1. The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
the darkness falls at thy behest;
to thee our morning hymns ascended,
thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
2. We thank thee that thy Church unsleeping,
while earth rolls onward into light,
through all the world her watch is keeping,
and rests not now by day or night.
3. As o’er each continent and island
the dawn leads on another day,
the voice of prayer is never silent,
nor dies the strain of praise away.
4. The sun that bids us rest is waking
our brethren ’neath the western sky,
and hour by hour fresh lips are making
thy wondrous doings heard on high.
5. So be it, Lord; thy throne shall never,
like earth’s proud empires, pass away;
thy kingdom stands, and grows for ever,
till all thy creatures own thy sway.
Text: John Ellerton (1870)
Music: Clement Cottewill Scholefield (1874)
A favorite evening hymn traditionally closes each year's World Day of Prayer service: "The day thou gavest". But we celebrate our services in the morning, not in the evening. So now what?
As it turns out, there is an amazing solution to that: Pastor Dr. Gertrud Schendel, a frequent visitor of Hannover International Worship, has written a beautiful award-winning morning version of this hymn in German.
It gets even more amazing: Anthony Mellor-Stapelberg, translator by profession, one of the founding fathers and team member of Hannover International Worship, has written an equally beautiful translation of Gertrud Schendel's morning hymn.
How wonderful to be able to sing this beautiful hymn with both the poet and the translator present!
Please note:
We have printed this hymn here with the explicit permission of the copyright holders. If you wish to use this hymn, please not that it is protected by German copyright law. Please turn to the Strube Verlag for legal use and purchase.
Still colourless the day is dawning
As I set out upon my way;
Yet all the birds, this fresh spring morning
From tree to tree salute the day.
As strands of cloud with silv’ry edges
From eastward spreading, streak the sky,
Between the houses, roofs and hedges
Bright golds and pinks appear on high.
Now all at once the dark sky lightens;
The sun, though hidden still from sight
Dispels the chilly mists and brightens
The little town with shafts of light.
And as the sun again revives me
Though walls and chimneys hide it still,
So some Sustainer, from outside me
With trust and faith my soul does fill.
This sunrise is my Easter vision,
My miracle of rising grain,
As when the Son of Man, arisen,
Gave thanks and broke the bread again.
Text: Gertrud-Marianne Schendel (2017)
Translation: Anthony Mellor-Stapelberg