40

Why Art Thou Cast Down?

I

Be still, my heart! these anxious cares
To thee are burdens, thorns, and snares;
They cast dishonour on thy Lord,
And contradict his gracious word.

II

Brought safely by his hand thus far,
Why wilt thou now give place to fear?
How canst thou want if he provide,
Or lose thy way with such a guide?

III

When first before his mercy-seat
Thou didst to him thy all commit,
He gave the warrant from that hour,
To trust his wisdom, love, and power.

IV

Did ever trouble yet befall,
And he refuse to hear thy call?
And has he not his promise pass’d,
That thou shalt overcome at last?

V

Like David thou may’st comfort draw,
Saved from the bear’s and lion’s paw;
Goliath’s rage I may defy,
For God, my Saviour, still is nigh.

VI

He who has help’d me hitherto,
Will help me all my journey through,
And give me daily cause to raise
New Ebenezers to his praise.

VII

Though rough and thorny be the road,
It leads thee home apace to God;
Then count thy present trials small,
For heav’n will make amends for all.

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-3.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). “Why Art Thou Cast Down?.” First published in Olney Hymns (1779). Text: Poem Index, https://poemindex.org/john-newton/why-art-thou-cast-down/. Append #L14 to cite line 14, or #L4-L9 for lines 4–9.

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