The Remarkable Transformation of John Newton: From Slave Ship Captain to Hymn Writer

John Newton was an amazing preacher and hymn writer with a fascinating background that put true passion into his words. Heavily influenced by, but straying a bit, from devout mother and seafaring father, Newton eventually ended up as a slave ship captain who eventually saw the serious error of his ways and joined the abolitionist movement.

A History

John Newton was born in 1725, to a devout Nonconformist mother. Newton’s mother died when he was 7, then he started working on his father’s ships at age 11. By age 18 he had become quite rebellious, both against his mother’s religion and his father’s plans for a career on a sugarcane plantation in Jamaica.

Joining a merchant ship instead, eventually, he was press-ganged into the Navy and was severely flogged when he rebelled against the discipline and tried to desert. A little after this, he managed to get transferred to crew of a slave ship, but he still had not learned his lesson and angered his crew mates to the point that they left him in enslaved to a slave dealer in Africa. After 18 months, around age 23, he was rescued by a ship captain that his father sent, marking the beginning of a change in his life.

On Newton’s return to England, his ship was caught in a storm where he found himself praying to the God that he had abandoned. Thus began his foray into Christianity. Unfortunately, even though he was both praying, reading his Bible, and reading other Christian literature, he did not find a conflict between his religion and slavery. Enamored by the profitability of the business, he fully entered the slave trade, eventually captaining 3 different slave voyages.

At age 25, he married Polly Catlett, his childhood sweetheart. While they didn’t end up being able to have children, they did adopt their two nieces whose parents had died.

At age 29, Newton’s health took a turn for the worse, he suffered a stroke, and his seafaring days were at an end. Working in the ports of Liverpool, he was still investing in the slave trade, but he had more time to devote to his faith. In the end, he was heavily influenced by some of the revivalists of the day: John Wesley – founder of the Methodist Church, Charles Wesley – brother to John and a leader of the Methodist Church, and George Whitefield – one of the leaders of the Great Awakening.

At this point, he tried to become ordained in the Church of England, but his associations with the Methodist Church prevented it for about 7 years. Finally, he gained the support of Thomas Haweis who introduced Newton to the right people who hired Newton as curate of Olney in Buckinghamshire. Newton proved to be a very effective pastor and his congregation tripled in size!

While John Newton dabbled in book writing, even writing a preface to an annotated version of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, when William Cowper moved to Olney, Newton came into his own by adding hymn writing to his list of accomplishments, authoring the most popular hymn of our day: “Amazing Grace”. When you look at Newton’s past, the words “Amazing grace, How sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I am found, Was blind, but now I see,” have a completely new depth of meaning. At the time it didn’t have the popularity of today, but isn’t that the way of many great artists? In any case, John Newton and William Cowper published Olney Hymns, which contained 280 hymns from Newton and 68 hymns from Cowper.

Read: The Profound Message of “Amazing Grace” – A Journey from Sin to Salvation

At age 55, Newton moved to London and became rector of St Mary Woolnoth Church. While there, he fully entered the Abolitionist Movement and was a mentor to William Wilberforce, encouraging Wilberforce to stay in politics, influence the movement from that side of the fence, and helped Wilberforce found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. It was also during this time that Newton wrote his confessions in a pamphlet titled Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade. If you are interested in Wilberforce’s story, consider watching the movie Amazing Grace.

Towards the end of Newton’s life, he started fostering interdenominational interactions and helped found the Church Missionary Society and the Bible Society. At age 82, Newton died in 1807.

Reflections

Of course, Newton’s transition to understanding the depth of his sin was a little slower than might be hoped, but that should give us all encouragement when we are slow to turn from our particular sins, we can still find abundant grace and forgiveness from Jesus. At some point between the storm at sea and Newton’s time in London, Newton seemed to have fully grasped how awful his sins really were.

When considering the life of John Newton, the parable of two debtors comes to mind.

⁴¹“A certain lender had two debtors. The one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²When they couldn’t pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?”

⁴³Simon answered, “He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most.”

He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
Luke 7:41-43 (WEB)

Knowing the depth of our sin can greatly impact the depth of our love for Jesus and his grace. When John Newton recognized the depth of his sin, he was able to pen the lyrics to some of his most famous hymns: “Amazing Grace” and “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds”.

Read: How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds: A Look at a Hymn by John Newton

The next time you hear one of these two songs, consider the depth of your personal sin and the amount of grace you have been given by Jesus. As described in these hymns, this grace soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, drives away our fears, provides refreshment to our souls, and makes us forever with Jesus! What wonderful news!

Respond

Music can pack powerful messages in just a few words. Can you think of other songs, hymns, or poems related to knowing the depth of our sin, and yet still receiving grace and forgiveness from Jesus? If so, post the title and musician/author in the comments!