When All the Powers of Nature Fail

When all the pow­ers of na­ture fail;

When sick­ness shall my heart as­sail

Shall ev­ery nob­ler part per­vade

And ev­ery earth­ly wish shall fade:

When pain

of ev­ery nerve pos­sessed

Shall vi­brate in my throb­bing breast;

Or lan­guor o’er my sens­es steal

And me­di­cine lose its pow­er to heal:

When death shall chill the vi­tal heat;

When this fond heart shall cease to beat

This fal­ter­ing tongue for­get to speak

A mor­tal pale­ness on my cheek:

When my dim eyes are sunk in death

And God who gave shall take my breath;

May He sus­tain my faint­ing heart

And com­fort to my soul im­part.

May His bright pre­sence bring re­lief

From fear

de­spon­den­cy

and grief:

His cheer­ing voice di­rect my way

To re­gions of eter­nal day.