When Israel, of the Lord beloved,

Out from the land of bondage came,

Her fathers’ God before her moved,

An awful guide in smoke and flame.

By day, along the astonished lands

The cloudy pillar glided slow;

By night, Arabia’s crimsoned sands

Returned the fiery column’s glow.

Thus present still, though now unseen,

When brightly shines the prosperous day,

Be thoughts of Thee a cloudy screen,

To temper the deceitful ray!

And, O, when gathers on our path

In shade and storm the frequent night,

Be Thou, long-suffering, slow to wrath,

A burning and a shining light!