This hymn is a new favorite of mine. It’s by William Cowper (1731-1800), and first appeared in the Olney Hymns collection, which he co-published with John Newton. Fred Sanders recently highlighted Cowper and the Olney collection. He introduces them so well that I actually have very little to add to it!
As Dr. Sanders says, Cowper lived with chronic depression. His first major spell came in 1763, cutting off a promising legal career at its peak. He began to despair of his salvation. In time, he recovered somewhat and retired to the country town of Olney to live with friends. Newton was the parish priest and soon became a close friend. Newton and the others urged him to write so as to steady his mind. Still, the despair periodically recurred, and during those spells he lost all sense of assurance of salvation. He wrote most of his works when that dark cloud loomed more distantly, during the times of relative calm and happiness.
Which brings us to “The Contrite Heart.”
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