God's Mysterious Ways

 
 

The English poet William Cowper is revered as one of the best of the 18th-century Romantic poets; yet to his biographers, he was "mad Cowper." His life was marked by bouts of sadness and paralyzing depression, but his beautiful hymns are still sung in churches around the world.

Consider Cowper's 1773 poem "Conflict: Light Shining Out of Darkness," which was revised into the hymn "God Moves in a Mysterious Way." This poem was Cowper's last, written just before he attempted to drown himself and was institutionalized. Listen to his echoes of the themes we have been exploring in our Ecclesiastes sermon series:


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

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sov'reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding ev'ry hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow'r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

Cowper's first line above may sound familiar, as it has become something of a proverb in our 21st-century culture. What truths can you draw from these hard-won verses?

To hear Cowper's hymn, click here: God Moves in a Mysterious Way.