631. L. M. Bowring.
God Merciful in Affliction.
1Mysterious are the ways of God,
And fear and blindness oft repine;
We murmur 'neath his chastening rod,
Because we read not his design.
2Impending clouds his love has spread
O'er this low vale where mortals dwell;
And oft we mourn his spirit fled,
When adverse tempests round us swell.
3But in those storms that sometimes roll,
Our mortal dwellings dark above,
Whose threatening shades dismay the soul,
Dwells the bright presence of his love.
4We cannot see him--not a ray
Of all his glory there appears,
And oft we thread our darkened way,
Trembling with anxious doubts and fears.
5Yet faith still looks beyond the gloom,
While hope's bright star illumes our night;
Pilgrims of earth! though dark the tomb,
It leads to scenes of bliss and light.