1 Not from the dust affliction grows,
Nor troubles rise by chance;
Yet we are born to cares and woes –
A sad inheritance!

2 As sparks break out from burning coals,
And still are upwards borne,
So grief is rooted in our souls,
And man grows up to mourn.

3 Yet with my God I leave my cause
And trust his promised grace;
He rules me by his well-known laws
Of love and righteousness.

4 Not all the pains that e’er I bore
Shall spoil my future peace;
For death and hell can do no more
Than what my Father please.