“Through the Long Night Watches”
A minister was once confined to bed by sickness. When Sunday came he could hear the hymns which the congregation sang, for the parsonage adjoined the church. Evening found him feverish and restless, but with soothing effect came the closing hymn. Through the open window came the prayerful lines:
“Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh;
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky;
Jesus, grant the weary
Calm and sweet repose;
With Thy tenderest blessing
May our eyelids close.
. . . . . . . . .
Through the long night watches
May Thine angels spread
Their white wings above me,
Watching round my bed.”
The next Sunday morning the minister was back in his pulpit, and with a spirit of gratitude announced the hymn:
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity.”
How there was a change for the better during a sickness is revealed in this account: