Amazing Grace

"Amazing Grace" is one of the most well-known Christian hymns. The words were written by John Newton; they form a part of the Olney Hymns that he worked on, with William Cowper and other hymnodists.

Lyrics

:Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)

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:That sav'd a wretch like me!

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:I once was lost, but now am found,

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:Was blind, but now I see.

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:'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

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:And grace my fears reliev'd;

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:How precious did that grace appear,

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:The hour I first believ'd!

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:Thro' many dangers, toils and snares,

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:I have already come;

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:'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,

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:And grace will lead me home.

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:The Lord has promis'd good to me,

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:His word my hope secures;

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:He will my shield and portion be,

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:As long as life endures.

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:Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,

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:And mortal life shall cease;

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:I shall possess, within the veil,

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:A life of joy and peace.

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:The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,

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:The sun forbear to shine;

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:But God, who call'd me here below,

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:Will be forever mine.

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Some versions of the hymn include an additional verse:

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:When we've been here ten thousand years,

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:Bright shining as the sun,

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

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:Than when we'd first begun.

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This verse is not by Newton. It was originally from a hymn called Jerusalem, My Happy Home. It was added to a version of "Amazing Grace" by Harriet Beecher Stowe, as it appears in her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Uncle Tom has pieced the lyrics of several hymns together; those who learned the lyrics from the novel have assumed that it belongs.

Related Topics:
Jerusalem, My Happy Home - Harriet Beecher Stowe - Novel - Uncle Tom's Cabin

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Some versions include still another verse:

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:Shall I be wafted through the skies,

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:on flowery beds of ease,

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:where others strive to win the prize,

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:and sail through bloody seas.

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This verse has been recorded by Pete Seeger.

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