1 O God, beneath thy guiding hand,
Our exiled fathers crossed the sea,
And when they trod the wintry strand,
With prayer and psalm they worshiped thee.
2 Thou heardst, well pleased, the song, the prayer–
Thy blessing came; and still its power
Shall onward through all ages bear
The memory of that holy hour.
3 What change! through pathless wilds no more
The fierce and naked savage roams:
Sweet praise, along the cultured shore,
Breaks from ten thousand happy homes
4 Laws, freedom, truth, and faith in God
Came with those exiles o’er the waves,
And where their pilgrim feet have trod,
The God they trusted guards their graves.
5 And here thy name, O God of love,
Their children’s children shall adore,
Till these eternal hills remove,
And spring adorns the earth no more.
O God, Beneath Thy Guiding Hand Lyrics
Title: Forefathers’ Day
Author: Leonard Bacon