The boats lay stranded on the beach,
Tangled with seaweed, dank and green;
A desolate and dreary scene,
Far as the eye could reach;
The tide was out. How changed the view when day was done;
The boats road gayly on the deep,
Their white sails nodding as in sleep,
Kissed by the setting sun;
The tide was in. Thus many a life, in want or woe,
Lies stranded on a barren shore;
But God is God forevermore;
Take courage, for we know
The tide comes in. And lifted from the rocks and shoals,
We sail upon a sunlit sea;
Night opens on eternity, --
Sweet rest for weary souls, --
The tide is in.