177 ~ The Church Has Waited Long
1
The church has waited long Her absent Lord to see; And still in loneliness she waits, A friendless stranger she.
2
How long, O Lord our God, Holy and true and good, Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering church, Her sighs and tears and blood?
3
Saint after saint on earth, Has lived, and loved, and died; And as they left us one by one, We laid them side by side.
4
We laid them down to sleep, But not in hope forlorn; We laid them but to slumber there, Till the last glorious morn.
5
We long to hear Thy voice, To see Thee face to face, To share Thy crown and glory then, As now we share Thy grace.
6
Come, Lord, and wipe away The curse, the sin, the stain, And make this blighted world of ours Thine own fair world again.