Day had soft­ly fad­ed
In the gold­en west,
Jacob, sad and lone­ly,
Laid him down to rest;
Tho’ a stone his pil­low,
Soon he calm­ly slept,
While the stars above him
Silent vi­gil kept.

Refrain

O that night at Beth­el!
Bright with joy its ho­ly beam;
There his soul up­lift­ed,
Heard the voice of God in a dream.

On a won­drous lad­der,
Reaching to the skies,
Angel forms des­cend­ing,
Filled him with sur­prise;
From its lof­ty sum­mit,
Came the words di­vine:
I, the Lord, have pro­mised,
Lo, this land is thine.

Refrain

Far from home and kin­dred,
In that lone­ly spot,
God was watch­ing o’er him,
Yet he knew it not;
Thus the hand whose mer­cy
Governs all our ways,
Out of deep­est tri­al,
Brings the high­est praise.

Refrain