Sorry, I have to disagree with at least part of the premise of the book. While I agree that God can and does bring good out of bad...and I agree that the lives of Bunyan and Brainerd are wonderful illustrations of that fact; William Cowper's situation is very troubling to me. The assertion that his insanity and his fear that he was predestined for Hell was somehow a blessing from God just does not stand up to the scriptures which state: "God has NOT GIVEN us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a SOUND MIND." (2 Timothy 1:7) and "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has torment and he who fears has not been made perfect in love." (I John 4:18) And yes, I realize that the Bible says that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7), but doesn't that refer to reverance, rather than the debilitating, suicide-inducing fear from which Cowper suffered? If you have read some of the statements made by Cowper concerning his OVERWHELMING fear and fervent belief that he was damned, many of which are not included in Piper's book, you know how heartbreaking they are. Yet we are to believe that the "Prince of Peace" who promised his children "peace that passes understanding" and admonished us to "let not your heart be troubled" is the author of this mental torment and confusion?!

Additionally, if FAITH that the shed blood of Jesus has washed away one's sins is the basis for salvation, and that faith is given by God to his "elect", then Cowper's strict Calvinist upbringing and belief system must indeed convince him that he was not among the elect since he did not have this assurance. What other conclusion could he reach?

Sorry, but if you are a consistent Calvinist, you should probably conclude that Cowper was right to fear reprobation.

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