Darkness long hath veiled the na­tions,
And a guil­ty world ap­pears
Full of cru­el ha­bi­ta­tions,
Strife and hat­red, groans and tears;
Lord of mer­cy,
May we look for bright­er years?

Yes, we hear Thy word de­clar­ing
That all hearts shall bow to Thee;
That Thy mer­cy is pre­par­ing
To ful­fill the high de­cree;
And that short­ly
Satan’s cap­tives shall be free.

Savior, though by man re­ject­ed,
Pity our apos­tate race;
Let those years, so long ex­pect­ed,
Rich with Hea­ven’s un­bound­ed grace,
Soon re­fresh us
With the bright­ness of Thy face.

Rouse the hea­then from their slum­bers,
With a loud awak­en­ing call;
Bring them in inc­reas­ing num­bers
Humbly at Thy feet to fall;
Reign amongst us,
Honored, loved, and served by all.