The God Of All Comfort

I’ve been struck by one particular New Testament phrase ever since I read it for the first time. Paul writes of “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” in 2 Corinthians 1:3. That description came to be so meaningful to me that I finally preached a sermon on it this summer. It still helps when I get depressed. This is some of what I had to say:

You may already be familiar with the story of William Cowper from 18th century England. He wrote some incredibly beautiful poetry and some great hymns. A couple of famous ones are:

GOD moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

Olney Hymns (1779)--'Light Shining out of Darkness'

There is a fountain fill'd with blood

Drawn from EMMANUEL's veins;

And sinners, plung'd beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

Olney Hymns (1779)--'Praise for the Fountain Opened'

But Cowper was plagued by bouts of profound depression. In his journal, he wrote:

(I was struck) with such a dejection of spirits, as none but they who have felt the same, can have the least conception of. Day and night I was upon the rack, lying down in horror, and rising up in despair. I presently lost all relish for those studies, to which before I had been closely attached; the classics had no longer any charms for me; I had need of something more salutary than amusement, but I had not one to direct me where to find it.

Every ten years, Cowper would go through unbearable suffering. According to his journals, it was then that he would remember a terrible dream he had had years before. Although he never writes about the details in his journal, a "word" was spoken along the lines of "It is all over with you, you are lost."

As bad as it was (and it was about as bleak as it could be), one ray of hope in Cowper’s life was his very good friend John Newton. You probably remember Newton as the former slave ship captain who converted to Christianity, and later wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.”

Neither Newton nor Cowper were strangers to pain and grief. In fact, one thing they had in common was that both had lost their mothers at age 6. But this may give you an insight into Newton’s approach to the Christian life:

Two heaps of human happiness and misery; now if I can take but the smallest bit from one heap and add to the other, I carry a point. If, as I go home, a child has dropped a halfpenny, and if, by giving it another, I can wipe away its tears, I feel I have done something. I should be glad to do greater things, but I will not neglect this. When I hear a knock on my study door, I hear a message from God; it may be a lesson of instruction perhaps a lesson of penitence; but, since it is his message, it must be interesting.

That may help explain why Newton was such a faithful friend to Cowper for years, even through his terrible bouts with depression. Cowper said, "A sincerer or more affectionate friend no man ever had."

John Newton was human. I have no doubt that Newton was tempted to give in to despair at times just as Cowper was, in fact, even as Paul must have been. But I believe God offered him great comfort as he turned from looking inward, avoiding self-pity, and instead looked outwardly to those around him in need, in order to help however he could. God comforts us; he lifts us up, as we seek to offer comfort others. You could be the ray of hope that makes the difference in someone else’s life!