Words: Anon­ymous, in The Meth­od­ist Hymn­al (New York: The Meth­od­ist Book Con­cern, 1905), num­ber 474:

This hymn, which is not con­tained, so far as is known, in ano­ther Church col­lect­ion, was found by a mem­ber of the Com­miss­ion that com­piled this Hymn­al in the col­umns of a re­li­gious per­i­od­i­cal, where it was pub­lished anon­y­mous­ly. When we think of how ma­ny good and use­ful hymns are of un­known au­thor­ship, there comes to mind the fa­mil­iar coup­let of :

Though they may forget the singer,
They will not forget the song.

Music: Plymouth, , 1905.

Our highest joys succeed our griefs,
And peace is born of pain;
Smiles follow bitter blinding tears,
As sunshine follows rain.

We gain our rest through weariness,
From bitter draw the sweet:
Strength comes from weakness, hope from fear,
And victory from defeat.

We reap where we have sown the seed;
Gain is the fruit of loss;
Life springs from death and, at the end,
The crown succeeds the cross.