"How awful is thy chast'ning rod!"

May thy own children say:

"The great, the wise, the dreadful God!

How holy is his way !"

I'll meditate his works of old,

The King that reigns above;

I'll hear his ancient wonders told,

And learn to trust his love.

Long did the house of Joseph lie

With Egypt's yoke oppressed;

Long he delayed to hear their cry,

or gave his people rest.

The sons of good old Jacob seemed

Abandoned to their foes;

But his almighty arm redeemed

The nation that he chose.

Isr'el, his people and his sheep,

Must follow where he calls;

He bade them venture through the deep,

And made the waves their walls.

The waters saw thee, mighty God!

The waters saw thee come;

Backward they fled, and frighted stood,

To make thine armies room.

Strange was thy journey through the sea

Thy footsteps, Lord, unknown;

Terrors attend the wondrous way

That brings thy mercies down.

[Thy voice, with terror in the sound,

Through clouds and darkness broke;

All heav'n in lightning shone around,

And earth with thunder shook.

Thine arrows through the skies were hurled;

How glorious is the Lord!

Surprise and trembling seized the world,

And his own saints adored.

He gave them water from the rock,

And safe, by Moses' hand,

Through a dry desert led his flock

Home to the promised land.]