Looking Upwards in a Storm

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The billows swell, the winds are high

Author: William Cowper
Published in 133 hymnals

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Representative Text

1 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.

2 O Lord, a Saviour's part perform,
And guide and guard me thro' the storm;
Defend me from each threat'ning ill,
Control the waves, say, "peace, be still."

3 Amidst the roaring of the sea,
My souls still hands her hope on thee;
Thy constant love, thy faithful care,
Is all that saves me from despair.

4 Dangers of ev'ry shape and name,
Attend the follow'rs of the Lamb,
Who leave the world's deceitful shore,
And leave it to return no more.

5 God of my life, to thee I call,
Afflicted at thy feet I fall;
When the great water-floods prevail,
Leave not my trembling heart to fail!

Source: The Hartford Selection of Hymns: from the most approved authors: to which are added a number never before published (2nd ed.) #CCLXXXVII

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Author: William Cowper

William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper"; b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1731; d. East Dereham, Norfolk, England, 1800) is regarded as one of the best early Romantic poets. To biographers he is also known as "mad Cowper." His literary talents produced some of the finest English hymn texts, but his chronic depression accounts for the somber tone of many of those texts. Educated to become an attorney, Cowper was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced law. In 1763 he had the opportunity to become a clerk for the House of Lords, but the dread of the required public examination triggered his tendency to depression, and he attempted suicide. His subsequent hospitalization and friendship with Morley and Mary Unwin provided emotional st… Go to person page >

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First Line:	The billows swell, the winds are high
Title:	Looking Upwards in a Storm
Author:	William Cowper
Meter:	8.8.8.8
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Notes

The billows swell, the winds are high. W. Cowper. [Temptation.] Appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779, Bk. iii., No. 18, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled "Temptation." It was extensively adopted by the older collection, but is somewhat restricted in its modern use.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Tune

APPLETON

NORFOLK (Ashton)

HAMBURG

Lowell Mason (PHH 96) composed HAMBURG (named after the German city) in 1824. The tune was published in the 1825 edition of Mason's Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music. Mason indicated that the tune was based on a chant in the first Gregorian tone. HAMBURG is a very simple tune with…

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