Judah Restored

Yet say not

Ju­dah’s hope is fled

Her high and ho­ly trust—

That she hath laid her mourn­ing head

For ev­er in the dust.

Oh! say not that her sun went down

Quenched in her judg­ment night

In deep­est dark­ness of its frown

To rise no more in light.

Say ra­ther—for the Lord hath said

And she shall hear the sound—

“O cap­tive daugh­ter! lift thine head

In beau­ty from the ground.

“Arise

and take thy so­lemn vows;

Thy re­gal robe pre­pare;

And like Mes­si­ah’s brid­al spouse

Thy crown of glo­ry wear.

Bid Ke­dar’s wil­der­ness re­joice

The mount­ains round thee sing;

Jerusalem

lift up thy voice

Before the Lord

the King.

Jerusalem

and mayst thou yet

Look up with­out des­pair?

And turn to mourn­ful Ol­iv­et

And hail thy So­ver­eign there?

Will He for­give the guil­ty stain

That cursed thy wea­ry land;

His tear up­on thy wi­ther­ing plain

His blood up­on thy hand?

Yes—fear not

Ju­dah

even now

Thy name is on His heart;

The ev­er­last­ing hills may bow

The mount­ains may de­part;

But Zi­on’s Lord shall ne’er for­get

The coun­sels of His will;

And His eter­nal love is set

On Zi­on’s daugh­ter still.

Moriah heard Je­ho­vah swear

To Ab­ra­ham and his seed!

Moriah heard Mes­si­ah’s pray­er

For Ab­ra­ham’s child­ren plead.

And Ju­dah’s ran­somed tribes shall see

The Migh­ty One again;

And bow to Him the sup­pl­iant knee

And bless His gen­tle reign.

The watch­ful na­tions wait around

To mark her ga­ther­ing pow­er;

The length­ened sha­dows on the ground

Presage the com­ing hour.

’Tis burst­ing through her twi­light doom

Of min­gled day and night;

Her glo­ry kin­dles in the gloom—

At ev­en­ing time ’tis light!

Sing

Gen­tile earth

for Ju­dah sing

The Lord hath loosed her bands;

Creation! shout for Zi­on’s king

And clap thy joy­ful hands!