A glance from heaven, with sweet effect

"A glance from heaven, with sweet effect" is an eighteenth-century hymn by the Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton, widely known for his authorship of "Amazing Grace." Unlike many of his purely scriptural compositions, this hymn uses a natural phenomenon to draw a striking spiritual analogy, exploring the deep moral and spiritual reflections suggested by witnessing lightning flash across a dark night.

The hymn was first published in the Gospel Magazine in April 1775. A few years later, Newton included it in the monumental Olney Hymns (1779), which he co-authored with his close friend and poet William Cowper.

Within the Olney Hymns, the piece is found in Book II under entry number 84, structured in seven stanzas of four lines. The text compares the sudden, illuminating power of a lightning bolt to the instantaneous work of divine grace, which can pierce a sinner's darkened heart and instantly reveal the pathway of truth.

The hymn's reflective nature made it a favorite among later compilation editors who valued thoughtful, poetic expressions of faith. It was included as hymn number 301 in James Martineau's highly regarded Hymns for the Christian Church and Home (published between 1840 and 1851), and it also appeared as hymn number 429 in John Hamilton Thom's Hymns, Chants, and Anthems in 1858.