The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd (The Swans Are Not Silent)
by John Piper
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Book Summary Information
Author: John PiperEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-03-31
ISBN: 1433501899
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Crossway Books
Book Reviews of The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd (The Swans Are Not Silent)
Book Review: Three Suffering Swans
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the second book in the series The Swans are Not Silent. Like the other books in the series, it contains three of Piper's biographical sermons on historical Christians. In this case, those featured are John Bunyan, William Cowper and David Brainerd, three men who endured great suffering during their lives, and whose suffering bore fruit, both in their own times and onward through history to the present day. Piper's purpose in telling the stories of these men's lives and expounding on them is so that the story of "how they suffered, how they endured, and how it bore fruit will inspire in [the reader] that same radical Christian life, God-centered worship, and Christ-exalting mission."
The first section is on the life of John Bunyan, best known for writing The Pilgrim's Progress, one of the best-selling books of all times, although he wrote at least fifty-seven other books. Bunyan was a "brasyer", a tinker who became a nonconformist preacher. He suffered in many ways throughout his life, including spending 12 years in jail away from his wife and children for refusing to stop preaching. Bunyan's imprisonment drove him to God's word, and developed in him a keen sense of the presence of Christ. Hie suffering and what he wrote about suffering in the life of the Christian can teach us much about following Christ in difficult times.
Next up is William Cowper, who suffered from from depression and insanity, and yet left behind marvelous hymns of God's goodness that we still sing two hundred years later. He is proof of the truth of one of his most famous hymns, God Moves in a Mysterious Way His Wonders to Perform.
And then there's David Brainerd. Brainerd was a young missionary to the Indians in the 1700s who died at aged 29 of tuberculosis, following several years of illness. We remember him because of his journal, which has inspired many others to missionary service, including William Carey and Jim Elliot.
The lives of these three men, Piper says, are like pebbles dropped into a pond: "God has breathed on the waters and made their ripple into waves. And now the parched places of our lives are watered with the memories of sustaining grace."
This is a wonderfully inspirational book. It's not a long book, and I expected to finish it in a snap, but things didn't work out that way because of the richness of the stories. Don't take this to mean that The Hidden Smile of God is a difficult book. I'd call it an easy read, but one worth pondering as it's read.
More The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd (The Swans Are Not Silent) reviews:
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