The Olney Hymns are an expression of John Newton and William Cooper's personal religious faith and experience, and the reflection of the tenets of the Evangelical faith: -The inherent sinfulness of man. -Religious conversion. -Atonement. -Activism. -Devotion to the Bible. -God's providence. -Believe an eternal life after death. They were primarily written for immediate use in day-to-day use, instead of the Scriptures, in the Newton's ministry of Olney. Here they were sung, or chanted, in church or at Newton's other Sunday and weekday meetings as a collective expression of worship. It was not without controversy, particularly within the official church, the Church of England. They were initially sung to any suitable tune that fitted the rhythm.
Olney was a village of about 2,500 residents whose main industry was making lace by hand. The people were most illiterate and many of them poor.
The Hymn "Amazing Grace" was written in that town to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It was chanted by the congregation and debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. In 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today. It is performed about 10 million times annually.
John Newton (24 July 1725-21 December 1807)was born in Wapping, a district that lies East of the ancient walled City of London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, North of the Thames River. It forms the core of the East End. The use of East End in a pejorative sense began in the late 19th century, as the expansion of the population of London led to extreme overcrowding throughout the area and a concentration of poor people and immigrants in the district that made it up. These problems were exacerbated with the construction of St. Katharine Docks (1827) and the central London railway termini (1840-1875) that caused the clearance of former slums and rookeries, with many of the displaced people moving into the area. Over the course of the century, the East End became synonymous with poverty, overcrowding, disease, and criminality.
John Newton was the only child of John Newton Sr., a shipmaster in the Mediterranean service, and Elizabeth, the only daughter of Simon Scatliff, an instrument maker from London. Elizabeth was brought up as a Nonconformist. She died of tuberculosis in July 1732, about two weeks before John's 7th birthday. Newton spent 2 years al boarding school before going to live in Aveley in Essex, the home of his father 's new wife.
At the age of 11 he first went to sea with his father. He then became a self-educated sea captain, and worked on slave ships in the slave trade for several years. Newton sailed 6 voyages before his father retired in 1742. At that time, Newton's father made plans for him to engage in the sugarcane plantation business in Jamaica. Instead, he signed on with a merchant ship company sailing to the Mediterranean Sea. He wrote an autobiography and published it in 1764, when he was 39 years old. Newton's apparent influence and charisma proved beneficial to him when local evangelist merchant, John Thornton, to whom he has sent a copy of his autobiography, offered the parish. In 1780, at the age of 55, he took the position of Rector at St. Mary Wool-Noth, an Anglican Church, in London.
William Cowper was the son of an Anglican clergyman and well-educated at West-Minster, an independent school within the Prescint of West-Minster Abbey. Now it has the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rates of any school or college in the World. With origins before the 12th century, its schooling tradition dates back as far as 960 CE. William was liable to bouts of severe insanity and depression throughout his adult life, and attempted suicide several times. During a period in an asylum he was counseled by his cousin, Martin Madan, an evangelical clergy man. His new enthusiasm for Evangelicalism, his conversion, and his move to Olney in 1767 brought him into contact with John Newton. The friendship struck Newton since William was a gifted writer who had failed a carrier in law. William enjoyed Olney and eventually became an unpaid curate to Newton's church, helping with the distribution of Thornton's funds. Together, their effect in the congregation was impressive. In 1768, they found it necessary to start a weekly prayer meeting to meet the needs of an increasing number of poor parishioners. They also began writing lessons for children. Because of William's literary influence and the expected verses written by vicars, Newton began to try to pull together them as Hymns with the purpose of made it popular through the language and plain to common people to understand. Several prolific writers were at their most productive level in the 18th century, including Isaac Watts, whose hymns Had grown up hearing, and Charles Wesley, with whom Newton was familiar. Wesley's brother John, the eventual founder of the Methodist Church, had encouraged Newton to go into the clergy. Watts was a pioner in English hymn writing, basing his work after the Psalms. Newton and William attempted to present a poem or hymn for each prayer meeting. The lyrics to "Amazing Grace" were written in late 1772 and used in a prayer meeting for the 1st time on January the 1st, 1773. A collection of the poems written for use in service at Olney was bound and published anonymously in 1779 under the title "Olney Hymns." 1 Chronicles 17: 16-17, Faith Review and Expectation, was the title of the poem with the 1st line "Amazing Grace! (how sweet the sound)."
William Cowper is best known, not just for his contribution to the Olney Hymns, but as a poet, letter-writer, and translator. His works include "The Diverting History of John Gilpin," 1782, "The Task," 1785, and his translation of Homer, published in 1791.
Olney was a village of about 2,500 residents whose main industry was making lace by hand. The people were most illiterate and many of them poor.
The Hymn "Amazing Grace" was written in that town to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It was chanted by the congregation and debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. In 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today. It is performed about 10 million times annually.
John Newton (24 July 1725-21 December 1807)was born in Wapping, a district that lies East of the ancient walled City of London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, North of the Thames River. It forms the core of the East End. The use of East End in a pejorative sense began in the late 19th century, as the expansion of the population of London led to extreme overcrowding throughout the area and a concentration of poor people and immigrants in the district that made it up. These problems were exacerbated with the construction of St. Katharine Docks (1827) and the central London railway termini (1840-1875) that caused the clearance of former slums and rookeries, with many of the displaced people moving into the area. Over the course of the century, the East End became synonymous with poverty, overcrowding, disease, and criminality.
John Newton was the only child of John Newton Sr., a shipmaster in the Mediterranean service, and Elizabeth, the only daughter of Simon Scatliff, an instrument maker from London. Elizabeth was brought up as a Nonconformist. She died of tuberculosis in July 1732, about two weeks before John's 7th birthday. Newton spent 2 years al boarding school before going to live in Aveley in Essex, the home of his father 's new wife.
At the age of 11 he first went to sea with his father. He then became a self-educated sea captain, and worked on slave ships in the slave trade for several years. Newton sailed 6 voyages before his father retired in 1742. At that time, Newton's father made plans for him to engage in the sugarcane plantation business in Jamaica. Instead, he signed on with a merchant ship company sailing to the Mediterranean Sea. He wrote an autobiography and published it in 1764, when he was 39 years old. Newton's apparent influence and charisma proved beneficial to him when local evangelist merchant, John Thornton, to whom he has sent a copy of his autobiography, offered the parish. In 1780, at the age of 55, he took the position of Rector at St. Mary Wool-Noth, an Anglican Church, in London.
William Cowper was the son of an Anglican clergyman and well-educated at West-Minster, an independent school within the Prescint of West-Minster Abbey. Now it has the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rates of any school or college in the World. With origins before the 12th century, its schooling tradition dates back as far as 960 CE. William was liable to bouts of severe insanity and depression throughout his adult life, and attempted suicide several times. During a period in an asylum he was counseled by his cousin, Martin Madan, an evangelical clergy man. His new enthusiasm for Evangelicalism, his conversion, and his move to Olney in 1767 brought him into contact with John Newton. The friendship struck Newton since William was a gifted writer who had failed a carrier in law. William enjoyed Olney and eventually became an unpaid curate to Newton's church, helping with the distribution of Thornton's funds. Together, their effect in the congregation was impressive. In 1768, they found it necessary to start a weekly prayer meeting to meet the needs of an increasing number of poor parishioners. They also began writing lessons for children. Because of William's literary influence and the expected verses written by vicars, Newton began to try to pull together them as Hymns with the purpose of made it popular through the language and plain to common people to understand. Several prolific writers were at their most productive level in the 18th century, including Isaac Watts, whose hymns Had grown up hearing, and Charles Wesley, with whom Newton was familiar. Wesley's brother John, the eventual founder of the Methodist Church, had encouraged Newton to go into the clergy. Watts was a pioner in English hymn writing, basing his work after the Psalms. Newton and William attempted to present a poem or hymn for each prayer meeting. The lyrics to "Amazing Grace" were written in late 1772 and used in a prayer meeting for the 1st time on January the 1st, 1773. A collection of the poems written for use in service at Olney was bound and published anonymously in 1779 under the title "Olney Hymns." 1 Chronicles 17: 16-17, Faith Review and Expectation, was the title of the poem with the 1st line "Amazing Grace! (how sweet the sound)."
William Cowper is best known, not just for his contribution to the Olney Hymns, but as a poet, letter-writer, and translator. His works include "The Diverting History of John Gilpin," 1782, "The Task," 1785, and his translation of Homer, published in 1791.
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