How long, O Lord! how long,
Must I in patience wait,
Among the weary throng,
Around Thy golden gate?

To Kedar's lonely tents
No kindred spirits come;
And my poor soul laments
Her distance from her home.

On bitter herbs I feed,
On Mesech's hated hills;
The pasture green I need
By Judah's fragrant rills.

Come in Thine own time, Lord,
To set my spirit free;
I lean upon Thy word,
And calmly wait for Thee.