God Moves in a Mysterious Way
"God Moves in a Mysterious Way" is a Christian hymn, written in 1773 by William Cowper from England. It was written by Cowper in 1773 as a poem entitled "Light Shining out of Darkness", The poem is the likely source for the phrase "God moves in mysterious ways", although the first line of the poem actually runs "God moves in a mysterious way." The poem, the last hymn text that Cowper wrote, was written following his attempted suicide while living at Olney. 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). Comprising 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 Henry 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." The first line of the hymn has become an adage or saying, encouraging a person to trust God's greater wisdom in the face of trouble or inexplicable events, and is referenced in many literary works. 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; the harmony was arranged by Thomas Ravenscroft (1592–1635) in 1621. 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".