1 How long wilt thou forget me?
O Lord, for evermore?
For ever wilt thou let me
thine absent face deplore?
How long in fruitless wailing
shall I consume the day?
And thus how long prevailing
my vaunting foe bear sway?

2 O, do not thou forsake me!
Enlighten thou my gloom;
lest fatal sleep o'ertake me,
the death-sleep of the tomb;
lest then my foe insulting
should boast of his success,
and impious men exulting
triumph in my distress.

3 Lord, in my tribulation
I trust thy mercy still,
and surely thy salvation
my heart with joy shall fill.
Thine aid thou didst afford me,
thy praises I will sing;
and for his mercies toward me
will bless my God and king.