And was he of God forsaken? They ask, appalled with dread; Is evil crowned and triumphant, And goodness vanquished and dead? Is there, then, no God in Jacob? Is the star of Judah dim? For who would our God deliver, If he would not deliver him? If God _could_ not deliver,--what hope then? If he _would_ not,--who ever shall dare To be firm in his service hereafter? To trust in his wisdom or care? So darkly the Tempter was saying, To hearts that with sorrow were dumb; And the poor souls were clinging in darkness to God, With hands that with anguish were numb. * * * * * In my dreams came the third day morning, And fairly the day-star shone; But fairer, the solemn angel, As he rolled away the stone. In the lowly dwelling of Mary, In the dusky twilight chill, There was heard the sound of coming feet, And her very heart grew still. And in the glimmer of dawning, She saw him enter the door, Her Son, all living and real, Risen, to die no more! Her Son, all living and real, Risen no more to die,-- With the power of an endless life in his face, With the light of heaven in his eye. O mourning mothers, so many, Weeping o'er sons that are dead, Have ye thought of the sorrows of Mary's heart, Of the tears that Mary shed? Is the crown of thorns before you? Are there memories of cruel scorn? Of hunger and thirst and bitter cold That your beloved have borne? Had ye ever a son like Jesus To give to a death of pain? Did ever a son so cruelly die, But did he die in vain? Have ye ever thought that all the hopes That make our earth-life fair Were born in those three bitter days Of Mary's deep despair? O mourning mothers, so many, Weeping in woe and pain, Think on the joy of Mary's heart In a Son that is risen again. Have faith in a third-day morning, In a resurrection-hour; For what ye sow in weakness, He can raise again in power. Have faith in the Lord of that thorny crown, In the Lord of the piercéd hand; For he reigneth now o'er earth and heaven, And his power who may withstand? And the hopes that never on earth shall bloom, The sorrows forever new, Lay silently down at the feet of Him Who died and is risen for you. VI. DAY DAWN. THE dim gray dawn, upon the eastern hills, Brings back to light once more the cheerless scene; But oh! no morning in my Father's house Is dawning now, for there no night hath been. Ten thousand thousand now, on Zion's hills, All robed in white, with palmy crowns, do stray, While I, an exile, far from fatherland, Still wandering, faint along the desert way.