God Moves In A Mysterious Way

Jeremy Riddle sings William Cowper's eighteenth-century hymn without altering its text, opening with the line that gives the hymn its title: "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform, He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm."

"Deep in unsearchable mines of never failing skill, He treasures up His bright designs" echoes Paul's own exclamation over the unsearchable depth of God's wisdom and judgments, language Cowper leaned on directly when he wrote the hymn.

"Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head" turns the hymn's central image inside out — the very clouds that look threatening are actually carrying the mercy that's about to arrive. "Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace, behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face" closes the hymn's argument the way Isaiah does — that God's ways run higher than human ways, especially when they look the most alarming from the ground.