In Hereforsdshire, England, in 1731, the Reverend John Cowper and his wife, . . .
In
Hereforsdshire, England, in 1731, the Reverend John Cowper and his wife, Ann
Donne, welcomed a little baby boy into the world. They named him William; and like most
first-time parents, they showered him with love and attention. But William’s idyllic childhood proved short
lived. When he was just six years old,
his mother suddenly took ill and died.
As a result,
young William was sent to the Pittman’s Boarding School in Bedfordshire. Although he excelled in his studies, his shy
nature made him an easy target, and he was routinely bullied by the older kids. He became withdrawn and reclusive, and often
struggled with depression. Upon
graduation, he apprenticed to a solicitor with an eye toward practicing law,
but found that he had no passion for the public life of an attorney.
Through the
influence of his father, who managed to pull a few strings, William was
appointed Commissioner of Bankrupts in London.
Four years later he was preparing to be named Clerk of Journals in
Parliament. It represented a huge
advancement for William’s career, but it also brought about a severe panic
attack—so much so that he suffered a complete nervous breakdown. On three separate occasions he attempted
suicide, and eventually he was committed to St. Albans Insane Asylum.
When he was
finally released two years later, he moved in with the Unwin family of
Huntington. Mary Unwin had befriended
William while doing mission work at the asylum, and became like a mother to the
troubled young man. The Unwins
worshipped at a church in Olney, where John Newton was the pastor—the same John
Newton who authored the well-known hymn “Amazing Grace.”
Newton
recognized William’s talent for poetry and encouraged him to think about
writing some hymns for the congregation to sing. Over the course of his life, William wrote
dozens of hymns; but he had not escaped his demons
entirely. One night, after sinking into
a deep depression, he decided to commit suicide by drowning himself. He called a cab and told the driver to take
him to the Thames River. However, a
thick fog came down and prevented them from finding the river. After driving around lost for a while, the
cabby finally stopped and let William out.
To his astonishment, William found himself on his own doorstep.
Convinced that
it was the hand of God that had saved him, William Cowper wrote the familiar
words of the hymn that we still sing today:
God
moves in mysterious ways
His wonders to perform:
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
His wonders to perform:
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
And now, as
Paul Harvey used to intone, you know the rest of the story!
1 Comments:
That hymn is amazing. I don't know that I had heard it so googled it for all the verses. Knowing the story behind it makes it so meaningful.
By Anonymous, at 5:54 AM
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