Hours of Sadness
Heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Psa. xxx. 5.
My restless heart, with anguish moaning,
Sighs till thy fresh’ning peace appears;
Opprest and weary of my groaning,
Each night I wash my couch with tears;
O Lord! in mercy hear my cry,
My woe-worn limbs with health supply.
How long, my Saviour, wilt Thou leave me?
At thy rebuke my life will flee;
Wilt Thou the bread of tears still give me?
So be it! since it comes from Thee.
Oh! let me tranquil still remain,
Through seasons long of grief and pain.
Of what avail is lamentation?
Did God e’er fail a righteous man?
And, in th’ Almighty’s estimation,
Are not our longest days a span?
A moment, and his wrath is past,
Our joy for evermore shall last.
With childlike trust, who sin abjureth
Such bliss from God shall surely win;
All night though heaviness endureth,
With morning’s dawn shall joy break in,
When Jesus Christ, our Friend and Lord,
Shall everlasting light afford.
Then why, my heart, why thus torment thee?
Be tranquil, stay upon thy God;
And think, when hours of grief are sent thee,
Soon he’ll withdraw th’ afflicting rod;
And humbly bow to his decree,
Who proves thee when He chastens thee.