LORD, support us all the day long, until the shadows
lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of
life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy grant us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen. (Taken
from Additional Family Prayers, 1928 BCP, pg 594)
Our Evening Hymn for Vespers was written by Sabrine Baring-Gould in 1865. The
Music is titled, Eudoxia, or Lyndhurst, by the same author. It was composed for
the children of Horbury Bridge School.
This hymn has a double application in meaning: the first is of the end of a day
of play and joy; the second is the twilight of life, when the mantle is laid
aside and the spirit is lifted on high, which comports nicely with the evening
prayer of Family Prayers from the prayer book quoted above.
Now That Day is Over
Now that 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.
Jesus, give the
weary
calm and sweet
repose;
with thy tenderest
blessing
may mine eyelids
close.
Grant to little
children
visions bright of
thee;
guard the sailors
tossing
on the deep, blue
sea.
Comfort those who
suffer,
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,
while all ages
run.
“Now that 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.” To the child, twilight
comes too early, and there is a great reluctance to accept the inevitable quiet
that attends it. As a little boy, I remember fighting sleep until it
overwhelmed me. Then, I recall that it seemed that I had only barely closed my
eyes when suddenly, the morning light was bursting through my bedroom window.
There is another night toward which our lives inch moment by moment. Some will
fight that night with desperation and ghostly resolve – for they fear the
morning at which they may open their eyes in Hell. There are others who will go
gently into that night, secure in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our
labors finally end at the last breath of this life, so we must be working and
serving our Lord while the day endures. “I
must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh,
when no man can work.” (John 9:4) As the darkness of death gathers
about us, our minds will be fixed on those loved ones whom we leave behind. But
the Christian saint looks with a deep longing for rest and Sabbath in the Lord.
As the bright sun of life’s day fades, the stars of heaven emerge as a guide
and compass for the angels to transport us to our Lord.
“Jesus, give the
weary calm and sweet repose; with thy tenderest blessing may mine eyelids
close.
Grant to little children visions bright of thee; guard the sailors
tossing on the deep, blue sea.” The seventh day Sabbath
of life begins at the Tomb and ends with the coming brilliance of a glorious
sunrise in Heaven. Just as Christ is our Passover (see 1 Cor 5:7), He is also our Sabbath Rest – not only
beyond the Gates of Splendor, but even during our days upon earth. If we allow
Him to work through us, we need not exert our needless labors – for He works in
and through us. All of the life of a saint is Sabbath. The time comes when the
saint grows weary and worn. He will welcome the coming Sun of Righteousness
that beckons from beyond the Veil. Jesus is the Lord of blessings both to young
and old. Little Children – the choice fruits of God’s Kingdom, are given bright
visions of angels and beauty. The men of the sea, struggling against the wintry
gales and foaming brine, look up to the outstretched arm of God that they know
will save them as in old days. He is the Eternal Father of the Seas, strong to
save.
“Comfort those who suffer,
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.” Jesus, the Friend who sticks closer than a
brother, (Prov 18:24) He is with
us last of all when we leave this realm of pain and suffering. He knows about
that pain and suffering, for He bore our sins on a cruel cross. He is the
Friend who is beside our side when the Holy Angels are summoned as our escort
to guide us beyond the stars. To the child, their Holy Angels that behold the
face of God always, will stand watches of the night over those precious little
jewels of God’s diadem until the dawn of morning illumines the eastern sky.
Unfortunately, many little children go to bed at night without knowing that
security that the angels offer since their parents never told them.
“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, while all ages run.”
Both child and elderly saint will awaken to the morning light. The child will
awaken refreshed and ready to run, play, and learn greater joys of God’s
Creation. The elderly saint, at his home-going, will also awaken to a morning
sunrise that will be beyond his imagination for beauty and resplendent light.
The old saint, made new in body and spirit, will awaken without tired muscles
and aching joints. He will be amazed at the lightness of his step, the clarity
of his vision, and the beauty of every sight his eyes behold. But the most
beautiful of all heavenly sights will be that of the smiling face of the Man
with nail prints to show His love and purchase of us. How exciting to awaken
with so many great mysteries revealed at once – we shall be at last at the end
of our weary pilgrimage, and in the presence of the fullness of the Godhead:
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Many, even this late evening, shall
fold their hands in sleep and, not expecting the Hand of so rich a mercy, fall
asleep for the last time in Eternity. They awaken to an eternal day of light
and glory. Others will suffer a long goodbye of deaths slow hand, but the same
glory awaits them at the end of that difficult night. In eternity future, no
one will recall that last night of suffering, for all will be eclipsed by the
majestic beauty of the Presence of God.
What kind of morning will you awaken
to, my good friends?
