Enthroned amid the se­ra­phim,
Where count­less roll the wheels of time,
Celestial light, al­migh­ty pow­er!
Burst forth in this af­flict­ive hour!
Effulgent, shine upon our race!
Thy an­cient mer­cies, Lord, re­trace!

From su­per­sti­tion’s dark do­main,
From per­se­cu­tion’s cru­el reign,
When erst a ten­der vine was brought,
With joys ex­ub­er­ant­ly fraught;
In re­gions wrapped in des­ti­ny,
It rose and bloomed, a love­ly tree!

Its shade the mount­ains ov­er­spread;
Its root, by bub­bling fount­ains fed,
Nor drought, nor de­sert, could ar­rest;
Its branches filled the far­thest west:
Beside a thou­sand flow­ery banks,
Its clus­ters swelled in glow­ing ranks.

Now torn and pros­trate its de­fense,
Despoiled of its mag­ni­fi­cence,
The sa­vage hunt­er treads it down;
It fades be­neath a ty­rant’s frown;
The sword de­stroys, the fire de­vours,
The De­ity in dark­ness lours!

Ah! why de­sert­ed of our God?
His vine­yard, why a field of blood?
Return, O God of hosts, re­turn!
Thy ra­vaged, slaugh­tered church dis­cern!
Behold, and vic­to­ry im­part!
Thine, ev­er Thine, shall be our heart!