The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Has Ended

The following hymn is one of my favorite evening hymns. At the church I attend, we use the 1940 Hymnal which I generally love. :) Often when we have hymn sings in the evening, we'll sing this one towards the end.

A hymn with words by John Ellerton to the tune of St. Clement:

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.

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This is such a good reminder of the globalism of our faith. As we sleep here, the church in other parts of the world is awakening to praise our common Lord. Of course the hymn says it much more poetically.


I must admit that as I sat down to blog tonight, I wasn't sure what direction it was going to take. Frankly, I was in a funk most of the afternoon and evening. This was mostly because things weren't going according to my plan. I like the last two lines of the hymn as a reminder. "Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,/Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway." May I learn to own his sway as he orchestrates even the seconds of my life. Amen and Amen.