Creator of the earth and sky,
Ruling the firmament on high,
Clothing the day with robes of light,
Blessing with gracious sleep the night.

That rest may comfort weary men,
And brace to useful toil again,
And soothe awhile the harassed mind,
And sorrow’s heavy load unbind.

Day sinks; we thank Thee for Thy gift;
Night comes; and once again we lift
Our prayer and vows and hymns that we
Against all ills may shielded be.

Thee let the secret heart acclaim,
Thee let our tuneful voices name,
Round Thee our chaste affections cling
Thee sober reason own as King.

That when black darkness closes day,
And shadows thicken round our way,
Faith may no darkness know, and night
From faith’s clear beam may borrow light.

Rest not, my heaven born mind and will;
Rest, all the thoughts and deeds of ill;
May faith its watch unwearied keep,
And cool the dreaming warmth of sleep.

From cheats of sense, Lord, keep me free;
And let my heart’s depth dream of Thee;
Let not my envious foe draw near,
To break my rest with any fear.

Pray we the Father and the Son,
And Holy Ghost: O Three in One,
Blest Trinity, whom all obey,
Guard Thou Thy sheep by night and day.

Eternal God, mover unmoved,
Your frightful power was greatly proved
When you made all from naught.
You formed man in your image bright.
You spared our parents no delight
And all your world was good and right
While your just will man sought.

A foe more ancient than the earth,
Who reached for your high place of worth,
Then launched his fatal plan.
And though your law was only one,
Eve took and ate, and having done,
Bade Adam eat, and in that one
All died, and so fell man.

Our foe was pleased, but could not tell
Your plan of grace for man who fell,
Nor measure your design.
For so to point to future grace,
You set apart a holy race
Through faith in what would soon take place,
Though veiled with law and sign.

You willed for slaughtered lambs to show
The way in which your Lamb would go
When ransoming his own.
For though in one man, mankind fell,
This second Adam conquered Hell,
And rising, conquered death as well,
Then reassumed His throne.

Thus while your children war below
With flesh and with our ancient foe,
Our victory is sure.
For you will come with trump and light,
And end what’s left of Satan’s might,
And take us home for your delight,
Eternally secure.

God, that madest earth and Heaven, darkness and light;
Who the day for toil hast given, for rest the night;
May Thine angel guards defend us,
Slumber sweet Thy mercy send us;
Holy dreams and hopes attend us, all through the night.

And when morn again shall call us, to run life’s way,
May we still, whatever befall us, Thy will obey.
From the power of evil hide us,
In the narrow pathway guide us,
Nor Thy smile be ever denied us all through the day.

Guard us waking, guard us sleeping, and when we die,
May we in Thy mighty keeping all peaceful lie;
When the last dread call shall wake us,
Do not Thou, our God, forsake us,
But to reign in glory take us with Thee on high.

Many and great, O God, are Thy things,
Maker of earth and sky;
Thy hands have set the heavens with stars;
Thy fingers spread the mountains and plains.
Lo, at Thy Word the waters were formed;
Deep seas obey Thy voice.

Grant unto us communion with Thee,
Thou star abiding One;
Come unto us and dwell with us;
With Thee are found the gifts of life,
Bless us with life that has no end,
Eternal life with Thee.

Father, whose creating hand
Made the ocean and the land;
All Thy creatures are Thy care,
Thou art present everywhere.
Hear us, we beseech Thee.

Christ, who didst of old appear
On the waters, drawing near;
Thou art able still to save,
Calmly ruling wind and wave.
Hear us, we beseech Thee.

Holy Ghost, whose presence shed
Life where all was dark and dead,
By Thy breath we move and live,
Thou dost light and order give.
Hear us, we beseech Thee.

God, to Whom our life we owe,
God, whose blood for man did flow,
God, who dost within us dwell,
Keep us Thine, and all is well.
Hear us, we beseech Thee.

When the deep in slumber lies
Under bright and peaceful skies,
When the winds in fury rave,
Lifting high the rushing wave,
Hear us, we beseech Thee.

All our honest labor bless,
Give each lawful aim success;
In our time of need draw nigh,
Saying, “Fear not, it is I.”
Hear us, we beseech Thee.

Guard the loves ones left behind,
Give them peace in heart and mind;
Keep us all in union sweet,
At our Father’s mercy seat.
Hear us, we beseech Thee.

Hear us, Thou that broodest o’er the watery deep,
Waking all creation from its primal sleep;
Holy Spirit, breathing breath of life divine,
Breathe into our spirits, blending them with Thine.

Refrain

Light and life immortal, hear us as we raise,
Hearts, as well as voices, mingling prayer with praise.

When the sun ariseth in a cloudless sky,
May we feel Thy presence, Holy Spirit, nigh;
Shed Thy radiance o’er us, keep it cloudless still,
Through the day before us, perfecting Thy will.

Refrain

When the fight is fiercest, in the noontide heat,
Bear us, Holy Spirit, to our Savior’s feet;
There to find a refuge, till our work is done,
There to fight the battle, till the battle’s won.

Refrain

If the day be falling sadly as it goes,
Slowly in its sadness sinking to its close,
May Thy love in mercy kindling, ere it die,
Cast a ray of glory o’er our evening sky.

Refrain

Morning, noon, and evening, whensoe’er it be,
Grant us, gracious Spirit, quickening life in Thee;
Life that gives us, living, life of heavenly love,
Life that brings us, dying, life from Heaven above.

Refrain

O Lord, be with us when we sail
Upon the lonely deep,
Our Guard, when on the silent deck
The midnight watch we keep.

We need not fear, though all around
’Mid rising winds we hear
The multitude of waters surge;
For Thou, O God, art near.

The calm, the breeze, the gale, the storm,
That pass from land to land,
All, all are Thine, are held within
The hollow of Thy hand.

If duty calls from threatened strife
To guard our native shore,
And shot and shell are answering
The booming cannon’s roar,

Be Thou the Mainguard of our host,
Till war and dangers cease;
Defend the right, put up the sword,
And through the world make peace.

Across this troubled tide of life
Thyself our Pilot be,
Until we reach that better land,
The land that knows no sea.

To Thee the Father, Thee the Son,
Whom earth and sky adore,
And Spirit moving on the deep,
Be praise forevermore.

Blest Creator of the light,
Making day with radiance bright,
Thou didst o’er the forming earth
Give the golden light its birth.

Shade of eve with morning ray
Took from Thee the name of day;
Darkness now is drawing nigh;
Listen to our humble cry.

May we ne’er by guilt depressed
Lose the way to endless rest;
Nor with idle thoughts and vain
Bind our souls to earth again.

Rather may we heavenward rise
Where eternal treasure lies;
Purified by grace within,
Hating every deed of sin.

Holy Father, hear our cry,
Through Thy Son our Lord most high,
Whom our thankful hearts adore
With the Spirit evermore.

God of the morning, at Whose voice
The cheerful sun makes haste to rise,
And like a giant doth rejoice
To run his journey through the skies.

From the fair chambers of the east
The circuit of his race begins,
And, without weariness or rest,
Round the whole earth he flies and shines.

O like the sun may I fulfill
Th’appointed duties of the day,
With ready mind and active will
March on and keep my heav’nly way.

But I shall rove and lose the race,
If God, my Sun, should disappear,
And leave me in this world’s wild maze,
To follow every wand’ring star.

Lord, Thy commands are clean and pure,
Enlight’ning our beclouded eyes;
Thy threat’nings just, Thy promise sure,
Thy Gospel makes the simple wise.

Give me Thy counsel for my guide,
And then receive me to Thy bliss;
All my desires and hopes beside
Are faint and cold compared with this.

God, our Father, made the daylight;
God, our Father, made the night;
God made mountains, sea, and sky,
And the white clouds floating high.

God, we thank Thee for the showers;
God, we thank Thee for the dew,
Mighty trees and flowers small;
God, our Father, gave them all.

Let there be light, Lord God of hosts,
Let there be wisdom on the earth;
Let broad humanity have birth,
Let there be deeds, instead of boasts.

Within our passioned hearts instill
The calm that endeth strain and strife;
Make us thy ministers of life;
Purge us from lusts that curse and kill.

Give us the peace of vision clear
To see our brothers’ good our own,
To joy and suffer not alone,
The love that casteth out all fear.

Let woe and waste of warfare cease,
That useful labor yet may build
Its homes with love and laughter filled;
God give thy wayward children peace.

O blest Creator of the light,
Who mak’st the day with radiance bright,
And o’er the forming world didst call
The light from chaos first of all.

Whose wisdom joined in meet array
The morn and eve, and named them day:
Night comes with all its darkling fears;
Regard Thy people’s prayers and tears.

Lest, sunk in sin, and whelmed with strife,
They lose the gift of endless life;
While thinking but the thoughts of time,
They weave new chains of woe and crime.

But grant them grace that they may strain
The heavenly gate and prize to gain:
Each harmful lure aside to cast,
And purge away each error past.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

O Trinity of blessèd light,
O Unity of princely might,
The fiery sun now goes his way;
Shed Thou within our hearts a ray.

To Thee our morning song of praise,
To Thee our evening prayer we raise;
O grant us with Thy saints on high
To praise Thee through eternity.

All laud to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the holy Paraclete.

Thou, whose almighty Word
[or Thou, whose eternal word]
Chaos and darkness heard,
And took their flight;
Hear us, we humbly pray,
And, where the Gospel’s day
Sheds not its glorious ray,
Let there be light!

Thou, who didst come to bring
On Thy redeeming wing
Healing and sight,
Health to the sick in mind,
Sight to the inly blind,
O now, to all mankind,
Let there be light!

Spirit of truth and love,
Life giving, holy Dove,
Speed forth Thy flight;
Move on the water’s face
Bearing the lamp of grace,
And, in earth’s darkest place,
Let there be light!

Blessèd and holy Three,
Glorious Trinity,
Wisdom, love, might!
Boundless as ocean’s tide,
Rolling in fullest pride,
Through the world far and wide,
Let there be light!

Thou Framer of the light and dark,
Steer through the tempest Thine own ark;
Amid the howling wintry sea,
We are in port if we have Thee.

The rulers of this Christian land,
’Twixt Thee and us ordained to stand,
Guide Thou their course, O Lord, aright;
Let all do all as in Thy sight.

O God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, Three in One,
Hear Thou in Heav’n Thy children’s cry,
And in our of need be nigh.

Evening and morning, sunset and dawning,
Wealth, peace and gladness, comfort in sadness,
These are Thy works; all the glory be Thine!
Times without number, awake or in slumber,
Thine eye observes us, from danger preserves us,
Causing Thy mercy upon us to shine.

Father, O hear me, pardon and spare me;
Calm all my terrors, blot out my errors,
That by Thine eyes they may no more be scanned.
Order my goings, direct all my doings;
As it may please Thee retain or release me;
All I commit to Thy fatherly hand.

This day the first of days was made,
When God in light the world arrayed;
Or when His Word arose again,
And, conquering death, gave life to men.

Slumber and sloth drive far away;
Earlier arise to greet the day;
And ere its dawn in heaven unfold
The heart’s desire to God be told.

Unto our prayer that He attend,
His all creating power extend,
And still renew us, lest we miss
Through earthly stain our heavenly bliss.

That us, who here this day repair
To keep the Apostles’ time of prayer,
And hymn the quiet hours of morn,
With blessèd gifts He may adorn.

For this, Redeemer, Thee we pray
That Thou wilt wash our sins away,
And of Thy lovingkindness grant
Whate’er of good our spirits want.

That exiles here awhile in flesh
Some earnest may our souls refresh
Of that pure life for which we long,
Some foretaste of the heavenly song.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

Earth’s mighty Maker, whose command
Raised from the sea the solid land,
And drove each billowy heap away,
And bade the earth stand firm for aye:

That so, with flowers of golden hue,
The seeds of each it might renew;
And fruit trees bearing fruit might yield—
And pleasant pasture of the field;

Our spirit’s rankling wounds efface
With dewy freshness of Thy grace:
That grief may cleanse each deed of ill,
And o’er each lust may triumph still.

Let every soul Thy law obey,
And keep from every evil way;
Rejoice each promised good to win
And flee from every mortal sin.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

O boundless Wisdom, God most high,
O Maker of the earth and sky,
Who bid’st the parted waters flow
In heaven above, on earth below.

The streams on earth, the clouds in heaven,
By Thee their ordered bounds were given,
Lest ’neath the untempered fires of day
The parchèd soil should waste away.

E’en so on us who seek thy face
Pour forth the waters of thy grace;
Renew the fount of life within,
And quench the wasting fires of sin.

Let faith discern the eternal Light
Beyond the darkness of the night,
And through the mists of falsehood see
The path of truth revealed by Thee.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

O God, the joy of Heav’n above,
Thou didst not need Thy creatures’ love,
When from Thy secret place of rest
Thy Word the earth’s foundations blest.

Thou spakest: worlds began to be;
They bow before Thy majesty;
And all to their Creator raise
A wondrous harmony of praise.

But ere, O Lord, this lovely earth
From Thy creative will had birth,
Thou in Thy counsels didst unfold
Another world of fairer mold.

That realm shall our Redeemer frame,
And build upon His mighty Name;
His hand the word of power shall sow,
That all the earth His truth may know.

When time itself has passed away,
His Church, secure in Heav’n for aye,
Shall share His table and His throne,
And God the Father reign alone.

O Father, Son, and Spirit blest,
One God in Heav’n and earth confessed,
Preserve, direct, and fill with love
Thy realm on earth, Thy realm above.

Thou spakest, Lord, and into one
The floods together flowed;
Freed from its watery veil, the land
Its verdant pastures showed.

O Father, who the earth has given
Our place of toil to be,
Knit all within its one wide bound
In one true charity.

Strangers and pilgrims here below,
We seek a home above,
Where Thou wilt gather in Thine own
Who live in holy love.

Unloving words, with deeds of ill
And words of angry strife,
Shall never, Lord, Thy glory see,
Nor win the heavenly life.

The earth itself from day to day
Their burden scarce sustains,
And yearns, in travail, to be free
From dark corruption’s chains.

Yea, we too groan within ourselves,
And that adoption wait
For which the Holy Spirit’s seal
Did us predestinate.

Eternal glory be ascribed
To God, the One in Three,
By Whom is poured into our hearts
The grace of charity.

The beautiful bright sunshine,
That smiles on all below,
The waving trees, the cool, soft breeze,
The rippling streams that flow,
The shadows on the hillsides,
The many tinted flowers,
O God! how fair Thy loving care
Has made this earth of ours!

The beautiful affections
That gather round our way,
The joys that rise from household ties,
And deepen day by day;
The tender love that guards us
Whenever danger lowers,
O God! how fair Thy loving care
Has made this earth of ours!

But brighter is the shining,
And tender is the love,
And purer still the joys which fill
The unseen home above—
The home where all His children
Shall sing with fuller power,
“O God! how fair Thy loving care
Has made this earth of ours!”

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

New wonders of Thy mighty hand,
Lord, we today admire,
Writ on the firmament above
In glittering orbs of fire.

The sun is ruler of the day,
The silver moon of night,
The starry hosts adorn the sky
In ordered ranks of light.

But e’en that glorious sun must set,
And knows his going down,
That silver moon must wax and wane,
The stars their courses own.

Still in an ever changing round
The daylight comes and goes;
But Thou art evermore the same,
No change Thy mercy knows.

Why waver then our troubled hearts?
Thine is a Father’s care;
And they, eternal life who seek,
Eternal life shall share.

All praise, all glory be ascribed
To God the One in Three,
Who bids us cast our care on Him,
To Him for comfort flee.

Creator of the stars of night,
Thy people’s everlasting light,
Jesu, Redeemer, save us all,
And hear Thy servants when they call.

Thou, grieving that the ancient curse
Should doom to death a universe,
Hast found the medicine, full of grace,
To save and heal a ruined race.

Thou cam’st, the Bridegroom of the bride,
As drew the world to evening-tide;
Proceeding from a virgin shrine,
The spotless Victim all divine.

At Whose dread Name, majestic now,
All knees must bend, all hearts must bow;
And things celestial Thee shall own,
And things terrestrial, Lord alone.

O Thou Whose coming is with dread
To judge and doom the quick and dead,
Preserve us, while we dwell below,
From every insult of the foe.

To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, Three in One,
Laud, honor, might, and glory be
From age to age eternally.

The Maker of the sun and moon,
The Maker of our earth,
Lo! late in time, a fairer boon,
Himself is brought to birth!

How blest was all creation then,
When God so gave increase;
And Christ, to heal the hearts of men,
Brought righteousness and peace!

No star in all the heights of heaven
But burned to see Him go;
Yet unto earth alone was given
His human form to know.

His human form, by man denied,
Took death for human sin:
His endless love, through faith descried,
Still lives the world to win.

O perfect love, outpassing sight,
O light beyond our ken,
Come down through all the world tonight,
And heal the hearts of men!

Most holy Lord and God of Heaven,
Who to the glowing sky hast given
The fires that in the east are born
With gradual splendors of the morn;

Who, on the fourth day, didst reveal
The sun’s enkindled flaming wheel,
Didst set the moon her ordered ways,
And stars their ever winding maze;

That each in its appointed way
Might separate night from day,
And of the seasons through the year
The well remembered signs declare;

Illuminate our hearts within,
And cleanse our minds from stain of sin;
Unburdened of our guilty load
May we unfettered serve our God.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

Almighty God, who from the flood
Didst bring to light a twofold brood;
Part in the firmament to fly,
And part in ocean’s depths to lie;

Appointing fishes in the sea,
And fowls in open air to be,
That each, by origin the same,
Its separate dwelling place might claim:

Grant that Thy servants, by the tide
Of blood and water purified,
No guilty fall from Thee may know,
Nor death eternal undergo.

Be none submerged in sin’s distress,
None lifted up in boastfulness;
That contrite hearts be not dismayed,
Nor naughty souls in ruin laid.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ Thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

The fish in wave, the bird on wing,
God bade the waters bear;
Each for our mortal body’s food
His gracious hands prepare.

But other food, of richer cost,
The immortal spirit needs;
By faith it lives on every word
That from His mouth proceeds.

Faith springing from the blood of Christ,
Has flowed o’er every land;
And sinners through the vanquished world
Bow down to its command.

Its light the joy of Heav’n reveals
To hearts made pure within;
And bids them seek by worthy deeds
Eternal crowns to win.

By faith the saints of old were strong
The lion’s wrath to tame;
By faith they spurned the tyrant’s threats,
And scorned the raging flame.

Lord, grant that we the path may tread
Whereon its light doth shine;
And gather, as we onward go,
The fruits of love divine.

O praise the Father; praise the Son,
On Whose most precious blood
Rests all our faith; and praise to Him
Who with Them both is God.

Maker of man, who from Thy throne
Dost order all things, God alone;
By Whose decree the teeming earth
To reptile and to beast gave birth:

The mighty forms that fill the land,
Instinct with life at Thy command,
Are giv’n subdued to humankind
For service in their rank assigned.

From all Thy servants drive away
Whate’er of thought impure today
Hath been with open action blent
Or mingled with the heart’s intent.

In Heav’n Thine endless joys bestow,
And grant Thy gifts of grace below;
From chains of strife our souls release,
Bind fast the gentle hands of peace.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

Today, O Lord, a holier work
Thy secret counsels frame,
A king to rule Thy new made world,
To praise Thy glorious Name.

Thou formest man: Thy Spirit breathes
Life into dust of earth:
Man, in Thine own true image made,
From Thee receives his birth.

And henceforth he dominion holds
O’er all in earth and sea;
Yet mindful whence his being came
Must humbly walk with Thee.

Alas! his willful heart rebels
Against Thy gentle sway;
Proud dust of earth would fain be like
The God Whom all obey.

O griefs and sorrows numberless,
Which hence the world o’erspread;
Jesu, Thy mercy succored us,
Or hope itself had fled.

O praise the Father, and the Son
Who saved us by His death,
And Holy Ghost Who quickens us
With His life giving breath.

As man and woman we were made
That love be found and life begun,
So praise the Lord Who made us two,
And praise the Lord when two are one;
Praise for the love that comes to life
Through child or parent, husband, wife.

Now Jesus lived and gave His love
To make our life and loving new;
So celebrate with Him today
And drink the joy He offers you;
That makes the simple moment shine
And changes water into wine.

And Jesus died to live again,
So praise the love that, come what may,
Can bring the dawn and clear the skies,
And waits to wipe all tears away;
And let us hope for what shall be,
Believing where we cannot see.

Then spread the table, clear the hall,
And celebrate till day is done;
Let peace go deep between us all
And joy be shared by everyone;
Laugh and make merry with your friends,
And praise the love that never ends!

On man, in his own image made,
How much did God bestow?
The whole creation homage paid,
And owned him lord, below!

He dwelt in Eden’s garden, stored
With sweets for every sense;
And there with his descending Lord
He walked in confidence.

But O! by sin how quickly changed!
His honor forfeited,
His heart, from God and truth, estranged,
His conscience filled with dread!

Now from his Maker’s voice he flees,
Which was before his joy:
And thinks to hide, amidst the trees,
From an all seeing eye.

Compelled to answer to his name,
With stubbornness and pride
He cast, on God Himself, the blame,
Nor once for mercy cried.

But grace, unasked, his heart subdued
And all his guilt forgave;
By faith, the promised seed he viewed,
And felt His pow’r to save.

Thus we ourselves would justify,
Though we the law transgress;
Like him, unable to deny,
Unwilling to confess.

But when by faith the sinner sees
A pardon bought with blood;
Then he forsakes his foolish pleas,
And gladly turns to God.