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God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform;
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“God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform;”

William Cowper

Source
Light Shining out of Darkness
Date
1774
Meaning

Meaning of “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders…”

Cowper opens the hymn with a Christian claim that divine purposes may operate through events people cannot immediately understand or interpret correctly.

Source context

Where does it come from?

“Light Shining out of Darkness,” first published in 1774 and later included in Olney Hymns; represented by the Cowper & Newton Museum. The line is explicitly Christian devotional poetry about providence, not evidence that every hardship has a knowable beneficial purpose.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

Courage Quotes About Acting Despite FearHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesOptimism Quotes About Constructive ExpectationPatiencePositive Quotes About a Constructive OutlookShortBeliefGodReligion
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“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.”

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Source details

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Source details

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Meaning & context

Hopkins opens by presenting the natural world as filled with divine presence, establishing the theological vision that governs the poem’s images of damage, renewal and grace.

Source details

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Meaning & context

Pippa’s song voices a moment of religious confidence and ordinary delight whose effect in the drama depends on other characters hearing it at morally decisive moments.

Source details

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Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light.
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“Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light.”

John Milton · Paradise Lost · 1667
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Meaning & context

Recovery from a dark condition is pictured as difficult and lengthy rather than instant.

Source details

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