There's A Fountain

William Cowper was born in Great Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire in November 1731.
His mother died when he was only six years old and this tragedy left a life-long scar of grief. When he was ten he was sent to boarding school and there his suffering was added to by the cruelty of the older boys.

However, he survived and at eighteen began to study law. Although he passed all the bar examinations he never achieved much success in his profession. In nine years of law practice, so-called, Cowper never once felt worthy to serve people nor could he manage to attract business for himself.

Next, a clerkship in the House of Lords was arranged for him, but still he felt unfit for the task and was in such misery that he made several attempts to take his own life. The failure of these suicide efforts, compounded by two unhappy love affairs, increased his feelings of self contempt; so that as he walked the streets he felt that all eyes were fixed upon him in scorn.

Because of his suicidal tendencies Cowper was confined, for a brief period, in St. Albans Asylum and, remarkably, it was during this time that his famous hymn was written.

A visiting relative sought to ease the sick man's depression by telling him of Jesus' power to save. Cowper burst into tears saying, 'It is the first time that I have seen a ray of hope.' When the friend had gone the poet opened his Bible at random and, in the providence of God, his eyes fell on those words in Romans Ch. 3 v 25: 'Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.'

This scriptural account of Christ's redeeming work touched Cowper's heart, causing him to later testify thus:

'There shone upon me the full beams of the sufficiency of the atonement that Christ has made; my pardon in His blood; the fulness and completeness of my justification and, in a moment, I believed and received the gospel.'

So thrilled was he by his new-found hope that he described it in verse, basing it on the words of Zechariah Ch. 13 v 1: In that day there shall be a fountain opened up for sin and uncleanness.'

There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Loose all their guilty stain.

It was William Cowper's great hope that other troubled souls would be helped by his hymns.

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Christ the Lord is Risen Today

An Easter Hymn written by Charles Wesley.



Christ the Lord is risen today Alleluia
Sons of men and angels say Alleluia
Raise your joys and triumphs high Alleluia
Sing ye heavens and earth reply Alleluia

Lives again our glorious King Alleluia
Where o death is now thy sting Alleluia
Dying once He all doth save Alleluia
Where thy victory oh grave Alleluia

Love’s redeeming work is done Alleluia
Fought the fight the battle won Alleluia
Death in vain forbids him rise Alleluia
Christ has opened paradise Alleluia


History of the sacred Easter hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" written by the greatest English hymn-writer and evangelist Charles Wesley.

"Christ the Lord is Risen Today" is an Easter hymn written by Charles Wesley, co-founder of the Methodist Movement. It was first published in the Foundry's Collection – "hymns set to music as they are commonly sung at the Foundry" and originally entitled "Hymn for Easter Day" consisting of eleven four-line stanzas.

The composer of the music has never been identified. The tune first appeared in the Lyra Davidica hymnal anonymously. This was published in London in 1708. The "alleluia" at the end of each line was not written by Wesley but added by an editor to fit the text to the tune. "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" is among the most popular and loved hymns sung in Christian worship, particularly, on Easter.

Charles Wesley was born on 18th December 1707, in Epworth, Lincolnshire. He studied at Christ Church College, Oxford, where he formed a small group of fellow students the 'Oxford Methodists', or the 'Holy Club', later joined by his brother John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church.

In 1735, he was ordained and accompanied John Wesley to Georgia as secretary to governor James Oglethorpe, returning to England just the following year. He was the tireless lieutenant of his more famous brother.

The brothers Wesley founded the Methodist church. Like many people at that time, they found the worship in the Church of England quite tedious and monotonous, so they launched the movement with a renewed emphasis on emotional involvement, singing and studying the Bible.

Charles Wesley's Other Best Loved Favorite Hymns

Charles Wesley didn't always agree with his brother John on some matters relating to religious convictions. After an evangelical conversion in 1738, he wrote hundreds of hymns, scripture-based songs, including such well-loved favorites such as:

• Jesus, Lover of my Soul
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
• O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
• Love Divine, all Loves Excelling

In the spirit of Easter celebration, this sacred song he has written, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" is remembered, one usually sung in Christian churches on Easter Sunday. This Charles Wesley hymn was written by him for the first service in the first Wesleyan Chapel in London, England in 1739, one year after his dramatic Aldersgate conversion experience. The first chapel was a deserted iron foundry, which became known as the Foundry Meeting House.

Charles Wesley died on March 29, 1788. Many of his hymns remain as popular and as favorites among Christians.

© Tel Asiado

Sources:

101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications (1982)

Together in Song, by Wesley Milgate and D'Arcy Wood, AustralianHymn Book Pty (2000)

How Great Thou Art

The Hymn



In the summer of 1934 a thirty four year old British missionary, serving in a remote part of Eastern Europe, set out by bicycle to preach and distribute Bibles high up in the Carpathian Mountains. His name was Stuart K. Hine.

As Stuart later wrote, ‘the thoughts of the first three verses of How Great Thou Art! were born, line by line, amid my unforgettable experiences in those mountains.’

The first and second verses were inspired partly by the Russian words of Prokhanoff’s hymn and partly by the ‘awesome wonder’ and beauty of God’s creation.

Verse three was written as a consequence of villagers expressing their amazement at hearing for the first time the revelation of God's love.

In 1948, the grief and sorrow of refugees from Eastern Europe, separated from their loved ones, inspired Stuart to write verse four; a verse of hope for a future reunion in Heaven.

As Kenneth Osbeck, the distinguished American hymnologist, said:

“this great hymn teaches us three essential truths:
the greatness of God’s creation,
the greatness of Christ’s redemption and
the greatness of our future inheritance.”

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