The moon has but a borrowed light

The words

1. 1

   Stanza 1. The moon has but a borrowed light,A faint and feeble ray;She owes her beauty to the night,And hides herself by day.

2. 2

   Stanza 2. No cheering warmth her beam conveys,Though pleasing to behold;We might upon her brightness gazeTill we were starved with cold.

3. 3

   Stanza 3. Just such is all the light to manWhich reason can impart;It cannot show one object plain,Nor warm the frozen heart.

4. 4

   Stanza 4. Thus moonlight views of truths divineTo many fatal prove;For what avail in gifts to shine,Without a spark of love?

5. 5

   Stanza 5. The gospel, like the sun at noon,Affords a glorious light;Then fallen reason’s boasted moonAppears no longer bright.

6. 6

   Stanza 6. And grace, not light alone, bestows,But adds a quick’ing pow’r;The desert blossoms like the rose,And sin prevails no more.

Olney Hymns (1779), Book 2, Hymn 86. John Newton. Public domain. CCEL transcription with modernized spelling. www.praylock.com/olney-hymns/2-86