ON THIS DATE
Reportedly William Cowper wrote his “O for a closer walk with God” on 12/6/1769, during the illness of a close friend. His father was the chaplain to George II, King of England, and he himself trained for law but did not practice it. William was a man who suffered some from mental imbalance yet produced both “secular” material, The Task” for example, and sacred hymns being known mainly for “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood.” His years were 1731 – 1800, and is reported to have died with such a bright face that he seemed to have seen Jesus in that critical hour.
He said about “O for a closer walk with God,” “I began to compose them yesterday morning before daybreak, but I fell asleep at the end of the first two lines. When I awaked again, the third and fourth verses were whispered to my heart in a way I have often experienced.”
O for a closer walk with God, A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road That leads me to the Lamb!
Where is the blessedness I knew, When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view Of Jesus and His Word?
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