O Wherefore Hast Thou Cast Us Off?

O where­fore hast Thou cast us off

O God

our God of old?

Why art Thou ang­ry with Thy sheep

The sheep of Thine own fold

The sheep of Thine own fold?

Remember Thy in­her­it­ance

Thy Church

re­deemed by grace;

Remember Zi­on’s mount pro­faned

Thine an­cient dwell­ing place

Thine an­cient dwell­ing place.

In ru­in long Thy tem­ple lies;

Arise

O God of grace

And see the ru­in foes have wrought

Within Thy ho­ly place

Within Thy ho­ly place.

Amid Thy courts are lift­ed high

The stan­dards of the foe

And im­pi­ous hands with axe and fire

Have laid Thy tem­ple low

Have laid Thy tem­ple low.

They have pro­faned the ho­ly place

Where Thou hast set Thy name

The sanc­tu­ar­ies of our God

Are giv­en to the flame

Are giv­en to the flame.

We see no signs of pow­er di­vine

No pro­phet speaks for Thee

And none can tell

and none can know

How long these woes shall be

How long these woes shall be.

How long

O God

shall blas­phe­my

And shame re­proach our land?

Why dost Thou not de­stroy Thy foes

With Thine al­migh­ty hand

With Thine al­migh­ty hand?

O God

Thou art our king of old

Salvation Thou hast wrought;

In safe­ty through the migh­ty sea

Our fa­thers Thou hast brought.

With migh­ty arm thou didst de­stroy

The pride of boast­ful man

And for Thy peo­ple made a path

Where mighty wa­ters ran.

The day is Thine

and Thine the night

And Thine the shin­ing sun;

At Thy com­mand the earth’s bounds are set

And chang­ing sea­sons run.

Mark how Thy ene­mies

O Lord

Against Thee proud­ly speak;

Preserve Thy saints from wick­ed men

Be mind­ful of the meek.

Fulfill

O Lord

Thy co­ve­nant

Our strong pro­tect­or be

For in the earth are dark abodes

Of crime and cru­el­ty.

Let not Thy saints be put to shame

No long­er in Thy sight

Permit Thy foes to vaunt them­selves;

Lord

vin­di­cate the right.