When Israel, of the Lord beloved,

Out from the land of bondage came,

Her father’s God before her moved,

An awful Guide, in smoke and flame.

2 By day, along th’ astonished lands

The cloudy pillar glided slow;

By night Arabia’s crimsoned sands

Returned the fiery column’s glow.

3 Thus present still, though now unseen,

O Lord, when shines the prosperous day,

Be thoughts of thee a cloudy screen,

To temper the deceitful ray.

4 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.