WILLIAM COWPER: ENGLISH POET AND HYMNODIST


William Cowper (1731 - 1800)

Biography -
Cowper was born in Great Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, England and was one of the most popular poets of his time. He changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. He suffered from periods of severe depression, which caused him frequently to doubt his fervent evangelical Christianity, the source of his much-loved hymns - going so far once as to express his dismayed surprise at ever having written a particular hymn. Cowper died in East Dereham, Norfolk. - http://www.poetryconnection.net/poets/William_Cowper

To Jesus, the crown of my hope,
My soul is in haste to be gone;
O bear me, ye cherubim, up,
And waft me away to His throne! 

My Saviour, whom absent I love,
Whom, not having seen I adore;
Whose name is exalted above
All glory, dominion, and power; 

Dissolve thou these bonds that detain
My soul from her portion in thee.
Ah! strike off this adamant chain,
And make me eternally free. 

When that happy era begins,
When arrayed in Thy glories I shine,
Nor grieve any more, by my sins,
The bosom on which I recline. 

Oh then shall the veil be removed,
And round me Thy brightness be pour'd,
I shall meet Him whom absent I loved,
Shall see Him whom unseen I adored. 

And then, never more shall the fears,
The trials, temptation, and woes,
Which darken this valley of tears,
Intrude on my blissful repose. 

Or, if yet remember'd above,
Remembrance no sadness shall raise,
They will be but new signs of Thy love,
New themes for my wonder and praise. 

Thus the strokes which from sin and from pain
Shall set me eternally free,
Will but strengthen and rivet the chain
Which binds me, my Saviour, to Thee.


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