Saturday, July 29, 2023

Awake, my soul!

34 The Morning Watch L.M.

1 Awake, my soul, and with the sun
   thy daily stage of duty run;
   shake off dull sloth, and early rise
   to pay thy morning sacrifice.

2 Lord, I my vows to Thee renew.
   Disperse my sins as morning dew;
   guard my first springs of thought and will;
   and with Thyself my spirit fill.

3 Direct, control, suggest, this day,
   all I design or do or say,
   that all my pow'rs, with all their might,
   in Thy sole glory may unite.

4 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
   praise Him all creatures here below;
   praise Him above, ye heav'enly host;
   praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
                         Thomas Ken
                        The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
You should read his biography that I link to at hymnary.org; he did some pretty daring stuff in the face of royalty—even being imprisoned in the tower of London at one point! This particular hymn is the one known as the morning hymn. There's an interesting little note at the end of the first biography at hymnary.org:

Ken wrote many hymns, which were published posthumously in 1721 and republished in 1868 as Bishop Ken's Christian Year, or Hymns and Poems for the Holy Days and Festivals of the Church. But he is best known for his morning, evening, and midnight hymns, each of which have as their final stanza the famous doxology “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow.”
</idle musing>

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