Preserve my soul today
From sin and blindness;
Surround me on my way
With loving kindness.
Embue my heart, O Lord,
With joy from heaven;
I then shall ask no more
Than what Thou hast of yore
In wisdom given.
Thou knowest best my needs,
My sighs Thou heedest,
Thy hand Thy children leads,
Thine own Thou feedest.
What should I more desire,
With Thee deciding
The course that I must take,
Than follow in the wake
Where Thou art guiding.
Evening naturally inspires a different sentiment than morning. The rising sun calls for activity, the setting sun for reflection. As the sun sets, as work ceases and the busy day merges into the quiet night the soul begins to take account of
its gains and losses, its assets and liabilities. The dying day also conveys a sense of insecurity, of approaching death and the need for pardon and protection. All
these sentiments, so different from the hopes and prospects of the morning, are
wonderfully portrayed in Kingo’s evening hymns, as for instance:
Vanish now all sinful dreaming,
Let the joy from heaven streaming
Occupy my soul and mind.
Watch, my spirit, and prepare thee,
Lest the cunning foe ensnare thee
When repose hath made thee blind.
Sleep now in God’s care appeasing.
While the noise of day is ceasing,
Lean upon thy Savior’s breast.
He will guard thee through the somber
Night and make thy final slumber
Quiet, peaceful, happy, blest.
In the last line with its crescendo of peace and happiness one almost sees the night merge into the final rest.
Among his evening hymns now available in English, the following, perhaps, is
the best known.
Softly now the day is ending,
Night o’er hill and vale descending,
I will kneel before Thee, Lord.
