How long, O how long
Must our plead­ing be vain?
How long till the Chris­tian
Shall loos­en the chain
That binds us in ig­no­rance,
Mighty and strong;
How long, O ye Chris­tians,
How long, O how long?

How long must we wait,
And con­tin­ue to cry,
Come ov­er and help us,
O come ere we die?
O where is sal­va­tion,
So full and so free?
We’re wait­ing, O Chris­tians,
God’s peo­ple to be.

O heed thou our plead­ing,
Nor longer de­lay;
Our peo­ple are hea­then,
They know not the way;
Then come, quick­ly come,
Bring your mes­sage of peace,
To save us from ru­in—
Our souls to re­lease.

Despised and for­sak­en,
No Bi­ble, no God;
We long to be free
From ido­la­try’s rod;
O hear us, while out of
The dark­ness we cry:
Come ov­er and help us,
O come, ere we die.