Zion mourns in fear and anguish

1 Zion mourns in fear and anguish,
Zion, city of our God:
"Ah!" she saith, "how sore I languish,
Bowed beneath so hard a load;
God hath sure forsook me quite,
And forgot my evil plight;"--
Nay, the Lord, who chose thee, spares thee,
For within His heart He bears thee.

2 "Once," she mourns, "He promised plainly
That His help should aye be near,
Yet I now must seek Him vainly
In my days of woe and fear.
Will He then forevermore
Keep His anger, and no more
Help His chosen generation
In their present tribulation?"

3 "Zion, surely I have loved thee!"
Thus to her the Highest saith,
"Although many woes have proved thee,
And thy soul is sad to death,
Yet now cast thy griefs behind;
Where wilt thou a mother find,
For her own child not providing,
Or in hatred with it chiding?"

4 "And if thou couldst find a mother
Who forgot her infant's claim,
Or whose wrath her love could smother,
Yet would I be still the same;
For my truth is pledged to thee,
Zion, thou art dear to me,
I within my heart have set thee,
And I never can forget thee."

5 "Let not Satan make thee craven,
He can fight but cannot harm;
On my hands thy name is graven,
And thy shield is still my arm.
How, then, could it ever be
That I failed to think of thee,
Build the wall of my own city,
And look down on thee with pity?"