To man, it seemed that ev­il had pre­vailed,
That His fair life had al­to­ge­ther failed,
And naught was left but what the Cross im­paled—
But God saw oth­er­wise!

They would have hailed Him king, and with ac­claim,
Upon the wings of His far reach­ing fame,
Have swept the land like a de­vour­ing flame;
But God saw oth­er­wise!

It seemed as though His life had gone for naught—
Nothing to show for that long bat­tle fought,
But a pale pri­son­er to the gib­bet brought—
But God saw oth­er­wise!

No last­ing good seemed ev­er like to come
Of all His sow­ing—nei­ther fruit nor bloom,
Instead—a fe­lon’s cross, an ali­en tomb—
But God saw oth­er­wise!

We, too, at times, come nigh to lose our hope,
When with life’s ev­ils we no more can cope,
And in the dark with hea­vy hearts we grope;
But God saw oth­er­wise!