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Advent Hymnals

SDA Hymnal 217

The Church Has Waited Long

Words: Horatius BonarMusic: Joseph BarnbyTune: LAUDES DOMINI6.6.6.6.8.8

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1The church has waited long
Her absent Lord to see;
And still in loneliness she waits,
A friendless stranger she.

2How long, O Lord our God,
Holy and true and good,
Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering church,
Her sighs and tears and blood?

3We long to hear Thy voice,
To see Thee face to face,
To share Thy crown and glory then,
As now we share Thy grace.

4Come, Lord, and wipe away
The curse, the sin, the stain,
And make this blighted world of ours
Thine own fair world again.

Meter
6.6.6.6.8.8
Scripture
Revelation 22:20; 2 Peter 3:9

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
6.6.8.6 · the hymnal prints 6.6.6.6.8.8
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 71% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCB

Could also be sung to Darwall's 148th, Logan, Murray, Zebulon · same meter and stresses; not printed with these words, so try it first.

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

The church has waited long˘/˘/˘/6A
Her absent Lord to see;˘/˘/˘/6B
And still in loneliness she waits,˘/˘/˘˘˘/8C
A friendless stranger she.˘??/˘˘6B

Verse 2

How long, O Lord our God,//˘//˘/7A
Holy and true and good,/˘˘/˘/6B
Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering church,//˘///˘˘/9C
Her sighs and tears and blood?˘/˘/˘/6D

Verse 3

We long to hear Thy voice,˘/˘///6A
To see Thee face to face,˘///˘/6B
To share Thy crown and glory then,˘///˘/˘/8C
As now we share Thy grace.˘/˘///6B

Verse 4

Come, Lord, and wipe away//˘/˘/6A
The curse, the sin, the stain,˘/˘/˘/6B
And make this blighted world of ours˘/˘/˘/˘/˘9C
Thine own fair world again.////˘/6D

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.