Behold the throne of grace. J. Newton. [The Throne of Grace.] Appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779, Book i.. No. 33, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, and based on 1 Kings iii. 5. Although extensively used both in Great Britain and in America, it is generally in an abridged, and sometimes altered form. In 1781 J. Wesley published the last four stanzas of the original as a hymn in the Arminian Magazine, p. 285, beginning "Since 'tis the Lord's command," but it failed to attract attention, and in that form is unknown to modern hymn-books.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
John Newton (b. London, England, 1725; d. London, 1807) was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumultuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide… Go to person page >
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