437

Day by Day

Full Text

1 Day by day and with each passing moment,
strength I find to meet my trials here;
trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
gives unto each day what he deems best–
lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
mingling toil with peace and rest.

2 Every day the Lord himself is near me,
with a special mercy for each hour;
all my cares he gladly bears and cheers me,
he whose name is Counselor and Power.
The protection of his child and treasure
is a charge that on himself he laid:
“As your days, your strength shall be in measure”–
this the pledge to me he made.

3 Help me then in every tribulation
so to trust your promises, O Lord,
that I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
offered me within your holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
e'er to take, as from a father’s hand,
one by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
till I reach the promised land.

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Scripture References

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Difficult times occur in the lives and communities of God’s people because this is a fallen world. The confessions demonstrate this perspective:

  • Belgic Confession, Article 15 teaches that “…by the disobedience of Adam original sin has been spread through the whole human race…a corruption of the whole human nature...” As a result, God’s people are “guilty and subject to physical and spiritual death, having become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all [our] ways” (Article 14). In addition, “The devils and evil spirits are so corrupt that they are enemies of God and of everything good. They lie in wait for the church and every member of it like thieves, with all their power, to destroy and spoil everything by their deceptions” (Article 12).
  • Our World Belongs to God continues to affirm that “God has not abandoned the work of his hands,” nevertheless “our world, fallen into sin, has lost its first goodness...” (paragraph 4). And now “all spheres of life—family and friendship, work and worship school and state, play and art—bear the wounds of our rebellion” (paragraph 16).

Yet, in a fallen world, God’s providential care is the source of great assurance, comfort and strength. Through these thoughts, our trust in God is inspired.

  • Belgic Confession, Article 13 is a reminder that God’s providence reassures us that God leads and governs all in this world “according to his holy will…nothing happens in this world without his orderly arrangement.” Further, this Confession identifies that this “gives us unspeakable comfort since it teaches us that nothing can happen to us by chance but only by the arrangement of our gracious heavenly Father, who watches over us with fatherly care...in this thought we rest.”
  • Belgic Confession, Article 13, is a reminder that much is beyond human understanding and so “we do not wish to inquire with undue curiosity into what God does that surpasses human understanding and is beyond our ability to comprehend.”
  • In Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 9, Question and Answer 26 we testify that we “trust God so much that [we] do not doubt that he will provide whatever [we] need for body and soul and will turn to [our] good whatever adversity he sends upon [us] in this sad world.”
  • In Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 10, Question and Answer 28, we are assured that through our trust in the providence of God we can have “good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing in creation will separate us from his love.”
  • When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we ask not to be brought into the time of trial but rescued from evil. In doing so we ask that the Lord will “uphold us and make us strong with the strength of your Holy Spirit so that we may not go down to defeat in this spiritual struggle...” (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 52, Question and Answer 127)

Belgic Confession, Article 26 speaks about the intercession of Christ as the ascended Lord. “We have no access to God except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor, Jesus Christ the Righteous.” We, therefore, do not offer our prayers as though saints could be our intercessor, nor do we offer them on the “basis of our own dignity but only on the basis of the excellence and dignity of Jesus Christ, whose righteousness is ours by faith.” Because Jesus Christ is our sympathetic High Priest, we approach the throne “in full assurance of faith.”

 

No greater assurance can be found than that expressed in Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 1, Question and Answer 1: “I am not my own by I belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”

 
In all difficult times, we eagerly await the final day when God “will set all things right, judge evil, and condemn the wicked” (Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 57).

437

Day by Day

Words of Praise

Loving God,
you created heaven and earth out of nothing.
You uphold and rule heaven and earth
by your eternal counsel and providence.
We give you praise, almighty God.
God of eternity,
you not only created each of us,
but you sustain and form each of us
with your Holy Spirit.
We worship you, Creator God.
You provide whatever we need for body and soul.
You guide us and guard us.
We trust in you, God, our Maker; Jesus, our Mediator;
Holy Spirit, our Comforter.
As we turn toward the promise of a new year,
allow us to look back and to look ahead,
to see the places in the past
where your promises have upheld us,
and to look to an unknown future
with confidence and trust in you.
In the strong name of Christ we pray. Amen.
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

Blessing/Benediction

Eternal God, as we leave this place, guide our feet.
As our steps take us into an unknown future,
give us confidence in your faithfulness.
Help us see opportunities to serve and to love.
Support us with your love
so that we can work with you and rest in you. Amen.
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

Additional Prayers

The following is a guide for extemporaneous prayers. The pattern provides a suggested text
for the opening and closing of each part of the prayer and calls for extemporaneous prayers of
thanksgiving, petition, and intercession.
Lord of heaven and earth,
we praise and thank you for upholding and ruling all creation
by your eternal providence:
for your sustaining hand in creation . . .
for providing leaders in government . . .
for church leaders . . .
for the way in which you have worked in this church . . .
for the riches you have lavished upon each one of us . . .
and for the great gift of your Son, through whom we are redeemed.
As our sovereign God holding our world and our lives in your hands,
we intercede on behalf of
the nations of the world . . .
those whom you have put in government . . .
our community and those who serve in it . . .
your church, that it may expand your kingdom, especially in . . .
We ask that your powerful hands may be evident in the lives of . . .
And in all circumstances may we have the faith
to hold on to your promise that you will work things out for our good,
even when we see no good.
We pray this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God,
to whom belongs the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
437

Day by Day

Tune Information

Name
BLOTT EN DAG
Key
E♭ Major
Meter
10.9.10.9 D

Recordings

437

Day by Day

Hymn Story/Background

This is one of Carolina Sandell Berg’s most famous texts. It encourages us to trust in God’s providence in all circumstances of life. Oscar Ahnfelt, an associate of Berg and of the Swedish evangelist Carl O. Rosenius, wrote the tune for this text, publishing it in one of the later editions of his Andeliga Sånger. 
— Bert Polman

Author Information

The author of this text, Caroline W. Sandell Berg (b. Froderyd, Sweden, 1832; d. Stockholm, Sweden, 1903), is better known as Lina Sandell, the "Fanny Crosby of Sweden."
 
"Lina" Wilhelmina Sandell Berg was the daughter of a Lutheran pastor to whom she was very close; she wrote hymns partly to cope with the fact that she witnessed his tragic death by drowning. Many of her 650 hymns were used in the revival services of Carl O. Rosenius, and a number of them gained popularity particularly because of the musical settings written by gospel singer Oskar Ahnfelt. Jenny Lind, the famous Swedish soprano, underwrote the cost of publishing a collection of Ahnfelt's music, Andeliga Sänger (1850), which consisted mainly of Berg's hymn texts.
— Bert Polman
Andrew L. Skoog was born in Sweden on December 17, 1856. His family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, when he was twelve. He only had a sixth grade education, but edited seven hymnals, and wrote a textbook on music theory. He died on October 30, 1934 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 
— Berean Bible Heritage (http://bereanbibleheritage.org/extraordinary/skoog_andrew.php)

Composer Information

Oscar Ahnfelt (1813 -1882) was a Swedish singer and composer. He wrote the music for many of Lina Sandell’s hymns. A pietist, he raised some concern in the State-church, but his music was apparently so popular, King Karl XV gave him permission to play and sing in both of his kingdoms. Ahnfelt’s music has spread throughout the world; two of his best-known songs are “Children of the Heavenly Father” and “Day by Day.”
— Laura de Jong
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