The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
The darkness falls at Thy behest;
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
We thank Thee that Thy church, unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world her watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.
As o’er each continent and island
The dawn leads on another day,
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.
The sun that bids us rest is waking
Our brethren ’neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.
So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth’s proud empires, pass away:
Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.
(John Ellerton)
Fun Facts: Queen Victoria chose this hymn to be sung at the 60th anniversary of her reign in 1897; it was also sung at the ceremony when Britain returned control of Hong Kong to China in 1997.
*********************************************
Went to work on both Saturday and Sunday :( I hope I never have to do it ever again. It wasn't like we did that much work anyway. How sad for those who work day in and day out, where the boundaries of day and night are so blurred the days fuse into one, completely oblivious to life and the Giver of it.
Thanks for posting John Ellerton's marvelous hymn. (Today is the 184th anniversary of his birth.) As a "Cottrill"--my father was born in Manchester--the name of tune's composer, Clement Cotterill Scholefield catches my eye, in spite of the unfortunate misspelling of his middle name. :-)
ReplyDeleteMore seriously, I've always appreciated the way the hymn gives a sense of the magnitude of the church, as we praise God, day by day, around the globe.