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John Newton
John Newton (1725–1807) was an English preacher, hymn-writer, and former slave trader whose dramatic conversion and ministry profoundly influenced evangelical Christianity. Born in Wapping, London, to John Newton, a merchant ship captain, and Elizabeth Scatliff, a devout Nonconformist who died when he was seven, Newton was raised by his stepmother after his father remarried. Pressed into the Royal Navy at 19, he later joined the slave trade, captaining ships like the Duke of Argyle by 1750, a life marked by cruelty and debauchery until a violent storm off Ireland in 1748 sparked his spiritual awakening at age 22. Self-educated in theology, he left the trade in 1755, becoming a surveyor of tides in Liverpool while pursuing ministry. In 1757, he married Mary Catlett, his childhood sweetheart, with whom he had no surviving children, though they adopted two orphaned nieces. Newton’s preaching career began after his ordination in the Church of England in 1764, when he was appointed curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, serving there until 1780. His sermons, rich with personal testimony, drew large crowds and fostered a collaboration with poet William Cowper, producing the Olney Hymns (1779), including Newton’s famous “Amazing Grace.” In 1780, he became rector of St. Mary Woolnoth in London, where he preached until nearly blind and deaf, mentoring younger evangelicals like William Wilberforce in the abolitionist cause he embraced late in life, detailed in his 1788 pamphlet Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade. Newton died on December 21, 1807, in London, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose journey from sin to grace inspired hymns, sermons, and a movement against slavery that echoed beyond his time.
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John Newton delves into the mysterious world of dreams, highlighting how our minds continue to work even as our bodies rest, suggesting a deeper spiritual connection. He emphasizes the significance of dreams as potential messages from God, urging listeners to pay attention to the lessons and warnings they may contain. Newton reflects on the transient nature of life, likening it to a dream that will fade away when confronted by the reality of death, as described in Isaiah 29:8.
Scriptures
On Dreaming
When slumber seals our weary eyes, The busy fancy wakeful keeps; The scenes which then before us rise, Prove something in us never sleeps. 2 As in another world we seem, A new creation of our own, All appears real, though a dream, And all familiar, though unknown. 3 Sometimes the mind beholds again The past day's business in review, Resumes the pleasure or the pain; And sometimes all we meet is new. 4 What schemes we form, what pains we take! We fight, we run, we fly, we fall; But all is ended when we wake, We scarcely then a trace recall. 5 But though our dreams are often wild, Like clouds before the driving storm; Yet some important may be styl'd, Sent to admonish or inform. 6 What mighty agents have access, What friends from heav'n, or foes from hell, Our minds to comfort or distress, When we are sleeping, who can tell? 7 One thing, at least, and 'tis enough, We learn from this surprising fact; Our dreams afford sufficient proof, The soul, without the flesh, can act. 8 This life, which mortals so esteem, That many choose it for their all, They will confess, was but a dream,*** When 'waken'd by death's awful call. ***Isaiah 29:8
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John Newton (1725–1807) was an English preacher, hymn-writer, and former slave trader whose dramatic conversion and ministry profoundly influenced evangelical Christianity. Born in Wapping, London, to John Newton, a merchant ship captain, and Elizabeth Scatliff, a devout Nonconformist who died when he was seven, Newton was raised by his stepmother after his father remarried. Pressed into the Royal Navy at 19, he later joined the slave trade, captaining ships like the Duke of Argyle by 1750, a life marked by cruelty and debauchery until a violent storm off Ireland in 1748 sparked his spiritual awakening at age 22. Self-educated in theology, he left the trade in 1755, becoming a surveyor of tides in Liverpool while pursuing ministry. In 1757, he married Mary Catlett, his childhood sweetheart, with whom he had no surviving children, though they adopted two orphaned nieces. Newton’s preaching career began after his ordination in the Church of England in 1764, when he was appointed curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, serving there until 1780. His sermons, rich with personal testimony, drew large crowds and fostered a collaboration with poet William Cowper, producing the Olney Hymns (1779), including Newton’s famous “Amazing Grace.” In 1780, he became rector of St. Mary Woolnoth in London, where he preached until nearly blind and deaf, mentoring younger evangelicals like William Wilberforce in the abolitionist cause he embraced late in life, detailed in his 1788 pamphlet Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade. Newton died on December 21, 1807, in London, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose journey from sin to grace inspired hymns, sermons, and a movement against slavery that echoed beyond his time.