Somehow John Newton escaped that life and after serving on several ships as well as working for a period of time on the islands and mainland of the West African coast collecting slaves for sale to visiting traders, he eventually became a captain of his own slave ship. Needless to say, the capturing, selling and transporting of black slaves to the plantations in the West Indies and America was a cruel and vicious way of life.
Throughout this early turbulent period of his life, the memory of his mother and his love for Mary Catlett, his teenage sweetheart, served as strong and continuing influences.
While returning to England from Africa during a particularly stormy voyage, Newton began reading Thomas a Kempis’ book, Imitation of Christ. When it appeared that all would be lost during the fiercest storm of his career, Newton was faced with who he had become and where he might spend eternity, recalling the book’s message and remembering some of his mother’s last words he called out to God to forgive his sin and accepted Christ as His own personal Savior.
For the next several years he continued as a slave ship captain, trying to justify his work by seeking to improve conditions as much as possible, even holding public worship services for his hardened crew of thirty each Sunday. Eventually, however, he felt convicted of the inhuman aspects of this work and became a strong and effective crusader against slavery.
John at the age of 25 returned to England, married Mary Catlett on February 12, 1750, and became the tide surveyor in Liverpool, checking all ships that entered the harbor for contraband goods. It was while John and Mary Newton were living in Liverpool for the next 9 years, that John developed a deeper interest in ministry and he came under the influence of George Whitfield and the Wesley’s. But John decided to stay with the established Anglican Church rather than to join forces with these dissenters. And at the age of 39 he was ordained and began his first pastorate at the little village of Olney, near Cambridge, England.
It was during his tenure there that he often shared his personal testimony with great effectiveness. He also loved to sing hymns that expressed the simple, heartfelt relationship he had discovered in Christ rather than the staid singing of the Psalms from the Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter. When he couldn’t find enough hymns for this purpose, he began writing his own along with his neighbor and author, William Cowper. In 1779 their combined efforts produced the famous Olney Hymns hymnal, containing 349 hymns of which 282 were written by Newton.
One of them was Amazing Grace which summarized his life experiences with God in musical form. This powerful combination of music and message has had an impact far beyond what John intended when he wrote it for his little congregation made up of mostly lacemakers in Olney, England.
