Book III · Hymn 44 · The Happy Change

William Cowper

The happy change.
How blest thy creature is, O God,
When with a single eye,
He views the lustre of thy word,
The day-spring from on high!
Through all the storms that veil the skies,
And frown on earthly things;
The Sun of righteousness he eyes,
With healing on his wings.

Struck by that light, the human heart,
Isa 35:7

A barren soil no more;
Sends the sweet smell of grace abroad,
Where serpents lurked before.
The soul, a dreary province once
Of Satan's dark domain;
Feels a new empire formed within,
And owns a heav'nly reign.
The glorious orb, whose golden beams,
The fruitful year control
Since first obedient to thy word,
He started from the goal;
Has cheered the nations, with the joys
His orient rays impart
But Jesus, 'tis thy light alone,

Can shine upon the heart.