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. -“Amazing Grace”

Being saved is a lot like being in love: that, suddenly, all the songs make sense.

I didn’t really think much about the hymn “Amazing Grace” over the years. It had a nice sound, and it is very recognizable even in secular circles. Heck, the character Scotty played it on the bagpipes in the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (one of my all-time favorite Star Trek movies, by the way) when Mr. Spock’s casket was shot out into space.

But once I was saved, it really, really resonated with me. And for the last few weeks, it’s really been burned into my mind. And once your life is His, you’ll hear every word clear as a bell in your ears as well.

As it is famously known, slaver John Newton was storm-tossed at sea, and he cried out to the Lord for help. Newton was a man who was among the most profane ever to hit the seas, even among his peers. In 1748, when he called out to help from the Lord, who he had mocked and derided earlier–even saying He was a myth–that marked his spiritual conversion. He wrote the famous first verse of the poem, and it wasn’t for almost three decades that the rest of it was written as a hymn.

And today, people know it worldwide, and it truly speaks to your heart once you’ve experienced His grace. It speaks to your awakening…your rebirth…in your own specific way.

Amazing grace, indeed.

Lyrics

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

‘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!

Thro’ many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be forever mine.

Today’s soundtrack

Chris Tomlin’s “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” is a simple, heartfelt rewrite of the classic poem and hymn, singing basically every other stanza, interjecting a chorus that blends beautifully in.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:6 (NASB)

If there is one thing you can count on while you travel through this world, it is God’s Word. Whenever you feel lost or hopeless, you can always turn to His Word for guidance, hope, grace, strength, peace, joy, and wisdom.

I turn the rest of this post over to make way for an 1857 poem by Scottish minister Norman Macleod. Enjoy.

Trust in God (“Courage, Brother!”)

by Norman Macleod

COURAGE, brother! do not stumble,
Though thy path is dark as night;
There’s a star to guide the humble:
“Trust in God, and do the right.”

Let the road be long and dreary,
And its ending out of sight;
Foot it bravely, strong or weary;
“Trust in God, and do the right.”

Perish “policy” and cunning,
Perish all that fears the light!
Whether losing, whether winning,
“Trust in God, and do the right.”

Trust no forms of guilty passion,
Fiends can look like angels bright;
Trust no custom, school, or fashion,
“Trust in God, and do the right.”

Trust no party, Church, or faction;
Trust no leaders in the fight;
But, in every word and action,
“Trust in God, and do the right.”

Some will hate thee, some will love thee,
Some will flatter, some will slight;
Cease from man, and look above thee;
“Trust in God, and do the right.”

Simple rule, and safest guiding;
Inward peace, and inward light;
Star upon our path abiding:
“Trust in God, and do the right.”