Bright shines the sun, but brighter after rain;
The clouds that darken make the sky more clear;
So rest is sweeter when it follows pain,
And the sad parting makes our friends more dear.
'Tis well it should be thus: our Father knows
The things that work together for our good;
We draw a sweetness from our bitter woes —
We would not have all sunshine if we could.
The days with all their beauty and their light
Come from the dark and into dark return;
Day speaks of earth, but heaven shines through the night,
Where in the blue a thousand star-fires burn.
So runs the law, the law of recompense,
That binds our life on earth and heaven in one;
Faith cannot live when all is sight and sense,
But faith can live and sing when these are gone.
We grieve and murmur, for we can but see
The single thread that flies in silence by;
When if we only saw the things to be,
Our lips would breathe a song and not a sigh.
Wait then, my soul, and edge the darkening cloud
With the bright gold that Hope can always lend;
And if to-day thou art with sorrow bowed,
Wait till to-morrow and thy grief shall end!
And when we reach the limit of our days,
Beyond the reach of shadows and of night,
Then shall our every look and voice be praise
To him who shines, our everlasting light.
