God's ways seem dark, but, soon or late,
They touch the shining hills of day;
The evil cannot brook delay,
The good can well afford to wait.
Not a sorrow, not a burden, not a temptation, not a bereavement, not a disappointment, not a care, not a groan or tear, but has its antidote in God's rich and inexhaustible resources.
As yonder tower outstretches to the earth
The dark triangle of its shade alone
When the clear day is shining on its top;
So, darkness in the pathway of man's life
Is but the shadow of God's providence,
By the great Sun of wisdom cast thereon;
And what is dark below is light in heaven.
He sendeth sun, He sendeth shower,—
Alike they're needful to the flower;
And joys and tears alike are sent
To give the soul fit nourishment.
As comes to me or cloud or sun,
Father! Thy will, not mine, be done.
God's plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold;
We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart—
Time will reveal the calyxes of gold.
And, if through patient toil we reach the land
Where tired feet with sandals loose may rest,
When we shall clearly know, and understand,
I think that we shall say: "God knows the best."
