Page:The songs that Quinte sang.djvu/63

Rh O God! Dost Thou not hear the bitter wailing
 * Ascending from the Earth unto Thy Throne?

Are human tears and prayers so unavailing
 * That Heaven heareth not our sobbing moan?

“As a shepherd feeds his flock,” so it is written,
 * Lord, we believe, even as Thou hast said,

Yet see, God! By Famine’s gaunt hand smitten
 * Thy children faint and die, They have no bread.

Thou hast endowed the Earth with goodly treasure
 * That each may have a portion, fair and just,

And bade Thy stewards give with flowing measure,
 * Yet see, Lord, how they abuse Thy Trust.

Hearken, God! King, in justice hearken!
 * Earth’s toiling millions moan in agony.

How long, dear God, must man’s oppression darken
 * The lives of those who put their trust in Thee?

O Angel host, whose songs are ever ringing
 * Around Jehovah’s Throne, so sweet and clear,

For one brief moment cease, O cease thy singing,
 * And let Earth’s bitter wailing reach His ear.