My Interest in Cowper

While it could be argued that many people are familiar with John Newton, or at least his most famous hymn, “Amazing Grace”, this doesn’t seem to be true with William Cowper—or at least it wasn’t true with me.

While I had previously heard and sung Cowper’s hymn, “There is a Fountain,” I did not know of William Cowper, nor know that he was the hymn’s writer. I first became aware of him through an updated version of his hymn “God Moves in a Mysterious Way” on Sovereign Grace Music’s Worship God Live album. I later found that same hymn tucked at the end of a chapter of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. My interest was piqued.

I became more interested in Cowper after seeing a short biography on him on the Resurgence. However, I became deeply interested in him and the Olney Hymns after reading a message by John Piper called “John Newton: The Tough Roots of His Habitual Tenderness.”

Piper quotes Newton in the message about Cowper’s extended stay with the pastor:

For nearly 12 years we were seldom separated for seven hours at a time, when we were awake, and at home: the first six I passed daily admiring and aiming to imitate him: during the second six, I walked pensively with him in the valley of the shadow of death.

Finally, as I started to read the Olney Hymns—Cowper’s hymns in particular, I listened to another message by Piper that nearly brought me to tears as I heard of both the terrible tragedies as well as God’s wonderful grace in Cowper’s life.

Well, that’ll be all for now. Be sure to tune in Friday as I release the first of the hymns written by John Newton.

A Bit More Info on the Olney Hymns

Next Friday I will begin posting my arrangements of the Olney Hymns. However, before I get into that, I feel it would be good to assume that you may not know much (if anything) about the hymns.

Wikipedia actually has a rather substantial article on the collection, so I won’t try to rewrite it word-for-word. Rather, I’ll give you a brief overview.

According to the article, the work was first published in February 1779. Each hymn was written by John Newton and William Cowper, and was compiled by Newton. It was originally published for Newton’s parish in Olney, Buckinghamshire. By 1836 there were over 35 editions of the collection, with many of the hymns being reproduced in other hymnals. Arguably the most famous of the hymns is Newton’s “Amazing Grace”.

Before Newton’s conversion, he was a captain of a slave ship. He eventually became a Christian during a violent storm while at sea in March 1748. In 1764, Newton became the priest of the Olney parish and remained there until 1780, when he became Rector of St. Mary Woolnoth in London.

Through most of his adult life, William Cowper often suffered severe bouts of depression. He eventually became a Christian while he as in an asylum as his cousin, an Evangelical clergyman, was counseling him. He met Newton in 1767 when he moved to Olney. Cowper was also well known as a poet and translator.

Of the 384 original hymns, around six are still used regularly in worship today (or so says Wikipedia). To me that means there are many biblical, God honoring texts waiting to be discovered.