Mornings are good times to reevaluate our lives, to take stock of where we are physically and spiritually. John Kebble wrote this hymn in 1822. It is one of my favorites. Although the language is a bit “old fashioned,” its message suits me this morning. When I was at Hope College, I often had the task of conducting the Chapel Choir members who showed up each morning for chapel. This, the first and last stanzas linger in my memory. www.hymnary.org. public domain.
I’ve had a trying week. The death of a close friend, the illness of my sister, and now Ev and I have caught our granddaughter’s cold which prevents us from helping with a volunteer job for the Symphony, we could feel discouraged, I suppose, and certainly physically feel a bit under the weather. This hymn is a reminder that God’s presence is powerful, and that each day is a blessing. May it bless your day, fill it with opportunities to spread sunshine to others, and an encouragement to live our lives with grace and peace.
1 New every morning is the love
our wakening and uprising prove;
through sleep and darkness safely brought,
restored to life and power and thought.
2 New mercies, each returning day,
hover around us while we pray;
new perils past, new sins forgiven,
new thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.
3 If on our daily course our mind
be set to hallow all we find,
new treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.
4 The trivial round, the common task,
will furnish all we need to ask,
room to deny ourselves, a road
to bring us daily nearer God.
5 Only, O Lord, in thy dear love
fit us for perfect rest above;
and help us, this and every day,
to live more nearly as we pray.
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