Editing Amazing Grace (section)

=== Critical analysis ===
The general impact of ''Olney Hymns'' was immediate and it became a widely popular tool for evangelicals in Britain for many years. Scholars appreciated Cowper's poetry somewhat more than Newton's plaintive and plain language, expressing his forceful personality. The most prevalent themes in the verses written by Newton in ''Olney Hymns'' are faith in salvation, wonder at [[Grace (Christianity)|God's grace]], his love for Jesus, and his cheerful exclamations of the joy he found in his faith.<ref>Benson, p. 339.</ref> As a reflection of Newton's connection to his parishioners, he wrote many of the hymns in [[first-person narrative|first person]], admitting his own experience with sin. Bruce Hindmarsh in ''Sing Them Over Again To Me: Hymns and Hymnbooks in America'' considers "Amazing Grace" an excellent example of Newton's testimonial style afforded by the use of this perspective.<ref name="hindmarsh6">Noll and Blumhofer, p. 6.</ref> Several of Newton's hymns were recognised as great work ("Amazing Grace" was not among them), while others seem to have been included to fill in when Cowper was unable to write.<ref>Benson, p. 338.</ref> [[Jonathan Aitken]] calls Newton, specifically referring to "Amazing Grace", an "unashamedly middlebrow lyricist writing for a lowbrow congregation", noting that only twenty-one of the nearly 150 words used in all six verses have more than one syllable.<ref>Aitken, p. 226.</ref>

William Phipps in the ''[[Anglican Theological Review]]'' and author James Basker have interpreted the first stanza of "Amazing Grace" as evidence of Newton's realisation that his participation in the slave trade was his wretchedness, perhaps representing a wider common understanding of Newton's motivations.<ref name="phipps">Phipps, William (Summer 1990). " 'Amazing Grace' in the hymnwriter's life", ''[[Anglican Theological Review]]'', '''72''' (3), pp. 306–313.</ref><ref name="basker281"/> Newton joined forces with [[William Wilberforce]], the British Member of Parliament who led the Parliamentarian campaign to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire, culminating in the [[Slave Trade Act 1807]]. But Newton did not become an ardent and outspoken [[abolitionist]] until  after he left Olney in the 1780s; he is not known to have connected writing the hymn known as "Amazing Grace" to anti-slavery sentiments.<ref>Aitken, p. 231.</ref>

The lyrics in ''Olney Hymns'' were arranged by their association to the Biblical verses that would be used by Newton and Cowper in their prayer meetings, and did not address any political objective. For Newton, the beginning of the year was a time to reflect on one's spiritual progress. At the same time he completed a diary{{snd}} which has since been lost{{snd}} that he had begun 17 years before, two years after he quit sailing. The last entry of 1772 was a recounting of how much he had changed since then.<ref name="aitken227">Aitken, p. 227.</ref>

{{quote box
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| quote = And David the king came and sat before the {{LORD}}, and said, Who ''am'' I, O {{LORD}} God, and what ''is'' mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And ''yet'' this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast ''also'' spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O {{LORD}} God.
| source = 1 Chronicles 17:16–17, [[King James Bible|King James Version]]
}}

The title ascribed to the hymn, "[[1 Chronicles]] 17:16–17", refers to [[David]]'s reaction to the prophet [[Nathan (prophet)|Nathan]] telling him that God intends to maintain his family line forever. Some Christians interpret this as a prediction that Jesus Christ, as a descendant of David, was promised by God as the salvation for all people.<ref name="hindmarsh8">Noll and Blumhofer, p. 8.</ref> Newton's sermon on that January day in 1773 focused on the necessity to express one's gratitude for God's guidance, that God is involved in the daily lives of Christians though they may not be aware of it, and that patience for deliverance from the daily trials of life is warranted when the glories of eternity await.<ref>Turner, p. 81.</ref> Newton saw himself a sinner like David who had been chosen, perhaps undeservedly,<ref name="watson215"/> and was humbled by it. According to Newton, unconverted sinners were "blinded by the god of this world" until "mercy came to us not only undeserved but undesired&nbsp;... our hearts endeavored to shut him out till he overcame us by the power of his grace."<ref name="aitken227"/>

The [[New Testament]] served as the basis for many of the lyrics of "Amazing Grace". The first verse, for example, can be traced to the story of the [[Prodigal Son]]. In the [[Gospel of Luke]] the father says, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found". The story of Jesus [[Miracles of Jesus#Blind people|healing a blind man]] who tells the [[Pharisees]] that he can now see is told in the [[Gospel of John]]. Newton used the words "I was blind but now I see" and declared "Oh to grace how great a debtor!" in his letters and diary entries as early as 1752.<ref name="aitken228">Aitken, p. 228.</ref> The effect of the lyrical arrangement, according to Bruce Hindmarsh, allows an instant release of energy in the exclamation "Amazing grace!", to be followed by a qualifying reply in "how sweet the sound". In ''An Annotated Anthology of Hymns'', Newton's use of an exclamation at the beginning of his verse is called "crude but effective" in an overall composition that "suggest(s) a forceful, if simple, statement of faith".<ref name="watson215">Watson, p. 215.</ref> Grace is recalled three times in the following verse, culminating in Newton's most personal story of his conversion, underscoring the use of his personal testimony with his parishioners.<ref name="hindmarsh6"/>

The sermon preached by Newton was his last of those that William Cowper heard in Olney, since Cowper's mental instability returned shortly thereafter. One author suggests Newton may have had his friend in mind, employing the themes of assurance and deliverance from despair for Cowper's benefit.<ref>Turner, p. 86.</ref>