During my parent’s recent visit, I was reminiscing with them about a hymn I learned as a child, “Day is Dying in the West”, by Mary Ann Lathbury (1878). The tune, Chautauqua, was written by William Fisk Sherman. (Interestingly, after leading the family in a time of prayer the night before my parents returned home, my father raised this hymn in closing. I shall never forget that moment of devotion).
This hymn text was written for vespers or evening worship services, which were common during my childhood. My father informed me that many people would attend church services in the evenings, because it was much cooler during the summer months.
Notwithstanding these pragmatic considerations, evening services provided an opportunity to worship God and reflect on His benevolence during the day. The twilight brought a distinctive and sacred time of contemplation, as the worshippers’ spirits were stirred by an awareness of God’s presence. In fact, Lathbury invokes God’s grace to gather the worshippers: “Lord of life, beneath the dome of the universe, Thy home; gather us who seek Thy face, to the fold of Thy embrace”.
The evening brought into clearer focus the lustrous beauty of the stars, and it also marked the passing of another day. Reverential gratitude could then be expressed: “While the deep’ning shadows fall, Heart of Love, enfolding all, through the glory of the grace of the stars that veil Thy face, our hearts ascend”! This deference to the Divine Heart of Love would morph into an invocation for the blessing of life the next morning. The worshipper would ask, “when forever from our sight pass the stars, the day, the night. Lord of angels, on our eyes let eternal morning rise, and shadows end.
The inimitability of the evening coupled with the awareness of God’s presence would bring about an eruption of praise. This divine veneration would be repeatedly reiterated. The hymnist made it clear that, even the marshalled forces of the gathered church community was not sufficient to expressed adoration for God. The worshipper would exclaim with adoring hearts and uplifted voices: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heav’n and earth are full of Thee; Heav’n and earth are praising Thee, O Lord Most High!
For me, it is not merely a sentimental or nostalgic yearning for the days of yesteryear! It is reminder of the God who created, sustains, and meets us in the "evenings"! Even if sentimentality exists, it does not exist alone. It is coupled with an awareness that our God and our Christ is to be worshipped every second, every minute, every hour, every day! Yes, even every part of the day, including the evenings!
Holy, holy holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heav'n and earth are full of Thee; Heavn' and earth are praising Thee, O Lord Most High!
