There is a fountain filled with blood

Truly blessed not just by the lyrics of this timeless hymn, but by Holy Spirit led comments below.

This song just came to mind while beginning my quiet time at 6am today. l found it on your website. This hymn is perfect for all of us as we sing it in jail with the brothers. I give each inmate a copy so they can worship & think on it at a later time. "Lord Jesus, please bless this hymn as we sing it." PTL

Me too, Brother Tom, me too.

I have become an old man…

This morning the fifth stanza of this song came to me. Warmth to my heart and tears to my eyes.

Thank God for Jesus

Thank You for Your redeeming love!!

William Cowper is the a highly regarded English poet among the ranks of Pope and Shelley in classic literature. Some of his best known works include a translation of “Homer” and poems such as “The Task” and his most famous literary poem, “John Gilpin. ”

Cowper was born in Great Berkhamstead, England, on November 15, 1731. His father was an English clergyman while his mother was from a family of royalty. William was of a frail constitution and emotionally sensitive. At age six, his mother died which contributed to his instability. Towards the end of his life he remarked that there had never been a day when he had not mourned his mother’s death.

Cowper studied law as it had been his father’s wish for him to do so. After he finished, the idea of showing up to take his final examination frightened him so much that it caused him to have a mental breakdown and attempted suicide. He was afterwards placed for a period of eighteen months in an insane asylum. It was during time that as he was reading the Bible, he came across Romans 3:25 that Jesus Christ is “set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. ” Though the reading of the Scriptures, William realized his need for a Savior and the need for forgiveness of sins. In 1764, at the age of thirty-three, William Cowper dedicated his life to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

After his conversion and mental recovery, Cowper befriended the family of Reverend Morley Unwin, who became a great great help to him. Mrs. Unwin remained Cowper’s friend and caregiver until she passed away.

After Reverend Unwin died in 1767, John Newton, the converted ship captain (wrote Amazing Grace), persuaded Mrs. Unwin, her family and William Cowper to move to Olney, England, where Newton pastored the parish Anglican Church. For nearly two decades Newton and Cowper retained a close friendship, and in 1799 their combined talents produced the “Olney Hymns” hymnal, one of the greatest contributions made to evangelical hymnody. Out of the 349 hymns, sixty-seven were written by Cowper and the rest by Newton.

“There Is a Fountain” was originally called “Peace for the Fountain Opened, ” is one of Cowper’s best loved hymns. The text with its vivid imagery is based on the Old Testament verse Zechariah 13:1, “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness. ” The tune for this text is borrowed from an American folk melody, probably one of the typical tunes used in camp meetings of the early nineteenth century.

Throughout his life Cowper continued to have bouts of depression and melancholia followed by attempted suicide. Ironically, some of his greatest hymns were penned during these times. He was never able to shake off the fear that God would abandon him. On his death bed, however, it is said that his face lit up as he uttered these words, “I am not shut out of heaven after all. ” William never married but but God endowed him with such extraordinary literary talents that he continues to enrich the lives of Christians everywhere for over 200 years.

Hallelujah 💃🏾💃🏾

heart-warming

This is my redeeming song...

I'll sing it till I sing no more.