The Word was very God

The word was very God
before creation came;
in the beginning was the Word,
and Jesus is his name.
That Word which some deny
and others make a joke,
he is the Word whom we adore,
the Word the Father spoke.

2. The love we owe to him
above all things on earth
will be the greater, since as man
he seemed so little worth.
The more his name is scorned
and unbelievers jest,
so much the brighter shines his truth,
the Godhead manifest.

3. What some revile as lies,
impossible, malign,
he plainly shows is possible,
most certain, and divine.
And on the cross, his shame,
his utter nothingness,
is that which overcomes the world,
and all the world shall bless.