God Moves in a Mysterious Way

Representative Text

1 God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
and rides upon the storm.

2 Deep in unfathomable mines
of never-failing skill;
He treasures up His bright designs,
and works His sov'reign will.

3 Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
the clouds ye so much dread
are big with mercy and shall break
in blessings on your head.

4 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
but trust Him for His grace;
behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

5 His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour;
the bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flow'r.

6 Blind unbelief is sure to err,
and scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
and He will make it plain.

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #412

Author: William Cowper

William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper"; b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1731; d. East Dereham, Norfolk, England, 1800) is regarded as one of the best early Romantic poets. To biographers he is also known as "mad Cowper." His literary talents produced some of the finest English hymn texts, but his chronic depression accounts for the somber tone of many of those texts. Educated to become an attorney, Cowper was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced law. In 1763 he had the opportunity to become a clerk for the House of Lords, but the dread of the required public examination triggered his tendency to depression, and he attempted suicide. His subsequent hospitalization and friendship with Morley and Mary Unwin provided emotional st… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: God moves in a mysterious way
Title: God Moves in a Mysterious Way
Author: William Cowper (1774)
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain
Liturgical Use: Scripture Songs

Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Rom. 11:33, Ps. 77:19
st. 3-4 = Ps. 62:1-8

William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper"; b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1731; d. East Dereham, Norfolk, England, 1800) is regarded as one of the best early Romantic poets. To biographers he is also known as "mad Cowper." His literary talents produced some of the finest English hymn texts, but his chronic depression accounts for the somber tone of many of those texts. Educated to become an attorney, Cowper was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced law. In 1763 he had the opportunity to become a clerk for the House of Lords, but the dread of the required public examination triggered his tendency to depression, and he attempted suicide. His subsequent hospitalization and friendship with Morley and Mary Unwin provided emotional stability, but the periods of severe depression returned. His depression was deepened by a religious bent, which often stressed the wrath of God, and at times Cowper felt that God had predestined him to damnation.

For the last two decades of his life Cowper lived in Olney, where John Newton (PHH 462) became his pastor. There he assisted Newton in his pastoral duties, and the two collaborated on the important hymn collection Olney Hymns (1779), to which Cowper contributed sixty-eight hymn texts. In addition to his two hymns (also 551) in the Psalter Hymnal, "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood" is also often included in modern hymnals.

Erik Routley (PHH 31) compared this text to a Rembrandt painting, saying it had a dark background with a strong streak of light falling across it. That is an apt analogy. Cowper wrote "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" in 1773 prior to the onset of one of his severely depressive states, which later that year led him to an unsuccessful suicide attempt. The text was published in Newton's Twenty-six Letters on Religious Subjects; to which are added Hymns (1774). It was also included in Olney Hymns with the heading "light shining out of darkness" and accompanied by a reference to John 13:7 in which Jesus says, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." The original stanza 4, omitted in the Psalter Hymnal, contained the couplet "behind a frowning providence/He hides a smiling face."

The first line indicates the focus of the entire text: God's ways may well be mysterious to us, but God does act! He "works his sovereign will" (st. 2), and someday "he will make it plain" (st. 5). In the meantime, even in periods of profound doubt and despair, we may trust God's wisdom.

Liturgical Use:
This fine hymn on divine providence is useful on many occasions of worship.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
========================
God moves in a mysterious way. W. Cowper. [Providence.] The commonly accepted history of this hymn is that it was composed by Cowper in 1773, after an attempt to commit suicide by drowning in the Ouse at Olney. In the Memoirs of Cowper by Hayley, and by Southey, as also in that of J. Newton, by Bull, there are painful details of his insanity in 1773. In Southey there is a distinct statement to the effect that his mania was suicidal, and that he made an attempt upon his life in October, 1773. Southey says (1853, vol. i. p. 174):—

"In the new character which his delirium had assumed [that it was the will of God that he should put an end to his life] the same perfect spirit of submission was manifested. Mr. Newton says ‘Even that attempt he made in October was a proof of it; for it was solely owing to the power the enemy had of impressing upon his disturbed imagination that it was the will of God he should, after the example of Abraham, perform an expensive act of obedience, and offer, not a son, but himself.'" (May 26, 1774.)

This is conclusive as to the intended suicide; but there is no indication in the Memoirs that after his attack he wrote anything whatever until about April, 1774. Of this period Southey says:—

"His mind, though possessed by its fatal delusion, had recovered in some degree its activity, and in some of his most melancholy moments he used to compose lines descriptive of his own unhappy state." (1853, vol. i. p.m.)

To our mind it is evident that Cowper must have written this hymn, either early in 1773, before his insanity became so intense as to lead him to attempt suicide in the October of that year, or else in April of 1774, when "he used to compose lines descriptive of his own unhappy state." Of these dates the latter is the probable of the two, but neither will
agree with the popular account of the origin of the hymn. Its publication agrees with this date, as it appeared in J. Newton's Twenty-six Letters on Religious Subjects; to which are added Hymns, &c, by Omicron, London, 1774. The actual date is fixed by Newton. He says:—

"Thursday, July 6th [1774]. Omicron's Letters are now published. May the Lord accompany them with His blessing. In reading them I could not but observe how different I appear on paper from what I know myself to be," &c.

In Omicron's Letters it is in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, is entitled "Light shining out of Darkness," and is unsignedition It also appeared in the July number of the Gospel Magazine for 1774 (p. 307), in the same form and with the same title; but in this instance it is signed " J. W." We find it also in R. Conyers's Collection of Psalms & Hymns of the same year, in the same form and with the same title, but without signature. It appears again in the Gospel Magazine, Dec, 1777, p. 555, at the end of a letter "On Affliction." This letter is unsigned. At the close of the hymn these words are added:—

“By Miss Ussington, late of Islington, who died in May, 1776. Taken from the original."

In this case the stanza ii. is omitted; the eight lines of stanzas iii. and iv. are rearranged; a slight change is made in stanza vi., and the following is added:—

"When midnight shades are all withdrawn
The opening day shall rise,
Whose ever calm and cloudless morn
Shall know no low'ring skies."

This uncertainty about the authorship of the hymn was set at rest in 1779, when J. Newton gave the original text and title from Omicron’s Letters in the Olney Hymn Book iii., No. 15, and signed it "C." From the first it gradually grew in importance and interest, until it has become one of the most widely known hymns in English-speaking countries. It has also been translated into several languages, including Latin, by R. Bingham in his Hymnologia Christiana Latina, 1871, as “Secretis miranda viis opera numen "; and Dr. Macgill in hisSongs of the Christian Creed and Life, 1876, as, "Deus mundum, en, molitur." Montgomery's estimate of this hymn is very high. He says of it, "It is a lyric of high tone and character, and rendered awfully interesting by the circumstances under which it was written — in the twilight of departing reason" (The Christian Poet, 1825, Preface). Montgomery evidently thought the hymn was composed before the sad breakdown of 1773.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

=====================

God moves in a mysterious way, p. 433, i. In the Salisbury Hymn Book, 1857, this hymn is altered to "God deigns to move in mystery."

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

=============

God moves in a mysterious way, p. 433, i. In the manuscript volume referred to under Cowper, W., p. 1625. ii., this hymn is given at pp. 204-5, between a letter from J. Newton dated “Olney, Nov. 4, 1772," and another hymn by Cowper, “'Tis my happiness below," given as "by Mr. W. C. of Olney, 1773." This supports the conclusion as set forth on p, 433, i., that the hymn was not the outcome of his attempted suicide in October 1773. The concluding lines of the hymn read in the manuscript:— "The bud may have a bitter taste, But wait to smell the flower." This, as is well known, appeared in print as:— "The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower." See Notes and Queries, Sept. 24, 1905.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Tune

DUNDEE (Ravenscroft)

DUNDEE first appeared in the 1615 edition of the Scottish Psalter published in Edinburgh by Andro Hart. Called a "French" tune (thus it also goes by the name of FRENCH), DUNDEE was one of that hymnal's twelve "common tunes"; that is, it was not associated with a specific psalm. In the Psalter Hymnal…

Go to tune page >


LONDON NEW


Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
Baptist Hymnal 1991 #73
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
The Cyber Hymnal #1897
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #434
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
Small Church Music #4815
  • PDF Score (PDF)
Worship and Rejoice #65

Instances

Instances (1 - 66 of 66)
Page Scan

African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #57

Ambassador Hymnal #583

An Eclectic Harmony. II #6

Text

Ancient and Modern #647

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #247

TextAudioPage Scan

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #73

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Baptist Hymnal 2008 #664

Text

Celebrating Grace Hymnal #39

Text

Christian Worship (1993) #420

Church Gospel Songs and Hymns #459

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #13

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #396

TextPage Scan

Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #158

Page Scan

Common Praise (1998) #546

TextPage Scan

Common Praise #445

TextPage Scan

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #222

Page Scan

Complete Mission Praise #193

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #467

Text

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #434

Text InfoTextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Glory to God #30

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #139

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #112

Hymns and Psalms #65a

Hymns and Psalms #65b

Text

Hymns for a Pilgrim People #53

TextPage Scan

Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #158

Hymns of the Christian Life #25

Text

Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints #285

Hymns Old and New #173

TextPage Scan

Hymns to the Living God #325

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Lift Up Your Hearts #25

Text

Lutheran Service Book #765

Text

Lutheran Worship #426

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #192

Praise! Our Songs and Hymns #342

Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book #26

TextPage Scan

Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #412

Text InfoTune InfoTextScoreFlexScoreAudio

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #434

TextPage Scan

Rejoice in the Lord #36

TextFlexScorePage Scan

Santo, Santo, Santo #47

TextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #107

Singing the Faith #104

Audio

Small Church Music #4815

TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #70

The Baptist Hymnal #81

The Book of Hymns (A fresh anthology of favourite hymns) #7

TextPage Scan

The Book of Praise #55

The Covenant Hymnal #418

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #1897

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal 1982 #677

Text

The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #54

Text

The Irish Presbyterian Hymbook #116

The Liturgical Harp #58

The Liturgical Harp #59

Text

The New Century Hymnal #412

TextPage Scan

The New English Hymnal #365

TextPage Scan

The Presbyterian Hymnal #270

The Sacred Harp #478

Text

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #29

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

The Worshiping Church #73

TextAudio

Timeless Truths #159

Text

Together in Song #126

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #128

TextPage Scan

Trinity Psalter Hymnal #256

TextScoreAudioPage Scan

Worship and Rejoice #65

TextPage Scan

Worship and Service Hymnal #16

Include 1055 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us