Amazing Grace

That's a song that gets to everybody. -- Marion Williams

Because John 9 is about Jesus opening the eyes of the blind, it seemed appropriate this week to take a look at one of the best loved hymns ever written, Amazing Grace. Penned by John Newton, a former slave trader turned abolitionist, the story of this hymn is a wonder in itself.

Written in 1779, Amazing Grace has transcended time and culture. You will find renditions of it performed in all parts of the globe, by people of all colors. You can find it being played in large concert halls with a full orchestra, or you can hear a soul stirring rendition played with bagpipes by the Scots, and you can hear it sung with gut wrenching pathos in the inner city. It was sung by the Cherokee Indians along the Trail of Tears, and by African Americans during the Civil Rights struggle. It was even sung during the 9/11 Memorial, even though this kind of religious expression is often eschewed in the public square these days. It is a hymn that has brought great comfort in times of deep sorrow. But it is not only a hymn we sing in times of grief, we also sing it to express deep joy in the mercy of God.

In 1852, through a providential set of circumstances, African Americans would even add a verse of their own to this well loved hymn, a verse that was passed down through oral tradition.

When we've been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We've no less days to sing God's praise,

Than when we first begun.

Who would have thought that a hymn written by a former slave trader would be so loved by the descendants of the very people he enslaved. In effect, Amazing Grace was written by the slave trader and the slave. That is the wonder of the Gospel of Christ, that former enemies can be forgiven and reconciled at the foot of the cross, and sing in one accord about the mercy of God.

There is also something curious about the second verse of Amazing Grace that doesn't get the attention it merits. Perhaps that's because familiarity breeds apathy and indifference, so we fail to really hear the words.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears reliev'd;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believ'd!

How is it that Newton would write, "grace taught his heart to fear"? What place does fear have in comfort? What Newton is alluding to is something that has been forgotten in our culture. The fear of God and the day of reckoning. There came a day when Newton saw his sins for what they were, and he understood what every true Christian comes to know, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

Once again, I must borrow from Lewis who said it so well.

God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemies. Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger - according to the way you react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way…

Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness. It is after you have realized that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that Power - it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk. When you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor. When you have realized that our position is nearly desperate you will begin to understand what the Christians are talking about…

All I am doing is to ask people to face the facts - to understand the questions which Christianity claims to answer. And they are very terrifying facts. I wish it was possible to say something more agreeable. But I must say what I think true…

Of Course, I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay I have been describing, and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. -- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

In other words, It is only after we understand that there is a holy God to Whom we will give an account (and the fear that comes with it), does grace begin to sing. Only when we realize that we owe a debt before God that we cannot pay, does the offer of forgiveness begin to sound like glorious news of comfort and joy. But, if like the Pharisees, we have come to believe that we owe God a mere pittance, or perhaps nothing at all, then the offer of forgiveness will mean nothing. If we are convinced that we can stand before God in our own righteousness, a righteousness that the Bible calls filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), we will never see our need for grace, we will never understand our need for a Savior.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. -- Proverbs 9:10

The Graceless Heart

So what is the song of the self-righteous and graceless heart? The song of the self-righteous is the antithesis of Amazing Grace because they deny their need for a Savior. They effectively sing in their heart:

Amazing Grace, can't hear the sound

Because the wretch is not me

Was never lost, no need to be found

Never blind, I already see

Either we will cry out to God for mercy and rest in the abundant merits of Christ, or we will trust in our own righteousness and rest in our own merits. But the merits of the self righteous are wholly inadequate. Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter heaven (Matthew 5:20)." In our fallen state, we are all proud Pharisees at heart, convinced of our own righteousness. It is only by seeing God as He is, in His perfection and holy righteousness, we are undone, and come to see our need for a Savior (Isaiah 6:1-5). May God, in His grace, open our eyes to understand our desperate need for Him, and lead us home.