University of Virginia Library

HYMN 109. (L. M.) The Darkness of Providence.

I

Lord, we adore thy vast designs,
The obscure abyss of providence,
Too deep to sound with mortal lines,
Too dark to view with feeble sense.

II

Now thou arrayst thine awful face
In angry frowns, without a smile;
We through the cloud believe thy grace,
Secure of thy compassion still.

III

Through seas and storms of deep distress
We sail by faith and not by sight;
Faith guides us in the wilderness
Through all the briars and the night.

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IV

Dear Father, if thy lifted rod
Resolve to scourge us here below,
Still we must lean upon our God,
Thine arm shall bear us safely through.