Awake My Soul and with the Sun
Awake, my soul, and with the sun
The second stanza's 'each present day thy last esteem' applies Luther's theology of death to daily time management — if each day might be the last, it should be lived with the same clarity and commitment that we imagine for our final hours. The fourth stanza's image of joining the angels who 'all night long unwearied sing' connects morning prayer to the heavenly liturgy, placing the awakening congregation within the communion of saints and the cosmic praise that never ceases.
History & Background
Thomas Ken's Morning Hymn was written alongside his Evening Hymn for the scholars of Winchester College (1674). Where the Evening Hymn (set to TALLIS CANON) is reflective and confessional, the Morning Hymn is energetic and morally bracing — appropriate for an educational setting where the day's duties are about to begin. The tune MORNING HYMN (François Barthélemon, 1785) was later composed specifically for this text and gives it an appropriately vigorous character. The hymn's moral exhortation — 'shake off dull sloth,' 'thy precious time misspent redeem,' 'think how all-seeing God thy ways surveys' — reflects 18th-century Protestant piety's characteristic emphasis on stewardship of time and preparation for judgment. Combined with the more doxological stanzas (the angels' praise, the closing Doxology), it creates a morning office that moves from resolution to praise.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 557
- The Hymnal 1982 — 11
- United Methodist Hymnal — 101
Bulletin Note
Text by Thomas Ken (1637-1711), 1674. Tune: MORNING HYMN, François Barthélemon (1741-1808), composed 1785.
Preaching Connection
'Awake, my soul, and with the sun' — the morning office asks not just the body to wake but the soul, the will, the attention: a daily resurrection from the sleep of spiritual inattention.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- The Third Article (Concerning Sanctification) Small Catechism — The Apostles' Creed
Themes
morning wakefulness duty stewardship of time angels doxology office preparation