Joy is a fruit that will not grow

357 Elizabethtown. C. M.

1 Joy is a fruit that will not grow
   In nature's barren soil;
   All we can boast, till Christ we know,
   Is vanity and toil.

2 But where the Lord has planted grace,
   And made His glories known,
   There fruits of heavenly joy and peace
   Are found—and there alone.

3 A bleeding Saviour, seen by faith,
   A sense of pard'ning love,
   A hope that triumphs over death—
   Give joys like those above.

4 To take a glimpse within the veil,
   To know that God is mine—
   Are springs of joy that never fail,
   Unspeakable, divine!

5 These are the joys that satisfy
   And sanctify the mind;
   Which make the spirit mount on high,
   And leave the world behind.
                         John Newton
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Not one of Newton's more popular hymns. It only occurs in seventy-nine hymnals.
</idle musing>