The song of the sea was in his blood.

But John Newton could not recognize those melodious strains until he mended his seafaring ways. The son of a merchant ship commander, young Newton grew up plying the Mediterranean ports of call. Years later, as the master of a slave ship himself, Newton was
saved from what he called his life of debauchery by his conversion amid a fierce storm.
Ordained to the ministry in 1764 in the Anglican church, Newton used his pulpit to espouse his Biblical theology and to rail against such social ills as his former livelihood, the abominable slave trade. Yet while his ministry was
popular, his gift for hymn writing would be more enduring. What churchgoer today has not been inspired by Newton's beloved lyrics? The legacy of John Newton- "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds in a Believer's Ear," "Safely Through Another Week God Hath Brought Us on Our Way," "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken," and "Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound"-can very well be regarded as gifts from the seas of God.