Return to bless my wait­ing eyes,
And cheer my mourn­ing heart, O Lord!
Without Thee, all be­neath the skies
No real plea­sure can af­ford.

When Thy loved pre­sence meets my sight,
It soft­ens care, and sweet­ens toil;
The sun shines forth with dou­ble light,
The whole cre­ation wears a smile.

Upon Thine arm of love I rest,
Thy gra­cious voice for­bids my fear;
No storms dis­turb my peace­ful breast,
No foes as­sault when Thou art near.

But ah! since Thou hast been away,
Nothing but trou­ble have I known;
And Sa­tan marks me for his prey
Because he sees me left alone.

My sun is hid, my com­forts lost,
My grac­es droop, my sins r­evive;
Distressed, dis­mayed, and tem­pest tossed,
My soul is on­ly just alive!

Lord, hear my cry and come again!
Put all mine ene­mies to shame,
And let them see, ’tis not in vain
That I have trust­ed in Thy name.