Hymn
God's Presence With His People
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.
By day, along the astonished lands
The cloudy pillar glided slow;
By night, Arabia’s crimsoned sands
Returned the fiery column’s glow.
Thus present still, though now unseen,
When brightly shines the prosperous day,
Be thoughts of Thee a cloudy screen,
To temper the deceitful ray!
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!
God's Presence With His People — Text from A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.), 1866. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/gods-presence-with-his-people
Chord chart coming soon
Want to play this one? Leave your email and we'll let you know when the chords are ready.
Questions about this hymn
Who wrote God's Presence With His People?
The words of God's Presence With His People were written by Sir Walter Scott; the version here was published in 1866. The library also holds The Day of Wrath, another hymn by Sir Walter Scott.
Is God's Presence With His People public domain?
Yes. The words here are taken from A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.), published in 1866. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.
What is the metre of God's Presence With His People?
God's Presence With His People is in Long Metre (8.8.8.8). Hymns in the same metre can usually be sung to the same tunes — for example, A Prayer For Ministers, He Careth For You and Strong Son of God.