O Day of Rest and Gladness

Last Monday evening I came across The Prayer Book of 1789, which was the first for the U. S. Episcopal Church and served the Church for over 100 years, until the revision of 1892. This book owed much to its predecessor, the English 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and, at least for the major services, is very similar to it. Besides that, I enjoyed reading several of the hymns of theology in the later section. I came across one written by Christopher Wordsworth in 1862 on the topic of the Lord’s Day. May you enjoy this as much as I did in preparation for today’s Lord’s day.

O day of rest and gladness, O day of joy and light, O balm of care and sadness, most beautiful, most bright; on thee the high and lowly, before the eternal throne, sing, “Holy, holy, holy,” to the great Three in One.

On thee, at the creation, the light first had its birth; on thee for our salvation Christ rose from depths of earth; On thee our Lord victorious the Spirit sent from heaven, and thus on thee most glorious a triple light was given.

Thou art a port protected from storms that round us rise; a garden intersected with streams of paradise; thou art a cooling fountain in life’s dry dreary sand; from thee, like Pisgah’s mountain, we view our promised land.

Today on weary nations the heavenly manna falls; to holy convocations the silver trumpet calls, where Gospel light is glowing with pure and radiant beams, and living water flowing, with soul refreshing streams.

May we, new graces gaining from this our day of rest, attain the rest remaining to spirits of the blessed. And their our voices raising, to Father, Spirit, Son, for evermore be praising the blessèd Three in One