Winter Death and There’s naught on earth to rest on

There’s naught on earth to rest on,
All things are changing here;
The smiles of joy we gaze on;
The friends we hold so dear.
One Friend alone is changeless,
The One too oft forgot,
Whose love hath stood for ages,
For Jesus changeth not.

The sweetest flow’r that blooms here,
And sheds its fragrance round,
Ere ev’ning comes has withered,
And lies upon the ground.
The dark and dreary desert,
That hath not one green spot
Abounds in living pastures;
With him who changeth not.

Clouds oft o’ercast our sunshine,
So beautiful, so bright,
And while we still admire it,
It darkens into night.
One sky alone is cloudless,
Where darkness cometh not;
‘Tis found alone with Jesus,
For Jesus changeth not.

And friendship’s smile avails not
To cheer us here below,
For smiles are oft deceitful,
And lure to overthrow.
One smile alone can gladden,
Whate’er the pilgrim’s lot;
It is the smile of Jesus,
For Jesus changeth not.

And while stern time moves onward,
And nears eternity,
The hand of death brings changes
In ev’ry thing we see.
But faith has found a Savior
Whose promise faileth not;
Our life is hid with Jesus,
And Jesus changeth not.

Frederick Whitfield