William Orcutt Cushing was born on December 31, 1823 in Massachusetts.
He married in 1854 and his first pastorate was in Searsburg, New York.
His wife died in 1870. A little after that, Mr. Cushing developed creeping paralysis, which resulted in the loss of his voice. Because he was unable to speak, he had to quit preaching.
His life was a inspiration to all who came into contact with him and he was mindful of the suffering of others. He gave $1,000, all the money he had, which was an enormous sum in those days to a blind girl so that she could get an education.
Feeling useless and bored, Mr. Cushing prayed “Lord, give me something to do for thee.” Right after that he found that he had a knack for writing hymn texts. He wrote over 300 of them, and some of his most popular texts are “Under His Wings,” Ring the Bells of Heaven,” “When He Cometh,” and “Hiding in Thee.”
He died in New York on October 19, 1902.
Some of the hymns he wrote were:
|
References
Osbeck, K.W. 101 Hymn Stories. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1982) p. 214.
Osbeck, K.W. 101 More Hymn Stories. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1985) pp. 216, 307.
The above facts have been taken from articles written separately by Faith and Deborah Macomber, and compiled here. There might have been other sources, but the ones listed here are known.
