Istoria cintecului Maretul Har

De Alex Dorobantu:

Un cintec drag oricui…batrin, tinar, mic, mare…si cu siguranta cunoscut de multi dintre noi. O cintare ce poarta in spate o poveste importanta de-alungul istoriei si cu mare greutate in sufletele noastre, celor care o indragim, celor carora le-am cintat si ascultat versurile cu inima deschisa, simtindu-i importanta chiar si azi, in secolul XXI, adinc in inimile noastre.

O cintare cu o traiectorie de 240 de ani  care de-alungul vietii sale a reusit sa stringa cu sine povesti, taine, dorinte, sperante, bucurii sau dureri, marturii sau cereri…o cintare pe care trebuie sa o cunosti, la fel ca intreaga ei poveste.

Autorul ei este John Newton, nascut in Londra 1725, al carui tata a fost capitan, iar a carui mama, bolnava fiind si constienta de putinul timp ramas pe pamint a avut grija sa-l invete Biblia pe fiul ei. Mama sa a murit cind el avea  7 ani, devenind, asa la o virsta frageda ajutor pe o barca de pescuit cu experiente de-a lungul anilor, periculoase, emotionante, inclusiv dureroase.

Mai tirziu s-a inrolat pe o barca de sclavi unde a ajuns capitan, uitind in tot acest timp de Dumnezeul mamei lui si a Bibliei, devenind unul dintre cei mai mizerabili si de temut comerciant de sclavi. A comerciat cu sute de femei, copii si barbati din Africa, luindu-i de la casele si familiile lor, pentru a fi vinduti ca si sclavi in America. John Newton recunostea ca simtea nevoia sa scape de iad, in realitate iubea pacatul si nu era dispus sa renunte la el.

In fiecare an cadea tot mai jos in pacat, ajungind asa, o persoana josnica pina si pentru echipajul barcii care intr-o ocazie cind beat fiind, a cazut peste bord, acestia pentru a-l salva, au aruncat dupa el un harpon ce i s-a infipt in sold, motiv pentru care a schiopatat toata viata sa.

Biserica la care a predicat Newton

In 1748 o furtuna violenta ameninta cu scufundarea barcii iar Newton cade pe genunchi cerind mila lui Dumnezeu. A fost atunci, imediat dupa ce furtuna s-a oprit, cind a realizat ca exista un Dumnezeu care aude si raspunde rugaciunilor, pina si pentru cel mai rau dintre oameni. A continuat totusi traficul cu sclavi pina cind in finalmente a renuntat caindu-se si devenind predicator si compozitor de cintece religioase.

William Wilberforce (1759-1833)

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A fost deasemenea inspiratia pentru William Wilberforce, un politician englez care timp de 16 ani a luptat impotriva sclaviei propunind guvernului proiecte pentru aceasta, incepind cu 1791 pina cind in 1807 in sfirsit a reusit, multumita credinteianularea sclaviei. A continuat luptind deoarece initial, sclavii deja cumparati nu au fost eliberati, s-a interzis doar continuarea comertului cu sclavi, pina in 1823 cind in sfirsit toti sclavii au fost eliberati.

Probabil ca daca v-as cere un nume de om mare care te inspira vei spune…Napoleon…un om care dupa fiecare batalie mare se culca gindindu-se la batalia ce a purtat-o…la citi oameni a invins pe cimpul de lupta, la citi a omorit…dar William Wilberforce este acel om care atunci cind pune capul pe perna, se poate gindi la toti oamenii pe care i-a eliberat. 16 ani de lupta terminati intr-o victorie asa de mult dorita de catre toate victimele capriciilor economice si de putere ale potentelor mundiale de atunci.

In 1772 John Newton a scris un cintec. Un cintec cunoscut azi sub numele „Maretul Har” sau „Amazing Grace” ca nume original, in engleza…fiind acest cintec marturia sa. A devenit cea mai populara melodie din istorie. Cea mai inregistrata si cea mai cintata de un numar foarte mare de artisti, tradusa in mai multe limbi, ca oricare alta cintare. O cintare cu doar putine note ridica capetele celor fara de speranta si inmoaie inimile celor impietriti… Harul are puterea sa transforme, sa-i indrepte pe cei nedrepti si sa schimbe un om care  odata comercia cu sclavii intr-unul care sa lupte pentru libertatea lor.

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Maretul Har

1. Maretul har m-a mintuit
Pe mine din pacat
Pierdut eram, dar m-a gasit
De moarte m-a scapat
2. Maretul har m-a invatat
S-o rup cu orice rau
Ce scump mi-e azi tot harul dat
Traiesc prin el mereu
3. Dureri, batjocuri, prigoniri
Adese-am intilnit
Prin harul marii Lui iubiri
Eu toate-am biruit
4.Prin har ajunge-voi in cer
Cu slava imbracat
Si voi slavii in vesnicii
Pe Cel ce har mi-a dat.

„Dupa multe pericole, eforturi si piedici am ajuns…si a fost harul cel care ne-a adus in siguranta asa departe, harul care ne va conduce…acasa.”
John Newton

Daca cunoasteti Limba Engleza – Vizionati un film biografic despre William Wilberforce (in Limba Engleza) in care arata si rolul lui John Newton in viata lui Wilberforce.

Christian Biography

William Wilberforce (1759-1833)

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Here’s a tribute to William Wilberforce, written by John Piper in 2007, on the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave:

It was 4 A.M. February 24, 1807. Wilberforce was the chief human instrument in God’s hands for overturning what he called “this horrid trade.” In honor of this anniversary it is fitting to take a few glimpses at the man. Two glimpses encourage us to be ready to give our encouragements to good causes. John Newton, author of the hymn „Amazing Grace,” and John Wesley gave crucial words to Wilberforce. Here’s a snapshot.

To resolve the anguish Wilberforce felt over what to do with his life as a Christian, he resolved to risk seeing John Newton on December 7, 1785—a risk because Newton was an evangelical and not admired or esteemed by Wilberforce’s colleagues in Parliament. He wrote to Newton on December 2:

I wish to have some serious conversation with you. . . . I have had ten thousand doubts within myself, whether or not I should discover myself to you; but every argument against it has its foundation in pride. I am sure you will hold yourself bound to let no one living know of this application, or of my visit, till I release you from the obligation. . . . PS Remember that I must be secret, and that the gallery of the House is now so universally attended, that the face of a member of parliament is pretty well known. (Robert Isaac Wilberforce and Samuel Wilberforce, The Life of William Wilberforce, abridged edition [London,
1843], p. 47.)

It was a historically significant visit. Not only did Newton give encouragement to Wilberforce’s faith, but he also urged him not to cut himself off from public life. Wilberforce wrote about the visit:

After walking about the Square once or twice before I could persuade myself, I called upon old Newton—was much affected in conversing with him—something very pleasing and unaffected in him. He told me he always had hopes and confidence that God would sometime bring me to Him. . . . When I came away I found my mind in a calm, tranquil state, more humbled, and looking more devoutly up to God (ibid., p. 48).

Wilberforce was relieved that the sixty-year-old Newton urged him not to cut himself off from public life. Newton wrote to Wilberforce two years later: “It is hoped and believed that the Lord has raised you up for the good of His church and for the good of the nation” (ibid). One marvels at the magnitude of some small occasions. Think what hung in the balance in that moment of counsel, in view of what Wilberforce would accomplish for the cause of abolition.

Another encouragement came from John Wesley in the last letter he ever wrote before he died. When Wesley was eighty-seven years old (in 1790) he wrote to Wilberforce and said, “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of man and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you” (ibid.).Two years later Wilberforce wrote in a letter, “I daily become more sensible that my work must be affected by constant and regular exertions rather than by sudden and violent ones” (ibid., p. 116). In other words, with fifteen years to go in the first phase of the battle, he knew that only a marathon mentality, rather than a sprint mentality, would prevail in this cause. Thank God for Wesley’s counsel to Wilberforce. from www.desiringGod.org You can read further about Wilberforce here and here. You can also read John Piper’s online book Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce here.

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