731.

I.

Divine Protection.

10.10.10.4.

'HE night is come, wherein at last we rest;

THE

God orders this and all things for the best! Beneath His blessing, fearless may we lie,

Since He is nigh.

2. Drive evil thoughts and passions far away;
O Father, watch o'er us till dawning day,
Body and soul alike from harm defend,
Thine angels send !

3. Let holy prayers and thoughts our latest be,
Let us awake with joy, still close to Thee;
In all serve Thee; in every deed and thought
Thy praise be sought.

4. Give to the sick, as Thy beloved, sleep;
And help the captive, comfort them who weep;
Care for the widows' and the orphans' woe;
Keep far our foe.

5. Father, Thy name be praised, Thy kingdom come: Thy will be wrought as in our heavenly home; Keep us in life, forgive our sins, deliver

732.

Us now and ever!

Amen.

Hymn of the Bohemian Brethren.

Evening Hymn.

I. GLORY to Thee, my God, this night,

For all the blessings of the light!

Keep me, O keep me, King of kings!
Beneath Thine own almighty wings.

2. The moments that to waste have run,
The ills that I this day have done,
Forgive, that with myself and Thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

L.M.

733.

3. O may my soul on Thee repose,

And may sweet sleep my eyelids close:
Sleep that shall me more vigorous make
To serve my God when I awake!

4. Teach me to live that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed;
Teach me to die that so I may
With joy behold the endless day.

5. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Angels and saints, His name adore
With praise and joy for evermore !

An Evening Blessing.

Thomas Ken.

8.7.8.7.

I. SAVIOUR, breathe an evening blessing,
Ere repose our spirits seal;

Sin and want we come confessing;

Thou canst save, and Thou canst heal.

2. Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrow past us fly,
Angel guards from Thee surround us,
We are safe if Thou art nigh.

3. Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from Thee;
Thou art He, who never weary,
Watchest where Thy people be.

4. Should swift death this night o'ertake us,
And our couch become our tomb,

May the heavenly morn awake us,
Clad in bright and deathless bloom.

J. Edmeston.

734.

I.

The Evening Hour.

WEET evening hour, sweet evening hour!

SWE

That calms the air, and shuts the flower;
That brings the wild bird to her nest,

The infant to its mother's breast.

2. O season of soft sound and hues,
Of twilight walks among the dews,
Of feelings calm, and converse sweet,
And thoughts too sacred to repeat !

3. Dear God, as earth recedes from sight,
Open the quiet of Thy light,

And call the fettered soul above,
From sin and grief, to peace and love.

4. Be with us in this evening time

When feelings flow and wishes climb;
Thy Care disperse our earthly care;
Hear, and receive our parting prayer.

L.M.

H. F. Lyte.

735.

The Evening Sacrifice.

I. THE sun is sinking fast,
The daylight dies;

Let love awake, and pay
Her evening sacrifice.

2. As Christ upon the Cross
His head inclined,

And to His Father's hands

His parting soul resigned,

6.4.6.6.

3. So now herself my soul
Would wholly give

Into His sacred charge,

In whom all spirits live.

4. So now beneath His eye
Would calmly rest,

Without a wish or thought

Abiding in the breast,

5. Save that His will be done,
Whate'er betide,

Dead to herself, and dead
In Him to all beside.

6. Thus would I live, yet now
Not I, but He

In all His power and love
Henceforth alive in me.

All thanks, O Lord, to Thee!

I pray Thee that offenceless

The hours of dark may be.

O Saviour, keep me in Thy sight,
And save me through the coming night.

2. The joys of day are over:

I lift my heart to Thee;

And call on Thee that sinless

The hours of gloom may be.

O Saviour, make their darkness light,
And save me through the coming night!

737.

3. The toils of day are over;

I raise the hymn to Thee,
And ask that free from peril

The hours of fear may be :

O Saviour, keep me in Thy sight,
And guard me through the coming night!
4. Be Thou my soul's Preserver,

O God! for Thou dost know

How many are the perils

Through which I have to go.

O gracious Saviour hear my call,
And guard and save me from them all.

St. Anatolius. Trans. J. M. Neale.

Evening Praise. 7.7.7.7.4.7.7.7.4.

I. DAY is dying in the west;

Heaven is touching earth with rest :

Wait and worship while the night
Sets her evening lamps alight

Through all the sky.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord!

Heaven and earth are full of Thee!
Heaven and earth are praising Thee,
O Lord most high!

2. Lord of life, beneath the dome
Of the universe, Thy home,
Gather us, who seek Thy face,
To the fold of Thy embrace,
For Thou art nigh.

Holy, holy, etc.

3. While the deepening shadows fall,

Heart of Love, enfolding all,