Afterward

"God's ways are equal: storm or calm,
Seasons of peril and of rest,
The hurting dart, the healing balm,
Are all apportioned as is best.
In judgments oft misunderstood,
In ways mysterious and obscure,
He brings from evil lasting good,
And makes the final gladness sure.
While Justice takes its course with strength,
Love bids our faith and hope increase:
He'll give the chastened world at length
His afterward of peace.

"When the dread forces of the gale
His sterner purposes perform,
And human skill can naught avail
Against the fury of the storm,
Let loving hearts trust in him still,
Through all the dark and devious way;
For who would thwart his blessed will,
Which leads through night to joyous day?
Be still beneath his tender care;
For He will make the tempest cease,
And bring from out the anguish here,
An afterward of peace.

"Look up, O Earth; no storm can last
Beyond the limits God hath set.
When its appointed work is past,
In joy thou shall thy grief forget.
Where sorrow's ploughshare hath swept through,
Thy fairest flowers of life shall spring,
For God shall grant thee life anew,
And all thy wastes shall laugh and sing.
Hope thou in him: His plan for thee
Shall end in triumph and release.
Fear not, for thou shall surely see
His afterward of peace."