"The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the thoughts of His heart through all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people He has chosen as His heritage."
Psalm 33:11-12
Oh God, beneath Thy guiding hand,
Our exiled fathers crossed the sea;
And when they trod the wintry strand,
With prayer and psalm they worshipped Thee.
Thou heardest, well pleased, the song, the prayer:
Thy blessings came; and still its power
Shall onward, through all ages, bear
The memory of that holy hour.
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.
And here Thy name, O God of love,
Their children's children still adore,
Till these eternal hills remove,
And spring adorns the earth no more.
"O God Beneath Thy Guiding Hand"(1833)
Words by Pastor Leonard Bacon
(1802-1881)
This hymn was written for the 200th anniversary
of the founding of New Haven, Connecticut