Ecking, Samuel Ecking

Samuel Ecking was an English Baptist writer and minister whose brief career unfolded during the late eighteenth century. Born at Shrewsbury on December 5, 1757, he demonstrated early theological and literary aptitude before his life was cut short by his death on January 16, 1785, at the age of twenty-seven.

Despite his early death, Ecking contributed several original hymns to the Gospel Magazine between the years 1778 and 1779. To shield his identity, he published these initial poetic offerings under the fragmented signature of "S. E—k—g."

Theological Writings and Hymnody

Ecking's literary and pastoral legacy was preserved through both his periodic verse and his prose treatises. Only a single hymn from his collection passed into common congregational use:

"Peace, peace, my soul" is a reflective devotional hymn that highlights the author's Calvinistic focus on divine assurance and internal comfort. In addition to its early publication within the Gospel Magazine, Ecking featured this specific text within his broader theological volume, Essays on Grace, Faith, and Experience. The volume found a receptive audience among contemporary Particular Baptists and served to preserve his hymns for early nineteenth-century evangelical selections.