9.8.11.8

Ev'ry valley shall be exhalted,
And ev'ry mountain be made low;
When at a great impasse my soul is halted,
And when so weary, I do grow.

Here the crooked is often straightened,
And the rough places are made plain;
When with present danger my heart has frightened,
And on these rocks I long have lain.

Oh, ev'ry valley is thus heightened,
While ev'ry mountain is brought low;
And I can see the sky with distant bright'ning,
Reflects on calm seas down below.

Here my mountains are often lowered,
When they are reduced to a plain;
Before they had insurmountably towered,
And o'er my soul they long did reign.

But all these valleys are exalted,
And all these mountains are brought low;
There the hard places, the crooked and faulted,
Are leveled to the plain below.

What once before was then so crooked,
And which so oft made me complain;
And the stony road which once was so forked,
Has all been reduced to a plain.

But what if mountains I encounter,
Or if a valley my lot shall be?
For through all these rough ways my soul must enter,
Till Thy purpose from these make free.

For through the darkness I am learning,
That Thy Own soul has walked here too;
And my fleshly confidence Thou art burning
As others passed the desert through.

And since the Lord Jesus has walked there,
And since He bore all of my pain;
And more than this, He also for me does care,
For His great loss was my great gain.

Though here and there a mountain standing,
And heated valleys that give pain;
Yet, our faith and hope looks for our safe landing,
When these rough places are made plain.

Then ev'ry valley is exalted,
And ev'ry valley is made low;
All the things that once my soul had assaulted,
Are leveled to a plain below;

Oh, the comfort, I now am finding,
Where once the rough way did give pain;
Where once all of the crooked and the winding
Before my eyes are now made plain.

Here ev'ry valley is exalted,
And ev'ry hill is now made low;
And all my path and course Thy Hand has chartered,
And from Thee all my blessings flow.

When ev'ry valley is exalted,
And ev'ry mountain is brought low;
Where once in frustration we once were halted,
Is now made smooth and plain below.

Ev'ry valley is now exalted,
Ev'ry mountain we now can gain
Are cast up for our travel, and the vaulted,
With the rough places, are made plain.

*Copyright Jan 2004
O. Allen Bailey

*This material may be freely copied and distributed, but is not to be sold for profit, in accordance with U.S. and international copyright laws.