Above:  Sunset

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1916) by Julius Ewald Kockritz (1876-1931)

Hymn Source = The Evangelical Hymnal (1917), Evangelical Synod of North America

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As fades the daylight splendor,

We crave Thy mercies tender,

Thou Lord of Life and Light,

Thy love for us abounding,

Thy strong arms, us surrounding,

Defend and shield us through the night.

+++++

Thy grace is all prevailing,

Thy mercy never failing,

E’en though our need is great.

When trials come assaulting,

O give us grace unfalt’ring,

That we trustful Thy help await.

+++++

Sometimes the way seems dreary,

And weakness makes us weary:

Do Thou then make us strong;

That, pain and grief controlling,

We look for Thy consoling;

For Thou wilt never tarry long.

+++++

And when at last the evening

Of death shall come, revealing

The passing of this clay,

Wilt Thou then hear our pleading,

And, tho’ death’s night us leading,

Bring us to life’s eternal day.

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Above:  Evening Sky

Image in the Public Domain

Original Syraic Text by St. Ephrem of Edessa (306/307-373)

English Translation by Francis Crawford Burkitt (1864-1935)

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

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Receive, O Lord, in heaven above,

Our prayers and supplications pure;

Give us a heart all full of love

And steady courage to endure.

++++++

Thy holy name our mouths confess,

Our tongues are harps to praise thy grace;

Forgive our sins and wickedness,

Who in this vigil seek thy face.

++++++

Let not our song become a sigh,

A wail of anguish and despair;

In loving-kindness, Lord most high,

Receive to-night our evening prayer.

++++++

O raise us in that day, that we

May sing, where all thy Saints adore,

Praise to thy Father, and to thee,

And to thy Spirit, evermore.

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Above:  Sunset in the Philippines

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1865) by the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924), for a Sunday School festival at Horbury Bridge, Yorkshire, England

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

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Now the day is over,

Night is drawing nigh,

Shadows of the evening

Steal across the sky.

+++++

Now the darkness gathers,

Stars begin to peep,

Birds and beasts and flowers

Soon will be asleep.

+++++

Jesu, give the weary

Calm and sweet repose;

With thy tenderest blessing

May our eyelids close.

+++++

Grant to little children

Visions bright of thee;

Guard the sailors tossing

On the deep blue sea.

+++++

Comfort every sufferer

Watching late in pain;

Those who plan some evil

From their sin restrain.

+++++

Through the long night watches

May thine Angels spread

Their white wings above me,

Watching round my bed.

+++++

When the morning wakens,

Then may I arise

Pure, and fresh, and sinless

In thy holy eyes.

+++++

Glory to the Father,

Glory to the Son,

And to thee, blest Spirit,

Whilst all ages run.

Above:  Evening Sky

Image in the Public Domain

Prayer Source = A Book of Worship for Free Churches (1948), the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for the peace that is from above, and for the salvation of our souls.

Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for the peace of the whole world; for the welfare of God’s holy churches; and for the union of all.

Lord have mercy.

Let us pray for this holy temple and for those who with faith, devoutness, and in the fear of God have entered herein.

Lord, have mercy.

All:  Lord, I have cried unto thee; hear me.  Hear me, O Lord; I have cried unto thee, hear me:  receive the voice of my prayer when I call upon thee.  Hear me, O Lord.  Let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as incense, and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.

–Page 314

Above:  Athens, Georgia, January 16, 2016, 6:25 P.M.

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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The Mighty One, God the LORD,

speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God shines forth.

–Psalm 50:1-2, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

++++++++++++++++++++++

God of beauty and magnificence, the heavens proclaim your glory.

Thank you for natural wonders, especially the loveliness of dusk,

as light fades into darkness, departing with splendid hues

until the glorious dawn just a few hours later.

The beauty of nature reminds us that you

are the greatest artist we have encountered.

We stand in awe and wonder before you;

our knees bend, our heads bow, and our voices crack

in praise and respect of you.

In the Name of God:  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 26, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS TIMOTHY, TITUS, AND SILAS, COWORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/a-prayer-of-thanksgiving-for-the-beauty-of-dusk/

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Above:  Sunset Rays in Sky

Image in the Public Domain

Original German Text (1711) by Caspar Neumann (1648-1715)

English Translation (1938) for The Lutheran Hymnal (1941)

Hymn Source = The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), The Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America

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Gracious God, again is ended

Of my life another day.

Show me where I have offended,

Where I faltered on the way;

Let me by Thy grace divine

View this sinful life of mine.

Calmly, as the day now closes,

In Thy love my soul reposes.

+++++

Faithful Father, thus before Thee

Now I come with fervent plea;

Though unworthy, I implore Thee,

Be Thou merciful to me;

Let Thy face upon me shine

As the fleeting hours decline.

Help me do Thy will and pleasure

Day by day in fuller measure.

+++++

Loving Savior, I will solely

Look to Thee for peaceful sleep;

Sanctify my spirit wholly,

Angels send their watch to keep.

Bid all threatening foes be gone,

Guard my home and all mine own;

Drive away all gloom and sorrow,

Bless me with a glad tomorrow.

+++++

Holy Ghost, Thine eyes forever

Watch though darkness hide the view;

Waking always, failing never,

They their loving task pursue.

Gentle Shepherd, as Thy sheep

Now repose in trustful sleep,

So within Thine arms enfold me.

+++++

Gracious God, let me awaken

To another blessed day

That I may, with faith unshaken,

Serve Thee as my Strength and Stay.

Should instead death’s summons come,

Take me to Thy heavenly home.

To Thy care I thus commend me;

Lord, in life and death attend me.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Red Sunset

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1850) by Thomas Hastings (1784-1872)

Hymn Source = American Hymns Old and New (1980)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now from labor and from care

Evening hours have set me free,

In the work of praise and prayer,

Lord, I would converse with thee,

O behold me from above,

Fill me with a Saviour’s love.

+++++

Sin and sorrow, guilt and woe

Wither all my earthly joys;

Nought can charm me here below,

But my Saviour’s melting voice,

Lord, forgive, thy grace restore,

Make me thine for evermore.

+++++

For the blessings of this day,

For the mercies of this hour,

For the gospel’s cheering ray,

For the Spirit’s quickening power,

Grateful notes to thee I raise,

O accept the song of praise.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Sunset Dusk

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1878) by Ambrose Nichols Blatchford (1842-1924)

Hymn Source = The New Hymnal for American Youth (1930)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1.  Peacefully round us the shadows are falling,

Glad be our praises and trustful our prayer:

Hear us, O Lord, on thy providence calling,

Lighten our darkness, and banish our care.

2.  Hushed are the sheep-bells afar on the moorland,

O’er the still meadows the night breezes sweep,

Faint fall the footsteps in city and hamlet,

Safely our children are folded in sleep.

3.  Softly may weary ones rest from their duty,

Bright be the dreams of the troubled and worn,

While thro’ the shade beam the stars in their beauty,

Watching the world till the breaking of morn.

4.  Lord of the night, let thine angels defend us;

Sunshine and gloom are alike unto thee;

Lord of the day, let thy Spirit attend us,

Bless us and keep us wherever we be.

Above:  Evening Boat Ride

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1924) by Henry Burton (1840-1930)

Hymn Source = The New Hymnal for American Youth (1930)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1.  The day is past; the shadows round are falling;

The light is fading from the western sky;

From the still heavens the evening star is calling,

Bidding us rest for night is drawing nigh.

2.  The toil that prospered harvests for our reaping,

The plans that failed, alike were gifts of love;

All ways are thine, and thine the glorious keeping,

In paths of peace all lighted from above.

3.  Thou makest, Lord, the evening and the morning;

The dark and light are both alike to thee;

And somewhere always new the day is dawning,

Bidding thy waking children, come and see!

Above:  Dark Night

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1933), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Text (1907) by Allen Eastman Cross (1864-1942)

Allen Eastman Cross was a Congregationalist minister in the United States.  His title for this text was “The Great Companion.”  According to the author, quoted in Handbook to the Hymnal (1935), the circumstances of the writing of the hymn were strain and worry.  He explained:

I felt the ineffectualness of my prayer life and the ineffectiveness of workaday service.  The Son of Man seemed to possess all I lacked.  I was drawn to him by sheer difference as well as by far-off kinship.  I turned to him as to a superlative companion and spoke of my need.

The hymn debuted at the Old South Church, Boston, Massachusetts, where Cross was the Assistant Minister, in April 1907.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1.  Jesus, kneel beside me

In the dawn of day;

Thine is prayer eternal–

Teach me how to pray!

2.  Master, work beside me

In the shining sun;

Gently guide Thy servant

Till the work be done.

3.  Saviour, watch beside me

In the closing light;

Lo, the evening cometh–

Watch with me this night!

4.  Birds are winging homeward,

Sun and shadow cease;

Saviour, take my spirit

To Thy perfect peace.