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!