 40 years, he has attended Holy Trinity Ch Bromley Common and Hayes Lane Baptist Ch. Owing much to the Proclamation Trust, he also belongs to the Anglican societies Crosslinks and Reform, together with CND and the Christian pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation. A former governor of 4 primary schools, he has also written songs for school assemblies set to familiar tunes, and (in 2004) Grandpa’s Amazing Poems and Awful Pictures. His bungalow is smoke-free, alcohol-free, car-free, gun-free and TV-free. Nos.13, 18, 21, 23A, 24B, 27B, 28, 31, 35, 36, 37, 48, 50, 68, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 85, 89, 92, 95, 102, 108, 109, 114, 118, 119A, 121A, 125, 128, 131, 145B, 157, 176, 177, 193*, 313*, 333, 339, 388, 392, 420, 428, 450, 451, 463, 478, 506, 514, 537, 548, 551, 572, 594, 597, 620, 621, 622, 636, 668, 669, 693, 747, 763, 819, 914, 917, 920, 945, 954, 956, 968, 976, 1003, 1012, 1084, 1098, 1138, 1151, 1158, 1159, 1178, 1179, 1181, 1201, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1209, 1210, 1211, 1212, 1221, 1227, 1236, 1237, 1244, 1247, 5017, 5018, 5019, 5020.

b Wapping, E London 1725, d City of London 1807. His early life ‘might form the groundwork of a story by Defoe, but that it transcends all fiction’—Ellerton. When he was not quite 7 his godly mother died; his father, a merchant navy captain, found the new situation, and his son, hard to handle but took him to sea when he was 11. Back on shore at 18 or 19 John was press-ganged for the royal navy, and recaptured and flogged after desertion. A life of increasing godlessness and depravity on board ship was relieved only by his love for Mary Catlett of Chatham, Kent, whom he had met when he was 17 and she was 14. But he had to sink as low as to be ‘a servant of slaves’ (JN) on the W African coast, and have many brushes with death, when the only book he had was a copy of Euclid’s geometry. Strangely still a non-swimmer, he was almost drowned during a storm at sea before (even more surprisingly) he dipped into The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis and eventually ‘came to himself’. After a series of providential events he finally arrived on the Irish coast. Now 23, he renewed his attachment to Mary before another African voyage as ship’s mate; this time he was laid low by fever, but during that time made his decisive Christian commitment—or rather, simply cast himself on the mercy of God in Christ. In 1750 John and Mary were married. He accompanied or captained several ships on the notorious Atlantic slavetrade, and came with what seems surprising slowness to see the inconsistency of this with his growing Christian faith. Eventually he was to be a supporter of Wm Wilberforce, Thos Clarkson, Granville Sharp and James Stephen; while he came to oppose slavery itself, he was not as consistent or prominent a campaigner as they, and did not list the trade among Britain’s national sins. Further illness in 1754 compelled him to give up his seafaring career and he spent 9 years as Liverpool’s tide surveyor, including leading a large team of inspectors for contraband. He made a friend of Wm Grimshaw, vicar of Haworth, and of Lord Dartmouth who read his story in ms (see also under Fawcett and Haweis). With Dartmouth’s help and after many difficulties he was admitted to ordination (CofE) and in 1764 became curate, effectively incumbent, of Olney, Bucks.

Here Newton became the means of enlightening his neighbour clergyman Thos Scott, whose cynical rationalism was transformed through Newton’s patient and courteous witness into clear evangelical faith. Scott became a noted Bible commentator and published his testimony (re-issued in the 20th c) as The Force of Truth. More famously, Newton became the close friend of William Cowper (qv); he compiled the Olney Hymns (1779) partly with a view to helping Cowper to regain a sense of purpose and use his poetic gifts for the gospel; JN’s Preface claims that ‘I am not conscious of having written a single line with an intention, either to flatter or to offend any party or person on earth’. While many of Newton’s hymns on prayer are searching and lasting (and ‘grace’ is a favourite word), his positive, objective cheerfulness generally provides an excellent foil to Cowper’s sometimes wistful and questioning introspection. Comparisons of the two men’s contributions are common; Montgomery is typical in elevating Cowper, but Lord Selborne speaks for others in balancing Newton’s ‘manliness’ with his friend’s ‘tenderness’, and in clear biblical doctrine they were one. One unexpected result of the book and a sign of its wide and enduring influence was the spur it gave to the RC convert F W Faber (1814–63), as he acknowledged, to try to emulate it for his fellow-Romans some 75 years later. Some extraordinary ‘invective’ (Dr W T Cairns’s word, HSB16, July 1941) has been directed against Newton, by David Cecil and others, for his supposedly malign influence on Cowper. His article examines the evidence for and against such assertions, observing incidentally that ‘neither Cowper nor Newton seems to have been conscious of the alleged unfortunate effect of this association’. JN features more positively in some lines from Wordsworth’s major autobiographical poem The Prelude (begun 1798, final posthumous version 1850), Bk 6.

In 1779 Newton became Rector of St Mary Woolnoth in the City of London, where at that time evangelical incumbents were almost unknown. He ministered there until his death, having lost much of his hearing and sight, surviving his beloved Mary by 17 years. Among other publications, some posthumous, were his sermons and even more remarkable letters to many friends (Cardiphonia, partly republished in the 1960s). A memorial tablet in the city church outlines his story, which has often been made the subject of popular biographies. Among recent books are Brian Edwards’ Through Many Dangers (1975, revised edn 1980), Bernard Braley’s study in Hymnwriters 2 (1989), and Steve Turner’s Amazing Grace (2002; see Introduction to the present book); all of which are complemented by Adam Hochschild’s eloquently disturbing Bury the Chains: the British struggle to abolish slavery (2005). Until fairly recently brief biographical notes on Newton made no mention of Amazing grace; for many now it seems to be the most important fact about him. The John Newton Project currently aims to promote evangelical renewal through the study and appreciation of Newton’s contribution to gospel work and the ending of the slave trade 2 centuries ago. In 2000 Marilynn Rouse, founder leader of the Project, published her edited and annotated edn of Richard Cecil’s 1808 biography. Nos.276, 299, 313*, 326, 570, 600, 602, 603, 607, 717, 767, 772, 791, 875, 903, 958.