William CowperGod’s Depressed Hymn

Writer

Why William Cowper?

His Birth Date

His Hymns and Poetry

His Problems and Suffering

William Cowper

Cowper was born on November 15, 1731 and died in 1800

He was a contemporary of Wesley, Whitefield and other leaders of the evangelical revival in England.

He was greatly influenced by John Newton.

His poetry was known by the likes of Benjamin Franklin

Whitefield’s Preaching

Brutal mobs sometimes attacked Whitefield and his followers, maiming people and stripping women naked. Whitefield received three letters with death threats, and once he was stoned until nearly dead.

William Cowper-Early life

His father was a minister but William grew up with no saving knowledge of Christ.

His mother died when he was six years old.

His father failed him in many ways, not the least was sending him away to Pitman’s Boarding School from ages six to ten.

After Pitman’s he attended Westminster and learned French, Latin, and Greek very, very well.

Cowper’s First Depression

In 1752 (21 years old)Cowper became controlled by what was to be the first of four major battles with mental problems.

He was helped by a change of scenery, but later in life was haunted by the fact that he did not give God the glory for this change.

This along with many other things caused him to feel, in later life, like a reprobate.

The Roots of His Depression

Cowper writes of his time at the boarding school: But my chief affliction consisted in my being singled

out from all the other boys, by a lad about fifteen years of age as a proper object upon which he might let loose the cruelty of his temper. I choose to forbear a particular recital of the many acts of barbarity, with which he made it his business continually to persecute me: it will be sufficient to say, that he had, by his savage treatment of me, impressed such a dread of his figure upon my mind, that I well remember being afraid to lift up my eyes upon him, higher than his knees; and that I knew him by his shoe-buckles, better than any other part of his dress. May the Lord pardon him, and may we meet in glory

Cowper’s Love

Cowper began courting his cousin Theodora between 1749 and 1756.

They were engaged to be married but Theodora’s father forbade the marriage.

His reason was consanguinity. This seems strange given that he

had allowed the courting to go on for seven years and develop into an engagement.

Neither of them ever married.

Cowper’s Love

He wrote at least 19 poems to her as “Delia” This one was written years after their parting:

But now, sole partner in my Delia’s Heart,

Yet doomed far off in exile to complain Eternal absence cannot ease my smart And hope subsists but to prolong my

pain

Cowper’s Second Depression

William had been appointed to be clerk of journals in Parliament.

He was faced with a public interrogation and was so afraid that he tried three times to commit suicide and was placed into St. Alban’s Insane asylum.

The asylum was actually (amazingly) good for William because of Dr. Nathanial Cotton, and evangelical Christian

Cowper’s Conversion

While in the Asylum he felt compelled to turn to the Bible.

He opened the Scriptures and the first verse that he saw was Romans 3:25

25 whom God set forth bas a propitiation by His

blood, through faith, to demonstrate His

righteousness, because in His forbearance God had

passed over the sins that were previously

committed,

Cowper and John Newton

Cowper went to live with the Unwin family in Huntingdon.

There was Mary Unwin, her husband, and two children.

Mary’s Husband died in a horse accident.

Newton, in Olney, went to visit them.

Cowper and Newton

The Unwins moved to Olney to be in Newton’s church.

For years Newton spent a great deal of effort trying to help Cowper and keep him alive.

Cowper said of Newton: “A sincerer or more affectionate friend no man ever had.”

Together they wrote the “Olney Hymn Book” which contained Amazing Grace, God Moves in a Mysterious Way , There is a Fountain Filled with Blood

Cowper’s Dream

Cowper’s breakdowns had always been in January and now, ten years from the “Dreadful 63” came the third one in 1773.

During this time he had what he called the “fateful dream” in which he was told: “It is all over with you, you are lost.”

Cowper spent the rest of his life believing that he was the one person beyond the love of Christ and even wrote a poem called “The Castaway.”

Lessons from the life of Cowper 1. Be careful about sending your

children away. 2. Be careful about what you have

your children read. Cowper’s father had him read a treatise on Suicide and comment on its argument.

See what Cowper said about his father

Lessons (Continued)

I well recollect when I was about eleven years of age, my father desired me to read a vindication of self-murder, and give him my sentiments upon the question: I did so, and argued against it. My father heard my reasons, and was silent, neither approving nor disapproving; from whence I inferred that he sided with the author against me

Lessons (Continued_

3. Be carful to distrust the certainties of despair.

4. Be slow to judge others who suffer mental health difficulties.

William Cooper

William Cowper- God’s Depressed Poet who fell asleep (died) in the dark, but woke up in the light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6sXbHuATvo