Now the Day is Over

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Proverbs 3:24

Wednesday was a long and emotional day. I turned the television off in the early evening, realizing that the more I watched the news, the more my reaction was one of anxiety and fear.  Coping on a daily basis with the threat of Covid-19 is quite enough stress without everything else going haywire.

Then I remembered an old hymn written by Sabine Baring-Gould - a British pastor, teacher, amateur archeologist, hymn writer, collector of local folk songs, publisher of travelogues, and father of fifteen children.  Based on today’s verse in Proverbs, it was written in 1865 for the children of his parish.  It was a comfort for me, as a weary adult, to sing these words and take them to heart.

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Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh,

Shadows of the evening steal across the sky. 

Jesus, give the weary calm and sweet repose,

With Thy tenderest blessing may mine eyelids close. 

Through the long night watches may thine angels spread

Their white wings above me, watching round my bed.