When I sur­vey life’s var­ied scene,
Amid the dark­est hours,
Sweet rays of com­fort shine be­tween,
And thorns are mixed with flow­ers.

Lord, teach me to ad­ore Thy hand,
From whence my com­forts flow;
And let me in this de­sert land
A glimpse of Ca­naan know.

Is health and ease my hap­py share?
O may I bless my God;
Thy kind­ness let my songs de­clare,
And spread Thy praise abroad.

While such de­light­ful gifts as these
Are kind­ly dealt to me,
Be all my hours of health and ease
Devoted, Lord, to Thee.

In griefs and pains Thy sac­red Word
(Dear sol­ace of my soul!)
Celestial com­forts can af­ford,
And all their pow­er con­trol.

When pre­sent suf­fer­ings pain my heart,
Or fu­ture ter­rors rise,
And light and hope al­most depart,
From these de­ject­ed eyes,

Thy pow­er­ful Word sup­ports my hope,
Sweet cor­di­al of the mind!
And bears my faint­ing spir­it up,
And bids me wait re­signed.

And, O, what­e’er of earth­ly bliss
Thy so­ve­reign hand de­nies,
Accepted at Thy throne of grace,
Let this pe­ti­tion rise;

Give me a calm, a thank­ful heart,
From ev­ery mur­mur free;
The bless­ings of Thy grace im­part,
And let me live to Thee.

Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine,
My path of life at­tend;
Thy pre­sence through my journ­ey shine,
And bless its hap­py end.