The Church Has Waited Long

The Church has waited long
Her absent Lord to see;
And still in loneliness she waits,
A friendless stranger she.

How long, O Lord our God,
Holy and true and good,
Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering church,
Her sighs and tears and blood?

We long to hear Thy voice,
To see Thee face to face,
To share Thy crown and glory then,
As now we share Thy grace.

Come, Lord, and wipe away
The curse, the sin, the stain,
And make this blighted world of ours
Thine own fair world again.

Author: Horatius Bonar

Year: 1845

This hymn is a well-known work by the Scottish Presbyterian minister and prolific hymn-writer Horatius Bonar (1808–1889). It first appeared in his collection Hymns of Faith and Hope (First Series) in 1857, though the text itself dates from around 1845. No significant alternate attributions exist.