Thursday, November 09, 2006

Sun Down



This photo brings back to me a hymn that I remember from my childhood. The hymn was Day is Dying in the West written by a Mary A. Lathbury in 1877 and 1879. The words of this hymn goes as follows:

Day is dying in the west;
Heav’n is touching earth with rest;
Wait and worship while the night
Sets the evening lamps alight
Through all the sky.

Refrain

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!

Lord of life, beneath the dome
Of the universe, Thy home,
Gather us who seek Thy face
To the fold of Thy embrace,
For Thou art nigh.

Refrain

While the deepening shadows fall,
Heart of love enfolding all,
Through the glory and the grace
Of the stars that veil Thy face,
Our hearts ascend.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

20 comments:

Ben Reynolds said...

Thanks a lot for the kind words!! What a beautiful picture!! Its awesome!

Daniele Marioli said...

Ciao!!
Beautiful this shot!!
Bravi!!
Ciao!!

Sarad said...

very beautiful.

Corinne said...

Beautiful warm tones... such a magical time.

Murf said...

Good morning, Tim! Funny that you follow that lovely picture with a hymn because when I first looked at it, I thought 'That looks like a picture that can be found on the front of the weekly church handout'.

So why does one need to wait to worship until the sun sets? Is it referring to it being so lovely that everything (even worship) should come to a stop so one can enjoy it?

Ginnie Hart said...

There are some hymns, Tim, that stand the test of time and this is definitely one of them. It's a great one to go with your magnificent pic!

Cergie said...

"Depuis la nuit des temps", for the time the world is world, humans are looking at the sun
Sun is life, and they were afraid it will no more come back
The reason why in france there are great feasts around fires, the 21 of june because it's the day the longest of the year and in sweden great feasts for the feast of Lucie (my name = light), because it's the moment when the days are the shorter

Your picture is so beautiful

it's a good idea to remember this poem of your childhood

It was good you learned it
It's good you are still looking at sunsets and loving and writting poems

backpack_everyday said...

Hey Tim ,Nice sunset and I like the flood shots in ur previous post too.
The hymn deserves mention too.Nice..:-))

Joel Reynolds said...

Hey Tim

Thanks for the nice comment - you've captured an awesome sunset here, man - good work!
Joel

Icarus said...

Even though I am not a believer, I find something incredibly reassuring & calming in reading those words. There are certainly things bigger than us humans, on which we all depend so much and which we cannot master. Long may that continue and soon may we all recognise it and start paying much more attention to what we are doing with our 'tenancy' on this planet! Nothing is for free.

Unknown said...

Those words are really beautiful, and your picture is perfect to go with it!

Tim Rice said...

Thanks, ben reynolds. Glad I could share the pleasure with you.

Thanks, daniele marioli. Sun down is almost always special.

Thanks, sarad. Sunsets do have a certain allure all to themselves.

Thanks, corrinne. You're right; this sun down was magical to me.

Hi, murf. Fascinating coincidence, huh? ;) I think especially back when the song was written people worked long hours and didn't have time to worship till sundown.

Thanks, ginnie. It feels right to me, too.

Thanks, cergie. This hymn just felt like a perfit fit. We use to sing it sometimes during family devotions when I was a kid.

Thanks, backpack_everyday. Glad I could share this photo and hymn with you.

Thanks, joel reynolds. Sunsets have a way of touching the soul.

Thanks, mile stones. I think we all need to have an awe for that which is bigger than us. I also pray that we humans learn to properly respect one another and our planet no matter how we differ from one another.

Thanks, carmel. I'm glad I was able to share this experience of mine with you and all my blog readers.

Anonymous said...

lovely pic.......abd fellin love with the line "Heav’n is touching earth with rest"

Anonymous said...

* and fell in love

Tai said...

"Sets the evening lamps alight..."

That's so beautiful...as is the picture.

DiaKL said...

Huge smile after reading this entry!! The photo is soooo full of magic and the hymn strenghtens the wonderful feeling... :)

Bobby said...

I do love the hymns!

And what a great photograph to go with that hymn. One of the things we're trying to do at my church is to coordinate our visual arts ministry with our songwriters/music ministry to collaborate and create works of art that enhance each other.

Sarad said...

Some how, i am more attacted to the moon than the sun. maybe its because sunset isn't exactly beautiful where I stay but the moon is always beautiful where ever it be.

sage said...

i like that hymn and don't know it--wonderful photo

Tim Rice said...

Thanks, moi. I'm glad both the picture and hymn spoke to you.

Thanks, tai. It's neat when one can find meaning in both picture and word.

Hi, dia. Both picture and hymn possess a certain power to beauty and life, doesn't it?

Thanks, bobby. It's neat when both visual and word harmonize together.

Hi, sarad. I love both but sometimes the environment can influence our perspective.

Thanks, sage. Glad it speaks to you.