“It Is I: Be Not Afraid”

Loud was the wind, and wild the tide;
The ship her course delayed:

Loud was the wind, and wild the tide;
The ship her course delayed:
The Lord came to their help, and cried,
“Tis I: be not afraid.”

Who walks the waves in wondrous guise,
By Nature’s laws unstaid?
“Tis I,” A well known voice replies;
“Tis I: be not afraid.”

He mounts the deck: down lulls the sea:
The tempest is allayed;
The prostrate crew adore; and He
Exclaims, “Be not afraid.”

Thus, when the storm of life is high,
Come, Saviour, to my aid!
Come, when no other help is nigh,
“And say, “Be not afraid.”

Speak, and my griefs no more are heard;
Speak, and my fears are laid;
Speak, and my soul shall bless the word,
“Tis I: be not afraid.”

When on the bed of death I lie,
And stretch my hands for aid,
Stand Thou before my glazing eye,
And say, “Be not afraid.”

Before Thy judgment seat above
When nature sinks dismayed,
Oh, cheer me with a word of love
“Tis I: be not afraid.”

Worlds may around to wreck be driven,
If then I hear it said,
By Him who rules through earth and heaven,
“Tis I: be not afraid.”

Henry Francis Lyte