Introduction
Words: Attributed to Samson Occom (1723–1792).
Music: Vienna Justin H. Knecht, 1797 (🔊 pdf nwc).
National Portrait Gallery
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Psalm 121:6–8
Words: Attributed to Samson Occom (1723–1792).
Music: Vienna Justin H. Knecht, 1797 (🔊 pdf nwc).
The date of 1770 is given to this hymn, but on insufficient authority. No evidence connects it with Occom, though it has not, on the other hand, been claimed for any other. It is first found in the Hartford Congregational Coll., 1799, and was brought into general use by the Prayer-Book Coll., 1826.
Julian, p. 855
Now the shades of night are gone
Now the morning light is come.
Lord, may we be Thine today;
Drive the shades of sin away.
Fill our souls with heav’nly light,
Banish doubt and cleanse our sight.
In Thy service, Lord, today
Help us labor, help us pray.
Keep our haughty passions bound,
Save us from our foes around;
Going out and coming in,
Keep us safe from every sin.
When our work of life is past,
Oh, receive us safe at last!
Night of sin will be no more,
When we reach the heav’nly shore.