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The Flood

I

Through small the drops of falling rain
If one be singly view’d,
Collected, they o’erspread the plain.
And form a mighty flood.

II

The house it meets with in its course
Should not be built on clay,
Lest, with a wild, resistless force,
It sweep the whole away.

III

Though for awhile it seem secure.
It will not bear the shock
Unless it has foundations sure,
And stands upon a rock.

IV

Thus sinners think their evil deeds.
Like drops of rain, are small;
But it the power of thought exceeds
To count the sum of all.

V

One sin can raise, though small it seem.
A flood to drown the soul;
What then, when countless million stream⁠—
Shall join to swell the whole!

VI

Yet, while they think the weather fair,
If warn’d they smile or frown:
But they will tremble and despair,
When the fierce flood comes down.

VII

Oh! then on Jesus ground your hope.
That Stone in Zion laid;
Lest your poor building quickly drop
With ruin on your head.

Where this text comes from

First published in Olney Hymns (1779). First located printing is this volume; an earlier periodical printing has not been established. [1] [2] [3]

Structure read from the source's markup; the words have not been compared against a page scan. Last checked 2026-08-15.

Taken from Standard Ebooks, standardebooks/john-newton_william-cowper_olney-hymns, book-2.xhtml. Rights: public domain (SE dedication; underlying text pre-1931).

Earlier sources (2)

This poem as JSON or plain text. Line anchors #L1–#L28.

Cite this poem

John Newton (1725–1807). “The Flood.” First published in Olney Hymns (1779). Text: Poem Index, https://poemindex.org/john-newton/the-flood/. Append #L14 to cite line 14, or #L4-L9 for lines 4–9.

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