¤ ¤
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I'm standing where the tidal
shores of the River Thames in
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were once used as a place of
execution. This is the land of
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execution dock where
pirates were condemned to
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the gallows in the
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15th to 19th centuries.
Today walking in the well known
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district in east London a short
walk away from Tower Bridge and
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the Tower of London. This place
has a rich history of pirates,
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explorers and sailors. But
there's another fascinating
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story of the sea that comes from
this maritime suburb in London.
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Walking was the birthplace of
a man whose life was hardened by
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obstinacy, arrogance
and deliberate disobedience.
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After many years at sea
and mastering slave ships that
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transported thousands of
slaves John Newton found himself
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depressed and totally ashamed of
all he had done. Sometime later
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he wrote a poem that has become
the best known and most loved
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song in all the world. It's a
heartfelt song that was written
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because one man's life was
changed. He finally found inner
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peace and happiness. What
changed his life? Well we'll
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find out what happened in
today's program The Slave Trader
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Amazing Grace.
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¤ ¤
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The golden age of piracy from
1660 to 1730 inspired images of
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buried treasure, swashbuckling
duals and sailing the high seas.
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It was the age of colonial
expansion and trade and pirates
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roamed the seas looting valuable
cargo ships. Many pirates were
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experienced sailors who were
either forced or chose to join
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the pirate ships. Some of
the most famous English pirates
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became household names like
Henry Morgan, William Captain
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Kidd, Calico Jack Rackham
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Bartholomew
Roberts and the fearsome
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Blackbeard or Edward Teach.
Another well-known English
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pirate was William
Dampier. He was a privateer or a
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pirate who had
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permission from his king to
attack other countries' ships.
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He was also an explorer and
navigator in the late 1600s who
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sailed far and wide. These
stairs, the Wapping old stairs
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lead down to execution dock, the
site where pirates were tried
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and hanged by the admiralty
court for over 400 years. The
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gibbet or hanging gallows is
constructed offshore beyond the
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low watermark. The pirates
bodies would be left hanging on
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display until they had been
submerged three times by the
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tide It still stands here as
a reminder of bygone days when
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pirates such as Captain Kidd
faced their end here. Another
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famous place that is of par-
ticular interest to Australians
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and New Zealanders is the Bell Z
right next to execution dock and
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it was run by Samuel Batts whose
daughter Elizabeth married James
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Cook, explorer, navigator and
captain in the Royal Navy who
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who stayed in the Inn
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and is most famous for
his discovery and charting of
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New Zealand and the
east coast of Australia.
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This dockside suburb
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of London on the River
Thames has had a strong maritime
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character for centuries. In the
1700s it was a place for ship
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wrights, sailors, mast
makers and all other trades that
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supported the sailors and
seafarers. One of these
shipmasters was John
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Newton, Sr. and on the 4th of
August 1725 a son John was born
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to him and his wife Elizabeth
here in Wapping. Elizabeth was
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religious and taught her son
Christian principles and values.
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The family lived happily here
until tragedy struck. John was
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nearly seven when his mother
passed away from tuberculosis.
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He was heartbroken. John spent
the next two years at boarding
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school before going to live with
his father and his new wife at
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Abilene, Essex. John had become
undisciplined and unruly and so
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at the young age of 11 his
father took him to sea to start
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an apprenticeship on a merchant
navy ship. His first full voyage
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was on one of his father's ships
Newton found his father distant
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and aloof and this troubled the
young Newton. He made five more
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voyages through his teenage
years until his father retired
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in 1742. Back on land
Newton worked in a merchant's
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office until he
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lost his job due to what was
described as uncivil behavior
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and impatience of restraint.
This headstrong disobedience
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became the pattern of young
John's behavior and lifestyle.
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In 1743, while on his way
home from visiting a friend he
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stopped at a Wapping pub. He was
captured and pressed into the
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naval service aboard the H.M.S.
Howard. At this time when a navy
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ship didn't have enough sailors
to operate the ship a group of
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the ship's sailors would go into
the nearby pubs and force the
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young men into working on the
ship. Although Newton eventually
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became a midshipman aboard
the H.M.S. Howard he rebelled
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against the discipline of the
Royal Navy and tried to desert.
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He was caught, put in irons and
punished in front of the crew of
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315. Newton was stripped to his
waist and tied to the grating
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where he was received a flogging
of eight dozen lashes and then
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demoted to a common seaman.
Despite this experience he
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remained arrogant and
insubordinate. He eventually
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convinced his superiors to
discharge him to the Pegasus
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a goods and slave trading ship
bound for west Africa. Newton
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didn't get along with the crew
of the Pegasus and so in 1745
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they left him in west Africa
with a slave trader named Clough
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who owned a lemon tree
plantation on an island off the
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coast. But Clough treated
him cruelly and he soon found
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himself a slave to Clough's
African mistress. She abused and
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mistreated Newton as much as the
other slaves. Newton was now a
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servant of slaves. His clothes
soon turned to rags. He was
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beaten and forced to beg for
food just to survive. It was one
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of the lowest times in his life.
Hearing of his plight, Newton's
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father asked a friend to search
for his son. Newton was found in
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1747 and began the long homeward
journey to England. Off the
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coast of Donegal in Ireland
the ship was overtaken by an
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enormous and almost sank. Before
the storm Newton began reading
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the Bible. In desperation and
fear of drowning he cried out to
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God for help although he
did agree later that he didn't
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consider himself a believer in
the full sense of the word. But
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after this experience he did try
to avoid swearing and gambling.
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But surprisingly despite
his recent experiences Newton
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refused to give up slave trading
He still continued to serve as a
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mate and then as a captain
on a number of slave ships
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and all this
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happened before he was 23 years
old. The transatlantic slave
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trade involved the
transportation of enslaved
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African people mainly to the
Americas from the 16th to the
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19th centuries. The Portuguese
were the first to engage in this
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trade with a slave voyage
to Brazil and other European
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countries soon followed. At this
time in history these western
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European countries were
vying with each other to create
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overseas empires. Shipowners
and crew regarded the slaves
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as mere cargo to be transported
to the Americas as quickly as
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possible. The conditions aboard
the ship were horrible and
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disgusting. Newton
faced mounting criticism for
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continuing in the slave
trade after professing to be a
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Christian. But he excused
his actions by saying the slave
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trading was an excepted practice
at that time and there were
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thousands of slaveholders in
the colonies who were profiting
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from the slave trade. Newton
continued in the slave trade as
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a ship's captain. He knew his
behavior was evil and cruel and
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his conscience troubled
him. Newton became increasingly
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disgusted with the slave trade
and abhorred his role in it.
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But even though he'd left
the slave trade he couldn't
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get rid of his guilt.
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He felt terrible about all the
bad things he'd done. He just
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couldn't forget that he'd taken
thousands of people to a life of
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slavery and ruined their lives
forever. He couldn't forget that
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he showed no compassion for
his cargo, for these people. He
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chained them below the decks to
prevent suicide. The slaves were
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laid side by side to save space
row after row, one after another
00:11:06.33\00:11:11.80
until his vessel squeezed in as
many as 600 Africans. And if a
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slave became ill during the
voyage he was tossed overboard
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to prevent the infection from
spreading. John Newton realized
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that he'd done terrible things
and that he was nothing but a
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wretch and he felt wretched,
filled with guilt. In his
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desperation to find inner peace
he turned to religion and began
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studying the Bible along with
the writings of reformers John
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Calvin and Martin Luther.
As he read the Bible he made a
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discovery that changed his life
forever. He discovered grace.
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And it's absolutely amazing! He
discovered that God doesn't stop
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loving you when you make
mistakes and mess up, even when
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you're ridiculously bad and
you make mistakes over and over
00:12:03.82\00:12:08.12
again. God won't stop loving us.
God understands our failures and
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loves us anyway. That's grace.
That's God's gift. Here's what
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it says in Ephesians
chapter two and verse eight:
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It finally dawned on Newton that
God forgives us for the mistakes
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we've made regardless of how big
bad or ugly they may be and it
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doesn't matter how many times
we've made the same mistake. God
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still forgive us completely and
thoroughly. John Newton realized
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that God hates sin but he loves
the sinner. God hates mistakes
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but he loves the people who make
them. We don't deserve God's
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love and forgiveness, but God
loves us anyway and will never
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stop loving us. That's God's
amazing grace! It's a uniquely
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Christian concept and it's a
theme found only in the Bible
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and it changed Newton's life
forever. Finally, he had inner
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peace. His guilt was gone. You
see the Christain life isn't a
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mistake-free life but it can be
a guilt-free life. Newton was so
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overwhelmed by this amazing
grace that he wanted to share
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the good news with everyone.
A sense of service began to grow
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in him and Newton studied to
become a minister. After several
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years of intense study and
commitment he quit his job in
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Liverpool and accepted a
position as a church curate in
00:14:01.84\00:14:05.77
the Anglican church of St.
Peter and St. Paul in Olney,
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Buckinghamshire. Olney is a
market town about 90 km. north
00:14:09.68\00:14:15.85
of London and is surrounded by
beautiful English countryside.
00:14:15.88\00:14:19.59
It's famous for its annual
pancake race which first began
00:14:19.62\00:14:23.96
in 1445 when a housewife hearing
the church bell ran outside with
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her frying pan tossing a pancake
so it wouldn't stick to the pan
00:14:29.73\00:14:33.94
as she ran to the church.
The tradition has continued ever
00:14:33.97\00:14:38.27
since and today on Stroh Tuesday
each year the women of Olney
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draped in a kitchen apron
and head scarf like the first
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housewife and carrying a frying
pan flip their pancakes as they
00:14:46.88\00:14:51.59
run from the marketplace to the
Church of St. Peter and St. Paul
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a distance of over 400 meters.
Newton arrived in Olney in 1764
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and took up his position as
minister of this very church
00:15:03.30\00:15:07.10
St. Peter and St. Paul. He
received a meager wage of 60
00:15:07.14\00:15:11.37
pounds a year to live on,
the equivalent of about 20,000
00:15:11.41\00:15:15.51
dollars today. At that
time Olney was a village with a
00:15:15.54\00:15:20.45
population of about 2500 people
Its main cottage industry was
00:15:20.48\00:15:25.72
lace making. Living in the
courts and alleyways of High
00:15:25.75\00:15:29.99
Street most of the population
were illiterate and poor and
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sadly as cottage industries
waned during the industrial
00:15:34.23\00:15:37.67
revolution many of the lace
makers here faced starvation.
00:15:37.70\00:15:42.67
This troubled John Newton and
this changed man who in the past
00:15:42.70\00:15:48.01
had treated humans as mere goods
to buy and sell now felt great
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compassion for those in need.
He desperately wanted to help. A
00:15:52.81\00:15:58.75
wealthy merchant, John Thornton,
agreed to supplement John
00:15:58.79\00:16:03.19
Newton's meager stipend with an
additional 200 pounds a year so
00:16:03.22\00:16:08.00
he could help the poor in
the area with food and basic
00:16:08.03\00:16:11.83
supplies. John soon became known
for his pastoral care of the
00:16:11.87\00:16:16.44
people in Olney and also as
a powerful preacher. Newton's
00:16:16.47\00:16:21.94
preaching was unique at this
time as he shared many of his
00:16:21.98\00:16:25.61
own struggles and experiences
with his congregation. He shared
00:16:25.65\00:16:30.05
with them how he struggled with
the burden of guilt carried due
00:16:30.09\00:16:33.92
to his involvement in the slave
trade and mistakes of the past.
00:16:33.96\00:16:37.66
He shared the peace he had found
in his belief in God and the
00:16:37.69\00:16:44.67
assurance he had been forgiven.
Soon many people came to hear
00:16:44.70\00:16:47.67
him preach and a gallery
had to be added to the church to
00:16:47.70\00:16:51.57
accommodate the crowds that
came to hear him speak. In 1767,
00:16:51.61\00:16:59.48
three years after Newton arrived
William Cowper, the poet, moved
00:16:59.51\00:17:04.49
to Olney. Cowper was one of the
most popular poets of his time
00:17:04.52\00:17:08.99
and is credited with changing
the direction of 18th century
00:17:09.02\00:17:13.93
poetry by writing about
every day life and scenes of the
00:17:13.96\00:17:18.83
English countryside. For the New
Year's sermon a few years later
00:17:18.87\00:17:23.24
Newton focused on the importance
of expressing gratefulness to
00:17:23.27\00:17:28.88
God for his love and mercy.
He spoke of the New Testament
00:17:28.91\00:17:32.88
stories of the prodigal son and
the healing of the blind man and
00:17:32.91\00:17:37.15
ending with his own
personal story of redemption and
00:17:37.19\00:17:39.95
acceptance of the grace of God.
He wrote a hymn to illustrate
00:17:39.99\00:17:44.69
the sermon on this New Year's
day in 1773. It was a powerful
00:17:44.73\00:17:50.90
personal expression of his
own life's experience. He opened
00:17:50.93\00:17:55.60
with the now famous words,
Amazing grace! how sweet the
00:17:55.64\00:18:00.68
sound that saved a wretch like
me. It's not known if there was
00:18:00.71\00:18:05.68
any music accompanying the
verses because at the time hymns
00:18:05.71\00:18:10.29
didn't have specific music
connected to them the way they
00:18:10.32\00:18:13.96
do today. The song was first
printed in 1779 in Newton and
00:18:13.99\00:18:19.96
Cowper's Olney Hymns. Newton
combined 280 of his own hymns
00:18:20.00\00:18:25.07
with 68 of Cowper's in what
was to become the popular Olney
00:18:25.10\00:18:30.94
Hymns. The most famous of these
hymns were first called Faith's
00:18:30.97\00:18:35.94
Review and Expectation.
Although it's not known exactly
00:18:35.98\00:18:40.32
how the song made its way
to the United States and it did
00:18:40.35\00:18:44.92
become very popular there.
It became known by the title
00:18:44.95\00:18:48.86
Amazing Grace. In 1835 William
Walker, an American Baptist song
00:18:48.89\00:18:56.06
leader joined the verses with
the tune named New Britain which
00:18:56.10\00:19:00.94
is the melody we all know and
love today. Walker's tune book
00:19:00.97\00:19:06.61
of songs, Southern Harmony, was
enormously popular and sold over
00:19:06.64\00:19:11.85
600,000 copies when
the population of America
00:19:11.88\00:19:15.85
was only around 20 million.
00:19:15.88\00:19:17.22
The sixth verse of
Amazing Grace which begins with
00:19:17.29\00:19:22.26
When we've been there 10,000
years was not written by Newton,
00:19:22.29\00:19:28.03
but was added by Harriet Beecher
Stowe who used the song in her
00:19:28.06\00:19:32.53
antislavery novel Uncle Tom's
Cabin. The song with it's simple
00:19:32.57\00:19:39.34
message that forgiveness
and redemption are possible
00:19:39.37\00:19:42.94
regardless of the sins committed
touched the hearts of many of
00:19:42.98\00:19:46.58
many of its listeners.
The message that you can be
00:19:46.61\00:19:50.42
delivered from your struggles
and despair through the great
00:19:50.45\00:19:53.69
mercy of God is a message of
hope. Though a spiritual song it
00:19:53.72\00:20:00.06
even occasionally appears
on popular music charts. It's
00:20:00.10\00:20:04.73
estimated that it is performed
more than 10 million times every
00:20:04.77\00:20:10.07
year. In 1779 after 16 years at
Olney John Newton was invited to
00:20:10.11\00:20:18.58
become the rector of St. Mary
Woolnoth church on Lombard St.
00:20:18.61\00:20:22.75
in London. John became popular
amongst Christians of many
00:20:22.78\00:20:26.79
denominations and many people
came to hear his sermons about
00:20:26.82\00:20:30.83
God and His amazing grace. St.
Mary Woolnoth is a magnificent
00:20:30.86\00:20:38.80
church in the baroque style.
It's one of the beautiful Queen
00:20:38.83\00:20:42.57
Anne churches designed by the
then famous architect Nicholas
00:20:42.60\00:20:46.81
Hawksmoor. Today the church
is still a place of prayer and
00:20:47.28\00:20:52.08
reflection. Young Christians
and people struggling with their
00:20:52.11\00:20:58.19
faith came to St. Mary's to
speak to John Newton and seek
00:20:58.22\00:21:02.29
his advice. Among them were well
known social people including a
00:21:02.32\00:21:07.50
young William Wilberforce,
a member of parliament and a
00:21:07.53\00:21:11.00
philanthropist. Newton became a
mentor to Wilberforce and had a
00:21:11.03\00:21:16.27
great influence on him
especially regarding the evils
00:21:16.30\00:21:19.61
of the slave trade. Wilberforce
was seriously considering
00:21:19.64\00:21:23.75
leaving politics but Newton
convinced him to remain in
00:21:23.78\00:21:27.62
parliament and serve God there.
Wilberforce took his advice and
00:21:27.65\00:21:32.59
remained in politics. He
dedicated his life to fighting
00:21:32.62\00:21:37.16
the slave trade in parliament.
Newton and Wilberforce
00:21:37.19\00:21:41.20
collaborated in the fight
to abolish slavery and 34 years
00:21:41.23\00:21:46.13
after Newton retired from
the slave trade he published a
00:21:46.17\00:21:49.94
forceful pamphlet Thoughts
Upon the Slave Trade in which he
00:21:49.97\00:21:54.04
described his remorse for
his involvement in this evil and
00:21:54.08\00:21:58.21
cruel trade. Newton had copies
sent to every MP and lived to
00:21:58.25\00:22:03.82
see the British government
pass the Slave Trade Act in 1807
00:22:03.85\00:22:08.82
that prohibited the slave
trade in the British empire and
00:22:09.56\00:22:12.33
ultimately led to Slave
Abolition Act in 1833. Plagued
00:22:12.36\00:22:19.37
by ill health and failing eye
sight Newton died on the 21st
00:22:19.40\00:22:23.57
of December1807 in London.
He was buried beside his wife in
00:22:23.61\00:22:29.14
St. Mary Woolnoth in London but
later they were reinterred at
00:22:29.18\00:22:33.28
the St. Peter and St. Paul Olney
church in 1893. And so John
00:22:33.31\00:22:39.59
Newton the slave trader who
experienced God's amazing grace
00:22:39.62\00:22:43.73
is buried here beside his
wife in the churchyard at Olney.
00:22:43.76\00:22:48.36
He's memorialized by his self
made epitaph before his death.
00:22:48.40\00:22:53.00
It reads: John Newton Clark
once an infidel and libertine a
00:22:53.03\00:23:00.28
servant of slaves in Africa was
by the rich mercy of our Lord
00:23:00.31\00:23:04.35
and Saviour Jesus Christ,
preserved, restored, pardoned,
00:23:04.38\00:23:09.95
and appointed to preach the
faith he had long labored to
00:23:09.98\00:23:13.19
destroy near 16 years as curate
of this parish and 28 years as
00:23:13.22\00:23:19.66
Rector of St. Mary Woolnoth.
John Newton described himself in
00:23:19.69\00:23:30.07
one simple sentence: I'm a great
sinner, but Christ is a great
00:23:30.11\00:23:36.75
Saviour. His story gives us
all hope. Even the greatest of
00:23:36.78\00:23:41.12
sinners can ultimately and
meaningfully repent and find
00:23:41.15\00:23:45.79
forgiveness and inner peace.
You see, God doesn't love you
00:23:45.82\00:23:50.09
because of who you are or what
you've done, but because of who
00:23:50.13\00:23:55.00
He is and what He's done.
God made you, He loves you and
00:23:55.03\00:24:01.70
that's it. Nothing changes that.
He loves you as much on your
00:24:01.74\00:24:06.37
bad days as He does on
your good days. His love is not
00:24:06.41\00:24:11.45
performance based. God looks
at you and says: I chose to love
00:24:11.48\00:24:16.69
you and nothing will stop
me loving you. That's grace and
00:24:16.72\00:24:22.29
it's absolutely amazing. It
not only forgives, it changes,
00:24:22.32\00:24:27.90
transforms, rewires everyone who
entered into a relationship with
00:24:27.93\00:24:33.77
Jesus. If you'd like to
experience that grace and find
00:24:33.80\00:24:37.74
true inner peace and happiness,
why not ask for it right now as
00:24:37.77\00:24:43.08
we pray.
00:24:43.11\00:24:45.51
Dear heavenly Father, we have
all made mistakes in life and
00:24:45.55\00:24:49.88
have done things that we know
are wrong. We are sinners. But
00:24:49.92\00:24:53.96
we are so thankful that you
still love us and forgive us
00:24:53.99\00:24:57.53
when we accept Jesus and are
sorry for our sins. Thank you
00:24:57.56\00:25:02.96
for your amazing grace that
saved us even though we don't
00:25:03.00\00:25:06.74
deserve it. Please make your
face shine on us and grant us
00:25:06.77\00:25:13.11
peace. We ask this
in Jesus' name, Amen.
00:25:13.14\00:25:17.15
If you're facing challenges
in life and would like to
00:25:17.18\00:25:22.42
experience God's grace and find
inner peace and happiness then
00:25:22.45\00:25:26.86
I'd like to recommend a free
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today. It's the book Steps to
Christ. This book is our gift to
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Phone or text us at 0436-333-555
or visit our website www.tij.tv
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Call or text 0436-333-555 in
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So don't delay. Call or text
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or text us now.
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The Incredible Journey and
Pastor Gary Kent with Pastor
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Louis Torres and Carol Torres
as the principal trainers are
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opening a Bible College in
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This 14-week program will give
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effective co-laborer with
Christ to carry the message of a
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crucified, risen, and soon
coming Saviour to the whole
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world. For more information and
to register phone or text us at
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0481-315-101 Email us at
info@tij.tv or visit our website
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at TiJ.tv/events. Be sure to
join us again next week when we
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will share another of life's
journeys together. Until then
remember the ultimate
00:27:47.33\00:27:52.00
destination of life's journey.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new
00:27:52.03\00:27:56.74
earth. And God will wipe
away every tear from their eyes.
00:27:56.77\00:28:00.38
There shall be no more death nor
sorrow nor crying. There shall
00:28:00.41\00:28:04.48
be no more pain for the
former things have passed away.
00:28:04.51\00:28:09.72
¤ ¤
00:28:09.75\00:28:24.53