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Advent Hymnals

Church Hymnal 57

The Day Thou Gavest

Words: John EllertonMusic: Clement Cotterill ScholefieldTune: St. Clement9.8.9.8

Studio

1The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
The darkness falls at Thy behest;
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.

2We 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.

3As 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.

4The 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.

5So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth's proud empires, pass away:
Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.

Meter
9.8.9.8
Scripture
Psalm 113:3; Malachi 1:11

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
9.8.9.8 · as printed
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 72% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,˘///˘/˘/˘9A
The darkness falls at Thy behest;˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,˘/˘/˘/˘/˘9C
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.//˘/˘˘˘/8B

Verse 2

We thank Thee that Thy church, unsleeping,˘//˘//???9A
While earth rolls onward into light,////˘/˘/8B
Through all the world her watch is keeping,//˘/˘/˘/˘9C
And rests not now by day or night.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 3

As o'er each continent and island˘///˘˘˘/˘9A
The dawn leads on another day,˘//˘˘/˘/8B
The voice of prayer is never silent,˘/˘/˘/˘/˘9C
Nor dies the strain of praise away.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 4

The sun that bids us rest is waking˘/˘/˘/˘/˘9A
Our brethren 'neath the western sky,˘/˘?˘/˘/8B
And hour by hour fresh lips are making˘/˘///˘/˘9A
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.//˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 5

So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,˘˘˘///˘/˘9A
Like earth's proud empires, pass away:////˘˘/˘/9B
Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,//˘/˘/˘/˘9A
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.////˘///8B

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.