But yet, however cheerless seem
Such sufferer's lonely state,
There is a light whose cheering beam
Its gloom can dissipate:
It comes with healing on its wings,
And heavenly radiance round it flings.

It rises on the darken'd mind,
In lustre brighter far
Than that to outward orb assign'd
Of sun, or moon, or star;
And matchless is its mild control
Over the desolate in soul.

There is A Friend more tender, true,
Than brother e'er can be;
Who, when all others bid adieu,
Will still abide by thee;
Who, be their pathway bright or dim,
Deserts not those that turn to Him .

The heart by Him sustain'd, though deep
Its anguish, still can bear;
The soul He condescends to keep,
Shall never know despair:
In nature's weakness, sorrow's night,
God is its strength, its joy, and light.

He is the Friend, who changeth not
In sickness or in health,
Whether on earth our transient lot
Be poverty or wealth;
In joy or grief, contempt or fame,
To all who seek Him still the same.

Of human hearts He holds the key:
Is friendship meet for ours?
Oh! be assured that none but He
Unlocks its purest powers:
He can recall the lost, the dead,
Or give us nobler in their stead.

Of earthly friends — who finds them true,
May boast a happy lot;
But happier still, life's journey through,
Is he who needs them not:
A heavenly Friend — to know we need,
To feel we have — is bliss indeed.