Welcome, Thou so­ver­eign King of grace,
We long, we long to see Thy face;
Our hearts are wea­ry of de­lay,
When, when, shall come the pro­mised day?
Come, make the cloud that bore Thee hence
Thy cha­ri­ot back for our de­fense;
We own Thy so­ver­eign right to reign—
Come back, come back to earth again.

Rulers and peo­ple call Thy name,
But seek in­stead for earth­ly fame,
And justice holds un­ev­en hand—
Thy glo­ry fills not all the land.
Thy throne, long va­cant here be­low,
Needs Thee as do Thy child­ren, too;
Return, Thy right and rule main­tain,
Come back, come back to earth again.

Thy her­alds now in ev­ery land,
Proclaim Thy king­dom near at hand;
Thy bride has long her vi­gil kept,
In wea­ri­ness Thine ab­sence wept;
How long, how long must she still wait,
Thy com­ing at the east­ern gate?
She still her would-be lov­ers spurn,
And waits in hope for Thy re­turn.

Delay no more, we long­ing cry,
Come back and let us see Thee nigh;
Come, and re­store our dead who sleep,
Come dry the tears of those who weep;
Answer our pray­er, Thy king­dom come,
Thy will again on earth be done;
Thy bride still gives her heart’s re­frain—
Come back, come back to earth again.