Scripture Verse

Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. Psalm 19:2

Introduction

portrait
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

Words: Is­aac Watts, Hymns and Spi­ri­tu­al Songs, Book 2, 1709, num­ber 6.

Music: Pe­ter­bo­rough (Har­ris­on) Ralph Har­ris­on, 1786 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Har­ris­on (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Hymnologist Charles S. Rob­in­son wrote about this text:

[I have] an au­to­graph letter of the explorer [Hen­ry Mor­ton] Stan­ley, prob­ab­ly never before brought to light. It was written and sent in 1879 when he had just emerged from his ear­lie­st per­ils. This was before he had grown into the vet­er­an he is now. But even then…he was just as hon­est­ly grate­ful to God as he has ev­er been since. These are his words:

That I es­caped from it I acknowledge is due only to the good­ness of God. He it was who res­cued me from the hor­rors which sur­round­ed us ma­ny months. He it was who sus­tained us in our bit­ter trials. To him be all my gra­ti­tude. I ear­nest­ly hope that what I have been per­mit­ted to do will re­dound to the great glo­ry of his name, and that Af­ri­ca will send her mill­ions to the fold of Christ. It was a Dark Con­ti­nent, but the ris­ing day sa­lut­ed the brave man, and he re­turned the sal­ute like a knight and a sol­dier: Great God, let all my hours be thine! Once more I trib­ute pay to him that rules the skies!

Rob­in­son, p. 18

Lyrics

Once more, my soul, the rising day
Salutes thy waking eyes;
Once more, my voice, thy tribute pay
To Him that rules the skies.

Night unto night His name repeats,
The day renews the sound,
Wide as the Heav’n on which He sits,
To turn the seasons round.

’Tis He supports my mortal frame,
My tongue shall speak His praise;
My sins would rouse His wrath to flame,
And yet His wrath delays.

On a poor worm Thy power might tread,
And I could ne’er withstand;
Thy justice might have crushed me dead,
But mercy held Thine hand.

A thousand wretched souls are fled
Since the last setting sun,
And yet Thou length’nest out my thread,
And yet my moments run.

Dear God, let all my hours be Thine,
Whilst I enjoy the light;
Then shall my sun in smiles decline,
And bring a pleasing night.