“All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night” 565 ELW and LBW 278
1 All praise to thee, my God, this night
for all the blessings of the light.
keep me, oh, keep me, King of kings,
beneath thine own almighty wings.
2 Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,
the ill that I this day have done;
that with the world, myself and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
3 Teach me to live, that I may dread,
the grave as little as my bed.
Teach me to die, that so I may rise
glorious at the awesome day.
4 Oh, may my soul in thee repose,
and may sweet sleep mine eyelids close,
sleep that shall me more vig’rous make
to serve my God when I awake!
5 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God above, ye heav’nly host;
praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Devotion
I love the conclusion to Martin Luther’s “Evening Blessing,” in which he writes, “Then you are to go to sleep quickly and cheerfully.” My evening devotions have sometimes included the hymn “All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night.” This hymn offers an opportunity to lift praises to God, to ask for protection, to confess sins and ask for forgiveness, and to move into sleep trusting you are in God’s care. Try singing or speaking one verse at a time and offering up prayers related to that verse before moving on to the next one. The hymn begins and ends in praise.
How nice it is to end each day in praise, rather than stewing over the regrets from the day or the to-do list for tomorrow!
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for your protection and presence with me this day. Help me to have a cheerful, deep sleep this night. Amen.