stood without experiencing, by sympathy, a measure of the bliss and tranquility which they breathe.— See Book iii, Hymns 44 and 45. "How blest thy creature is, O God!" and, "Far from the world, Lord, with thee."
The experience of nearly two years of humble and uninterrupted walking with God had confirmed the fugitive from the world in this peaceful frame of mind, when his acquaintance with Newton commenced, under circumstances peculiarly auspicious to both. It has often been ignorantly or insidiously said, that Cowper's connection with the latter was unfortunate for himself; for had he fallen under the influence of some other person, of equal piety, but less hardihood in holding and enforcing certain doctrinal tenets, his own hope in the promises of the gospel might never have failed, nor his reason on that point been utterly perverted,— not only in the cheerless days of mental alienation, but when on every other subject his faculties were clear, and his faith orthodox. What might have been, if what was had not happened, it is in vain to speculate. The contingencies of any one hypothetical event lie far beyond the reach of created intellect. The counsels of God, even in what does come to pass, are in many respects unsearchable. Known unto himself alone from the beginning are all his works; and to justify his ways— for, after all, they were God's ways, and not man's in the particular instance before us, it is sufficient to consider what was the positive result of the connection between these two remarkable men,— the one brought from a slave- ship, and the other from a lunatic asylum, to teach the world justice and mercy, and enlighten it with knowledge. In the preface to the present volume, Newton himself gives a clew to the enquiry, "The
