Long since in Egypt’s plenteous land,

Our fathers were oppressed,

But God, whose chosen folk they were,

Smote those who long enslaved them there,

And all their woes redressed.

The Red Sea stayed them not at all,

Nor depths of liquid green;

On either hand a mighty wall

Of waters clear rose high at His call,

And they passed through between.

In deserts wild they wandered long,

They sinned, and went astray;

But yet His arm to help was strong,

He pardoned them though they did wrong,

And brought them on their way.

At last to this good land they came,

With fruitful plenty blest;

Here glorious men know endless fame,

Here God made holy Zion’s name,

And here He gave them rest.

Oh, may we ne’er forget what He hath done,

Nor prove unmindful of His love,

That, like the constant sun,

On Israel hath shone,

And sent down blessings from above.

Music: Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, from his oratorio Judith, 1888