They had a better understanding then most of us do..

Mr. Newton’s Account of Mr. (William) Cowper in a Funeral Sermon
Preached in St. Mary Woolnoth, Lombard Street , May 1800

Exodus Chapter 3 verses 2,3:
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

The Lord has given me many friends but with none have I had so great an intimacy, as with my friend Mr. Cowper. But he is gone. I was glad when I heard it. I know of no text in the whole book of God’s word more suited to the case of my dear friend than that I have read. He was indeed a bush in flames for 27 years but he was not consumed. And why? Because the Lord was there. I think it probable there is hardly a person in the church who ever saw him yet there is few but know him in his writings. I can think of no motto more suitable than that of the apostle as unknown yet well known particularly in his poems, 2nd volume, called The Task by which he being dead yet speaketh — speaks to the glory of God and the good of mankind and which I think will not be forgotten as long as the English language is current.

Mr. Cowper was afflicted with what is called a nervous complaint to such a degree as might justly be called insanity. He had an attack very early in life which did not continue long. He was afterward at the Temple, being designed for the Law. He became acquainted with Mr. Coleman and a Mr. & Lord Thurlow. He assisted them in writing a book [periodical] called the Connoisseur. Those four men were very gay and men of great abilities but the Lord had designs of mercy towards my friend. One night he had a remarkable dream or vision.

He thought a child, a very beautiful little boy, came and looked on him while he was asleep. When he awoke he felt his mind much affected by his dream, but as he was sitting at his breakfast the Lord shone in upon his soul and so enlightened his understanding and gave such a clear view of the gospel and his interest in it without his ever reading it or hearing a gospel sermon that for seven years afterwards I never in all my life saw a man walk — I want to say so honorably —but so closely with God and always set the Lord before him in all he did. I believe during that time we were not seven hours without being together.

The last sermon he ever heard preached was on New Year’s Day 1773. He drank tea with me in the afternoon. The next morning a violent storm overtook him which caused a very great shyness. I used to visit him often but no argument could prevail with him to come to see me. He used to point with his finger to the church and say: you know the comfort I have had there and how I have seen the glory of the Lord in his house and until I can go there I’ll not go anywhere else. But after some time this shyness wore off. I remember one time we were walking together in a very deep snow. The weather was remarkably severe. He desired me to stop. I observed the sweat drop from his face occasioned by the agony of his mind. He said he knew the Lord was a Sovereign and had a right to do with and lay upon him what he pleased and if he [it?] was that by holding out a finger he could remove what he then felt, he would not do it unless he knew it were the will of God. He has often said he thought the Lord had not a child who loved him with a more simple heart than he did.

The first temptation the enemy assaulted him with was to offer up himself as Abraham his son. He verily thought he ought to do it. We were obliged to watch with him night and day. I, my dear wife and Mrs. Unwin with whom he lived left him not an hour for seven years. He was also tempted to think butcher’s meat was human flesh, therefore he would not take it. We found it very difficult to provide any sustenance he would take. He had various temptations which would be very improper for me to mention in this place. I was at that time obliged to leave Olney but the Lord did not leave him without friends but provided for him persons of abilities and respect who did that for love which no money could have procured. I don’t know a person upon earth I consult upon a text of Scripture or any point of conscience so much to my satisfaction as Mr. Cowper. He could give comfort though he could not receive any himself. He was not only a comfort to me but a blessing to the affectionate poor people among whom I then lived. He used frequently to visit them and pray with them. I had the honor to be rector[?] over a set of poor plain people chiefly lace makers. Their great confinement caused in them great depression of spirits. They used to say, 0 Sir if I was right, sure I should not feel so. But they well knew Mr. Cowper: they knew he was right, and from him they could take comfort.

I have had hopes the Lord would remove his malady a little time before his death but it continued. The last twelve hours of his life he did not speak nor seem to take notice of anything but lay in a state of apparent insensibility. But I seem to think that while the curtains were taking down in the tabernacle removing, glory broke in upon his soul. The Lord had set his seal upon him and though he had not seen him he had grace to love him. He was one of those who came out of great tribulation. He suffered much here for twenty-seven years, but eternity is long enough to make amends for all. For what is all he endured in this life, when compared with that rest which remaineth for the children of God?

Light Shining out of Darkness
by William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Repent from Schizophrenia? Which NANC are you?

She was a straight "A" student in high school.  A happy, healthy young women.  Then things started going wrong.  She started to think that the characters on a television show were speaking directly to her.  She woke up in the middle of the night thinking that she was giving birth to a baby and urinated in the bed.  One afternoon, she was certain that God was speaking through the radio and told her to remove all of her clothes and run down the street and if she didn't she was being disobedient.  If her faith was real, she would trust God and obey.  So she did.  A sweet neighbor called her into their house and called her husband, who brought over a robe and took her to the hospital where she was placed on 72 hour hold.  That was just the beginning of a 30 year roller coaster ride.

She was not living in sin or rebellion prior to the onset of these bizarre experiences.  Her mind simply started malfunctioning.  The human brain is a complex thing.   Can someone repent from Alzheimer's?  Is Alzheimer's a result of unrepentant sin.  What about Autism? Can a person repent from Autism? What about Tourette syndrome? Can a person repent from that? Can a person with Tourette's syndrome repent from blurting out profanities which is an outward manifestation of the malfunctioning brain? WAKE-UP church! Sin is the cause of all disease; including diseases that effect the brain! How dare we lump people who's brain is effected into some different category than we would those who have diabetes or leukemia.

My heart goes out to anyone who has had a  Christian family member or close friend develop schizophrenia, who is them left to counselors who seem to think the individual can repent from it.  I am thankful that was not John Newtons attitude with William Cowper.

Does the church understand this?  Some do and some don't--and no wonder.  There is and has been ignorant, dangerous teaching coming from highly respected sources.    What is a Christian to think about all this.  Well, it all depends on who you want to listen to.  Read the two excerpts below.  I, for one, am thankful to read Charles Hodges recent conference outline on the topic. Frankly, Jay Adams' statements should alarm and concern you deeply.


Jay E Adams

Roughly, then we may break down schizophrenia into several categories as Figure 1 visualizes. All of which leads to the Christian conviction that man is largely (or in many instances totally) responsible for his behavior, even when it is of a bizarre nature. Passages such as 1 Peter 3:14 ("Be neither terrified nor troubled by their threat") more fully come alive under such considerations. It is not impossible to command the control of one's emotions. By proper attitudes and actions the Christian without biofeedback controls his bodily functions and states as God intended him to.  Except in those relatively infrequent cases (such as brain damage) that are validly organic at base, the Christian counselor seeks to deal with schizophrenia in the same manner as he would in confronting those who have other problems occasioned by sinful living patterns. In this large measure of responsibility lies hope. What is due to sin can be changed; there is no such certainty if, as some think, schizophrenia is largely due to other factors.

Schizophrenia, for the distinctively Christian counselor, provides no more or no less of a challenge than any other problem involving original sin, personal sin, and the consequences of both. He believes that the resources provided in the Scriptures, coupled with the power of God through His Spirit, are more than adequate. As the Scriptures themselves put it: "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Romans 5:20b, NASV).

Charles Hodges Jr. MD, is an instructor of Biblical counseling for the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC).

What is it? Most likely a brain disease with four aspects.

D. Who gets it? Why? What is done for them?

1. A disease of young adults.

a. Ratio men to women is 1.4 to 1. b. 10% will recover with no further problems. 55% will be chronically troubled.     35% have intermittent course. c. If the diagnosis is certain, in most the problems will progress. There is no cure at this time. d. The diagnosis is clinical and subjective currently there are no easily usable tests to     make the diagnosis. e. 30to 50% of those with psychosis have no further episodes. Most patients will want to stop     their medication to see and most will no matter what the medical opinion. f. 5 to 10% will kill themselves annually. High functioning paranoid types are more frequent. g. They despair over their loss of relationships, jobs, things, and self control.

E. Who gets it and Why?

2. Should we call it a disease? 3. The changes in serial MRI scan in teens over years. It appears certain that there is significant loss of     brain tissue from the onset of the disease in the frontal and temporal lobes of their brains. 4. The cause for this loss of brain volume is unknown. The best guess is a combination of     genetic disposition plus a viral infection that sets off an immune response that causes the     destruction and loss of the brain tissue. 5. Dopamine theory derived from observation that amphetamines cause psychotic episodes. 6. Substance abuse and schizophrenia.

a. May be a causal relationship with marijuana, hallucinogens, amphetamines and ecstasy. b. 80% of schizophrenics will be involved in substance abuse of all kinds including alcohol,     illegal and prescription drugs. c. Illegal drug use can cause permanent brain damage and change and should be avoided     at all times.

7. Treatment for Schizophrenia is medication.Here is a list of Medications and side effects used to treat Schizophrenia in .pdf format you can print.

1. Positive symptoms: Seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling things that do not exist.

a. Includes hearing voices from God and others. These voices can tell them to believe things that are     untrue and do things that are terrible. b. These symptoms are often the first noticed problem and the cause for the diagnosis. c. They are not unique to schizophrenia and are not diagnostic of it. d. They do respond to medication, but not always completely.