I recently purchased "William Cowper: The Man of God's Stamp" because I've been intrigued by Cowper's experiences with depression and anxiety, as well as the encouragement and discipleship he received from John Newton (BTW, it was Cowper that penned "There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood").
Within the book is a poem called "A Song of Mercy and Judgement"; it's an autobiographical poem of Cowper's life and conversion. And it's really cool. And since it was cool, and had a nice rhythm and rhyme, I started strumming and found a melody for it - which may have made it somewhat less cool. But here it is anyway :)
The full lyrics can be found here . . .
9 comments:
wow... I'm blessed, would be my short answer. My longer response will come as I continue reading more of Cowper and his thoughts, beliefs, stuggles...
Blaine, thanks for sharing yourself along with some really sweet lyrics from Cowper... and I'm just touching on a few.
I'll look forward to hearing more from you as you share from this book.
Wow! :)
Hey nice job! You have a nice voice and that's a sweet Taylor...I'm looking for the unnecessary scarf but I don't see it....
I like this from Cowper:
"Oh! for a closer walk with GOD,
A calm and heav'nly frame;
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!"
I'm sure you've heard and sung "God moves In A Mysterious Way" by Cowper, but I thought I'd stick the lyrics in as a comment for anyone who reads your blog...I love the words. When I'm hanging on by my fingernails, its this and a few others that strengthen me. The original tune (at least the one in my hymnbook) is quite boring...but it will work with the tune of "O God Our Help In Ages Past"...much better!
God Moves In A Mysterious Way
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
I thought all of what I just wrote seemed familiar somehow...then I remembered I'd posted about Cowper back in August...silly me.
Here's a link if you care to have a look:
http://earnestlyicq.blogspot.com/2009/08/dead-guys-song.html
Ps. have you composed/recorded other music Blaine?
rich.
thanks.
Tim - I tell ya, one aspect of Cowper's life that really is interesting to me is the friendship he had with John Newton and how Newton sort of helped Cowper through his dark times. Talk about amazing grace!
Chris - Unfortunately, I'm just not a scarf guy! Haha!
I love God Moves In A Mysterious Way! I think I remember reading it on your blog ;)
Somehow or other I've managed to piece together a few other songs. A couple of them are floating around youtube. I'll try to find them :D
Kevin - I think the similarity between this poem of Cowper's and "Amazing Grace" are striking! It's obvious these guys had some conversations together :)
I'm glad you're not a scarf guy.
Blaine, Ijust sat down tonight to check your blog the last days were sort of busy. Wow what a song and a way to touch a mom's heart more than one way. what more can I say, loving you, mom
Blaine,
Thanks for sharing this powerful song! I remember a few years back a Martin Luther song touched my heart and I made up a tune and played it on the guitar like this. Wish I had recorded it!
BTW - Sovereign Grace Music has a great rendition of "God Moves in a Mysterious Way." I think it's on Bob kauflin's Hymns Project. Also, are you familiar with Indelible Grace Music? They have re-tuned a lot of hymns for use in their university gatherings. Some great stuff there.
Blessings,
Derek
Hey, Derek - Yes! I've poked my nose around Indelibe Grace just a bit - gonna do some more! And I'll certainly check out Kauflin's "God Moves." Sounds awesome. Thanks.
Post a Comment