PROVIDENCE

At 32 years of age William Cowper passed through a great crisis in his life. He tried to end his life by taking laudanum. Then he hired a coach & was driven to the Thames, intending to throw himself into the river; but some power seemed to restrain him.

The next morning he fell upon a knife, but the blade broke & his life was saved. He then tried to hang himself & was cut down unconscious but still alive.

Then one morning, in a moment of strange cheerfulness, he took up his Bible & read a verse in the Letter to the Romans. In a moment he received strength to believe & rejoiced in the forgiving power of God.

Some years later, after he had passed through a rich spiritual experience & had written many beautiful hymns, Cowper sat down one day & summed up his faith in God's dealings with him, & with other men, in the great hymn on divine providence:

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

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

- (moreillustrations.com)

Eph 3:20 (CEB): “Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us.”