God would never send you the darkness,
If He felt you could bear the light;
But you would not cling to His guiding hand,
If the way were always bright:
And you would not care to walk by faith,
Could you always walk by sight.
'Tis true He has many an anguish
For your sorrowful heart to bear,
And many a cruel thorn-crown
For your tired head to wear;
He knows how few could reach heaven at all,
If pain did not drive them there.
So He sends you this blinding darkness,
And this furnace of seven-fold heat;
'Tis the only way, believe me,
To keep you close to His feet;
For 'tis always so easy to wander,
When our lives are glad and sweet.
Then nestle your hand in your Father's,
And sing, if you can, as you go;
Your song may cheer some one behind you,
Whose courage is sinking low,
And well if your lips do quiver,
God will love it better so.