©1993, Evangelical Press, 688 pp., hbk.

I enjoy reading about the authors of Christian hymns. Very often knowledge of the authors sheds light on the hymns they have written. Cowper wrote a number of hymns that are familiar to Christians. These include. “God Moves In a Mysterious Way”, “The Spirit Breathes Upon The Word”, and “There Is A Fount Filled With Blood”.

William Cowper was born into a Christian home in 1731. As a child he was faithfully taught God’s word. His youth was a time of trouble and turmoil. A number of siblings died at very young ages. His mother died in 1737. Sadly, he was told that she had gone away on a long trip. He only learned the truth later. He was born into a family that had been troubled by depression His grieving father now faced the reality and dangers of depression. Young William was sent to a boarding school after his mother’s death.

There he not only felt the loss of home and family life but was confronted by a school bully. In a few years he began to daily see his cousin, Theodora. After seven years of seeing one another regularly, they parted, never to see one another again, because they realized they could never marry. By this time in Cowper’s life, evidence was clear that he had to do battle with depression.

Cowper became a Christian with strong Calvinist beliefs, which he loved to express in poetry. He is known today by Christians as a hymn composer. However in his day he was known throughout England, and beyond, as an excellent author of verse that was eagerly read by a public desirous of the latest poems from his pen. The poet was gifted not only in the use of words but also in learning other languages. He translated the Odyssey and also penned poems in English and Latin.

The author is extremely knowledgeable of his subject and is desirous to show Cowper’s Christian commitment in the midst of great difficulties. In a biography of this length, the reader sees God’s providence in Cowper’s life in many ways, not the least of which is the Christians God brought across Cowper’s path to encourage him and help provide for his needs. Perhaps the most famous of these was John Newton, who encouraged Cowper to write hymns and who remained a friend for years. We are sinners. Christian friendships can be weighed down with problems. This was certainly true of a number of Cowper’s friendships. Some friends were jealous when they did not get the first look at a new poem authored by Cowper. Other well-meaning friends tried to control the poet in ways that were neither helpful nor needed.

The reader also sees something of the man’s complexity. He had bouts, some severe, with depression throughout his life. He wondered if God loved him and how he could be sure in the midst of his knowledge of his own sinfulness. Yet the poet was a committed Calvinist. He knew that man is a sinner in the totality of his being. He knew that God chose a people for Himself out of His unconditional love for them, not because of any merit on their part. He also had a very optimistic view of the progress of the Gospel, believing that Christianity would grow and spread throughout the world until Christ returns.

God also provided an adopted mother for Cowper for much of his adult life, Mrs. Unwin. She willingly took care of him in his battles with nightmares and long struggles with depression.

Ella has provided the reader with a well-written work. He provides a balanced portrait of Cowper’s life and work. The reader can clearly see that Cowper was, like all of us, a sinner saved by grace. Numerous extracts from the poet’s works are included throughout the volume. Due to the depth of his research and his good communication skill, his subject comes to life for the reader of these pages.

This book can be read with profit by those interested not only in hymnists such as Cowper but also in the English evangelical scene in the eighteenth century. We will find, herein, a people much like saved sinners today – at times blind to their own sins, needlessly rubbing one another the wrong way and mistaking one another’s motives. However these same people, like Christians today, are united, by God’s grace, in a desire to grow in grace and help one another.

©2011 Byron Snapp, Hampton,Virginia