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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 74

God moves in a mysterious way

Music: Guillaume FrancTune: DundeeC.M.

Studio

1God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

2Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

3Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings o'er your head.

4Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

5Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

Tune
Dundee
Meter
C.M.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
9.6.8.6 · the hymnal prints C.M.
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 64% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

God moves in a mysterious way,//˘˘˘/˘˘/9A
His wonders to perform;˘/˘˘˘/6B
He plants his footsteps in the sea˘/˘//˘˘/8C
And rides upon the storm.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

Deep in unfathomable mines/˘˘/˘˘˘/8A
Of never-failing skill,˘????/6B
He treasures up his bright designs,˘/˘˘˘/˘/8A
And works his sovereign will.˘/˘/˘˘6B

Verse 3

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;//˘///˘/8A
The clouds ye so much dread˘//˘//6B
Are big with mercy, and shall break˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
In blessings o'er your head.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 4

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
But trust him for his grace;˘/˘˘˘/6B
Behind a frowning providence˘/˘/˘/˘˘8C
He hides a smiling face.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 5

Blind unbelief is sure to err,/???˘/˘/8A
And scan his work in vain;˘/˘/˘/6B
God is his own interpreter,/˘˘///˘˘8C
And he will make it plain.˘˘˘/˘/6B

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.