Hail! Sacred Day of Earthly Rest

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Hail! sacred day of earthly rest

Author: Godfrey Thring (1858)
Tune: WREFORD
Published in 52 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

A holy stillness, breathing calm
On all the world around,
Uplifts my soul, O God, to Thee,
Where rest is found.

Source: The Hymnal #R38

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Author: Godfrey Thring

Godfrey Thring (b. Alford, Somersetshire, England, 1823; d. Shamley Green, Guilford, Surrey, England, 1903) was born in the parsonage of Alford, where his father was rector. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, England, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1847. After serving in several other parishes, Thring returned to Alford and Hornblotten in 1858 to succeed his father as rector, a position he retained until his own retirement in 1893. He was also associated with Wells Cathedral (1867-1893). After 1861 Thring wrote many hymns and published several hymnals, including Hymns Congregational (1866), Hymns and Sacred Lyrics (1874), and the respected A Church of England Hymn Book Adapted to the Daily Services of the Church… Go to person page >

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First Line:	Hail! sacred day of earthly rest
Title:	Hail! Sacred Day of Earthly Rest
Author:	Godfrey Thring (1858)
Meter:	8.6.8.4
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Notes

Hail, sacred day of earthly rest. G. Thring. [Sunday.] Written in 1863, and first published in his Hymns Congregational and Others, 1866, p. 82, in 13 stanzas of 4 lines In the Appendix to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Psalms & Hymns, 1869, No. 314, it was given in 9 stanzas with stanza i., line 3 changed from "Hail, quiet spirit bringing peace," to "Hail, day of light, that bringest light," by Bishop W. W. How. This text was repeated in Thring's Collection, 1882, No. 65, and is the authorised form of the hymn. In Laudes Domini, N. Y., 1884, No. 92, stanzas i.-iii. and xiii. are altered from the original 8, 6, 8, 4 to 8, 8, 8, 4 measure, very much to the injury of the hymn. Full authorised text in the author's Hymns & Sacred Lyrics, 1874, p. 21.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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