1. Zion mourns in fear and anguish,
   Zion, city of our God,
   She for whom His heart once languished,
   Whom He chose for His abode.
   “Ah,” she says, “God hath indeed
   Cast me off in time of need,
   Left me by my griefs o’ertaken,
   Utterly by Him forsaken.

2. “Once,” she mourns, “He promised plainly
   That His help should e’er be near;
   Yet I now must seek Him vainly
   In my days of woe and fear.
   Will His anger never cease?
   Will He not renew His peace?
   Will He not show forth compassion
   And again forgive transgression?”

3. “Zion, surely I do love thee,”
   Thus to her the Savior saith,
   “Though with many woes I prove 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 troth is pledged to thee;
   Zion, thou art dear to Me.
   Deep within My heart I’ve set thee,
   That I never can forget thee.

5. “Let not Satan make thee craven;
   He can threaten but not harm.
   On My hands thy name is graven,
   And thy shield is My strong arm.
   How, then, could it ever be
   I should not remember thee,
   Fail to build thy walls, My city,
   And look down on thee with pity?

6. “Ever shall Mine eyes behold thee;
   On My bosom thou art laid.
   Ever shall My love enfold thee;
   Never shalt thou lack Mine aid.
   Neither Satan, war, nor stress
   Then shall mar thy happiness:
   With this blessèd consolation
   Be thou firm in tribulation.

Zion klagt mit Angst und Schmerzen
Johann Heermann, 1636
Tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1869, alt.
Source: Sts. 1–3a, 4b–6, The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, No. 268
St. 3b–4a, Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, 1927, No. 505