The Cyber Hymnal ‎#9392

9392. On The Dewy Breath Of Even

1 On the dewy breath of even
Thousand odors mingling rise,
Borne like incense up to Heaven,
Nature’s evening sacrifice.

2 With her fragrant offerings blending,
Let our glad thanksgivings be—
To Thy throne, O lord, ascending—
Incense of our hearts to Thee.

3 Thou, whose favors, without number,
All our days with gladness bless,
Let Thine eye, that knows no slumber,
Guard our hours of helplessness.

4 Then, though conscious we are sleeping
In the outer courts of death,
Safe beneath a Father’s keeping
Calm we rest in perfect faith.

Text Information

• First Line: On the dewy breath of even
• Title: On The Dewy Breath Of Even
• Author: Julia A. Elliott
• Meter: 87.87.87
• Language: English
• Source: First published anonymously in her husband's Psalms and Hymns (1835), it was acknowledged in the 1839 Third Thousand by the addition of her initials in the index
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Some hymnals erroneously credit the words to James Martineau (they appeared in a later collection of his)

Tune Information

• Name: CRAWFORD
• Composer: Luther Orlando Emerson (1883)
• Meter: 87.87.87
• Key: A Major
• Source: Hymns and Tune Book for the Church and the Home, revised ed. (Boston: American Unitarian Association, 1883)
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Repeats first two lines of each verse; Alternate tune: EMERALD, English melody, in the "Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes" by Henry Ward Beecher (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1855 (repeats first two lines of each verse)