God Moves in a Mysterious Way explained
| God Moves in a Mysterious Way |
| Type: | Hymn |
| Full Title: | Conflict: Light Shining out of Darkness |
| Meter: | 8.6.8.6 (CM) |
| Melody: | - London New (The Psalmes of David in Prose and Meeter)
- Dundee
|
| Misc: | |
"God Moves in a Mysterious Way" is a Christian hymn, written in 1773 by the 18th-century English poet William Cowper. It was written by Cowper in 1773 as a poem entitled "Light Shining out of Darkness".[1]
The poem was the last hymn text that Cowper wrote. It was written following his attempted suicide while living at Olney in Buckinghamshire. John Newton published the poem the next year in his Twenty-six Letters on Religious Subjects; to which are added Hymns (1774).
Words
The words were composed by William Cowper (1731–1800). Constituting six verses, they were written in 1773, just before the onset of a depressive illness, during which Cowper attempted suicide by drowning. The text was first published by Cowper's friend, John Newton, in his Twenty-six Letters on Religious Subjects; to which are added Hymns in 1774. The hymn was later published in Olney Hymns which Cowper co-wrote with Newton. Entitled Conflict: Light Shining out of Darkness, it was accompanied by a text from Saint John's Gospel, Chapter 13: Verse 7, which quotes Jesus saying to his disciples; "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter."[2]
The first line of the hymn has become a proverb in modern times, usually phrased as "God moves in mysterious ways" or "the Lord moves in mysterious ways."[3]
Music
The hymn tune London New comes from The Psalmes of David in Prose and Meeter of 1635. In Common Praise, it is in D major.
A popular alternative and rather similar tune is Dundee, which comes from the Scottish Psalter of 1615;[4] the harmony was arranged by Thomas Ravenscroft (1592–1635) in 1621.[5]
Other traditional tunes include:
Much of the hymn became the lyrics of the theme song for the award-winning 2017 Danish television series Ride upon the Storm.
Inclusion in other works
- Variation (4) on Old Psalm Tunes, Book 1, George Dyson
- Saint Nicolas by Benjamin Britten (1948 cantata) – the final movement IX, The Death of Nicolas
- Joy Beyond the Sorrow: Indelible Grace VI, a 2012 album by Nashville, Tennessee based artist collective, Indelible Grace[8]
- "Pity and Shame", a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin published in Tin House, June 7, 2018. https://tinhouse.com/pity-and-shame/
External links
Audio clips
Video clips
Notes and References
- The Columbia Anthology of British Poetry p.383 edited by Carl Woodring, James Shapiro
- http://www.hymnary.org/text/god_moves_in_a_mysterious_way Hymnary.org: Psalter Hymnal (Gray) – 434. God Moves in a Mysterious Way
- Book: Manser . Martin H. . Fergusson . Rosalind . The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . 2007 . Infobase Publishing . 978-0-8160-6673-5 . 103 . en.
- LindaJo H. McKim The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion 0664251803 1993 p.192 "Dundee appears in the Scottish Psalter (1615). For comments on the tune, see hymn 234. 270 O God, in a Mysterious Way Tune: Dundee The text was written by William Cowper in 1773 after he attempted suicide while living at Olney. This, the last hymn Cowper wrote, was first published in John Newton's Twenty-six Letters on religious Subjects; to which are added Hymns (1774). "
- http://www.hymnary.org/tune/dundee_ravenscroft Hymnary.org: a comprehensive index of hymns and hymnals – Tunes – Dundee (Ravenscroft)
- https://books.google.com/books?id=k4Z7OaO_L5wC&pg=PA102 C Edward Spann and Michael Edward Williams, Presidential Praise: Our Presidents and Their Hymns
- Web site: Church Music Dublin – Charles Wesley (1707–88) -The Legacy . 2013-02-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111227125910/http://www.churchmusicdublin.org/charleswesley . 2011-12-27 . dead .
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFZFFB4/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp/185-6739642-3976311 Joy Beyond the Sorrow: Indelible Grace VI – Indelible Grace Music
