HYMN FOR PENTECOST 23 Amazing Grace and Have Mercy on me, Lord

Text: John Newton (1725-1807) Tune: New Britain, anonymous 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.   When we’ve been there ten thousand years Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing his praise Than when we first begun.   REFLECTIONS This account of Jesus’ on his way to his crucifixion healing the blind man is filled with insights into the life of faith—that blind Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus is a sign of his faith. Jesus responds to the cry of faith and asks him what he wants. Bartimaeus could simply be begging for alms, but he is not. He wants to be healed and he believes that Jesus can heal him. It is interesting to note that those around the blind man want him to shut up and not make a scene. But the blind man is urgent, he knows what Jesus can do and believes in his powers.   Jesus seems to like that we call to him in desperation. He knows that when we are desperate, we can count on him alone, not our own virtues. This is a true picture of faith. Knowing that we have nothing to bring to the request except our urgency, knowing that Christ can be the one who is able to heal and save. Only when we come to see the powerlessness of our own wills do we cry out in faith. Later, we will confess, with John Newton, “I once was blind, but now I see.” Faith is the belief, without any proof, that Jesus can heal us. So we cry out, in church every Sunday, Lord, have mercy!   HYMN INFO Amazing Grace is probably the most well known hymn in the world today. Written by John Newton, a curate in the Anglican church, it became popular especially during the 1960s after Judy Collins recorded it. Newton had a very rough childhood. His mother, who wanted him to be a pastor, died when he was young. His father was at sea. Because he was an unruly child, his father took him to sea when he was only eleven. There with the sailors, he lived a hard life—he became one of the most profane on the ships, able to swear and curse with such violence that it shocked even hardened sailors. He was pressed into duty by the British navy, and later enslaved to an African. He got free and continued working on slave ships to America. He rose to be ship captain. During a storm at sea, he had a powerful experience of salvation, but continued to captain slave ships, saying later he really had to be more deeply converted to understand how evil his work was. His childhood sweetheart was a woman whose parents were not happy about him as a potential mate for their daughter. Finally, he married her and reformed. He began to oppose slavery and soon became a passionate abolitionist. He began studying Greek and Hebrew and started writing hymns. The Wesleys encouraged him. He became curate in the Olney parish where he took in William Cowper, the writer of “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” Together they published the Olney Hymnal. Amazing Grace was one of the hymns in the book. What tune it had, we do not know. But it did cross the ocean to America. William Walker, editor of The Southern Harmony , put the text to the tune "New Britain." From there it went on to become more and more popular. Walker added the last stanza to Newton’s hymn. It has become a secular standard around the world. Because it doesn’t mention Jesus it has been acceptable to those without faith. Newton without a doubt meant the grace of Jesus. The movie Amazing Grace tells the story of his work with the great opponent of slavery in England, William Wilberforce, who successfully led the drive to have Parliament ban the slave trade. Mahalia Jackson, one of the first to record it, made it into a spiritual. Johnny Cash made it a Country western song, etc. etc. Played with bagpipes it sounds like it did originally in its home in the celtic regions of Britain. My hymn uses the language of the text and the blind man calling to be healed. Amanda's tune and descant is lovely. LINKS Royal Scots Dragoon Bagpipes https://youtu.be/M8AeV8Jbx6M Mahalia Jackson https://youtu.be/ZJg5Op5W7yw Judy Collin’s version https://youtu.be/AtteRD5bBNQ Soweto Gospel Choir https://youtu.be/ZoJz2SANTyo Mormon Tabernacle Choir https://youtu.be/C2arm5ydeJc Howard University Choir https://youtu.be/C5xYvpXYMuk Gaithers https://youtu.be/qNuQbJst4Lk copyright Wayne Leupod, Editions