1 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. 2 By day, along the astonished lands, The cloudy pillar glided slow: By night, Arabia’s crimsoned sands Returned the fiery column’s glow. 3 There rose the choral hymn of praise, And trump and timbrel answered keen, And Zion’s daughters poured their lays, With priest’s and warrior’s voice between. 4 No portents now our foes amaze, Forsaken Israel wanders lone: Our fathers would not know Thy ways, And Thou hast left them to their own. 5 But, present still, though now unseen! When brightly shines the prosperous day, Be thoughts of Thee a cloudy screen To temper the deceitful ray. 6 And O, when stoops on Judah’s path In shade and storm the frequent night, Be Thou, long-suffering, slow to wrath, A burning and a shining light!