All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 565)
1 All praise to thee, my God, this night
for all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, oh, keep me, King of kings,
beneath thine own almighty wings.
2 Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,
the ill that I this day have done;
that with the world, myself, and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
3 Teach me to live, that I may dread
the grave as little as my bed.
Teach me to die, that so I may
rise glorious at the awesome day.
4 Oh, may my soul in thee repose,
and may sweet sleep mine eyelids close,
sleep that shall me more vig’rous make
to serve my God when I awake!
5 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God above, ye heav’nly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Text: Thomas Ken; Music: Thomas Tallis; Public Domain
Devotion
Our hymn, chosen for both today and tomorrow, is an evening hymn, so if you are reading this at night that’s good. If you are reading it at some other time, it works just as well. It has been said that the one who sings prays twice. It would be good to have the music to go along with these wonderful words. I hope you will find this hymn online and listen and/or sing along. The music by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) is ancient and is profoundly beautiful and moving, especially if sung in canon (round). The words by Thomas Ken (1637-1711) are a prayer for peace and rest at the end of a day or at the end of a life. Verse 1 is a prayer of gratitude for the gift of each day, and gratitude for God’s continual protection and presence in life. Verse 2 is a prayer for forgiveness for the known and unknown misdeeds of each day of our lives. It is also a prayer for peace with the world, with self, with God. And finally, a prayer for the peaceful sleep of knowing forgiveness in God’s grace.
Prayer
We pray at any time of day or life: “All praise to thee my God this night for all the blessings of the light….That with the world, myself and thee, I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.” Amen.