Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. – Revelation 10:1

 Today's Scripture Reading (June 6, 2021): Revelation 10

John Newton, long before he wrote his classic poem "Amazing Grace," which was initially entitled "Faith Reviews and Expectations," was a slave trader. And on one of his slave retrieving voyages, a trip that was supposed to take him from Africa to Liverpool, the trader met up with a devastating storm. The storm was so bad, and Newton was so scared that he did what many of us do in terrifying moments; he started to make deals with God. If God would just get him out of this mess, then Newton would change. In the end, God brought him out of his situation. His ship didn't make it to Liverpool, but he landed it safely in on the northern end of Ireland at "Lough Swilly, "which means "Lake of Shadows." And nothing could look more beautiful than the loch on this day.

Twenty-five years later, Newton remembered that day when Ireland appeared on his horizon as he sat down to write "Faith Reviews and Expectations," a poem that begins with the words "Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound." But it is only when we remember that Newton wrote "Amazing Grace" remembering that storm and its aftermath that we begin to understand the depth of the poem.

And that is especially true for the words;

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved.

According to Newton, that moment of fear amid the storm was not about God's retribution or wrath but was a function of God's grace which had been extended to him, as was the moment that he saw "Lough Swilly" on the horizon. Both were examples of what Newton called the amazing grace of God. I am not sure that we see it that way.

John sees another mighty angel. Some experts see Jesus in John's description of this angel. His legs were fiery pillars, he was robed in clouds, his face shone like the sun, and above his head was a rainbow. The appearance of a rainbow above his head was a reminder of God's promise to Noah.

I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth (Genesis 9:11-13).

But maybe, more importantly, a rainbow is what happens when the sun (his face was like the sun) shines through the clouds (He was robed in a cloud). The rainbow is a reminder of God's presence, even in the midst of the storm.

John Newton's storm reminded him of God's grace. It was the rainbow that Newton needed. But Newton's life did not immediately change. It was another six years before Newton quit the slave trade and twenty-five years after his disastrous voyage from Africa to Ireland that he wrote his poem on grace. And he remembered that during the storm, God's presence still shone through, producing a rainbow that promised that God would never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6).   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Revelation 11