William Cowper was an English poet and hymn-writer. He had studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1754. Strangely enough, he never practiced. Shy and gentle by nature, he was not emotionally equipped to deal with the stress and strain associated with the profession. He suffered intense fits of melancholy and spiritual despair. It is told that one evening he summoned a London cabby and directed him to drive to the Thames River. A heavy fog blanketed the city and for more than an hour, the cab driver cautiously drove along the obscured streets in search of the river. Little did the driver know that his noticeably impatient passenger had resolved to relieve his troubled mind by plunging into a watery grave. Cowper had weighed everything in the balances of life no longer seemed worth the bother. Angered by the delay and anxious to get on with his plan, Cowper lunged from the cab and set out to find the river on his own.

He wandered and groped for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he discovered himself standing at his own doorstep! Coincidence? Not in Cowper's judgment. He went directly to his room, took up pen and paper and wrote the words to the new familiar hymn: "God Moves in Mysterious Ways His Wonders to Perform." Again, the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit is frequently best acknowledged by hindsight.