Book Review: The Hidden Smile of God
Thursday, April 26, 2007 at 6:41PM 
The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd by John Piper.
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” or 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. Piper quotes him:
