When the World Is Too Much
“Courage! The victory is mine; I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33, NEB)
A child, hopes dying aborning, is abused,
And met not with kindness, but only to be used,
The yearning for caring continually refused
When the violence of war is commonplace,
And death reigns daily with a mighty mace,
How vain to the trapped must seem the claims of grace
By the millions flows the stream of refugees,
Beset by cold and hunger and threat of disease,
Life turned upside down, the proudest brought to their knees
Swiftly disaster strikes, leaving in its wake
Souls bereft of loved ones and much of earthly stake;
Hope may rise by aid for the sufferers’ sake
Singular or systemic, rampant are racial offenses,
Made more bitter and enduring by our pretenses,
Must they run, and run still more, through all the tenses?
To be treated without worth is a burden none should bear,
To rob persons of dignity is an egregious affair,
It offends the Creator and causes many to despair
Fleeing poverty and violence, fueled by passion,
On a dangerous trek, risking all, hoping to fashion
A new life, will they be shown any compassion?
How reprehensible the depraved
Treatment of persons in white slavery trade,
All Heaven revolts at evil so grave
Waves of terror, cruelty beyond bounds,
Leave in their wake bitter silence and appalling sounds,
Prisoned by fear where ruthlessness abounds
As many endure an abyss of evil,
And it appears control is given over to the devil,
Does heaven bring hope from time primeval?
The heart broken, tears without end, or unable to weep,
Depression unceasing, no sanctuary in the deep,
With hopes all fled, is life worthy to keep?
There is a Friend, who stays closer than a brother,
Through all vicissitudes like no other,
The answer to the deepest prayers of a mother
As hatred, with a vengeance, rises to fulfill
Many a hellish scheme, moved by the devil’s will,
The Savior opens a healing flood from Calv’ry’s hill
‘Deliver us from evil’ should be
A daily soul cry and fervent plea,
Exulting for all in Him Christ’s victory
Send the word across the world like a trumpet call,
To the hurting, grieving, despairing, to all,
There is hope for the stricken whatever may befall
Rejoice! divine power is Christ’s to wield;
By love all-surpassing He triumphs the field,
Evil’s doom is set, forever sealed.
– James A. Langley
