Past and present, God’s will prevails.
Hence, understanding is always best
and a prudent mind. Whoever remains
for long here in this earthly life
will enjoy and endure more than enough.
– Beowulf, Seamus Heaney (trans.)
Lines 1057-1060: The big picture perspective on what we confront in this world, as the poet expresses a personal faith in the will of God. References to a divine being are embroidered throughout the text of the poem.