We lift our hearts to Thee,
O Day Star from on high!
The sun itself is but Thy shade,
Yet cheers both earth and sky.
O let Thine orient beams
The night of sin disperse,
The mists of error and of vice
Which shade the universe.
May we this life improve,
To mourn for errors past;
And live this short, revolving day
As if it were our last.
To God—the Father, Son,
And Spirit—One in Three,
Be glory; as it was, is now,
And shall forever be.
About the writer: John Wesley was born at the Epworth rectory in 1703. He went to Oxford University in 1720 and was ordained deacon in 1725. He returned to Oxford in 1729 and became the leader of the “holy club” or Methodists which had been organized during his absence by his brother, Charles. He went to Georgia as a missionary in 1735 and while there published his first hymn book. He returned to England at the end of two years, saying: “I went to America to convert the Indians, but O who shall convert me? Who is he that will deliver me from this evil heart of unbelief?” He had been impressed by the piety and faith of the Moravians in a storm while crossing the ocean, and they now became his spiritual guides. While attending one of their prayer meetings on May 24, 1738, he obtained the conscious knowledge of sins forgiven and of his acceptance with God. From this time until his death in 1791 he was unremitting in his labors as a preacher.
Key Verse: Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven. –Lamentations 3:41a