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15 As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
(Psalms17:15)
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and
my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. (Psalm
1:15)
This classical hymn of praise was written by Thomas Ken, an Anglican Bishop and
considered as one of the fathers of modern English Hymnody, in 1674. His
intention was for the hymn to be used to enhance the worship life of the young
men of Winchester College in their private devotions. His instructions were the
hymn be only sung in their private rooms. Why, you may ask? Because at the time
of its writing, all hymns were believed to be valid only if they contained only
Holy Scripture and not simply expressing sentiments ABOUT Scripture. It may
surprise some to learn that the last stanza of this hymn is the source of our
Doxology sung in almost every Reformed Church. The structure of the hymn is
such as to serve for Morning Prayer augmentation (verses 1 & 2) and Evening
Prayer (verses 3 & 4). Since a verse of this song is sung at every Anglican
Service, it fits well into use in any Church season, including ADVENT. The tune
is Old Hundredth.
Bishop Ken requested this hymn to be sung at his funeral which, fittingly, was
conducted just at sunrise.
Awake, my Soul, and with the Sun
Awake,
my soul, and with the sun
thy daily course of duty run.
Cast off dull sloth, and joyful
rise
to pay thy morning sacrifice.
All praise to thee, who safe hast
kept
and hast refreshed me while I
slept!
Grant, Lord, when I from death
shall wake,
I may of endless life partake.
All praise to thee, my God, this
night
for all the blessings of the
light.
Keep me, oh keep me, King of
Kings,
beneath Thine own almighty wings.
Praise God, from Whom all
blessings flow.
Praise Him, all creatures here
below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly
host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost.
“Awake,
my soul, and with the sun thy daily course of duty run. Cast off dull sloth,
and joyful rise to pay thy morning sacrifice.” Unfortunately, many souls make
their full circuit through this worldly wilderness and never experience the joy
of AWAKENING from the sleep of the sinner. Make no mistake; our souls have a
daily duty to perform in serving God and our fellow man. Moreover, we are to
care for God’s creatures as ones having dominion over them. Slothfulness is a
habit needful to be broken. And righteous living is a Godly characteristic
reinforced by habitual practice. “11 The voice of joy, and the voice
of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice
of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his
mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise
into the house of the LORD.”
(Jer 33:11) Our morning sacrifice is praise
to the Lord who made us, and should be exercised at the first moment of
awakening. This stanza begins our Morning Prayer devotions.
“All
praise to thee, who safe hast kept and hast refreshed me while I slept! Grant,
Lord, when I from death shall wake, I may of endless life partake.” Do you remember your first
prayer? I remember mine. It first appeared in the New England Primer in the 18th century and was recited without
severe psychological damage by students in the public schools all of the way up
to the time of the Supreme Court’s abrogation of the First Amendment by
outlawing school prayer fifty years ago:
Now
I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before
I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
This hymn
justly expresses the sentiments of that child’s prayer. While sleeping, we are
unconscious of our surrounding’s, and our protection and security is a matter
of God’s Providence. This, of course, spills over into life itself as we were
all asleep (dead) in trespasses and sin (Eph 2) before the Providence of God
awakened us to the beauty and melody of His mercy and drew us inextricably by
the bonds of love to His Bosom.
“All praise to thee, my God, this night for all the
blessings of the light. Keep me, oh keep me, King of Kings, beneath Thine own
almighty wings.” Here we have the beginning of our Evening
Prayer devotions as conceived by Bishop Ken. It is best that we sleep at night
and labor during the light of day. So much of the world’s sin occurs during the
hours of darkness. Sin loves darkness. The snail personifies sin in Scripture. “8 As a snail which melteth, let
every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may
not see the sun.”
(Psalm 58:8)
There are two things that a snail (or sin) cannot abide – salt and light. It
melts away at the presence of either of these. See how Jesus counsels us on
these two qualities of the Christian: “13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his
savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but
to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill
cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on
a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt
5:13-16) There is
only ONE dark place that is safe for the child of God: “8 Keep me as the apple of the eye,
hide me under the shadow of thy wings, 9 From the wicked that oppress me,
from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.” (Psalm 17:8-9) and “7 Because thou hast been my help,
therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. 8 My soul followeth hard after
thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” (Psalm 63:7-8)
“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him,
all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost.” Here is the DOXOLOGY – the most Biblically sound
summary of our faith, for size, of any I know. The tune for the entire hymn is
Old Hundredth because the Doxology expresses the meaning of the 100th Psalm: “1 Make a joyful noise unto the
LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness:
come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God:
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with
thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless
his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy
is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100:1-5)
This last stanza which is the Doxology is a hymn of praise,
but also a creedal statement that summarizes our whole faith. Not only do His
creatures on earth praise Him, but all in Heaven above as well. Even the lower
creatures of earth praise Him in their strict adherence to His Laws of Nature,
which He has made an innate part of their being. The Doxology praises the One
God of all living in Three distinct Persons – a prayer that a Muslim, a
practicing Jew, a Buddhist, a Unitarian, a Mormon, a Jehovah’s Witness, or a
lukewarm Christian cannot repeat with full faith and allegiance. There is no
good gift that does not descend directly from the very hand of God. “Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father
of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James
1:17)
Dear reader, is it not time to awaken to reveille?
Dormez-vous?
