John Newton (1725-1807)
An only child, John Newton was born on 24 July 1725 in Wapping, London. Although his mother died of tuberculosis when he was six years of age, he said of her: ‘My dear mother, besides the care she took with me, often commended me to God with many prayers and tears.’ His father was a naval commander and, after her death, John went to live at the home of his father’s new wife in Aveley, Essex.
John first went to sea with his father at the age of eleven and in 1743, he was press-ganged into the Royal Navy, serving on board HMS Harwich and then a slave ship called Pegasus. Though raised by a devout mother he fell into a degenerate lifestyle. In 1745, John Newton himself was enslaved in Sierra Leone. Eventually rescued, he returned home on board a merchant ship called Greyhound in 1748. Whilst sailing on board this ship a severe storm caused him to cry out to God. The Lord used this storm to awaken his conscience. The storm ceased and this experience prompted him to begin reading the Bible.
A gradual conversion
John Newton struggled much with his sin, swaying back and forth between his own religious efforts and moral depravity. He found that he couldn’t release himself from his slavery to sin until Jesus freed him from its tyranny. Newton’s was not a dramatic conversion but a gradual turning to Christ, coming into the knowledge of God’s amazing grace over an extended period of time. Although his testimony echoes that of the apostle Paul, the timescale was different. God can turn a violent persecutor into a valiant preacher of the gospel. This is an encouragement to us as we continue to pray for the prodigal’s return home to their heavenly Father.
The Spirit of God restored John Newton to be a Christ-centred man and he dearly loved the Lord who had saved him from his sin. He commented: ‘The best advice I can give you: Look unto Jesus, beholding his beauty in the written Word.’ Later in life, he wrote, ‘If you once love him, you will study to please him.’
Slave trade
John Newton’s seafaring days saw him serving on board the slave ships The Brownlow, The Duke of Argyle and The African, the latter two as captain. Later in his life, he wrote, ‘It will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me, that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders.’ Newton actively campaigned to abolish the heinous slave trade and in his Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade he wrote that, ‘so much light has been thrown upon the subject… that it is hoped this stain of our national character will soon be wiped out.’ John Newton combined words with works; not only did he write much but he also acted much, especially in the campaign to abolish the slave trade. A conscientious worker, he wrote: ‘Our work is great; our time is short; the consequences of our labours are infinite.’ He lived to witness the abolition of the British Empire’s slave trade in 1807, dying just a few months later.
Unity in the gospel
In 1750 John Newton married Mary Catlett and adopted her two orphaned nieces. A seizure in 1754 caused him to give up seafaring, and he took a job at the Port of Liverpool. During this period he felt that God was calling him into the ministry. Newton tried but failed to become a minister with the Independents and Presbyterians but was ordained as an Anglican priest on 17 June 1764 and served at the parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Olney, Buckinghamshire.
At Olney, John was respected by both Anglicans and Nonconformists alike. As the church congregation grew, a gallery was installed to seat the extra people. He significantly influenced Thomas Scott, who ministered in a neighbouring parish, and who wrote A Commentary on the Whole Bible.
John Newton enjoyed fellowship with the main Methodist men of his time. George Whitfield was very helpful to him and Newton said of him: ‘He warms up my heart… and strengthens my faith.’ John Wesley considered Newton to be an amiable arbiter between Christians of varying viewpoints. For Newton, unity in Christ transcended denominational differences and he acted as a cohesive influence amongst his evangelical brethren.
In 1779 Newton moved to minister at the parish church of St. Mary Woolnoth in the City of London where he preached to a packed congregation. He remarked: ‘My grand point in preaching is to break the hard heart, and to heal the broken one.’ It was here that he became friendly with the politician William Wilberforce.
Legacy
John Newton was a voracious reader of Christian books and his writings were popular and widely read. He wrote an autobiography which can still be read today under the title Out of the Depths.
Along with the poet William Cowper, who lived in Olney, Newton wrote Olney Hymns which included the hymn Amazing grace as well as Glorious things of thee are spoken and How sweet the name of Jesus sounds. His hymns clearly articulate his Christian experiences.
Towards the end of his life his health, including his eyesight, began to fail him. Yet he remarked:
Although my memory’s fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Saviour.
On another occasion, he wrote: ‘When our eyes are fixed upon the Lord, we are more than conquerors over all that may stand in our path.’
John Newton’s last reported words were, ‘I am still in the land of the dying; I shall be in the land of the living soon.’ He died on 21 December 1807.
On his gravestone at Olney are included his own words:
John Newton, once an infidel and libertine… was by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ preserved, restored, pardoned and appointed to preach the faith he had long laboured to destroy.
Amazing grace epitomised John Newton and his testimony resonates throughout the years. In this, the three hundredth anniversary of his birth, it is timely for us to remember the amazing grace that saved him.
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.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
The Lord hath promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
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.
