A Cry, as of Pain

A cry

as of pain

again and again

Is borne o’er the de­serts

And wide spread­ing main;

A cry from the lands

That in dark­ness are ly­ing

A cry from the hearts

That in sor­row are sigh­ing;

It comes un­to me;

It comes un­to thee;

Oh what—oh what

Shall the an­swer be?

Oh! hark to the call;

It comes un­to all

Whom Je­sus hath res­cued

From sin’s dead­ly thrall;

Come ov­er and help us!

In bond­age we lang­uish;

Come ov­er and help us!

We die in our an­guish!

It comes un­to me;

It comes un­to thee;

Oh what—oh what

Shall the an­swer be?

It comes to the soul

That Christ hath made whole

The heart that is long­ing

His name to ex­tol;

It comes with a chor­us

Of pi­ti­ful wail­ing;

It comes with a plea

Which is strong and pre­vail­ing;

For Christ’s sake to me;

For Christ’s sake to thee;

Oh what—oh what

Shall the an­swer be?

We come

Lord

to Thee

Thy serv­ants are we;

Inspire Thou the an­swer

And true it shall be!

If here we should work

Or afar Thou should send us

Oh grant that Thy mer­cy

May ev­er at­tend us

That each one may be

A wit­ness for Thee

Till all the earth

Shall Thy glo­ry see!