I fain would give Thee deepest thanks
Thou, Lord, has made me Thine;
That into this lone heart has come,
Thy light and love divine.

I thank Thee for the awful cross,
Its bitterness and woe;
The wrath of God Thou hast endured,
That I no wrath may know.

I thank Thee for the Spirit’s love
Who caused mine eyes to see
The hollowness of earthly things,
The peace there is in Thee.

What disappointment all along
Life’s swift recurring years;
How oft amidst the brightest smiles
Come agonies and tears.

And so the heart must turn to Thee,
When weary or oppressed;
To find Thy loving sympathy
A perfect, perfect, rest.

Give, give me grace to walk with Thee,
Alone o’er rock or sand:
I shall not fear, if Thou art near
To hold my trembling hand.

Until at last my pilgrim feet
Shall walk Thy courts above,
And know the fullness, wide and deep,
Of Thine unchanging love.

Samuel Trevor Francis,
Whence-Whi­ther and Oth­er Poe­ms, 1898