WHEN forth from Egypt's trembling strand

WHEN forth from Egypt's trembling strand The tribes of Israel sped, And Jacob in the stranger's land Departing banners spread;

Then One, amid their thick array His kingly dwelling made, And all along the desert way Their guiding sceptre sway'd.

The sea beheld, and struck with dread, Roll'd all its billows back; And Jordan, through his deepest bed, Reveal'd their destined track.

What ail'd thee, O thou mighty seat Why roll'd thy waves in dread? What bade thy tide, O Jordan, flee And bare its deepest bed?

O earth, before the Lord, the God Who makes the waste a water'd sod, The flint a gushing rill.