18

Temptation

I

The billows swell, the winds are high,
Clouds overcast my wintry sky:
Out of the depths to thee I call,
My fears are great, my strength is small.

II

Lord, the pilot’s part perform,
And guide and guard me through the storm;
Defend me from each threat’ning ill,
Control the waves, say⁠—“Peace, be still!”

III

Amidst the roaring of the sea,
My soul still hangs her hopes on thee:
Thy constant love, thy faithful care,
Is all that saves me from despair.

IV

Dangers of every shape and name
Attend the foll’wers of the Lamb,
Who leave the world’s deceitful shore,
And leave it to return no more.

V

Though tempest-toss’d and half a wreck,
My Saviour through the floods I seek;
Let neither winds nor stormy main
Force back my shatter’d bark again.

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–#L20.

Cite this poem

William Cowper (1731–1800). “Temptation.” First published in Olney Hymns (1779). Text: Poem Index, https://poemindex.org/william-cowper/temptation/. Append #L14 to cite line 14, or #L4-L9 for lines 4–9.

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