As when, triumphant o'er the grim array
Of leaden clouds drawn up in seeming might,
The sun, a living splendor, greets the day
And floods a waiting world with warmth and light,
So, through the doubts and fear of humankind,
From Zion, in her beauty, "God hath shined."
Earth's lessons were so hard to understand;
Its devious ways so dim and meaningless,
Till, cleaving clouds of error, Love's command
Pointed the way, a lamp to guide and bless;
And on the eager, thirsty, waiting mind,
From Zion, in her beauty, "God hath shined."
