Thy daily stage of duty run

by chuckofish

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
thy daily stage of duty run;
shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise
to pay thy morning sacrifice.

Lord, I my vows to thee renew;
disperse my sins as morning dew;
guard my first springs of thought and will,
and with thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
all I design or do or say;
that all my powers, with all their might,
in thy sole glory may unite.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host:
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

–Thomas Ken

Now here’s a poem we have probably all known forever and taken for granted. What a great morning prayer and hymn! If you are alone and cannot sing it as a round, sing it anyway. You’ll be glad you did.

And while we’re at it, let’s give a high five to Bishop Thomas Ken (1637–1711) who wrote it. (Ken is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on March 20.)

They don’t write ’em like this anymore.

P.S. This is our 100th blog post! Yay for us!