When gathering clouds around I view, And days are dark and friends are few; On him I lean, who, not in vain, Experienced every human pain. He sees my wants, allays my fears, And counts and treasures up my tears.
2 If aught should tempt my soul to stray From heavenly wisdom’s narrow way, To fly the good I would pursue, Or do the ill I would not do; Still he who felt temptation’s power, Will guard me in that dangerous hour.
3 When, sorrowing, o’er some stone I bend, Which covers all that was a friend; And from his hand, his voice, his smile, Divides me for a little while— My Saviour marks the tears I shed, For “Jesus wept” o’er Lazarus dead.
4 And, O! when I have safely passed Through every conflict but the last, Still, Lord, unchanging, watch beside My dying bed, for thou hast died; Then point to realms of cloudless day, And wipe the latest tear away.
1000 L. M. I was brought low, and he helped me. Psalm 116:6.
I will extol thee, Lord on high: At thy command diseases fly; Who, but a God can speak and save From the dark borders of the grave?
2 Thine anger but a moment stays, Thy love is life and length of days: Though grief and tears the night employ, The morning star restores our joy.
1001 C. M. O Lord, save me, and I shall be saved. Jer. 17:14.
Great Source of boundless power and grace! Attend my mournful cry; In hours of dark and deep distress, To thee alone I fly.
2 Thou art my Strength, my Life, my Stay; Assist my feeble trust; O, drive my gloomy fears away, And raise me from the dust.
3 Fain would I call thy grace to mind, And trust thy glorious name: Jehovah, powerful, wise, and kind, For ever is the same.
4 Thy presence, Lord, can cheer my heart, When earthly comforts die; Thy voice can bid my pains depart, And raise my pleasures high.
5 Here let me rest—on thee depend, My God, my Hope, my All; Be thou my everlasting Friend, And I shall never fall.
1002 C. M. Thou rulest the raging of the sea. Psalm 89:9.
To thee, my God, whose presence fills The earth, and seas, and skies, To thee, whose name, whose heart is Love, With all my powers I rise.
2 Troubles in long succession roll; Wave rushes upon wave; Pity, O pity my distress! Thy child, thy suppliant, save!
3 O bid the roaring tempest cease; Or give me strength to bear Whate’er thy holy will appoints, And save me from despair!
4 To thee, my God, alone I look, On thee alone confide; Thou never hast deceived the soul That on thy grace relied.
5 Though oft thy ways are wrapt in clouds Mysterious and unknown, Truth, righteousness, and mercy stand, The pillars of thy throne.
1003 C. M. Acts 14:22.
Christ leads me through no darker rooms Than he went through before: He that into God’s kingdom comes Must enter by this door.
2 Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet Thy blesséd face to see; For if thy work on earth be sweet, What must thy glory be?
3 Then I shall end my sad complaints, And weary, sinful days, And join with those triumphant saints That sing Jehovah’s praise.
1004 C. M. When the waves arise, thou stillest them. Psalm 89:9.
Affliction is a stormy deep, Where wave resounds to wave; Though o’er our heads the billows roll, We know the Lord can save.
2 When darkness, and when sorrows rose, And pressed on every side, The Lord hath still sustained our steps, And still hath been our guide.
3 Perhaps, before the morning dawn, He will restore our peace; For he who bade the tempest roar Can bid the tempest cease.
4 Here will we rest, here build our hopes, Nor murmur at his rod; He’s more to us than all the world— Our Health, our Life, our God.
1005 C. M. Songs in the night. Job. 35:10.
O thou who driest the mourner’s tear, How dark this world would be, If, when deceived and wounded here, We could not fly to thee.
2 But thou wilt heal the broken heart, Which, like the plants that throw Their fragrance from the wounded part, Breathes sweetness out of woe.
3 When joy no longer soothes or cheers, And e’en the hope that threw A moment’s sparkle o’er our tears Is dimmed and vanished too;
4 O, who would bear life’s stormy doom, Did not thy wing of love Come brightly wafting through the gloom, Our peace-branch from above?
5 Then sorrow, touched by thee, grows bright With more than rapture’s ray; The darkness shows us worlds of light We never saw by day.
1006 C. M. God is my portion for ever. Psalm 73:26.
My times of sorrow and of joy, Great God! are in thy hand; My choicest comforts come from thee, And go at thy command.