The words
Stanza 1. Though the morn may be serene,Not a threat’ning cloud be seen;Who can undertake to say’Twill be pleasant all the day?Tempests suddenly may rise,Darkness overspread the skies;Lightnings flash, and thunders roar,Ere a short–lived day be o’er.
Stanza 2. Often thus, the child of grace,Enters on his christian race;Guilt and fear are overborne,’Tis with him a summer’s morn:While his new–felt joys abound,All things seem to smile around;And he hopes it will be fair,All the day, and all the year.
Stanza 3. Should we warn him of a change,He would think the caution strange;He no change or trouble fears,Till the gath’ring storm appears;Till dark clouds his sun conceal,Till temptation’s pow’r he feel;Then he trembles, and looks pale,All his hopes and courage fail.
Stanza 4. But the wonder–working LordSoothes the tempest by his word;Stills the thunder, stops the rain,And his sun breaks forth again:Soon the cloud again returns,Now he joys, and now he mourns;Oft his sky is overcast,Ere the day of life be past.
Stanza 5. Tried believers too can say,In the course of one short day,Though the morning has been fair,Proved a golden hour of prayer:Sin, and Satan, long ere night,Have their comforts put to flight;Ah! what heart–felt peace and joy,Unexpected storms destroy.
Stanza 6. Dearest Savior, call us soonTo thine high eternal noon;Never there shall tempest riseTo conceal thee from our eyes:Satan shall no more deceive,We no more thy Spirit grieve;But through cloudless, endless days,Sound, to golden harps, thy praise.
Olney Hymns (1779), Book 2, Hymn 34. John Newton. Public domain. CCEL transcription with modernized spelling. www.praylock.com/olney-hymns/2-34
