1Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,That saved a wretch like me!I once was lost, but now am found,Was blind, but now I see.
2’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,And grace my fears relieved;How precious did that grace appearThe hour I first believed!
3Through many dangers, toils and snaresI have already come;’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,And grace will lead me home.
4The Lord has promised good to me,His word my hope secures;He will my shield and portion beAs long as life endures.
5Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,And mortal life shall cease,I shall possess, within the veil,A life of joy and peace.
6The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,The sun forbear to shine;But God, who call’d me here below,Will be for ever mine.
7When we’ve been there ten thousand years,Bright shining as the sun,We’ve no less days to sing God’s praiseThan when we first begun.
Text from archive.org. Public domain in the US and UK.
Since an organ instrumental of its tune became a best-seller in 1954, it has been associated with funerals and memorial services. (source)
Where it comes in the service
In a Church of England funeral hymns may be sung at any suitable point; the Church's own step-by-step guide places one once everyone has gathered and another after the prayers. At a Catholic funeral Mass there is an entrance song, Communion hymns and a closing hymn at the procession.
Commonly sung: verses 1, 2, 3 and 7: Newton's first three verses with the 'When we've been there ten thousand years' verse, the form E. O. Excell published between 1900 and 1910, which became the standard form in American churches. In step 5 you can tick exactly which verses to print.
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Amazing Grace is in the public domain in the United States (first published 1779; added verse printed 1790 and 1852; Excell's printing 1910) and in the United Kingdom (Newton died 1807; the added verse is anonymous and was published by 1790; E. O. Excell, whose 1910 printing is used for verses 1-3 and 7, died 1921), so the words can be printed in a booklet without permission or a fee.
Printed here as in the source, except: Composite of two printings: verses 1, 2, 3 and 7 are E. O. Excell's text in Coronation Hymns (1910), no. 282 (two archive.org scans checked); verses 4, 5, 6 are Newton's remaining verses from the validated Wikisource transcription of Olney Hymns (1840); Removed the quotation marks Excell prints around each verse; Verse 4: removed the dash after 'good to me,' (printed ',--' in the 1840 Olney Hymns).