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Great Arbiter of human fate! – a hymn for Ḥanukkah by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)

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Great Arbiter of human fate!
Whose glory ne’er decays;
To thee alone we dedicate,
The song and soul of praise.
Thy presence Judah’s host inspired,
On danger’s post to rush;
By thee the Maccabee was fired,
Idolatry to crush.
Amid the ruins of their land,
(In Salem’s sad decline,)
Stood forth a brave but scanty band,
To battle for their shrine.
In bitterness of soul they wept,
Without the temple-wall;
For weeds around its courts had crept,
And foes its priests inthral.
Not long to vain regrets they yield,
But for their cherished fane,
Nerved by true faith they take the field,
And victory obtain.
But whose the power, whose the hand,
Which thus to triumph led,
That slender but heroic band,
From which blasphemers fled?
‘Twas thine, oh everlasting king,
And universal Lord!
Whose wonder still thy servants sing,
Whose mercies they record.
The priest of God his robe resumed,
When Israel’s warlike guide
The sanctuary’s lamp relumed,
Its altar purified.
Oh! thus shall mercy’s hand delight
To cleanse the blemished heart;
Rekindle virtue’s waning light,
And peace and truth impart.

“Great Arbiter of human fate!” by Penina Moïse, published in 1842, appears under the subject “Feast of Dedication (Hanuccah)” as Hymn 66 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), pp. 69-70. –Aharon Varady

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